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Thurston Moore was one of the lead guitarists and songwriters for the accomplished band Sonic Youth formed in 1981,  Thurston released his debut solo album in 1995 "Psychic Hearts". Creating a similar sound of grunge/alt as he does when writing for Sonic Youth. Some key tracks from his solo career consist of "Smoke of Dreams", "Speak to the wild" and "Benediction". Smoke of dreams seems to be a slow melodic track resembling that of Thurston's early days under Sonic Youth. Benediction is a acoustic symphony consisting of violins, melodic riffs a double bass and etc. This unplugged aesthetic is something consistent through out the 2011 Album "Demolished thoughts".
Thurston worked with Kim Gordan, Lee Ranaldo and Richard Edson on his most commercially successful project/band "Sonic youth".
A major influence to Thurston was the rock critic turned vocalist and artist Patti Smith, as Moore was a dedicated rock magazine reader Patti Smith really interested him. Not only was she an incredible performer but an talented songwriter also. Since forming "Sonic Youth" Thurston has influenced thousands but here are a significant few "Beck", "My bloody valentine" and "Dinosaur Jr".

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The band "Smashing pumpkins" was formed in 1988 and released most of their mainstream music in the 90s. Being one of the main figureheads of the alternative rock/grunge scene with such bands like "Nirvana". "Rhinoceros", "Tristessa", "Disarm" and "Mayonaise" all key tracks when it comes to understanding the band and their sound. All from their early days around 1991, 1993 as in my personal opinion their best work is from 1991 - 2000 before the original band split up.  The Band has released many albums and eps under different labels, however the first formal major record label Virgin records was the first to sign them after the commercial success of "Gish". The band originally consisted of frontman Billy Corgan, Darcy Wretzky, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, although the band has gone through many line up changes. The current line up is similar however without Darcy Wretzky since she left in 1999 and instead Jeff Shroeder or Nicole Fiorentino (bassist). Some apparent influences (from the opinions of critics) are Black Sabbath, Queen, Boston and The Who. Some may argue (Corgan) that Gish (1991) influenced Pearl Jam, and Nirvanas sound.

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Frank Zappa's has been creating music since 1960s till his death in 1993 and has had commercial success throughout his life. Frank Zappa is known for more than just a single genre he is known as a composer of rock, jazz, pop, jazz-fusion, orchestral and concrete music. Some significant tracks consist of Uncle Remus, Watermelon in Easter Hay and Joes Garage. Frank Zappa founded his own record label in 1977 "Zappa Records" before this Frank Zappa with labels such as Sony or CBS. Frank wrote most of his work but he did join and help create the band "The Mothers of Invention"  consisting of Ray Collins, Ray Hunt, Roy Estrada, Jimmy Carl Black and Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa's music often preached non-conformity and free form, occasionally using the form of comedy/satire in most of his writing. This coupled with his excellent musicianship helped him find an audience with most genres and appeal to a wide variety of people. There is a massive list inside of his first record, "Freak Out",  that listed all his influences at the time. Some of these that stood as greater positive influences than others are: Igor Stravinsky, Edgard Verese, Pierre, Boulez, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Guitar Slim. Zappa's musical experimentation would go on to influence many artists in the ambient/atmospheric genre including legends like Brian Eno and Thom Yorke.

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Thurston Moore and Smashing Pumpkins do have similar styles in music and are close in genre if not in the same genre of music. They both include harsh effects and melodic riffs and likely have a similar audience. However, while Smashing Pumpkins did not evolve their sound much until 2000 Thurston Moore and the work he did with "Sonic Youth" have always been somewhat experimental. Especially with the album "Bad moon rising" 1985. In my opinion the differ most significantly in vocals, while Billy Corgan's vocals are high and strict tone wise. On the other hand Thurston Moore's vocals are more relaxed and airy with lots of shifts in harmony using vibrato to make his voice more interesting which inspired me to try and perform similarly, likewise with when I first listened to smashing pumpkins they must have influenced me as most songs i create now a lot of feedback consists of comparing them to smashing pumpkins, the sound that i fell in love with must have subconsciously ingrained itself into my music taste and song writing.

