Blog #12 -- Sun Ra

I thought that Sun Ra was an unique and enlightening musician. While his philosophical "equations" are definitely something to ponder about, I will focus more on his music.

Sun Ra hoped that his music, his jazz, would fulfill the functions and embody the happiness of pure jazz, the unmanufactured avant-garde. He has described the nature and role of his music in many different ways. I believe that it was closely tied to his aim of "saving humanity."

It seemed like one of the most prominent elements of Sun Ra's music was based on feelings. This agrees with Sun Ra's view that the original, creative music called jazz was a pure music, based on naturalness, spontaneity, sincerity, and feelings. Sun Ra characterized the playing of saxophonist John Gilmore as embodying these aspects: "his mind has expanded. . .outside of what they might call jazz although it is a superior form of jazz because it's built on sincerity, it's based on feelings". Sun Ra also viewed his music as based on "three energy factors", which correspond to the human attributes of mind, body, and spirit. Sun Ra has described his music's base in black culture in an interesting way. When asked if he was performing "black music", he answered, "I would say that it's black from the point of view that it's still got the darkness of myth. And it really pinpoints ancient Egypt in a definite way". 

Sun Ra has used a wide variety of terms to describe the nature of his music. Most of these incorporate some form of outer space imagery. One such word is "intergalactic", which Sun Ra used to characterize his music of the late sixties and early seventies. To Sun Ra, intergalactic music is "really outside the realm of the future on the turning points of the impossible" and "in hieroglyphic-sound: an abstract synthesis and analysis of man's relationship to the universe". He has also applied the term "omniverse" to a later stage of his music, beginning around 1980. Concurrently with "omniversal", he has also called what he is doing "world music". For Sun Ra, world music (and a world musician) would have equal relevance in any country and would incorporate everything "from the traditional. . .to the future". He has also described his music as being from "psychic sphere planes" and from a "celestial plane", both implying something that is beyond planet Earth. Sun Ra has also described his music as simple, and that often it is non-musicians who have an easier time comprehending what he is doing rather than musicians. One of the reasons for this, Sun Ra believes, is that non-musicians base their reactions on feelings and not what they think should be right or wrong.

Sun Ra has also used the term "bridge" to describe his music. This bridge leads to a better, potential future, a future "that's not supposed to be but that is better than is supposed to be". As a bridge it corresponds to the space age, which according to Sun Ra is another symbol of humanity's reach for a better future.

Blog #11 -- Black Orpheus

Here is my review of Black Orpheus.

It interesting that Black Orpheus presents a quintessential love story interwoven with a culture heavily focused on celebration. The majority of the film is filled with singing, guitar playing, dancing. It’s part an amazing showcase of the festival and part tragic love story. Both elements feed off each other in equal measure – so much so that it’s easy to imagine that Eurydice might have not given Orpheus the time of day if it hadn’t been Carnaval. It is filled  with story and character-altering plots taking place in a beautiful setting. From the multi-colored dancers to the clean arpeggios of a rickety acoustic guitar that sings for the right player, Black Orpheus is an experience that engages all the senses. It puts on display an environment in which it easy to fall in love. And that is exactly what occurs. After enough dancing and staring into each other’s eyes, Orpheus and Eurydice create a bond that is simple but destined for eternity.

 There is also another element to focus on, the duality of reality versus mythology. This is a mythic story after all, based on the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. It is interesting to note the dualities made in the movie: a man wearing a skeleton costume is the specter of Death, a staircase is the descent into Hades, a stray dog is Cerberus, and a hoodoo ritual is the chance for Orpheus and Eurydice to reunite.

All of these elements flow perfectly from the exotic nature of Carnaval in Rio. It interesting to see how all the dancing, music, and celebration contribute to the culture and the plot of this provoking story. Black Orpheus simultaneously is a movie about outfits, dance-styles, and bassa nova and an important story about the nature of deep, transcendent emotions.

Blog #10 -- Francisco López

In class, we were given a packet of articles to read that contained some authors with interesting theories regarding sound. One author that I found particularly engaging was Francisco Lopez, so I continued to explore his theory further. 
Francisco López takes exception to many of the standard ways of considering nature sound production, and makes a case for a "profound listening" that is quite separate from contextual references. Influenced by the acousmatic theories of musique concrète, his approach has been to focus on the sound itself rather than its source. In contrast with his own recording “La Selva”, López criticizes the scientific approach of bioacoustics or ‘documentary’ nature recording. “As soon as the call is in the air,” he asserts, “it no longer belongs to the frog that produced it.” He dismisses the tendency of acoustic ecologists to elevate an ideal natural soundscape (preferably pre-industrial in character) over an environment of man-made sound. His suggestion that no recording is ever scientifically ‘objective’ places the emphasis on the shaping, even aesthetic, decisions of the artist or recordist: microphone placement, equipment choice or editing, for example. He disagrees with any claim at locating an objective musicality in environmental sound: “It’s our decision – subjective, intentional, non-universal, not necessarily permanent – that converts nature sounds into music.”

