Questlove To Teach 'Classic Albums' Course At NYU: Syllabus Will Include MJ's Off the Wall

[billyworld99]

Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson will soon be adding another job to his exhaustive list of titles: professor. The Roots' and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon drummer will be joining Universal Music Enterprises vice president of A&R and Grammy winning reissues producer Harry Weinger to co-teach a course titled 'Classic Albums' at the Clive Davis Institue for Recorded Music at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts this coming Spring semester.

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The two credit class will focus on the concept of what it means for something to be called classic or seminal, as well as take a close look at the music, lyrics, production, business aspects -- such as promotion and marketing -- that informed the release and reception of the album, and try to provide a context as to why these albums have stood the test of time, according to Jason King, associate professor of recorded music and head of history and criticism at the Institute, who confirmed the course.



The class is expected to look at albums by Sly & The Family Stone (Stand!, There's A Riot Goin' On), Aretha Franklin (Lady Soul), Led Zeppelin (IV), Prince (Dirty Mind), Michael Jackson (Off The Wall), and the Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique), among others.





"We wanted to bring [?uestlove] in because we felt he should really be a professor; in a lot of ways he already is an informal, unofficial professor, not just in hip hop but in music in general," King told Billboard.biz. "He's one of the smartest people in music, besides being a fantastic musician. We thought [this class] would speak to his strengths."



The idea for the class came out of an NPR blog post over the summer from intern Austin Cooper, who wrote about Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back as part of NPR's series asking interns to review "classic albums they'd never heard before." Cooper's rather dismissive take on the early hip-hop standard-bearer prompted ?uestlove to respond in the comments, saying "ur (sic) job is to find out why" classic records are considered as such by researching and uncovering the context in which they were first released. That prompted King to reach out to both ?uestlove and Weinger with the idea for the course.

Weinger has produced, mixed, and edited liner notes for classic Motown reissues, James Brown's back catalog (including the 4-disc box set Star Time) and the Verve Music catalog, and a number of funk and soul classic compilations, as well as being named an "honorary Temptation" by original group members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. He has taught classes on James Brown, the Motown Legacy, and Stevie Wonder for the Clive Davis Institute.



And ?uestlove has worked with both Weinger and the Institute before, though this is his first time as a professor, serving as a guest speaker for various classes and as the closing keynote speaker for the EMP Pop Conference in 2012.

"[?uestlove] really does represent this hybrid figure in the music industry at this point, this person who is a musician, has social media abilities, is an archivist, has an incredible music mind, and really understands the history of music in a way that you would previously only expect from music journalists," said King. "So it's exciting to have him in this position doing something that in many ways comes naturally to him."

Other courses that are currently offered in the Fall semester include a course on Apple taught by Evolver.fm's Eliot Van Buskirk, a Freddie Mercury course taught by King, and a look at the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland album taught by Ashley Kahn.



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ear...-course-379478

[respect77]

Always great to see Michael's music being discussed in a serious manner.

[helena22]

I wish I could study in this class
I think it ain't just about recording techniques, but also about the culture at large when the album came out. I believe that's the way to go.
Hopefully we'll see a portion of it on youtube.

[Paris78]

http://music.yahoo.com/news/questlov...ing-stone.html

Questlove Gives NYU Students a Crash Course on Michael Jackson

Professor Ahmir Khalib Thompson – a.k.a. Questlove from the Roots – returns to the studio at New York University after a brief break. His course, Topics in Recorded Music: Classic Albums, runs close to three hours each week. As he walks back into the room, Michael Jackson hooks blare from the studio speakers. He switches them with "Starlight," the original recording of MJ's "Thriller" before "it got all Halloween," as he puts it.

His signature Afro is tucked into a knit cap; he's wearing a Fishbone hoodie and working off two MacBook Pros simultaneously. Thompson is flanked by co-professor Harry Weinger, industry veteran and current VP of A&R of Universal Music Enterprises, UMG's catalog reissue division. Weinger is fiddling with the soundboard while their T.A. queues up the next track. "I don't usually play songs in full," Thompson says, letting "Starlight" ride out a little longer than he's accustomed.