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BPM - 146
Time signature - 4/4
Key - A#
Mayonaise is about mental illness and hopelessness which goes hand in hand with suffering all common themes throughout Billy Corgan's music around this time period 1993.  Billy remains vague yet obvious in the subject matter which is seen with lines such as "When your life is so, so Dreary Dream im rumored to the straight and narrow" which creates a specific aesthetic common with smashing pumpkins and definitely is apart of the bands USP.Smashing pumpkins use various effects and production techniques such as the overpowering fuzz and modulation during the intro. Creating that specific grunge like sound they were popular for during the 90s and the grunge scene. James Iha (rhythm guitarist) and Billy Corgan both use alternative tuning Billy using a more traditional tuning while James occasionally would perform with the less conventional tuning of EBBF#AD.

In my opinion Billy takes some inspiration from Led Zepplin, especialy considering the slow melodic intro, similar to Rain Song by Led Zeppelin.

Structurally the song is most impressive the song takes a break and several choruses and verses all while fit in between the intro and outro both remarkably similar which helps the song feel like an experience especially considering the heavy modulation and fuzz throughout the song.

The dynamics of the song are apparant throughout the track from the slow intro to the heavy use of fuzz emphasising the strong dynamics throughout the track which brings power to the verses and chorus.

Bordowitz, H, 2018 Smashing Pumpkins | Encyclopedia.com Accessed 5/12/2021
Nick Wise, Smashing Pumpkins (London, 1996); Jim Stapleton, Smashing Pumpkins.

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Throughout the module I have learnt many useful skills, more importantly this year has given me a chance to grow as a musician learning to gain confidence on the stage through LPW lessons, perfecting my song writing method within my art of arrangement classes. I also adopted a new DAW Cubase lite which has given me much more confidence and understanding of production, mixing and mastering not without help from my Production techniques lesson specifically lesson 10 mastering, and how i can apply that knowledge to my own DAW. All of which gave me a better understanding of musicianship and my place in the music industry.

A large issue for me throughout the term was motivation and attendance though it was not that i did not want to go it was that I did not have the motivation to go out of the house due to mental health issues.  Throughout the LPW lessons I had they all aided my lack of confidence on stage but the more I played and watched the less pressure I felt to be astounding. Through watching I could be inspired and experience my fellow peers music. The art of arrangement classes helped me refine my song writing and gave me ample time to perfect the songs I was working on structurally and lyrically especially week 7 when we took a look at structure in detail helping me gain a better understanding of the art form and how i can implement certain methods to achieve certain sounds in songs. Most significant to my goals

The live performance apart of my S1 submission I felt could have been better such as if I had more rehearsal time with the house band and if the effect pedal I brought with me didn't break on the day, although the house band guitarist had a pedal box and we were able to use the fuzz on his guitar. Which in my opinion the combination of the clean guitar and the fuzz as rhythm enhanced the track. Although, the live performance was not perfect, for instance the break not everyone was in time and synced this issue could have been prevented if I had more rehearsal time with the band. Also there were other occasions of my voice not sounding 100% at least to me as i had a cold if i had prepared more a week before the performance date perhaps this could have been avoided. Yet during this module, I have gained a better understanding of the industry and a more extensive understanding of where I fit into the industry, how I can achieve my goal of becoming a full time artist. As a result i have decided I want to incorporate social media services such as Twitch and You tube into my career pan as i think i would find it enjoyable also the internet is only going to become a larger part of our lives and so it would be useful to become apart of those communities of creators.
This idea was perpetuated from the WB06 module, as I performed a set list on livestream, I thoroughly enjoyed setting up and performing in the stream and it was definitely something i could see myself pursuing in the future.