Blog 12: Musical Experience

My final paper is on the musical experience in relation to its private and shared aspects. I am extremely interested in exploring how people experience music, and what connects them in that experience as compared to what sets them apart. I believe there are private aspects in all musical experiences, but that we have privatized certain types so much that the shared experience might not be present in all experiences, though there might be a single thread of it even in the most private listening. The experience of music is complex and hard to boil down, but I attempt to cover the points I find most important to my specific topic.

Blog 11: Sun Ra

I was intrigued by Sun Ra, to say the least. The music, dress, and views shown in the video are out there, not really to my taste even though I enjoyed parts of the music. His claim that he believes he comes from space and the mythology he has created lead me to doubt him, but listening was certainly interesting, if nothing else. I like the opinions he based his out there stories on. While he seems to be a bit insane, he really does care about the people around him, and I think he wants to be able to help them. Meeting him would probably be scary, but I am open to learning more about him.

Blog 10: Latif Bolat

Latif Bolat was an inspiring and amazing man to listen to, not even mentioning his music, which touched me in a way very similar to the hymns I sing in church. He presented a different view on what has been and is happening in the middle east. We learned about the Sufis in World Civilization, but that was a simple overview that paled in comparison to actually hearing their music and their way of life. Latif is someone I would love to have a conversation with. He seems very intelligent. Talking with him about music and his views on the world would definitely be a learning experience.

Blog 9: Education and Music

Throughout my schooling music has been a part of my life. From the beginning my elementary school had classes that taught us the basics of music, and there was a day each year on which we were allowed to go to the cafeteria and try out different instruments. In fourth grade we were allowed to join the choir, which met three times a week on top of my spanish class. From then until eighth grade I had and took the chance to remain in choir as a class at my school. Funnily enough, when I entered a private school, they had no such class. The only choir at Notre Dame was an after school one that didn't even teach the members how to read music. Then, once I went to Dixie, another public school, it had one of the most vibrant choir programs I have ever seen.
In my experience, public schools have certainly risen to my expectations, while I know in other places they are falling far behind. Then there is Notre Dame, which cut out music almost completely and has little to be proud of in the arts. I've always found that odd.

Blog 13 - Brian Eno (by O'Brian Davis)

Some would consider Brian Eno's creation of music as sound art such as Hamilton, while others like John Cage would consider it music. One thing though is that his musical compositions consists of rhythm and melody. Technology has become a major asset to creating rhythm, though it may lack the intricacies of some instruments. Brian Eno utilizes the most complicated technological instrument to create the simplest of sounds. He is very good at trying to mimic other instruments and also utilizes keys that instruments can't make. His music stimulates a sense of geology - he can create music that stimulate the feeling of being in space, by the sea, in an opened field, etc. Or, maybe these sounds result from being in the media, played in movies when an actor is in these locations, may just be a memory rehash and association.

Blog 12 - Latif Bolat (by O'Brian Davis)

Latif Bolat is a very interesting individual. He is a wealth of information, and can educate any individual about about their country. His influence from Sufi has made him very effective artist. I was very pleased with his capability to incorporate improvisations in his performance. He stated that he could go for hours in a single performance so as to allow an individual to achieve spiritual perfection. I especially like how he allowed the audience to participate in some of his performances. Of importance is the fact that he used music stemming from a negative association - one that has a sad background - and still was able to stimulate a good mood in the audience. This begs the question; can one achieve spiritual perfection from sad music also? This question arise because Sufi mystics should first reach a status of inner peace before they should make a composition, yet Latif Bolat's performance was sad and still could stimulate a trance. Pushing the audience closer to said spiritual perfection.  

Blog 11 - Sun Ra (by O'Brian Davis)

It is fundamentally correct to say that Sun Ra is at one extreme of the musical spectrum. He is a character, inundated by brightly colored outfits, he has the most bizarre perspectives on music. I however, commend him on taking a path that others had reservations on. Some would say that Jimi Hendrix had a radical view of music before they started accepting his approach. Therefore I believe that every artist should have a different perspective on music an thus a different performance. This will give music the room needed to further develop and appeal to a new audience. Hopefully, in so doing there can be, though seemingly impossible, a sort of musical universality developed - universality in terms of audience satisfaction.   

Blog 10 - Black Orpheus (by O'Brian Davis)

The Black Orpheus was a perfect combination of love and music. It also indicated that influence that music has on its audience. In the film music was used as a means of uniting people, as Higgins argued it could. It brought people from various socio-economic backgrounds together for carnival in Brazil. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice showcases the two coming together through music and musical expression - dance. The musical expression of each developed and became more intense as the two became more emotionally entangled. This highlights that the emotional state of the artist, is portrayed in his performance and thus he must maintain emotional balance in his work.  

