Song Critiques

Jake Loew didn't post his song so I skipped to the next one and did Jennifer Applebaum's, then Jesse Bethea's, Jesse Pontius never posted her song so I moved to Jessica Witt's song.

Brainwashed

Seth Godin’s informative piece “Brainwashed” explains the changing of the times. He tells us that we have all been brainwashed to be average and uncreative in a way. He encourages us to find our creativity and reinvent ourselves by using his seven levers. Godin’s seven levers available for anyone in search for reinvention are: connect, be generous, make art, acknowledge the lizard, ship, fail and learn.

Acknowledging the Lizard is a lever that Godin uses to explicate the resistance in us that makes us comply with orders and follow commands. According to Godin, Resistance is the panic ones gets when they are not following the rules. He also says that we must revolt against the resistance and take a risk in order to be rewarded. So rather than follow the lizard, we must acknowledge it and deny it.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I do not know one person that is happy and successful that didn’t take a chance. Acknowledging the lizard pertains to class as well. If we didn’t do all of these projects and think a little differently, we wouldn’t be creative and we wouldn’t know what we enjoy. I know that after the music project, I really enjoy producing. I am also really looking forward to this screenplay that I am writing. If I weren’t in this class, there would be no way I would be doing this. I am expressing and expanding my self, which is making me more creative in the process.

Make Art is a lever that Godin talks about that I wish everyone knew about. He says that art isn’t just painting a picture or writing a book. Art is everywhere and that everyone can do art. He says that art doesn’t follow instructions or have a manual. Instead, art is the very human act of creating the uncreated.

This is important to me because I know a lot of people that say they have no artistic ability. It makes me so angry, because they don’t understand what art is. The best definition I have ever heard of art is when Seth Godin said that is the act of creating the uncreated. This pertains to class as well. All we do is make art in class. We make music, manipulate photos, and write art. We all make art differently even though we have the same thing to do. This just shows how different everyone really is as well as how different art can be while still being art.

Soundscape Critique

The Duke of Stage Left

Sam Sucks

Shannon Mcadoo's Blog

Music Project #2

Cover Song Contest

I listen to pop punk. I love pop punk. However, I am a sucker for old girly songs, as well. Which by this blog, it is pretty easy to tell.

I’ve chosen to compare the song “Love Song” originally made by Sara Bareilles that was later covered by Four Year Strong. Although the lyrics are exactly the same, the two versions are very different. Sara Bareilles sings her version in a sassy and flirty way compared to Four Year Strong’s cover who sings it in a masculine, informative and somewhat hard way.

Four Year Strong’s version has a loud intensity with a low pitch compared to Sara Bareilles version, which has a soft intensity and a higher pitch. They both have a somewhat regular rhythm. However, Four Year Strong’s cover has a more complex timbre than Sara Bareilles original track that has more of a simple timbre. The cover done by Four Year Strong seems to have a faster speed than the other version. I think this is because of the style of music and the instrumentation. Pop punk has a faster pace with heavier instrumentals compared to the girly pop soul kind of genre that we hear from Bareilles.  Sara’s song is geared more toward the piano and her voice with more instruments in the back. In comparison, Four Year Strong’s cover version likes to use all of their instruments equally. Sara Bareilles version is also very ordered compared to FYS’s version, but the Four Year Strong version isn’t by any mean chaotic.

One of the most noticeable differences between Sara Bareilles version and Four Year Strong’s cover version is simply them. Four Year Strong is a group of huge bearded men singing in raspy voices that jump around a lot. Sara Bareilles is a beautiful swaying pianist that that makes winky faces at the camera.They are both very good versions of the same song, but to pick which one I like better is very hard. If I were comparing FYS’s cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” I would for sure pick Nirvana. If I was comparing Matchbook Romance or New Found Glory’s cover of Nine Days’ “Story of a Girl” I would choose New Found Glory. This cover however is very difficult for me. I like different things about each song. The only way I would pick one song over another is if I was in a pop punk mood or a old girly song mood. Since, I listen to a lot more pop punk than I do old girly songs, I am going to have to say that I like the original version better. It is only because I like so much pop punk that I wouldn’t really listen to this song as often as I would when I am in a old girly song mood. Sara Bareilles just hits the spot when it comes to old girly songs.

Relief Soundscape

Finding Your Howl by Jonathon Flaum Assignment

 Finding Your Howl by Jonathon Flaum

The story of Mumon is a great story of finding your true self. Mumon was a red wolf that had been in captivity because his species had been threatened to extinction. Once he was finally let back into the wild, all of the wolveshad forgotten how to howl. Mumon decided that he had to save his pack and learn how to howl. To learn this, Mumon went on a journey to the forest where he met many obstacles that he had to face in order to find his howl. This story infers to us that in order to find our specific howl, we must pay the price. We must sacrifice everything, do things we never thought we would have to do, and re create ourselves to the person we truly need to be. The story of Mumon shows that this is not an easy process, it will be scary and intense, but at the end, when we finally find our howl, there is nothing like it.

Audio Part of this Assignment (Click on it)

If you hear the audio, you'll know what this video is. Not there official video.