What Is Period Music?

How Specific Do You We Need To Get?

Can you envision a time when we look fondly back on the early 2010s and sigh as we listen to an ear piercing Dubstep track? Or perhaps the question should be, what style of music would best define this era? As we progress and diverge as a society with music becoming as equally diverse by preference, the media we choose to consume and lifestyle choices, is there a unifying song—or musical style—that will define all of us moving forward?

We at CSS Music keep abreast of the traditional/standard eras that comprise the genre known as Period Music. For example, a track like Vivaldi’s “Spring From The Four Seasons” (Digital Ditties 3) immediately transports us to a European garden party in the early 1700s. Or a cut such as “Blues Around The Clock” (Super Themes 29) takes us to the early 1950’s and the beginnings of Rock ‘n Roll. Or a song like “More Cowbell” (Target Trax 63) will send you back to an early 1970s outdoor rock concert.

But as we look at our new century, what songs/music genres will immediately evoke a sense of say, the year 2004? At CSS Music, our immediate choice would be the infectious “Hey Ya!” from Outkast. But surprisingly, Usher’s “Yeah!” topped the Billboard^® charts that year. While “Hey Ya!” played on nearly every radio format save Country, if you only listen to Adult Contemporary radio, you may have never heard “Yeah!”

Perhaps your job these days as a Music Supervisor or Editor is to drill down into the statistics of your audience. If you’re producing an outdoor show and want to reference 2004, maybe a music track that evokes the feel of Big & Rich’s “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” would resonate more with your viewers since it was a big Country hit.

What was once defined as Period Music may now be parsed into sub genres so specific that even a music style as broad based as Pop may yield three or four different results, depending on a very narrow breakdown of demographics. Or we can hope for a song like “I’m So Happy” that crossed over to nearly every radio format a few years ago. Without that, be prepared to really put on your thinking cap when trying to capture nostalgia in the future!

K.I.S.S. with Royalty Free Music

Why Simple Music Often Works Best

Everyone is familiar with the Keep It Simple, Stupid acronym. And oftentimes, this is the exact motto we at CSS Music adhere to when creating a new music track. While the composer may want to show off his/her years of experience with a complex composition, there’s an art to making music that is very simple, lightly orchestrated and will work beautifully with a scene weighed down with dialog, B roll sound effects or lots of edits.

To best illustrate this, we’ll look at a few CSS Music tracks that embrace the K.I.S.S. principal. For example, “Red Rhino” (Super Themes 74) consists of a techno-electro groove comprised of four-on-the-floor kick, a light sequenced melody and unobtrusive bass. There are also sections where the music “breaks down” to give you areas that easily loop. Or when you want more of a rural feeling, “Billy Bob Bayou” (Target Trax 65) offers a laid back Country-swamp feel with an acoustic guitar and simple dobro licks. If you need something more Alt-Folk with Pop crossover appeal, “Happy Simple Breezy” (Project Platinum 18) gives you a child-like track with acoustic guitar, bells and banjo. There are also a couple special cues and a no melody mix with this track. If your scene calls for a darker, more wistful mood, “The Early Years” (Super Themes 31) delivers a thoughtful, introspective—and simple—acoustic guitar based track with lots of emotion.

If you’d like to audition these simpler pieces of music, simply type in “simple” in our Build-A-Search by Keyword window. You’ll find an excellent selection of understated compositions that show off the CSS Music composers’ diverse ability to write simple, effective and highly usable music.

Pumping Up The Impact

How To Use CSS Royalty Free Music’s Film Music To Heighten Your Show’s Power

Is there anything that gets your blood pumping more than an action scene in a movie that is underscored with bombastic music that builds, then drops to a simple rhythmic groove, and then crashes back in as the scene evolves? Why couldn’t you use the principal filmmakers rely on to add some ear candy to your reality television show?

At CSS Music we’re blessed to have the unbelievably talented film composers David and Eric Wurst contributing to our library. Having scored over 60 films, this brother team really knows how to write exciting movie music and they’ve contributed some terrific tracks that you can use in your next show.