Blog 9 - Sounds and the Emotions (by O'Brian Davis)

In class we listened to several different sounds and recorded our emotional response to each. Some of these stimulated different emotional responses also, some of which were happiness, sadness, excitement, confusion, and peaceful. It is very interesting that the emotional responses were relative, when I had a sense of excitement others had a sense of joy or confusion. This discovery shows that each individual perceives music differently and thus have a specific emotional response to musical sounds depending on their interpretation of such sounds. In addition, when these individuals shared their emotional response sometimes I reconsidered my emotional response. I realized how easy one can attribute an emotional response of anxiousness and happiness, interchangeable, to the same musical sound, leading me to rethink my responses and carefully thinking about future responses. Sometimes I would record having both responses if I was unable to differentiate between emotions. 

Blog 8 - Festivals (By O'Brian Davis)

Close scrutiny of two festivals from different eras showcased the journey that music performers took to not be a common artist. The first festival showed artist from the 1960's such as Jimi Hendrix and "The Who," both of which had unique performance that was intended to set them apart from everyone else and create a new style of music. The music style of artists from the 1950's was the other festival portrayed, and was one of a more calm and soothing rhythm. This difference between the two eras show that music is ever changing and there is a higher demand for musicians that are unique. The Hendrix era also showed a development in the abilities of the artists, which gave them more room to experiment with different styles.

Jimi Hendrix' unique style can be viewed below

Blog 7 - Formalism (by O'Brian Davis)

Kathleen Higgins was right in her approach that the performance is imperative to our musical experience., contradicting the Platonist's perspective of musical formalism. Musical formalism believes that the score, noting else, is the most important in music - ignoring the performers contribution, highlighting that the performer adds imperfection to the 'perfect' score. Higgins believes that this is not the case, she believes that the score and performance are of equal importance. She also highlights that when the two are present music can greatly influence one's musical experience, bringing people together. I believe that the performer can influence the composer's intent, whether this is a positive influence depends on the response from the audience. It is important to note that the composer's intent, even if they are the performer, may not be what the audience perceives. John Cage highlighted that, the audience sometimes would have a different response from what he intended.  One should not get entangled with the relative purity of music but with the response that it evokes.

Blog 6 - Vox Arcana (by O'Brian Davis)

The performance by Vox Arcana was a very inspirational one. They proved that the use of improvisation can stimulate a wide array of responses and thus relate to how one perceives music. John Cage postulated that any sound heard was music, that notion may be true in his case but not to all. Vox Arcana's performance - filled with individuals with great musical prowess - can be too much to the ear of some yet pleasing to others. But at some point in the  performance each individual will find a sound that they view pleasing. The performance, at times, I would find very appealing when the volume and pitch was low but was not very attractive when the pitch and volume was high. I however, saw others enjoying themselves at the point when I was not feeling the music - enjoying the music in opposition to me. There is no doubt that Vox Arcana's performance covered the spectrum of each individual's musical preference. It is my belief that improvisation, though viewed by others to be imperfect, is the best means to appeal to a wide variety of individuals.

After viewing Sun Ra's video on music in class, it can be said that he is an artist with a "unique" approach to music. According to Sun Ra, he is a being from outer space and thought he was a being above everybody. He performed a form of improvised music in this video and was dressed in bright, sparkling clothes. I thought this was a rather weird film because he was acting vey strange. However, his music wasn't that bad. It was improvised jazz music in a sense. Though the style of the film was weird, the musical aspect of it was pretty good. However, his spacey approach and manner was pretty out there.

Episode 12

Listening to Latif Bolat play his music was an experience I'd do again given the chance. He was a wise man and had insightful things to indulge us. his story-telling style mixed with Eastern music played on his Ud made for a culturally informative seminar with excellent musical accompaniment. I enjoyed the music so much that I bought one of his CD's. If he visit's TMC again, you'll be sure to see me there.

Episode 11

Okay, I'm gonna be 100% honest here, I can't stand when people try to blame art for certain behaviors. Such "ideas" that video games, film, or music are the reason for violence is so irritatingly idiotic and I wish these "experts" would pick up a book on psychology. But no, it's just easier to put the blame on a scapegoat. No, I don't believe playing a video game, watching a movie, or listening to music is going to send someone on a psychotic, rage-fueled tirade. So many other factors play into whether a person is violent: their biology, psychological health, and the environment they grew up in all must be considered.

Final Paper

When we had to pick a topic for our final paper it was kind of a challenge for me but when I stopped and thought about it I came to a decision. I will be writing one the similarities and differences that today's music has compared to the 90's music (the music we all grew up with). I would like to look at the meaning of certain songs and what the theme of a lot of the songs were; also, I will look at the culture of both today and the 90's and how it reflects on it's music. I just thought this would be interesting to think about how music has changed over the last 20 years.