Both songs in this module were originals, my song "Around the bend" was something i was happy with when i submitted it. However, since it took me a while to find a melody i wanted to use it i did not make enough time to  do re recordings of vocals/ harmonies also master and mix the track to a professional degree. I plan to release this song as a part of a EP in January, although it would be better if i spent more time on vocals, mixing and mastering the track first before releasing. Similarly, i plan to release my live performance song "Cosmic Schlop" in this EP. The lyrics, structure and tone is how i want it when released, although I may need to make some changes when recording the song and placing the drum track as my skill with programming drums is not as fleshed out as needed for the song to sound as it was during the live performance.

In conclusion, this module has benefitted me in the following ways , improved my knowledge of the song writing craft, a greater understanding of mixing/mastering my own tracks and its importance in the modern artist. Through lessons such as art of arrangement i was able to learn about ways to improve my song writing structure in week 7 and gave me time to nearly perfect my song writing technique. The module production technique's furthered my understanding of mastering (week 10) and mixing my own tracks including drums in week 7 understanding how to efficiently process and manipulate programmed drums which is something that I have been trying to gain a better grasp on since year 1. I was happy with both performances this module however, if i had organised my time earlier in the year I would have had more time to improve both tracks, for example in "Cosmic Schlop" more time to rehearse the song and with " Around the bend" more time to mix and master. Overall this module has improved my understanding of where I fit into the music industry, how i can achieve my goal of becoming a successful artist/song writer. Furthermore, increased my knowledge with song writing, production and performing live and how i can apply these to better my career in the future,as an artist.

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Cosmic schlop is an original song, some major influences for this track include smashing pumpkins, Nirvana, Foo fighters and Nick Rattigan. The song begins with a slow intro inspired by the popular Foo fighters track "Everlong" as the "Cosmic Schlop" is also in drop d and the intro follows "Everlong's" main riff to a certain extent however using the same chord pattern for the alternate picking stage. The main riff was inspired by Smashing Pumpkins as i use what i call the Billy Corgan chord essentially the same notes on 2 strings apart but resonates when playing in the d scale in drop d. This chord can be seen in several Smashing pumpkins including songs such as "Rhinoceros" from the "Gish" album. Lyrically vague with interesting imagery similar to Kurt Cobain's style of writing seen in tracks like "Something in the way" which was done unintentionally so I suppose it is more of a influence than an inspiration. Furthermore, My singing style was inspired by Nick Rattigan the head behind Current Joys which features smooth vocals with significance on dynamics.

My DAW focused track "Around the bend" an original song was also majorly influenced by Current Joys, High Sunn and Mike Krol. The intro of the song follows a simple bassline using the "Billy Corgan Chord" follows a d scale as the song is also in drop d. Both songs are tune this way to bring that melancholic sound, but for me this is a start to writing more songs in alternate tunings similar to the work of Sonic Youth. The programmed drums throughout "Around the bend" influenced by High sunn's and Current Joys (early days) style of programming drums, on the other hand frequently when these artists would use programmed drums they were in somewhat quiet tone like songs such as Current joys album "2013" specifically the song "Under the influence". Although, similarly to "Around the bend" there is the same recurring programmed drum loop throughout the song which fits the ton perfectly for "Under the influence". The main riff is also largely inspired by Current Joys "Something real" finding the riff while jamming it stuck to me and its similarity to the current joys track is most likely the reason why however, I was not looking for a similar aesthetic in my song and so i tweaked the riff a little to fit my purpose. The lyrics major influence is Mike Krol and his use of reverb in his vocals in most of his tracks such as in "Natural Disaster" which creates a punkish tone when combined with the fuzz in the track. Though the lyrics themselves being romantic are similar to Current Joy's romantic aesthetic.

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BPM - 111
Time Signature - 9/4

Lyrical subject matter/themes

The song could be considered as an instrumental despite the narrative story from the "Central Scrutinizer"  talking at the beginning of the song or the intro. Which describes Joe ,who the listener would presume to be a young man,  creating his last imaginary guitar solo, and then the song begins with a legendary guitar solo throughout the song.