This week the students in Thompson's class are learning about Jackson's Off the Wall, the pivotal project for the late superstar, who turned 21 at the time and left the comfort of his family band for a solo career. It's apropos, as the median age of the student in the class is about 21 – though translating an era that's further than a faint memory could seem like a daunting task, even for someone as passionate about his craft as Thompson. He approaches the course from a storytelling angle – he doesn't pontificate about the genius of Quincy Jones and other legends who are arguably his peers. He addresses the students directly (later even making plans to see them on a weekend), aware that this might be his only shot at bringing an analog love of music to a digital generation.

Now, four weeks into the course, Thompson appears to have hit his stride. If he trails off into a music fugue, Weinger reels him back in. When Weinger journeys too far into the business aspect, Thompson drops in some musical darlings. It's a perfect balance, and the class appreciates it. Prior to the first day, Thompson purchased an iPod Nano for every student and filled it with an extensive history of music. If he included a hip-hop track, he'd also load the sample it leaned on. That little gift of music ran him in excess of $5,000. The students get to keep their iPods when they finish the seven-week course.

The crux of "Michael Jackson Day" includes hearing original demos (a USB drive was sent to Thompson while on the set for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon as a 40th birthday gift). It's near the end of the lesson that things come together. Thompson plays the studio sessions in which Jackson sang "She's Out of My Life." Jackson had recently been dumped by actress Tatum O'Neal for his lack of intimacy – and as he's singing the song in the studio, he starts to cry. It might be the most vulnerable sound to ever come from him, and he apologizes on tape for "messing that up."

Thompson explains that Jackson used that vulnerability to his advantage during live shows, playing a clip as proof. "It's very rare that you can just bullseye a moment where you get to be that vulnerable and that wide-open, and just human," he says to the class, "which isn't necessarily the first thought that comes to mind when most people think of Michael Jackson." He then offers up what most professors can't provide – artist perspective.

"Part of the troubling mission of postmodern black entertainers is the need to be seen as human beings," he explains, running through a list of typical black male performance stereotypes. The class is fixated. This role is a perfect fit – one that will probably carry into future courses.

"I was curious to see if the caricature that Michael Jackson morphed into is still in your head when you hear this record, or do these moments where he allows his human side to come – do you guys feel a little different now that you've heard it in this way?" Thompson asks. The class nods with a resounding "Yes!"

"Mission accomplished," Weinger says.

[marebear]

That's good. He was in the bad25 documentary too right?

[Paris78]

That's good. He was in the bad25 documentary too right?

yes

[PurdyYungThang84]

::makes googly starry eyes::

I've always loved ?uestlove <3.

[Loneman1]

This is really cool news........gotta say I prefer OTW to Thriller......both are great, but OTW I think is the real musical masterpiece that Michael created, and should be treated and talked about as such.

[laurenjayne]

This is so cool, would have been great to have gone to that class

[Loneman1]

This is so cool, would have been great to have gone to that class

Seriously!! Around here in Utah, there is NO ONE that wants to talk serious MJ stuff. I'd love to find a fellow fan around here that really knows his stuff.........if it was a chick, I'd probably ask her to marry me.

[laurenjayne]

^ haha, it is a shame when you can't find big fans around, theres always the 'I like his music but not him' type of people lol In denial maybe...?

[Bubs]

^^Closet fans, they are scared to say out loud that they like/love Michael's music

[laurenjayne]

^ Yep theres so many of them around!

[Paris78]

Questlove Jenkins ‏@questlove 5h

YES!!!! @Jacksons fans click THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://youtu.be/Vx4h_iYu_Qw

FOR MJ RECORDING WITH HIS BROTHERS. Magic!

11 minutes footage of The Jacksons giving a small interview and recording the song Jump For Joy from their 1977 album "Goin' Places" in Sigma Sound Studios.