Blog 12: Sun Ra, Genius from Insanity

So I am still decided whether or not I think Sun Ra is out of his mind, you know what that is a lie I definitely think he is crazy.  He is still a genius musician and maybe that is where part of his genius comes from.  His unique perspective on life allows him to see things in a different light, thus making it easier for him to come up with original ideas.  Genius out of insanity has been around from a while, just look for the mad scientist trope in literature.  In his own way Sun Ra is like the mad scientist, at first glance he seems like a crazy wacky guy, but the more you get to know him you begin to realize how much of a genius he really is.

Blog 12

For my final paper, my topic is going to be over the history and philosophy of western music. I think that this will be an interesting topic, and one that I will be able to actually understand because I am most familiar with Western style music. I also found a video that I thought was funny and entertaining over the history of western philosophy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltuX_DmwPZk

Blog 11

In class the other we were watching a film about jazz composer, Sun Ra. I honestly think that this man is slightly crazy. Every single one of his songs "tell a story," and all them "different." I will say that they are definitely different! Most are about alien abductions or being a king. He also wore very bright and colorful clothes. Most were shiny and sparkling. He also has said that he thinks that he is actually from Saturn. One thing that I found funny, was when he was talking about the white house and how he didn't understand it. He didn't understand how there could be a white house, but not a black house, beause everything has to have something that contrasts with it. Overall, a very interesting film.

Blog 10

During the recent visit from Turkish singer, composer, and scholar, Latif Bolat, our philosophy of music class got a real treat. Not only did Latif play Turkish music, he also gave a very interesting lesson on sufism. He went into great detail on the different meanings of words and explained some things about cuture as well. His music was beautiful and well played. He was funny little fella and didn't seem at all shy or nervous. I am very glad that I got to experience this wonderful music and company.

Blog 12 Film

Today (November 28th) in class we watch a film. Throughout the beginning of the film a group of musicians played their saxophones while a lady sings. While playing their music they were dressed up in interesting and unique costumes that were creatively made. They may not have the best signing voices but they put a lot of emotion into their music. Most of the music they create is supposed to tell a story. The film goes on discussing that they never like to repeat any of their music. The film goes on talking about their band members and how they are some of the best saxophone players in the world. In my opinion when I was listening to Marshall Allen, it sounded as if he was playing out of control. This shows how little I know about saxophones, when they are considered to be the best saxophone players. Even though we haven’t finished the film yet, overall I enjoyed listening to their music.

Blog #9 - Kant's Formalism

In class through Higgin's book, we were given an introduction to Immanuel Kant’s “Four Moments” of aesthetic judgments in the Critique of Judgment. As we learned from the reading, Kant regards form as the basis for an intersubjective experience of an aesthetic object, a social and experiential role. In his “Moments”, Kant characterizes aesthetic experience as a combination of “imagination and understanding.” He applies this idea to his analysis of music, but he retains an intellectual appreciation of music as his central focus (as formalism would suggest). 

We also analyzed Hanslick's view on formalism and contrasted it with Kant's view. In the reading, Higgins proposes that Kant’s formalist account is better since he is more accepting of the experience of music. Through his intersubjective basis of aesthetic value, he describes musical experience in a social aspect. Kant proposes that the “most fundamental aspect of music is something that everyone shares: a state of mind.” Kant does not object that those who are more “musically trained” may have more thought-provoking evaluations of music; however, he does not dismiss the aesthetic evaluations of the other listeners as worthless. Instead, he insists that everyone is capable of an aesthetic appreciation of music, and that this appreciation “proceeds by means of a common ‘state of mind’.” As a result, we can conclude that Kant’s aesthetic theory allows “form” to be described more broadly and realistically than Hanslick’s.

On An Overgrown Path: For Saint Cecilia

On An Overgrown Path: For Saint Cecilia: Many in the world take music as a source of amusement, a pastime: to many music is an art, and a musician an entertainer. Yet no one has ...

Blog 13

Something that was said in class not too long ago really got me thinking. It was, anything heard in the right way is music. That got me thinking about what exactly that means, because it won't mean the same thing to everyone. What exactly is the right way to hear music? And who determines what the right way is? Everyone is different, and not everyone will agree on what the right way is. People definitely don't want to be boxed in to one idea. I know for me music is what I like, and what I enjoy hearing, which is probably pretty general of an idea. Other then that, I'm not sure what the right way is. I don't think there is any one right way to hear music. But I don't think that's a bad thing either.

Robot Aesthetics?

We have asked often enough whether animals have some kind of aesthetic experience, but what about machines? The video below, titled Worker's Playtime and created by video artist David Theobald, playfully suggests an answer. Thanks to On An Overgrown Path for the link. And see here for Theobald's own reflections on the film.