Effects processing/post-production techniques

Something which substantially stood out are the snare accents, they have a considerable amount of reverb and delay which occasionally give the listener the impression of wind blowing. This fits perfectly with the aesthetic and dreamy/dimensional vibe felt throughout the song. The clean spacey tone of the guitar throughout the song was created using a space station reverb unit specifically calibrated by a sound engineer

Recording and audio capture techniques

Recorded at Village recorders studio in Los Angeles, where other great albums such as Steely Dan's Aja was recorded.

Choices of harmony and scales/melodic elements

The entire song is essentially a guitar solo displaying Zappa's skill and technique with the instrument  throughout the son. Despite the songs choice of key and harmony being suprisingly simple being in the key of E, and yet only consisting of 2 chords A and B/E. Yet since most of the song is a solo franks diverse use of harmonies and scales are spread throughout the song.

Rhythmic ideas

The song is in 9/4 and this cycle is essentially repeated throughout the track which gives the listener the impression of a jam instead of a written performed song, this idea is perpetuated by the narration at the start of the track.

Use of instrumentation/orchestration

The track was composed and written by Frank as he did with all his music yet played with a live band drums, bass, two guitars.

Anon.2017 The Story Behind The Song: Watermelon in Easter Hay, by Frank Zappa (musicaficionado.blog) Accessed 5/12/2021

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On Halloween night in 1978 Frank Zappa closed his band's North American tour with a four-hour marathon show at the Palladium in New York City. The now legendary show is fondly known to his fans as "the big one", after Zappa decided to combine the early and late shows into one and introduced the show with: "All right this is the big one. Since this is the big one, we're gonna do an extra long show. I hope you don't have to leave early". Many put this show on their top live Zappa performances and considering the mammoth amount of shows that had been taped and bootlegged during his prolific career, this is no minor achievement. The evening was even more special, as the band was joined by guest L Shankar, the great Indian violinist who became known to western audiences a few years earlier with Shakti, the band he formed with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain.

Halloween 1978 bootleg

On stage that night was a similar personnel to the one that would record a few months later the triple-LP rock opera Joe's Garage, an album that is an acquired taste for many, and not considered one of his best. But it includes one of my favorite in all of Zappa's large catalog of amazing performances: Watermelon in Easter Hay. What makes the 1978 Halloween show special for me is a great rendition of that song, perhaps the best live performance of it that I heard. The solo exchanges between Zappa and Shankar on that song are nothing short of spectacular.

On the album Joe's Garage, Watermelon in Easter Hay is played towards the end of the record, and it opens side six on the triple LP. The Central Scrutinizer, the narrating voice that comes whispering though a megaphone and glues the album songs with his tale of Joe and his entanglements in a dystopian society while trying to form a garage band, utters the following: "This is the CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER. Joe has just worked himself into an imaginary frenzy during the fade-out of his imaginary song. He begins to feel depressed now. He knows the end is near. He has realized at last that imaginary guitar notes and imaginary vocals exist only in the imagination of the imaginer. And ultimately, who gives a fuck anyway?! Excuse me. Who gives a fuck anyway? So he goes back to his ugly little room and quietly dreams his last imaginary guitar solo."

Towards the end of the narration the band comes in with a riff that is played throughout the nine-minute song, a hypnotic slow arpeggiated pattern in a 9/4 time signature, The snare accents have tons of reverb and delay, creating a swooosh sound that sometimes sounds like wind. That effect alone adds another dimension to the song. As the song unfolds, the 9/4 cycle becomes a sort of a mantra that you cannot get out of your head after the song ends. But the best part comes right after the narration ends, with one of the best guitar solos in the history of music. There is really no song form here, no A, B or C parts, no verse, bridge or chorus. Its that pattern and the guitar on top of it, repeating endlessly with slight variation from one cycle to the next. The solo is uniquely emotional in Zappa's catalog, and he considered it one of the top performances of his career.

