Planet Rock (song): Difference between revisions
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The main [[melody]] of "Planet Rock" is [[Interpolation (music)|interpolated]] from the title track of Kraftwerk's influential album ''[[Trans-Europe Express (album)|Trans-Europe Express]]'', while the drum pattern resembles "Numbers" from the 1981 Kraftwerk album ''[[Computer World]]'', another popular underground club record. The borrowings eventually resulted in an [[out-of-court settlement]] between Kraftwerk and [[Tommy Boy Records]] head [[Tom Silverman]]. |
The main [[melody]] of "Planet Rock" is [[Interpolation (music)|interpolated]] from the title track of Kraftwerk's influential album ''[[Trans-Europe Express (album)|Trans-Europe Express]]'', while the drum pattern resembles "Numbers" from the 1981 Kraftwerk album ''[[Computer World]]'', another popular underground club record. The borrowings eventually resulted in an [[out-of-court settlement]] between Kraftwerk and [[Tommy Boy Records]] head [[Tom Silverman]]. |
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Afrika Bambaataa has acknowledged a debt to Kraftwerk, but has expressed that their contributions to his aesthetic have been over-emphasized. Bombaataa stated that "Kraftwerk was one part of a sound," while citing Yellow Magic Orchestra<ref name="cmj_1999"/> |
Afrika Bambaataa has acknowledged a debt to Kraftwerk, but has expressed that their contributions to his aesthetic have been over-emphasized. Bombaataa stated that "Kraftwerk was one part of a sound," while citing Yellow Magic Orchestra and Gary Numan as the other major influences on his work.<ref name="cmj_1999"/> Yellow Magic Orchestra in particular was the first band to utilize the [[Roland TR-808]] programmable [[drum machine]] in 1980,<ref name="cbc_808">{{cite web|title=Slaves to the rhythm: Kanye West is the latest to pay tribute to a classic drum machine|date=November 28, 2008|author=Jason Anderson|publisher=[[CBC News]]|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/music/story/2008/11/27/f-history-of-the-808.html|accessdate=2011-05-29}}</ref> and they anticipated the beats and sounds of electro music with "[[:File:Riot in Lagos.ogg|Riot in Lagos]]" that same year.<ref name="wire_1996">{{citation|title=The Wire, Volumes 143-148|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|year=1996|page=21|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Qtw4AQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2011-05-25}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 18:14, 18 June 2011
| "Planet Rock" | |
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| Song |
"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music. It is credited with developing the electro style, building on the work of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra,[1] and helped pave the way for other genres such as techno, house, and trance. In November 2004, the "Planet Rock" placed at #237 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #10 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[2] "Planet Rock" peaked at number four on the soul chart and number forty-eight on the Hot 100,[3] and went to number three on the dance charts.[4]
Background
Produced by Arthur Baker, "Planet Rock" blends synthesizer and vocoder sounds with breakbeating. It was influenced by electropop pioneers Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO),[1] funk pioneer George Clinton, and artists such as Gary Numan.[5] In particular, its melody resembles Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" (1977), while the beat resembles Kraftwerk's "Numbers" (1981) as well as YMO's "Riot in Lagos" (1980).
The record was recorded in the NYC upper eastside Intergalactic Studios, a popular site for NYC clubscene productions. Toward the end of the scheduled recording session, NYC music clubscene fixtures DJ David Azarc, soundman Jim Toth, and promoter Tom Goodkind—all from the Peppermint Lounge—asked Arthur to please hurry. The three had scheduled the next recording session for a band that would become the Washington Squares. Ever accommodating, Arthur told them that things would move faster if they assisted him with the backup vocals. The voices singing "rock it don't stop it" on Planet Rock are in fact those of the Washington Squares.
The influence of "Planet Rock" can still be heard in hip-hop sub-genres such G-funk and in the work of producers such as the Neptunes, which use electro-based sounds in its productions.
A music video was also created for the song.
The song was used as the main theme of the 2006 basketball video game NBA 2K7
The song was remixed by Paul Oakenfold in album "Swordfish (soundtrack)"
It was sampled by LL Cool J in the song "Control Myself".
In 2008, it was ranked number 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
MC Common cited this song as a major influence for his latest album Universal Mind Control especially for the title track.
In the Black Star cover of Slick Rick's "Children's Story," Mos Def criticizes a fictitious DJ for the overuse of sampling the classics. He says, "Jacked the beat from Planet Rock." Ironically, the beat from Planet Rock is itself jacked (copied but not sampled) from Kraftwerk's song "Numbers" (see below). Adding to the irony is the fact that "Children's Story" is a re-interpretation of a classic song of the same name by Slick Rick.
The song also features in the movie Ali G Indahouse
It also features in the Playstation 1 game Thrasher: Skate and Destroy.
Personnel
- Engineer - Bob Rosa, Jan D. Burnett
- Executive Producer - Tom Silverman
- Mastered By - Herb Powers Jr.
- Mixed by, Producer - Arthur Baker[6]
- Keyboards by John Robie
- Video By - Video Mix Productions - Danny Cornyetz & Jessica Jason
Instruments
- Roland TR-808 drum machine
- Fairlight CMI Series II 8-bit sampler (orchestra hit "ORCH5"[7])
- Moog Micromoog and Prophet 5 (John Robie's keyboards as stated by Arthur Baker in Sound on Sound)
- Lexicon PCM41 for Bambaataa's "vocoder" sound (really tight delay setting)
Sample
The main melody of "Planet Rock" is interpolated from the title track of Kraftwerk's influential album Trans-Europe Express, while the drum pattern resembles "Numbers" from the 1981 Kraftwerk album Computer World, another popular underground club record. The borrowings eventually resulted in an out-of-court settlement between Kraftwerk and Tommy Boy Records head Tom Silverman.
Afrika Bambaataa has acknowledged a debt to Kraftwerk, but has expressed that their contributions to his aesthetic have been over-emphasized. Bombaataa stated that "Kraftwerk was one part of a sound," while citing Yellow Magic Orchestra and Gary Numan as the other major influences on his work.[5] Yellow Magic Orchestra in particular was the first band to utilize the Roland TR-808 programmable drum machine in 1980,[8] and they anticipated the beats and sounds of electro music with "Riot in Lagos" that same year.[9]
References
- Ross, Sean (1992). In Street Jams: Electric Funk Part 1 [CD liner notes]. Burbank, CA: Rhino/Atlantic Records.
- ^ a b William Eric Perkins (1996), Droppin' science: critical essays on rap music and hip hop culture, Temple University Press, p. 12, ISBN 1566393620, retrieved 2011-05-26
- ^ Top 100 Rap Songs
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 44.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 28.
- ^ a b "Father Afrika Bombaataa", CMJ New Music Monthly, no. 76, p. 72, December 1999, ISSN 1074-6978, retrieved 2011-05-26
- ^ [1]
- ^ Topley, John (2009). "Thirty Years of the Fairlight: John Topley's Weblog 2009".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Jason Anderson (November 28, 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm: Kanye West is the latest to pay tribute to a classic drum machine". CBC News. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
- ^ "The Wire, Volumes 143-148", The Wire, p. 21, 1996, retrieved 2011-05-25