But you may be wondering how to make film music work in your show. Let’s say you have a situation where your characters are driving somewhere in search of something. Your immediate go-to music would probably be an upbeat travel track. But if instead you tried something like “Chasing Evil” (Super Themes 77) the mood would suddenly change to dark and driving (pun intended.) Even if the trip your characters are taking is lighthearted, this dramatic track will lend as sense of tongue-in-cheek humor.

Or another situation: someone on the show has performed some sort of heroic feat or did something nice for someone. Try a halo visual effect on the “hero” and use “Epic Fight.” (Super Themes 80)  Try the short version--the uplifting thematic will immediately conjure an image of a hero. Again, even if the action this person performed is mundane, the halo effect and this music will give you cheeky fun.

As we’ve said many times in these blogs, CSS Music loves films and the music that brings them to life. It may seem a little outside the box to juxtapose great film music to an unremarkable scene, but at the same time, it will definitely perk up your viewer’s ears. And in this age of so much competition, isn’t that something you want your show to do?

Technology Marches On

Getting The Most Out Of The CSS Royalty FreeMusic Library For High Tech Shows

As we’ve mentioned, CSS Music began primarily as a library for the AV-Video market of the 1980’s. And since that time, we’ve enhanced this category with new takes on this wide-ranging genre. But the question becomes: What exactly constitutes Technology music? Does it have to be comprised of tightly quantized synthesizer or washes of billowing evolving tones? Is there still a place in your shows for some old school sounds or perhaps a modern take using orchestral instruments?

While traditionally synthesized music will always work well, may we suggest listening to a few tunes from the CSS Music library that might work as well while giving you a new perspective?  For example, “Technota in D” (Project Platinum 21) uses an arpeggio piano figure, strings and power guitar while still putting one in mind of technology with a Classical twist. Or “Age Of Exploration” (Super Themes 25) where a tympani rhythm drives the music while a brass-like synthesizer delivers the melody. When you want a more contemporary feel, “Industrial Firepower” (Super Themes 42) uses rock guitar with 1980s-style drums with a definite nod to the melodic figures of that era.

When you’re looking for something quirky, “Happy Science” (Max Trax 50) combines sections of traditional technology sequencers with smatterings of swirling string section runs and a melody/harmonic progression that has a 1960’s vibe. This catchy track also jumps between a rock groove to a double time feel. Need something more sci-fi with video game appeal? Audition “Virtual Warriors” (Super Themes 27) and imagine this track underscoring your scene.

If you click on “Technology” from our Hand Picked Genre/Category Hot Lists search engine you’ll see 46 pages of very diverse industrial/technology tracks from the CSS Music library—and that’s a lot of music! We still pride ourselves on creating very strong music to service the AV-Video market while working to give you both traditional synth/sequencer tracks as well as those that incorporate new thinking using orchestral and rock elements/arrangements. When it comes to music for technological shows, we think CSS Music has it in spades!

That’s All, Folk!

What Exactly Is Folk Music Today

When you think of Folk music you might call to mind images of a 1960’s coffee house with a small stage crowded with turtle neck-dressed musicians wailing about the woes of the world. Bands like The Kingston Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, Peter, Paul & Mary or The Seekers were household names and even charted with some hit songs. We at CSS Royalty Free Music have a warm place in our hearts for this simple music genre and we’ll deconstruct the original form and where Folk music is today.

These early groups wrote/performed very simple music, usually comprised of three or four chords and unornamented melodies. The Seekers did begin to break the mold with their very poppy hits like “Georgy Girl,” “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “A World Of Our Own” that introduced catchy melodies and great vocals. Being from Australia may have contributed to their sound…or perhaps they had a visionary A&R person picking their music. Today’s bands like Fleet Foxes, Of Monsters and Men, Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers have evolved the Folk sound by introducing new melodic structure that deliver very singable themes.

Where the original Folk orchestrations used only acoustic guitar and perhaps an upright bass, these new artists are bringing in drums/percussion, mandolins, banjos, accordions, electric bass guitar and other non-folk instruments. And with these additional instruments, the music gurus have decided to deem these bands Indie Pop, Folk Rock or Alt Folk.