Whether you like Joe's Garage or not, you cannot argue with its sound quality. It was recorded at Village Recorders studios in Los Angeles where some other amazingly sounding albums were recorded in the late 70s including Steely Dan's Aja, Supertramp's Breakfast in America and Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. The studio personnel was very accommodating and tried to provide everything the artists needed to get their creative juices going. Studio D was constructed especially for the production of Tusk, and Stevie Nicks asked for and got a vocal booth looking like a sunset in Tahiti. One of the things that stands out immediately when you hear the guitar on watermelon in Easter Hay is its tone, a clear spacey sound that works so well for the emotional mood of the piece and is very different from any other guitar sound I know. It was achieved by using the Space Station reverb unit in the days when sound engineers had to tinker with all of the equipment's intricate options to get a unique sound. Today's sameness of sound is a result of using factory presets in a digital age that encourages laziness when it comes to the sound and tone of an instrument.

The role of the other musicians on Watermelon in Easter Hay is much more restrained than usually on a Zappa composition, because they keep playing that 9/4 cycle over and over. But they are high enough in the mix that you can hear various nuances, especially by drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and percussionist Ed Mann on Marimba and Glockenspiel. In a long list of extraordinary drummers that worked with Frank Zappa over the years, including Ralph Humphrey, Chester Thompson, Chad Wakerman and Terry Bozzio, Colaiuta stands out as the one most able to cope up with Zappa's polyrhythmical sense of phrasing. In an interview he explained: "I had a pretty fair knowledge of polyrhythms and stuff like that before I got in the band, but nowhere near what it became. I mean, I knew what they were theoretically, but in terms of approaching them the same way he did and using them on the drumset, no way. I got all that from him. In the two and a half years I was with him, it was incredible what I learned. If he sees you have it to begin with, you have to keep up with him. There's so much information and knowledge coming out of him so fast that you have to be on your toes every second. I would play behind his guitar solos. He said, "I want you to listen to what I'm playing because I'm playing all those rhythms. When you accompany me, I don't want you to just try to guess what they are and play some standard rhythmic fill. I want you to understand exactly where I'm at and communicate with me on that level."

Vinnie Colaiuta

Many consider Vinnie Colaiuta the most advanced drummer who played with Zappa. Here is Steve Vai: "He's one of the most amazing sight-readers that ever existed on the instrument. One day we were in a Frank rehearsal, this was early '80s, and Frank brought in this piece of music called "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation." Just unbelievably complex. All the drums were written out, just like "The Black Page" except even more complex. There were these runs of like 17 over 3 and every drumhead is notated differently. And there were a whole bunch of people there, I think Bozzio was there. Vinnie had this piece of music on the stand to his right. To his left he had another music stand with a plate of sushi on it, okay? Now the tempo of the piece was very slow, like "The Black Page." And then the first riff came in, [mimics bizarre Zappa-esque drum rhythm patterns] with all these choking of cymbals, and hi-hat, riffs, spinning of rototoms and all this crazy stuff. And I saw Vinnie reading this thing. Now, Vinnie has this habit of pushing his glasses up with the middle finger of his right hand. Well I saw him look at this one bar of music, it was the last bar of music on the page. He started to play it as he was turning the page with one hand, and then once the page was turned he continued playing the riff with his right hand, as he reached over with his left hand, grabbed a piece of sushi and put it in his mouth, continued the riff with his left hand and feet, pushed his glasses up, and then played the remaining part of the bar. It was the slickest thing I have ever seen. Frank threw his music up in the air. Bozzio turned around and walked away. I just started laughing."

