Mike Mytnick's Song
And here is the link to my critique, but to warn you, I'm really sick and it sounds awful.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Week 4 Response to "Brainwashed"
"Brainwashed" by Seth Godin
Acknowledging the Lizard Summary
To me, this section of the story was talking about the creative process and having faith in it. It beings with explains what a lizard brain is, "It's the part of our brain that worries about safety and dishes out anger. Being laughed at is the lizard's worst nightmare. And so it shuts down our art." He continues to explain that this resistance we feel to rejection is the only aspect standing between us and our art, and we need to demolish this barrier of fear of rejection to be able to succeed in the world today.
Make Art
This sectioned of the article was my personal favorite because, lately, I have been getting worried. I was sitting through media class after media class, and I would call my friends who attend different colleges and they would ask me what I was did today. My answer would be something along the lines of, "I watched Family Guy... in class" or "I listened to Girl Talk... in class". They would laugh on the other end and remark about how awesome my schedule is and how easy my classes are and I would listen to them laugh and I would think, "I'm not learning anything..." But creating art is a learning process; it's not a waste of time. Being creative is an important part of today, where everyone is battling new technologies and ideas. But, it becomes very easy to forget that when the person beside you is studying chemistry and you're studying sound types.
I think "Making Art" is already occurring with the projects we've been creating in class. And, along with making art, comes the "Acknowledging the Lizard". By forcing ourselves to do the media projects, we are creating, and then by publishing them online and receiving critiques, we are opening ourselves up and making rejection a possibility and accepting it. By doing both of these suggestions, a person can hope to be a better artist and possibly professional. However, in some ways, becoming a better student might not have a lot to do with art. It depends what you are studying.
Acknowledging the Lizard Summary
To me, this section of the story was talking about the creative process and having faith in it. It beings with explains what a lizard brain is, "It's the part of our brain that worries about safety and dishes out anger. Being laughed at is the lizard's worst nightmare. And so it shuts down our art." He continues to explain that this resistance we feel to rejection is the only aspect standing between us and our art, and we need to demolish this barrier of fear of rejection to be able to succeed in the world today.
Make Art
This sectioned of the article was my personal favorite because, lately, I have been getting worried. I was sitting through media class after media class, and I would call my friends who attend different colleges and they would ask me what I was did today. My answer would be something along the lines of, "I watched Family Guy... in class" or "I listened to Girl Talk... in class". They would laugh on the other end and remark about how awesome my schedule is and how easy my classes are and I would listen to them laugh and I would think, "I'm not learning anything..." But creating art is a learning process; it's not a waste of time. Being creative is an important part of today, where everyone is battling new technologies and ideas. But, it becomes very easy to forget that when the person beside you is studying chemistry and you're studying sound types.
I think "Making Art" is already occurring with the projects we've been creating in class. And, along with making art, comes the "Acknowledging the Lizard". By forcing ourselves to do the media projects, we are creating, and then by publishing them online and receiving critiques, we are opening ourselves up and making rejection a possibility and accepting it. By doing both of these suggestions, a person can hope to be a better artist and possibly professional. However, in some ways, becoming a better student might not have a lot to do with art. It depends what you are studying.
Week 3 Soundscape Reflection
Links to the critiqued songs:
Mike Giles' Song
Jason Flood's Song
Chris Faust's Song
And here is my audio reflection:
Soundscape Reflection
Mike Giles' Song
Jason Flood's Song
Chris Faust's Song
And here is my audio reflection:
Soundscape Reflection
Week 3 Cover Songs
The two songs I chose are the original version and cover of "Toxic" by:
Comparing these two songs is quite easy, because they are so vastly different. Yes, all the lyrics are the same, but the different tempos and instruments and beats used creates a whole new emotion from a very “poppy” song. The affinity between the two songs is the lyrics, melody, and organization while the contrast between the two songs is the difference in quality, specifically the intensity, pitches, and speed.
To begin with what is alike in the two songs, it’s predictable to say the lyrics, because Yael Naim is covering Britney’s song, not changing it. Also, the melody, or the main beat of the song, the part you hum, is also similar so that Britney’s song is still her work and Naim was able to tweak her version to fit her personal style. This is where the two begin to diverge. The songs are organized in the exact same way that might look something like:
Introduction / Verse 1 / Bridge / Chorus / Verse 2 / Bridge / Chorus / Solo / Chorus / Finale
Though Britney’s is three minutes and twenty-eight seconds and Yael Naim’s is four minutes and thirty-four seconds, the songs still have an identical structure. The songs are definitely not chaotic, they are both very organized.