CSS Music has a variety of the modern Folk genres. Tunes like “Rolling Home,” (PowerTrax 28) “A Road Trip Quietly” (PowerTrax 33) or “Road Trip Anthem” (PowerTrax 34) will make you want to put on your flannel shirt and funky-cool hat.   If you want the vibe of traditional Folk, something like “Down Home Acoustic,” (Repo-File Plus 42) “Family Reunion” which also has a vocal version, (PowerTrax 37) “Memories We Made,” (Super Themes 37) or for some 1970’s flair, “Box Sliding.” (Back Trax 4) Yes, we fondly salute the Folk pioneers of the 1960s and we know you guys/gals need lots of the newer sounds. Take a tour of our Folk collection by choosing “Folk” from our Keyword Alpha Lists or simply type It in to our Bulid-A-Search. Happy hunting!

What Was With The 1970’s?

When Silence Is Golden…and When It’s A Clear Miss

In a previous blog we mentioned the brilliance of The French Connection and Director William Friedkin’s excellent use of sound design to underscore a chase scene. And another film of that era, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation utilized music sparingly to heighten the story’s tension.

But one that could have been seriously enhanced with music was Al Pacino (first starring role) in Panic In Needle Park. This story of a affable heroin junkie had absolutely no music. In fact, there was no composer listed in the opening credits! And quite honestly, with it’s tragic story arc, we at CSS Music believe this movie would have evoked a lot more emotion had they scored it—even sparingly, with music.

Perhaps the problem with Panic in Needle Park may have been in editing. As we noted with The French Connection, the action was quickly edited and the street/train sounds made the tension so palatable you could taste it. The action in Needle Park was edited in a more traditional fashion and without music to literally move the movie along, it sometimes felt like more of a documentary.

Now, we at CSS Music are huge Al Pacino fans and his performance was outstanding. In fact, Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed that he hired Pacino to play the iconic role of Michael Corleone, his next film, in one of the greatest films of all time, The Godfather.

Your mission as a music editor or supervisor is to decide when music should be used and when natural ambiance better serves the scene. We know that editing to a music track makes your work go faster, but maybe take a cue from the 1970s and try creating tension or excitement by using fast edits and let the background sounds be the underscore. Not that we’re suggesting not incorporating the excellent music from the CSS  Royalty Free Music library! Just put the idea in the back of your mind when you need a fresh take on something that was popular in the 70s.

Trending The Trends

What’s Hot in Music This Week/Month/Year?

As we’ve previously discussed in this blog, music for AV/Video seems to evolve from  1). What national advertisers have embraced and 2). That music usually is a derivative of current Pop music trends. We here at CSS Royalty Free Music keep our ears tuned to both the radio and television advertising.  But we are also strong proponents of creating music that might be the next new trend, or even better, going back to material from our earlier years to explore vintage sounds.

Think about this: Dubstep music was born out of video games, dance clubs and eventually made its way into action films and television commercials. But where is it today? Sure, you’ll hear elements from the genre—wuba bass, quarter note triplet figures and synthesizer figures. But the ear-bleeding screeches and wild and crazy “drops” are pretty much history.

On the other hand: What we used to consider Funk— James Brown. George Clinton, Kool & The Gang, Prince et al has made a major resurgence thanks to Bruno Mars. Is the music he presents substantially different from that of the iconic Funk Masters? Nope. If anything, the sound pays homage to the genre with the slap bass, syncopated horn licks and surprise pauses. Had Bruno Mars  “Uptown Funk” been played on late 1960s radio, it would have not only fit in perfectly, it would also have been a hit.

Also: There’s Alt Country and Alt Folk, genres that evolved from the Indie musician movement. From artists like Ryan Adams to Old 97’s to Steve Earle to the Avett Brothers to Lucinda Williams, this music has raw emotionality and no-frills production. Yet when you listen to the instrumental sections—which you guys will be most concerned with—the arrangements and orchestrations are still pretty much traditional Country or Bluegrass and could come from nearly any era.

So when you’re trying to freshen up your next show, take a few moments to explore some of the earlier tracks—usually meaning first volumes—from the CSS Music library. We believe you’ll find some gems that may have whiskers but may now be cool enough for prime time. You’ll also find a surfeit of older material in Repo-File Potpourri. There’s even a nice laid back track entitled “Funk” that’s still timeless today!