Zappa 1980, Vinnie Colaiuta on the left

Frank Zappa developed the song during his live performances in 1978. The first recorded instance of Watermelon in Easter Hay was at at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on January 27, 1978. Another version was recorded a month later in Germany and is available on Frank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa. A Memorial Tribute, an album released in 1996 by Dweezil Zappa that captures a few versions of pieces Zappa the father considered the best of his career . It is interesting to hear the development of the guitar solo from the early shows in 1978 to the ones on Halloween in New York and the studio version that appears on Joe's Garage, recorded in 1979. The solo becomes more structured and mature in the last two and performances and projects a deeper emotion in my opinion. I believe the improvement is mainly due to the change of drummers from Terry Bozzio to Vinnie Colaiuta before the Halloween show .

Zappa live 1980

On Joe's Garage Zappa continued to use his technique of xenochrony, the placement of previously recorded material on top of studio tracks. Almost all his guitar solos on the album were recoded during live performances from his 1978 tours, and he let band members accompany these solos in the studio and improvise on top of them. He recorded only one new solo for Joe's Garage and that was Watermelon in Easter Hay. As for the name, Zappa told an interviewer: "If a drummer overplays, if the bass player overplays or the keyboard overplays . . . if they don't have any sensitivity to what I'm doing or if they aren't smart enough to track the direction that I am going in it's like dragging an anchor. In fact, I'll point out the way that song, "Watermelon in Easter Hay" got its name. It's from the statement that playing a solo with this band is like trying to grow a watermelon in Easter hay. And most of the bands that I've had it was like that. It's been just recently where I've had rhythm sections that don't get in my way and let me do what I am going to do."

Zappa live 1980

Needless to say, Joe's Garage's lyrics are of the xxx rated material, and you have to take them as he did, with a good amount of humor. As much as I find his use of explicit lyrics sometimes juvenile, I have the uttermost respect for his opinions on freedom of speech, which he took a stand to protect during the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center, or otherwise known as the Tipper Gore idiotic censorship on song lyrics) senate hearing. An interviewer once asked him about Jewish Princess and the backlash that came after it:
Interviewer: Kind of like what came down with Randy Newman's "Short People."
Zappa: Yeah, but in his song, he says he hates short people. I don't say I hate Jewish princesses; I say I want one.

Priceless.

So here is Watermelon in Easter Hay as it appeared on Joe's Garage:

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The Story Behind The Song: Watermelon in Easter Hay, by Frank Zappa

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On Halloween night in 1978 Frank Zappa closed his band's North American tour with a four-hour marathon show at the Palladium in New York City. The now legendary show is fondly known to his fans as "the big one", after Zappa decided to combine the early and late shows into one and introduced the show with: "All right this is [...]

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BPM - 122
Time signature - 4/4

Lyrical subject matter/themes

The vague lyrics and dark lyrical subject creates a tone familiar with work from Thurston Moore. The lack of a clear story is not an abnormal method of song writing and is one I try to implement in my own work. This is due to when the lyrics are vague they are more likely to apply to any scenario the listener may attribute them to.  The motif of "Smoking spirits" or "Smoking ghosts" throughout the song suggests a darker element nevertheless it brings subtle imagery to the track and fits perfectly with the theme of the song. Yet the mention of cities and "New York City" pushes the narrative that the song is about New York city

Effects processing/post-production techniques

The song mostly sounds clean with minimal effects yet there is still a significant amount of fuzz and overdrive on the lead guitar during the solo and on the rhythm guitar also. Yet after this solo it returns to the slightly dirty clean texture. Smoke of dreams is in the key D minor which gives Thurston to create a lethargic melancholy atmosphere.

Rhythmic ideas

The song is simple rhythmically and follows a simple but groovy drum line which varies regularly throughout the song when creating breaks, solos and the chorus.

Stylistic influences

One of the most significant influences for Thurston Moore would be Patti Smith which he relates to in music with slightly with vocals but more apparent in his song writing style.

Performance features and characteristics

As most of Thurston's songs this track also has an alternative tuning and is written in CGDGCD. This reinforces the songs lethargic and mysterious themes "Smoking ghosts".