Blog #13: Whirling Dervishes

  I found our discussion in class today to be very interesting.  The whirling dervishes are a Sufi tradition and they are a way of prayer.  These dances create a state of being that is one with the divine and the people participating in the dances take them to be very serious matters.  For the Sufi's, the music is not simply for entertainment.  The music is much more than that for them.  Music is a good thing and can even help the Sufi's in purification as well.  It is so interesting how much music means to some cultures.  It is such a diverse thing.  The Sufi's definitely would agree with Higgin's and her belief that music is ethically important to listen to.  The music for the Sufi's is definitely an ethical thing and promotes morality.  The music is very different, but it is still very beautiful and interesting to hear.  I love listening to different cultural music.  I think it is very interesting to see how others respond to music and use it in their lives. 

Blog 12

Ambient music was unusual for me, but at the same time I also enjoyed it. When we were listening to some ambient music, it reminded me that on my first cell phone I had a ring tone called ambient. It was very similar to what we listened to. I've always thought this music was kind of calming, but after hearing some different examples, I can see that is not always the case. Whereas it does have a typically slow, constant sound, it can definitely keep your attention. I thought it was interesting how Eno used sounds from the outside world in his ambient compositions, and turned them into music. I think that was very creative, and if he didn't point it out I wouldn't have known it wasn't something from his sound board. Ambient music is definitely different, and probably something I wouldn't listen to all the time, but perhaps once in a while to switch things up.

Episode 10

In regards to the ethical standing of music, all I can think about is this scene from Footloose. Yes this speech is about dancing, but the same message can be applied to music.

Blog 8: Music from Nature

There are many CDs out there that claim to be sounds directly from nature, meant to be soothing and peaceful, a connection to the world around us. Comparing those, such as the Nightinggale CD in class today, to the work of Lopez shows a fairly large difference. They represent the ideal nature to us humans, while Lopez shows the "real" nature, presenting to the listener everything to be heard in a setting, even including human sounds. The CDs with edited nature sounds can fulfill their purpose, letting the listener idealize nature and have peaceful background music. They aren't necessarily meant to show real nature. Lopez, on the other hand, has a different goal altogether, which, In my opinion, is why they shouldn't compete over their purpose, being entirely different things all together. Lopez isn't trying to make the sounds ideal. He is representing them as recorded, with little to no editing, as close actually being there as possible.

Blog Post 11: The Halo 4 Soundtrack

Last week one a my favorite games series Halo, released a new game Halo 4.  The soundtracks of the Halo games for the Halo series are considered to be some of the best in video game History.  The music for the Halo games have been praised by both the gaming and international music community for its high quality and composition.  

Halo 4 is the first game of the series that Marty O'donnell did not compose.  I have always enjoyed the Halo music and I was worried that without Marty behind the wheel the music would just be a rip off of his work.  My doubts were happily proven wrong.  The music for Halo 4 was unique in its own right, but stayed true to the style of previous Halo games.  I will happily be buying myself a copy of the Halo soundtrack.


Here is a link to a playlist for the Halo 4 soundtrack on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_YIRP9JEiohnLgAiTzJIoo-elwijvKxr

Blog #12:  Brian Eno

  I do not know if all of the things that Brian Eno produced would be characterized as music.  It is definitely sound art and some of the compositions have melody and a good rhythm.  The compostitions are very interesting and it is amazing how people can manipulate the sounds of music.  In the video we watched, the controls that Eno was using were so numerous.  It looked so confusing, and it would take much practice for many people to figure out how to get the music to sound just right  and the exact way that they want it to.   Some of the sounds are very mysterious and evoke feelings of uneasiness.  The use of synthesizers is very common in modern music now.  These sounds can be very hypnotic at times and could be played as background music in many situations.  Music can be so many things to so many different people and the different knids of music are very interesting to me.  His music really does cause tension for the listener and is one of the main reasons that it is so interesting to listen to.

blog 12

Digital Music.
wednesday at the end of class you played us some different digital music. I found digital music to be surprisingly good. I enjoyed listening to the different type of music. I actually found it to be completely relaxing and good to the ear. Before we listening to the music I was expecting it to be completely dumb and annoying. It showed me that once you listen and give something different a chance it can be surprising good.

blog 11

Recently we discussed Higgins view that music can be "evil". I think she has a good point with that, because some music really can bring out hatred and anger in people. Certain music can bring out depressing feelings when listening to it. Also some people take music very literally and that can bring evil and anger into people. When listening to music many people let there mind run free and if letting your mind run free in the wrong way could be dangerous.

Blog 11: Brian Eno and Ambient Music

In class we discussed about Brian Eno and his thoughts on Ambient music. Ambient music is defined as music designed for particular times and situations with a view to building up a small but versatile catalogue of environmental music suited to a wide variety of moods and atmospheres. Brian Eno is  best known for his albums, Music for Airports, Music for Films, and Discrete Music. Though this type of music would be ideal for me to sit down and listen to, I believe it's great when roaming around in the mall or airport or while even driving. The great thing about this music is that it can be ignored but also payed attention to at any given time. Also it is music that will not become annoying after long periods of play. Therefore it can be said that ambient music provides an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence that instills ambience.

