Thu 12/15 @ 7-9PM
First the singer is brooding in a melodramatically soft voice; then he’s yelling at you. Anyone who went to rock concerts in the 1990s remembers the sound: the sonic crescendos and dramatic drops from driving hard rock to quiet sections and back again. What initially sounded fresh in the hands of bands such as Nirvana and Soundgarden got to be pretty much a cliché, than spawned variations such as bands that had two vocalists — one to scream and one to sing — or those that alternated rap vocals with sung ones.
Someone has actually made an academic study of this, perhaps damaged by too many Our Lady Peace and Staind concerts back in the day. Musicologist Dr. Theo Cateforis, an associate professor at Syracuse University, has packaged his findings in a lecture called “Soft/Loud,” which he’ll present at the Rock Hall’s Foster Theatre on Thursday December 15.
Calling it “one of the genres and era’s strongest sonic markers,” he explores possible precursors to the sound, including ’60s and ’70s classic rock, and those annoying ’80s power ballads, which often started with a sparsely accompanied vocal before exploding into arena-rock grandeur.
The lecture is part of a series co-sponsored by the American Musicological Society and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to bring scholarly work to non-academic audience. It’s free.
For more info, visit rockhall-softloud-lecture-dr-theo-cateforis.