Structural elements

Along with Thurston's performance elements, Moore also excels in writing structure using catchy verses and uses breaks and solo to keep the listener engaged. Despite the song being around 4 minutes long which are not as large as some of Moore's more popular tracks.

Use of dynamics and texture

The guitar is kept somewhat clean throughout the track only during solo does both guitars switch to a heavier overdrive like tone. However, Thurston manages to keep the track interesting with constant melodic changes in between verses and breaks.

Use of instrumentation/orchestration

I believe Thurston composed the track and uses a classic 4 piece band when playing live, so drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar. When playing live Thurston performs both vocals and lead guitar.

WNYC, 2017 Thurston Moore — 'Smoke of Dreams,' Live on Soundcheck - YouTube (Online Video) Accessed 5/12/2021

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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O3kS48raEU9BTIVBXNJ73?si=22b6867624fe47ae

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I plan to use Smashing pumpkins style of writing, inspired by the song Rhinoceros using the same chord found supporting the main riff. Instead I plan to use this in drop d tuning and explore around the d/e scale when in drop d for "Around the bend", this scale also works for my other song "Cosmic schlop" though I plan to explore the tuning drop d more and understand the tuning better so when I use other alternative tuning in the future (Similar to Thurston and his work with Sonic Youth) I should be able to write easier in the alternate tunings.

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Thurston Moore

Thurston was once and still is one of the large minds behind Sonic Youth, additionally his song writing, performance techniques, alternative methods of writing and performance (tuning), almost experimental grunge sound. All these are what make Thurston a unique artist in his field.

Sonic youth was popular for their alternative methods and experimental sounds(especially in their early days) and abnormal structures when it comes to alternative rock music.

Moore's USP is centred around his song writing and technique surrounding his skill with a guitar, these all tie into what makes Moore's music, solo and with sonic youth, unique.

Thurston can use his history with sonic youth, song writing and rare performance shows to even now to sell tickets and draw in a audience at the age of 63.

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa, a composer and incredible instrumentalist being a large part of their USP being able to dive into different genres and perform live was a major contributing factor to his unique selling point/ brand image. Unlike most talented composers Frank also prioritised comedy to certain degree in his music though the comedy might be seen as somewhat crude however, the instrumental aspects and style gave his music a particular aesthetic enjoyed by his fans.

The most significant aspect of Frank Zappa's USP is probably his consistent skill and instrumentation with the guitar, which brings in a lot of musicians and music lovers who can respect and admire Franks skill with the guitar. However a large factor of Frank Zappa's performance ability is his understanding and skill with song writing and composing, being precise and able to write incredible songs and riffs etc.

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When I master the craft, I desire to be set apart for song writing. I plan to write anything and in anyway, writing concept albums and through music videos showing the story visually, exploring different themes and understanding different cultures and their music to better my own song writing ability.

When I perform live with my own set list I plan to get me and the band into cosplay as historical figures or archetypes, for example I plan to dress as a buddhist monk for a couple gigs but the point is to keep mixing it up, to keep it fun and a reminder not to take it so seriously a message i plan to put into my music. Another message I plan to portray In my image and music is the idea that artists of any genre are just normal people since there are a lot of artist's whose ego gets too large and they amount all their success up to themselves when really it is the accumulation of hard work, luck and other people. Since it can be difficult to humanise people you idolise. I plan to spread this message through my music, brand image and social media.

I can use myself as a usp and engage with my audience through social media and music. I can do gaming livestreams, music videos, you tube videos and make frequent collaborations with others in the music industry and in my genre to connect with my audience. All to show how regular we all are.

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Thurston Moore

After Thurston formed sonic youth in 1980, he remained at the fore front of the alternative rock scene. Creating music that defies the mainstream and creating a unique sound which has inspired thousands (Including myself) across the globe.

His from improvisational performances to acoustic sessions Thurston experiements throughout all faucets of his music, reinforcing the importance of independence and individuality through free form expression. As an artist Thurston represents the significance of expression and to me expressing yourself completely through music.