New Digital Music Part 1

So in this past class, I referred to an artist I had found some time ago who performed music on some heavily modified Game Boy Colors.

With a little Google magic and a drop into the depths of my music library did I find IAYD once more. This is one of his more recent albums, but thought it would do better to show the unique level this guy performs at.

As for something a bit more mellow, I has this other video showing a guy replicate "Strobe" by Deadmau5(Pronounced "Dead mouse" for those of you who don't know). He even gives the courtesy of breaking it down for the viewer on just what he's doing, giving a mix set of emotions on just how easy it looks and how complex it really is to replicate.

Got a few more ideas to churn out before I'll post again, but stay tuned for the weird and wondrous brought to you by me :)

Blog 12: Brian Eno

On Monday, we watched a film on Brian Eno. We have been discussing him and talking about his ambient music. I thought the film was very interesting because of how essential listening is to his pieces. We also listened to some of his works in class. His music is very enjoyable because of the fact that when you listen to it, you realize that the music has a place. It is not just to calm or soothe. It is also not to just be played anywhere. It has a specific space that it fills and I think that is neat. I feel that his music also gives a sense of the behaviors he is going towards with his ambient music. It is interesting that he does not use his voice in his works. I think this makes them so much more unique. It shows that he is focusing more on the actual music and the sounds of it, not just himself or voice. Since we discussed Music For Airports in class, I decided to look up some youtube videos on it. I found a very short interview about Music For Airports and I thought it was neat to listen to.

Blog 11 Brian Eno

Throughout this week of class we watched a film on Brian Eno and discussed Ambient Music. Ambient music is the concept of music designed specifically as a background feature in an environment such as an ariport. Ambient Music must be able to have many different levels of listening without forcing it on someone to much. Ambient music must be ignored as easily as it can be interesting. I thought it would be necessary to post music created by Brian Eno.

 This piece posted below is called By This River by Brian Eno

Blog 11

For the past few days in class we have been talking about how music can illicit different kinds of emotions, recently bad emotions. Higgins addressed how certain types of music can be "evil". I think this is an interesting idea, and I also agree with it to some extent. I think music is highly influential in how people think and see things, I think music definitely has an impact on how people act. Someone who listens to a lot of depressing, emo music all the time tends to follow that kind of lifestyle, however, someone who listens to upbeat music tends to be happier and more positive. Higgins argues in favor of this in so many words, she thinks that "bad" music, whatever she perceives as being bad, can cause the listener to have bad thoughts. This all makes pretty good sense to me, and I can definitely see how listening to certain types of music affects my mood. When I'm listening to positive music I feel good, but when I'm listening to a sad song(s) I sometimes feel down or depressed. Overall, music definitely has some kind of effect, even if it causes the listener to feel nothing, that's still something in the end.

Blog 10

Today in class we discussed seven common arguments that have been offered against music (or some kinds of music) on ethical grounds that I thought were very interesting. The Seven arguments we discussed consist of:
1) Music arouses passions that are harmful or difficult to control.
2) Music encourages the abandonment of reason.
3) Music lowers moral inhibitions.
4) Music excites sexual appetite.
5) Music glamorizes unethical causes.
6) Music encourages emotional support for a questionable status quo.
7) Music distracts from more important concerns.
These seven arguments fall into two different categories, which are Dionysian and Apollonian. Arguments 1-4 are considered to be Dionysian. This means it invites chaos and disruption in the conduct of erotic life. Arguments 5-7 are considered to be Apollonian, which means they argue that music fills conscious mind or encourages our assent to inappropriate ideas.

Blog 9 Malian Music

Recently in class we discussed the banning of music in Mali. I believe the banning of music in Mali is not the right thing to do, and the Mali regime is making a wrong decision. Music in Mali is very important to the community and I believe it is not fair to take something so important away from them. Music is expressions that can make people feel more joyful and happy and to take it away from the Malian people isn’t right. Mali has many up and coming musicians that will now not be able to share their music in ways they use to. Here is a YouTube clip of an up and coming musician from Mali.

Blog #11: Black Orpheus
  I thought that this movie was really interesting, and I am glad that we watched it.  The music was very unique and culturally appropriate.  I liked how the music went along with the movie and portrayed different moods and emotions at the right times.  I also found the guitar to be an important part of the story.  I thought it was very interesting how they made it seem like whoever had the guitar was Orpheus.  When he died at the end of the movie, the guitar was passed on to someone else.  At the end, the children had the guitar and even among the tragedy that had occured there was still room for happiness.  Music in general is passed through time from generation to generation.  It changes and things are added and taken away from it and it becomes a part of who we are.  Music is extremely important in our lives and in the movie it was very important in the characters lives as well.  Music plays an important part in all cultures ,even if it differs from culture to culture in the way that it affects the lives of the people in each society. 

