TWIMH: Saturday Night Fever

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West
Cohost of ROANOKE, Mondays 12am-2am on WGTB

            Bell-bottoms, white suits, and slicked hair—how could anyone forget the disco madness of the 1970s. Poster child for the movement was John Travolta, for his role as disco master Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. This week in music history—May 5^th 1978 to be more precise—the soundtrack for SNF, which had seven Bee Gees songs on it, started its 18-week run as number 1 on the US charts. The album, with hits like Stayin’ Alive and How Deep is Your Love went on to sell over 30 million copies. Midnight Mug would be bare without the disco ball that towers over the baristas, giving them groovy vibes that pervade the entire Georgetown campus. Students everywhere enjoy disco-themed parties and grooving on the dance floor, but most of all, we wonder: how did they get their voices so high?

To boogie down with the Bee Gees, see below:

TWIMH: Sticky Fingers Makes Its Racy Debut

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12am-2am

This week in music history was a collaborative one, ladies and gentlemen. On April 26, 1971 the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers was released in the UK sporting a cover designed by Andy Warhol. The cover was of a pair of jeans with a zipper, and Warhol was paid 15 thousand pounds for the design. The original Vinyl had a working zipper that revealed a man in undies. This collaboration of aural and visual art was one of many, but they serve to remind us of the interdisciplinary nature of art. The working zipper taps us into the multidimensional nature of the album cover as well! Georgetown University is all about developing the “renaissance,” interdisciplinary human being through a liberal arts education—not necessarily all pre-professional. We are the Sticky Fingers album cover of college graduates—but if you pull, we won’t show you our undies—always.

TWIMH: Who Dat? The Who.

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12am-2am

Pinball Wizard, I’m Free, We’re Not Gonna Take It—just a few of the iconic songs from the Who’s legendary rock opera Tommy. Tommy (about a deaf-mute who starts a religious cult that eventually kills him when he is miraculously cured) was first performed live by the Who on April 19^th 1969 in Dolton, England. Exactly five years later, Tommy was adapted as a film directed by Ken Russel. The cast included a plethora of stars: Ann-Margaret, Oliver Reed, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, and Jack Nicholson (to name a few!). The rock opera was not only a brilliant musical feat, but also was a thrilling and compelling story that inspired many rock artists to add a narrative quality to their lyrics. Georgetown wouldn’t be the same without “Tommy, can you hear me?” echoing in dormitory halls or the glam style introduced by the iconic movie.

TWIMH: We Are The World

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12am-2am on WGTB

            With Georgetown hosting Haiti day on Monday and Relay for Life coming up this weekend, I thought I’d continue the charitable trend with TWIMH. On April 13, 1985, the song “We Are the World,” went to the top of the charts and would remain there for another four weeks. USA for Africa performed the song, which was a collaboration of 47 popular artists including Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and Cyndi Lauper. The song topped both US and UK charts, and the considerable profits went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which provided relief of famine and disease in Africa. This musical charity especially helped the 1984-5 famine in Ethiopia. Music can change the world through its influence, and this is just one of many instances where it is used for charity and the overall good.

To see US for Africa perform this influential song, click below:

TWIMH: Wham!

 Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12am-2am

Over the past decades, with increases in communication and information technology, the world has become a much smaller place. Some say it started with the invention of satellites, cellular telephones, or email, but for us music history scholars, it all started with Wham! Yes, Wham!—the endeavor that made George Michael (pre-public bathroom arrests) and Andrew Ridgeley famous for wearing neon clothing and belting out tunes like “Wake Me up before You Go-Go.” On April 7^th 1985, Wham! became the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they played at the workers gymnasium in Beijing. Today, groups travel all over the world to give tours, but when the world was more divided (especially in the 80s, at the end of the Cold War), touring internationally was a big deal. Wham’s tour opened up the world for American pop artists like Britney Spears and N*SYNC to tour internationally with no hesitation and increasing enthusiasm.

TWIMH: The Beach Boys Get Around

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History-- Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12am-2am on WGTB

This is a harmonious week in music history, WGTB blog readers! On April 2nd, 1964, a little band called the Beach Boys released their record “I Get Around,” which was #1 in the US by July, selling over 2 million copies. The unique sound of the Beach Boys embodies the West Coast; we still blast “California Girls” and “Surfin’ U.S.A,” on beaches around the country. Their music is some of the easiest to boogie-down to, and the band is a major influence for musicians today.

Hear out the boys belting I Get Around below -- if you click this link, you can watch them singing it.

TWIMH: Flava Flav is Born

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

-- Alexa West, cohost of ROANOKE Mondays 12-2am on WGTB

This week in music history was a truly important one, WGTB fans. William Jonathan Drayton—better known as Flava Flave—was born on the 16^th of March in 1959. What would we do today without oversized-watch necklaces and reruns of VH1’s Flavor of Love? After being born in Freeport, Long Island, he went on to become an iconic rapper; he even created a new niche in his field, the “hypeman.” Georgetown’s spirit, affected by hormones and pop culture, would not be the same without Flava Flave and his “YEA BOYSSSS.” He is an icon for anyone who likes a to jump around and yell, whether hollering “HOYAS,” or just “FLAVA FLAVEEEE.”

To see an epic Flava Flave performance with Public Enemy, click below:

TWIMH: Biggie Smalls Killed

This Week in Music History

by Alexa West

Host, "ROANOKE," Mondays 12-2 am on WGTB

This week in music history was a grim one, my blogging friends. March 9, 1997 rap icon NOTORIOUS BIG was shot and killed. We all know him for “Juicy,” “Ready to Die,” and of course, “Big Poppa.” Fifteen days after his death, his album Life After Death came out and hit #1 on the U.S. charts. Known as the “savior of East coast hiphop” (which we eastern Hoyas should appreciate), Biggie’s influence on the rapping will never be diminished. Posters of B.I.G. will be in dorms everywhere for years to come.

Check out his music video for “Big Poppa” on YouTube:

This Week in Music History: John Lennon > Jesus

In this new weekly column from DJ Alexa West (Host, "Roanoke," Mondays 12-2 am on WGTB, we'll revisit some of music's best (and worst) moments in history. This inaugural post of TWIMH takes us to 1966. Stay tuned!

It’s 1966. Beatlemania is in full swing, “Drive my Car” is blasting nonstop on the radio, and John Lennon has created yet another scandal when he told the London Evening Standard that the Beatles “are more popular than Jesus.” (He’s lucky he didn’t say Jack the Bulldog!) There may be a lot of Beatles fans, but there are also a lot of Jesus fans, and their backlash hurt our four Liverpoolian friends and their tour that year. Radio stations in the South banned Beatles music. There were rallies of boys and girls stomping on their records and bonfires of Beatles material. John received death threats. Of course, Lennon appoligized, and the  Beatles went on to release Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, and all our other favorites.

Below, a clip of Lennon's public apology:

-- Alexa West

Host of "ROANOKE" Mondays 12am-2am