Thurston Moore. (n.d.). Bio. [online] Available at: https://www.thurstonmoore.com/thurston-moore-bio. Accessed - 8/12/21

Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa one of the most influential and talented artist/composer's yet also surrounded by controversy most of his career. Frank was known for his care - free attitude his stand for individuality and talent in performance and song-writing. His fearlessness writing about subjects others might not touch such as politics and race yet also incorporating comedy into his art.
Suggesting, he acknowledges the seriousness of the subjects yet still decides to portray them in the form of comedy/ music. Such as the song "Hunger freaks, daddy" from the album "Freak out" clearly mocking the great society a set of domestic programs launched in the U.S. This presents the idea to the listener to not take life too seriously, a message I plan to portray in my own music in the future.

Zappa.com. (2020). Zappacast Episode #45: Do Politics Belong In Music? [online] Available at: https://www.zappa.com/news/zappacast-episode-45-do-politics-belong-music [Accessed 8 Dec. 2021].

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Thurston Moore started Sonic Youth in 1980. Since then Thurston Moore has been at the forefront of the alternative rock scene since that particular sobriquet was first used to signify any music that challenged and defied the mainstream standard.

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This term I started using a new DAW Cubase 11 Lite as i could get the trial version for free with Water bear. I recently started using a Focusrite 2i2 audio interface in order to record my electric instruments the bass and guitar clearly.

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Here is an image of my Daw and my track "Around the Bend" in the middle of production after my first recordings of the track.
Cubase has helped me organise my work on a DAW and understand programming instruments like the drums on a DAW.

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With my track Cosmic Shlop i attempted to bring a Fuzz and dreamy tone together similar to Smashing Pumpkins "Mayonaise" this could have been perfected if used my chorus pedal is is unfortunately broken. Though my intention throughout the song was to keep the listener engaged hence the simple break and back to back chorus's. The lyrics i kept vague but interesting using metaphore's such as "plastic streets" with connotations of death "Six Feet down" ,a theme I have moderate personal experience with, specifically within the first verse. To create a melancholic almost gothic like aesthetic similar to Smashing Pumpkins.

While "Around the bend" was intended to be a heavy, techno like punk song, similar to Mike Krol and Negative XP. This techno aspect was something that i had to embrace as I was using programmed drums which do not sound humanised. I attempted to merge the two genres punk and Techno with the drum but also the reverb heavy vocals and crunchy Fuzz with both the bass guitar and lead guitar during the verses and chorus of "Around the bend".

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Bordowitz, H, 2018 Smashing Pumpkins | Encyclopedia.com Accessed 5/12/2021

Nick Wise, Smashing Pumpkins (London, 1996); Jim Stapleton, Smashing Pumpkins.

The Music Aficionado. (2017). The Story Behind The Song: Watermelon in Easter Hay, by Frank Zappa. [online] Available at: https://musicaficionado.blog/2017/04/17/watermelon-in-easter-hay-by-frank-zappa/. Accessed 5/12/2021

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Thurston Moore — “Smoke of Dreams,” Live on Soundcheck. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dechfhTJ0yQ (Online Video) Accessed 5/12/2021

Thurston Moore. (n.d.). Bio. [online] Available at: https://www.thurstonmoore.com/thurston-moore-bio. Accessed - 8/12/21

Zappa.com. (2020). Zappacast Episode #45: Do Politics Belong In Music? [online] Available at: https://www.zappa.com/news/zappacast-episode-45-do-politics-belong-music [Accessed 8 Dec. 2021].

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A Demo of the track in DAW format
Here is the demo .(Link)

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https://soundcloud.com/panu-g-music/vocals-take-1-evidence/s-6fi7pt8jX4W?si=e573c58fb1524b16b94a3b222773f21c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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Stream Vocals Take 1 -Evidence by Yakopanu on desktop and mobile. Play over 265 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.

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This is a screenshot of the submitted track

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I used this demo to give the house band an idea of the track before performing.