Blog 10: Music and Emotion

In Kathleen Higgins book, The Music of Our Lives, she discusses about music and the emotions that are revealed when listening to music. There are three theories regarding the relationship between emotions and music. The first is the Imitation Theory which states that music imitates emotion, the second is the Arousal Theory which states that music arouses emotion, and the Expression Theory which states that music expresses emotion. Though it is difficult to accurately correlate music and emotion, I believe these three theories are a great start. I believe that different genre's of music causes different emotions to be portrayed or expressed. Now the debate is whether the composer meant to portray those certain emotions or is it the interpretation of the listener? It is also debated whether the emotions of the composer is expressed through their music. I believe it is difficult to answer these questions as well as explain why certain genre's of music are associated with certain emotions. However it is evident that these are emotions are present. It is difficult to not have any sort of emotion when listening to music. Therefore, Higgins poses a great argument in this passage.

Blog 9: Black Orpheus

Upon viewing the film, Black Orpheus, it is evident how prevalent music can be a part of a countries culture, such as that of Brazil. The also presents the myth of Orpheus and Euridice which I was unaware of until I watched this film. I thought the film was a great representation of Brazil's culture and how music influences their lives. However, at one point it, the music that was always playing in the background got to be a little tiresome. Also, I believe the film had a great balance between reality and between the underworld/mystical aspect to it. It is hard to catch onto because it is integrated in the film pretty well. But upon discussion about the film, this was clarified. Overall I thought it was a great film.

Episode 9

The story of Eurydice is a classic story and one of my personal favorite myths that, in its original context, touches on the human tendency to not believe what is not seen. I've seen and read many versions of this story, however I've not seen this one before. It always interests me to see someone else's interpretation of a story, and I must say I found this take quite enjoyable; I especially liked how they portrayed Orpheus' journey to the "Underworld".

Episode 8

I always wished that I was alive while Woodstock was happening, because I enjoy the music that was played, so I felt right at home listening to such artists as The Mamas and the Papas, and the one and only Jimmy Hendrix. One of my favorite songs that was played at Woodstock was the Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag by the group known as Country Joe and the Fish (above). It's a song about the war. Give a listen and pay attention to the lyrics.

Danse Macabre

Here's something I've been dying to share for the past month, but kept on saving it just for Halloween

Blog 11: Malian Music

Since we have been discussing the recent ban of music in Northern Mali, I thought I would look up more information on the issue because it seems very interesting. The Malian music is so wonderful due to it's many ethnic groups that it includes. Their music uses instruments that have been passed down to them. I also found out that they base the music on their past situations.
Since the government has taken over this area, it has forced many of the people who grew up in Mali and lived their whole lives there to leave. They do not want their freedom taken away so they felt this was their only choice, especially since their music was already taken away.

I think it is ridiculous that the government leaders think that the music is Satanic. It is sad because of how much the music was part of the Malians every day lives. I also found out that rap is a very big genre in the Malian culture. Rap was very special to the younger generations, so now they feel stuck too. When we listened to the rap song S.O.S. in class I thought the beat sounded excellent even though I could not understand the language.

One of the things I found most sad about the government banning the music is the fact that the artists are one of the people that are being affected the most. Music is their lives, it is what they do. Now they will most likely suffer, along with the rest of the community. The communities are used to elaborate festivals and gatherings, but now those events are not occuring because music was the foundation of it all. Since the music has been banned, it seems to me that Northern Mali is falling apart.

I think if the music is ever allowed to be produced and listened to again it will be interesting. I think it will be interesting in the sense that the artists will most likely show their emotions from the banning of music through their new music.

http://blogs.voanews.com/african-music-treasures/2012/08/30/malian-music-prevails-in-troubled-times-rap-music-and-festivals-rally-to-rebuild-the-nation/

Blog#10: Mali sends an S.O.S.

The song S.O.S. by Mali rapper Amkoullel featuring Mylmo displays the trails faces by the Mali people in face of the musical ban imposed by the current regime in Mali.  The current regime in Mali has declared holy war on music in the country banning all form of music other than the chanting of the Koran.  The song S.O.S. displays the cruelty and oppression that the regime is imposing.

The banning of music is wrong, there is no logical argument that one can make for it.  Music is a form of personal expression that creates joy and happiness for many people.  To force all forms of music expect for the chanting of holy book is narrow minded and ignorant.  Calling the Mali regime a regime really isn't the right word, since synonym of regime is Government.  Government implies that system is thought out and logical, the Mali regime is anything but that.  They are more like a bunch of power hungry fools with guns.

