This project was to create 2 songs with a partner, where each person creates their own song. Then the goal is so make each song share one listening phase, while keeping another listening phase different.
You can listen to my partner's song here.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Brainwashed
“Brainwashed: 7 Ways to Reinvent Yourself” – Seth Godin
Acknowledge the Lizard
The main point of this layer is to recognize what is holding you back. Seth talks about how there is a part in your brain that will shut down at the first sign of fear. Fear of anything, really. He explains that artists believe most of the time that this ‘resistance’ is the one thing that separates them from their art. I think this is a very interesting stance; it is something you hear all the time, but rarely listen to yourself. It seems obvious that in order to conquer something you have to face it, but he suggests acknowledging what you know is there so that you can overcome it and come out better in the end.
Learn
This pillar sums up the fact that in order to accomplish the other layers, you need to complete this one. However, he explains that you don’t complete this one. You are always learning, no matter who you are, how old you are, or where you are. I like how he describes (pretty much) that school is anything you choose to do, the only thing that matters is that you’re learning while you do so, so that you can accomplish the other layers in the manifesto, and think differently.
I think both of these layers are connected to the blog for the quarter. They both make me a better person in general (if I follow them) because, as the author describes, they challenge you to think about something that you might not have thought of before. I think the page about learning is obvious, and I think in order to keep up with the world you have to keep learning, or you will get left behind. I think the other suggestion is also obvious, but in a way that most people say they try when they really don’t. It seems like it means the same thing as having confidence in yourself, because then you are more likely to do what feels right, rather than what you feel like you have to do because someone else tells you so.
Exploration of Cover Songs
Queen/David Bowie - Under Pressure (1981)
The Used/My Chemical Romance - Under Pressure (2005)
One of the main comparisons between the two songs are the lyrics, which are the same in each band’s version. The cover song follows the same basic melody of the original, and you can hear what sounds like music from the original in the background, but I’m not sure if that’s original music or them playing. The most notable change in melody for me is the very beginning, and I was surprised not to hear it in the cover version. Near the end however, there is a change in the melody, and to me it sounds like something you would expect to hear from The Used or My Chemical Romance. The timbre of the singers also makes the song different for me, because the artists both have such different voices. The vocals come in pretty different, and the newer version seems to be sung more like it’s spoken, where the original has follows the rhythm of the music. The other change in timber is the actual sound of their voices. Freddie Mercury from Queen has a much higher voice than the singers from The Used and My Chemical Romance.
To me, the tension and release of the songs are similar, and at the same parts lyrically, but use different instrumentation at those points in the song (middle-end). Where I expect to hear the same rhythm in the background, it seems different, and I notice myself still expecting to hear the melody and vocal cues in the same places. The speed in each song is also different as well. The Queen version seems more drawn out and relaxed, even during the parts where the song builds up intensity. The new version seems quicker and sped up in certain parts. You don’t even have to listen to the songs at the same time to realize one seems shorter than the other; the cover version is about a minute shorter than the original. If you do listen to the songs at the same time, or try to, you realize that the pauses in vocals are shortened, and the instrumentation in the background also makes the whole songs timbre sound different as well. As for the contrast and affinity of the songs, I feel like they are more similar than different. They may sound fairly different up front, but I think The Used and My Chemical Romance try to deliver a convincing cover for a classic song. They make the song their own and create an affinity by changing some of the instrumentation, and generally because of the difference in their voices and how the lyrics are delivered.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Soundscape Project
The emotion we were given for our project was An "Ah-Ha" Moment. My partner Jillian and I decided to use the story of how an idea comes to to life as our focus. The essence of the sound scape is that the image starts off black and white with darker sound in the background, then as the track goes on there are sparks of color, until you eventually hit that moment of epiphany and the idea comes through, with a more peaceful or successful feeling done with different sound.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Find Your Howl
“Finding Your Howl” – Jonathon Flaum
I think the story that Flaum references about the tiger is really interesting, especially considering the fact that it was written in 5th grade by one of his classmates (if it’s a true story). He describes the cage the tiger was “trapped” in and how much he wanted to escape. Once he finally got the courage to he jumped and landed in another cage at another zoo. I think this story is relatable to anyone who is struggling with a problem they are having. They think the easiest thing to do is just “jump the fence” or run away from the problem instead of dealing with it. In the story, the tiger quickly learns that there is no running away, and his problem just keeps following him wherever he goes. The meaning of this that Flaum is trying to explain is that you have to face your problems, and deal with them face to face, because there is no solution in running away, and there is nowhere to run away to. In order for the cage to die away, Flaum explains, the tiger would have to die as well, because they are connected. To me, the moral of the story is that even though you feel like you are trapped dealing with a certain problem, you have to deal with it or else you will spend a lifetime running from something that will follow you forever, when you could face the problem and deal with the situation to have it end happily.