The intensity of Britney’s song is vastly different than Naim’s. Britney’s song is loud and intense to fit her genre of dance of music, while Naim’s version has a lot softer tones. This is done because the songs are created by different artists; Britney is known for her poppy beats written usually for teenage to young girls while Naim writes for an older, more mature crowd. Going along with intensity, the pitches vary too to create different emotions. Britney’s pitch is very high, her singing and her notes and beats and instruments and computer-generated material, while Naim remains on a lower pitch. The speed is the same as pitch and intensity in that it fits the artists’ normal genre for music: Britney and Pop, Naim and Alternative. Naim’s is slowed greatly to fit the creepy vibe her song exudes and could be called “andante”, while Britney’s song is fast and could be referred to as, “allegro”.
I actually do like Britney’s version; I do know it is some god-awful pop song created by synthesized instruments, however, I have a fond spot for this artist that I grew up listening. However, as much as I enjoy Britney’s, Naim’s feels like the better choice because it exudes a much creeper feeling, and I love her voice. The songs are both very different and, in my opinion, both very good, but obviously for two vastly different moods.
Songs Assignment
For the song assignment, my partner, Emily Zink, and I picked a main instrument, the bagpipes, to be included in both of our very different songs.
Emily Zink
Alexa Krivoniak
Emily Zink
Alexa Krivoniak
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
2 Response to Find Your Howl
To read the story, Finding Your Howl, here is the link: http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/51.01.YourHowl
The first story, which is more a poem, is about a wolf who has lost his howl. At least, that's what it appears to be about on the surface. The wolf's search symbolizes our own search for what we're passionate about, what sparks our imagination, what drives us, what our purpose on this earth is. At first, Mumon feels disgraced because he is a wild animal and because he has no howl. When he kills a deer in the woods, he feels guilty because of it. He does not want to kill to survive, even though he is a wolf. I think this might mean that we as people might have to do things that we do not want to in order to be who we have to be. We need to make sacrifices to reach a goal because we are humans and these are the steps we must take. A raven talks to Mumon and tells him to listen to the bones of the animal he just killed, and don't listen with your ears, but listen with your soul. And Mumon does and he is transported into the past when a tribe worshipped him and he finds his howl. My favorite line is, "Captivity is the dream and freedom was the real experience." I think Flaum's main point is that to find your own howl, or purpose, you need to listen further than your ears, you must search every part of you, even memories that are drenched in shame or embarssement or sadness. Sometimes, the memories that are soaked in the most emotion hold the key to unlocking our true selves. Maybe that is what Flaum is saying.
The poem I'm using for the audio portion is: http://hidden-release.tripod.com/perks_of_being_a_wallflower_poem.html . However, the audio is not working so I'll just write out what I was going to say. This poem is really Emo, I know, but I like it because I love that book and this poem is a pretty influential part of the story. When I read that we had to read a poem, my mind jumped to this because I recently reread the book over break and it was one of my favorites when I was younger. I always thought the book was about pain and hatred and how much being a teenager sucked, but this time I read it and I thought differently. It’s about finding out who you are, and what a great and exciting and awkward time that is. Anyway, this poem kind of follows those same lines. You read it and it’s awful and you know it’s about suicide, but it’s not just about suicide. It’s about how easy life seems at first and the more you think and experience and do, the more challenging it becomes to live. I don’t know, I sound pretty morbid in this post…
The first story, which is more a poem, is about a wolf who has lost his howl. At least, that's what it appears to be about on the surface. The wolf's search symbolizes our own search for what we're passionate about, what sparks our imagination, what drives us, what our purpose on this earth is. At first, Mumon feels disgraced because he is a wild animal and because he has no howl. When he kills a deer in the woods, he feels guilty because of it. He does not want to kill to survive, even though he is a wolf. I think this might mean that we as people might have to do things that we do not want to in order to be who we have to be. We need to make sacrifices to reach a goal because we are humans and these are the steps we must take. A raven talks to Mumon and tells him to listen to the bones of the animal he just killed, and don't listen with your ears, but listen with your soul. And Mumon does and he is transported into the past when a tribe worshipped him and he finds his howl. My favorite line is, "Captivity is the dream and freedom was the real experience." I think Flaum's main point is that to find your own howl, or purpose, you need to listen further than your ears, you must search every part of you, even memories that are drenched in shame or embarssement or sadness. Sometimes, the memories that are soaked in the most emotion hold the key to unlocking our true selves. Maybe that is what Flaum is saying.
The poem I'm using for the audio portion is: http://hidden-release.tripod.com/perks_of_being_a_wallflower_poem.html . However, the audio is not working so I'll just write out what I was going to say. This poem is really Emo, I know, but I like it because I love that book and this poem is a pretty influential part of the story. When I read that we had to read a poem, my mind jumped to this because I recently reread the book over break and it was one of my favorites when I was younger. I always thought the book was about pain and hatred and how much being a teenager sucked, but this time I read it and I thought differently. It’s about finding out who you are, and what a great and exciting and awkward time that is. Anyway, this poem kind of follows those same lines. You read it and it’s awful and you know it’s about suicide, but it’s not just about suicide. It’s about how easy life seems at first and the more you think and experience and do, the more challenging it becomes to live. I don’t know, I sound pretty morbid in this post…
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