I pray for the people of Mali that the power hungry fools with guns oppression will end soon.  It is too bad that the power hungry fools with guns are so uneducated and forced their narrow minded views on others.  I cannot help but feel bad for the power hungry fools with guns, they must have had bad parents who were uneducated to.  May the days of the power hungry fools with guns come to go quickly for Mali.

Blog#9: Black Orpheus

I was very excited when I heard we were watching his movie.  I have seen small clips from it when watching other movies from the criterion collection on hulu.  I was not disappointed to say the least.  It was a very entertaining movie, which keeps me interested the whole time.

Even though there are no special effects and the movie is very slow compared to contemporary films it was still very entertaining and interested.  I loved the magical realism in it, the guitar legend in the movie made me question exactly how far back does the guitar go? Maybe the strings on the guitar were the same strings on the mythical Orpheus's lyre?  I also enjoyed the way that the movie wove the Orpheus myth into Brazilian culture.  The way that hey portrayed Orpheus's journey to hades with a voodoo ceremony was very unique and interesting.

I give Black Orpheus 5 stars!

Blog 10

For a few weeks we have been watching Black Orpheus in class. I have studied some Greek mythology but not a whole lot, so I know the basic stories. Greek mythology is something I'm very interested in, so I was excited about this film. I had never studied Orpheus and Eurydice before, but they kind of remind me of a Greek mythology version of Romeo and Juliet, which they probably are because Shakespeare is notorious for stealing plots. Anyway, I really like how this story is portrayed, as I'm sure it's not the usual, traditional way. I thinks it's interesting how they incorporated the mythology of Orpheus and Eurydice into the Brazilian culture, and its music. This made for a very unique story, and it's also very culturally distinct. While it probably closely matches the original Greek story, it's very distinctly Brazilian because of all the traditions they include in the story. This is a great example of an adaptable story, which for some is hard to accomplish. Some stories are stuck in a certain time or place, and they won't work anywhere else, but this story is not like that, and that's one of the things I like best about it. I really enjoy the music a lot which I know is the main reason we are watching it. It gives me a good sense of what music in Brazil is like, and how it's a very important aspect of cultural events and daily life. We didn't quite finish the film on Friday, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the ending of the film. This is something I would definitely want to watch again if I get the chance.

Blog 9

A few days ago in class we did a little experiment with emotion and music where we listened to different types of music, and recorded how they made us feel. I really liked this idea, and I found it very fun. I have never done this with music before, so it was new for me and really got me thinking about how music makes me feel, and how deeply it can affect me. Some of the stuff we listened to gave me a very distinct emotional feeling like power, sadness, or comfort. Other music honestly didn't make me feel anything, which I thought was interesting, so I just put down confused. This was true because I did feel confused about the fact I couldn't pinpoint any specific emotion. I can only remember doing this one song, but I don't remember which one. I also found myself writing down one emotion, then changing it or adding something different as I listened more. That also was interesting to me because I found one song could hold multiple emotions for me. This got me wondering what kind of emotions I get from the music I listen to daily, because really I had never thought about it, or realized it before. I can think of a few instances where a song made me feel something right from the first time hearing it, but I never really thought about it, or how or why it made me feel this way. When we did that in class, it really helped me see a new way to listen to music, and I sometimes find myself trying to figure out how things I listen to regularly, make me feel.

Blog 8 "The Black Orpheus"

Throughout this past week of class we watch a movie called "The Black Orpheus". The movie was very interesting to watch. After finishing the movie I enjoyed what I watched. I liked how they played music and danced throughout. I also liked the story line as well becasue it kept me intrigued in the film. I thought the music played throughout and the culture they lived in was very interesting as well. The carnival at the end of the movie was a mojar part of the movie and the characters roles. The carnival is very important in this society, and throughout the movie they are prepaing for it. For example they practice their dancing, rehearse their music, and create their costumes. Overall, the backround of this film was very interesting, and the story line was fun to watch.

Blog 7 Listneing exercise

Today in class we participated in a listening excercise. During this exercise we listened to several different peices of music and wrote down the emotions of the music. We also discussed imitaition theory,  arousal theory, and expression theory and how it was related to the peices of music we listend to. All the examples of music had there own unique style that I thought was very interesting. After listening to the music we discussed what we thought was going on throughout the songs. For example, if the song sounded peaceful, happy, sad, hopeful, exciting and more. I thought it was interesting to here what people had to say about the music and compare it to what I thought.

blog 10

The Black Orpheus
This week we have been watching The Black Orpheus. The movie was surprising good. Its a about a God whose talent is music. This movie shows how signifcant music can be to certain cultures. This movie also has a love story forming in the background for the god. The significance of the music in this movie is very obviously and is a major role in the movie. This just shows us that some cultures really do revolve around music and dance.

A Musical Response to Censorship

This video addressing the crisis facing musicians in Mali is currently banned on Malian TV.