Going Through A Phase

I first encountered Steve Reich last semester in Contemporary Music Class, but my interest wasn’t piqued until a student concert in December when I witnessed a live performance of "Clapping Music"


It was after that performance that I sought out a score of the music to learn its secrets. It’s so beautiful in its simplicity: a 12 eighth-note ostinato repeated 12 times and then shifted by one eighth-note every 12 repeats until 12 shifts have occurred and the original ostinato returns. It was a completely new form, not confined by the chorus / verse structure of pop music or even classical forms such as sonata or rondo. It opened my eyes to new possibilities as a composer.

"Clapping Music" (1972) was a direct extension of Reich’s earliest important work "Come Out" (1966) in that they both used the technique of phasing. However, where "Come Out" was produced in the studio with tape loops using linear phasing "Clapping Music" was able to achieve a phasing effect in live performance with stepwise motion.

I rediscovered works like "Different Trains" (1988) and "City Life" (1995) that utilized tape loops in conjunction with live instrumentation. These works were revolutionary as the melodic pitches and durations of the instruments were borrowed directly from the speech on the tapes.

I found works for guitar, including "Electric Guitar Phase" (2001) and "Nagoya Guitars" (1998)


I found "Piano Phase" (1967) a live linear phasing piece which predated the stepwise movement of later live pieces.


I found "The Cave" (1993) a multimedia "opera" that synthesizes all of Reich’s methods into one large-scale work.


As opposed to John Cage, who was interested in exploring the philosophical ramifications of music, Steve Reich focused on experimenting with new compositional techniques. He exploited the opportunities allowed by technology through incessant repetition and at same time pointed out the imperfections of machines through phasing. He returned to basic timbral elements such as the body and the voice and derived music from the natural cadences of speech. I know I have just scratched the surface of what Steve Reich has done and look forward to discovering more in the future.

Hip Hop Is Dead. Iron Butterfly Lives.

Rapper Nas’s latest album proclaims that "Hip Hop is Dead".



His reasons for saying this are numerous and half-baked.

The opening sequence of the music video reveals Nas’s Orwellian viewpoint of a future in which hip hop will die due to government censorship. Musicians today have considerably more freedom toady than, in say 1989, when record store owners were arrested for selling 2 Live Crew’s album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" and band members were arrested for performing the songs in public. Although there is currently much discussion in avoiding certain words and subject matter in hip hop music, many of the objections are coming from the hip hop community. Just last week, Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records, called for voluntary restriction on the words "bitch," "ho" and the "N-word," labeling them "extreme curse words." So while change may come, it will not be probably not be due to a government ban on hip hop.

In an interview which took place three months before the release of his album Nas said:

"Hip-hop is dead because we as artists no longer have the power." He went on to say, "Could you imagine what 50 Cent could be doing, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, if we were the Jimmy Iovines. Could you imagine the power we'd have? I think that's where we're headed."

If that’s where we are headed then wouldn’t that mean that hip hop is not dying, but in fact on the rise? The point is mute anyways, because it makes no sense to begin with. Jimmy Iovine is a record producer and co-founder of Interscope Records. Jay-Z is a rapper and current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. His current estimated net worth is $340 million. Does this sound like someone who is lacking in power?

In another interview Nas changed his story:

"...basically America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead. Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. That's where we are as a country."

This gets closer to the real story. However, I don’t think American way of thinking is dead; I think that Nas’s way of thinking is dead. Here’s is a track called "Thief’s Theme" from an album released just two years before "Hip Hop Is Dead"



Did you notice a similarity? BOTH SONGS USE A SAMPLE FROM "IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA" BY IRON BUTTERFLY!!! Maybe Nas can’t play an instrument and maybe he’s not a record producer, but couldn’t he find a new sample to use? I think Nas’s main reason behind claiming that "Hip Hop Is Dead" was to stir up controversy which would help to promote the album sales for a performer on the creative decline.

The hip hop genre is, however, somewhat stagnant, most likely due to record companies and radio stations that play it safe by seeking out and promoting the familiar. Despite this modern rap occasionally moves in new directions and breaks new ground.

The Black Eyed Peas combine rapping and singing with a more positive worldview and infuse their music with a dance / funk element.

Black Eyed Peas – "Lets Get It Started" (2003)



OutKast is also "more musical" than previous rap music and the lyrics move beyond the traditional themes of money, sex, and violence.

OutKast – "Rosa Parks" (1998)



My personal favorite band that has expanded the boundaries of modern hip hop music is Rage Against The Machine. By combining the powerful instrumentation of an alternative metal band with abrasive rapped lyrics dealing with political issues, Rage Against The Machine has created some of the most unique and important music of the past fifteen years.

Rage Against The Machine – "Testify" (1999)



Rage Against The Machine – "Sleep Now In The Fire" (1999)



Rage Against The Machine – "Freedom" (1992)