Favorite quote:
(the first image is the source of my quote)
Video: One quote that really inspires me in the work that I do is “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” by Emerson. Even though it’s not very long, it speaks to me because it is a simple statement with a lot of meaning. Thinking about that quote makes me put more emotion into the work that I create. I can tell from looking at a final project whether I was enthusiastic about it or not, because it shows in the final product. This quote means a lot to me because I feel like in order to create something worthwhile, you have to put a part of yourself into it, and once you do that, it also becomes a part of you. It makes it seem like making something you don’t put enthusiasm into is a waste of time, because you won’t create anything worth showing to someone else, and that is what the process is all about.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ways to Get Ideas
“14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas” – Mitch Ditkoff
The main point Ditkoff is trying to make in this article is that there are many valid and effective ways of creating innovative ideas. He talks about how everyone wants innovation and new, exciting ideas, but no one can come up with them. Because of this, he gives 14 ways that will help people come up with new ideas, and since everyone works differently from someone else, there are multiple ways of approaching each idea. I think that most of Ditkoff’s suggestions are valid, because they teach you to look at something in a different perspective, which is often all a person needs to come up with a great new idea.
Suggestion 2: Immerse
I think this is a great suggestion, and I think it is something that everyone should be given time to do; not something you have to struggle to find time for. I know if I set my mind to it I could make time and work around other things to make time for other projects, but its so much easier to get lost in mounds of school work hoping I’ll be able to sleep at some point during the week. I still think about all the other projects I have that I would like to work on, but just can’t seem to find the time to sit down and do it. I think it’s great that companies like Google and 3M give their employees time to immerse in projects that might not seem “related” to the job. The employees can spend time focusing on something they really enjoy, and when they get back to work will most likely be much more productive because of the time they were given, instead of daydreaming about how they wished they had time to immerse themselves in the fantasy birdhouse they’ve always wanted. This would really help me in my creative life because I feel that if I set aside time for me to work on something else I would feel less tempted to half-ass the other work I was doing just so I could get it done and move on to the next thing.
Suggestion 5: Fantasize
Even though this is a great way to come up with an idea, most people just shrug it off as unworthy and a silly thing to waste your time on. However, I think there is real value in someone who can fantasize a goal about something, then really use those ideas and put them in motion. Without people like that we would have a stifling low number of great innovations in the world. I think it’s so unfortunate that children feel like they have to give up their imagination when they grow up, because it gets in the way of things like standardized testing and schoolwork. I can definitely admit that I envy other kid’s abilities to imagine crazy things and believe in them. I remember those times when I was a kid, and how easy it was to come up with anything, and how hard it is for me to do that now without people thinking I’m crazy. This would also be helpful because it gives you a chance to really do what you want and not care about the outcome. I would be more likely to think of more diverse ideas and create things that I’ve never seen before.
Suggestion 10: Hang out with diverse groups of people
Again, this is another one of Ditkoff’s ideas I really enjoy. I feel like in my subconscious it’s an obvious answer, but something I would always look past when given the opportunity. Being the socially awkward person I believe myself to be, I think my struggle with this suggestion is that I would be too nervous telling people I don’t know very well ideas that I was seriously considering. My first worry would be that I would just be ridiculed and would lose all confidence in my thoughts. However, in all reality, I think the opposite would probably happen. Because these new people don’t know how I think, they are more likely to give me ideas of their own that I would have never thought of and therefore give me new opportunities to create good ideas.
Do it – Suggestion 4: Make new connections
Nouns:
Computer
Cell phone
Pencil
Coffee mug
Flower
Amusement park
Shoe
Book
Apartment
Chair
Verbs:
Run
Sit
Climb
Make
Twist
Jump
Grow
Search
Type
Swim
Adjectives:
Tall
Short
Blue
Long
Dry
Hairy
Clean
Fuzzy
Red
Entertaining
A fuzzy coffee cup that stays clean.
A chair that twists covered in fuzz.
An entertaining apartment you can swim in.
A chair that can climb red walls is entertaining.
It is rare to see a clean growing amusement park.
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