Finals Week Music

Because I know people are stressed from finals, I set out to find calming music that fit in with our curriculum. Surprisingly there's quite a lot, that comes from all corners of the sections that we covered. Here are a few.

Music-y? Stuff

While it's not the best website, Cracked has some great articles on music (if you can mind the humor). And I found a really interesting one that I thought people would like to read here.

Wrecking Ball?

While we only briefly touched upon it in class, it is interesting to note that many of the classical songs that we listen to were once commissioned by someone else. That's not saying that there aren't some songs that were purely from the artist, but to take into consideration, I thought I'd compare it to today's music. There is a thriving market that exploits young artists and forces them into stereotypes to sell music. One of the most popular in today's crowd is Miley Cyrus, notable for some of her onstage antics. This video, for example, has had her decried as needing help for shedding her "good girl" image. But is that what it really is? Or is it truth finally coming out in the words she wants?

Modern Music

One of the more interesting topics that we covered this semester was the idea of modern music. And while we got down on some topics (Miley Cyrus, anyone?), I think its really interesting to see how music trends have changed over time. And who knows, maybe we'll turn into the fogey old people who are cantankerous about "today's music".

VC/DC

Soooooo yeah VC/DC. There is so much to say about them but then I am not sure if there is. They were a very interesting group that has come to Thomas More to perform. I am not sure where to start about how I thought they were. I mean they are good in their own way but then I found them to be slightly odd. I liked what they were doing and how they didn't care what mainstream music was and created music that was different and enjoyed what they do. I won't deny the first time we listened to their music I really didn't like it at all. I thought it was really weird and really annoying. Soon though after listening to some of it for a while it turned out to be okay and I was more opened to listen to it. I most likely will never go out of my way to listen to their music but I definitely won't listen to them if it is being played. I also now am a bit more opened to listening different kinds of music if it is presented to me. They are an interesting band and not really sure what else I could say about them other than that, definitely different.

John Cage!

So yeah going to start off saying he is pretty awesome in his own way. He brought up a whole new look at music. His style was completely different than what has been done before him. Many thought that his music was odd and weird but then again it wasn't really. I think his music was odd yes but then it was good at the same time. There has been many things that his music introduced to the world of music. Everyone knows his most famous piece and that is his 4:33. I still chuckle the one day in class when we watched a film on Cage and they showed 4:33 and a statement scrolled across the bottom of the screen saying that we can turned down the tv now. I mean really? I thought that was so funny because I was just sitting there thinking about how it is already silent and it's telling us to turn it down. I don't know that could of just been me. I found that Cage was very interesting because also during the time that he was making his music there was very interesting art being created during that time as well. That point in time was just a huge transformation for the arts. I guess I just have a lot of appreciation for him because of all that he has done for music as well as many people. Showed that people can be creative and open to do just about anything. So cool how there is barely any limits now to what people can do.

The end of the arts? I think not.

So a topic we talked about recently in class is about the idea that classical music is going downhill and possibly may not be practiced years down the road. I don't think that will happen, personally. Yes I know that music, especially orchestra, programs in schools are ending or definitely getting cut back and not many people are really supporting the arts. I still think though that there are many different people out there that are willing to find a way that the art programs will be continued. Yes a lot of the people who are currently supporting those programs are those who are older and soon might not be able to support them because of their age or whatnot. That is when people from my generation and the younger people who should take the step up and start supporting it when they can. I think the support is there just needs to be shown more. I have personally have grown up in different art programs may it be dance, music, or visual art; I have always really enjoyed them and never want them to leave. I will be spending my life surrounded by the arts because what I chose to study in school as well as what I do on my own time. So may it be writing children's books or playing my violin at an event, I will always be artsy. So that is why I have a strong grasp on wanting the arts to survive. I want children and people after me to enjoy them all just as much as I have and still do enjoy them. So in my opinion I don't think they will end or at least hopefully no time soon.

4:33 sports remix

My intentions were to give a sports take on John Cages 4:33. In the video that we watched in class the guy playing the piano closed the lid to the piano keys every so often, in my video I used pictures of myself playing basketball here at Thomas More & one of our cheerleaders to symbolize closing the piano. Granted the video quality isn't great but I did it on my phone & I was working the games so I was trying to not get in trouble as well as get my shots. The basketball videos are of Centre College vs Franklin College & Thomas More vs North Park University.  Sorry that about the poles in the way I was working the concession stand. The soccer video is Thomas More in the second round of the NCAA tournament & happened to be the only goal of the game. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suS5l_qEgbE&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

Birdsong is Music

In chapter 8 of Why Birds Sing, Rothenberg shows the song of a mockingbird converted to sheet music. My question is how can composers and philosophers say that birdsong isn't music if it can be set to human music? The song of the mockingbird can be studied and reproduce. What more does the bird have to do for its songs to be considered music in the human culture. If a human can make birdsong, it should be considered actual music. I don't see how Hamilton can consider a bird's song unmusical if it meets all the requirements for music made by humans. Just because birds don't have culture, doesn't mean they can't make music. A lot of people in the world have certain cultures not accepted by others, but their music is still considered acceptable. So, why not birds?

Re:Bound 2

Kanye pushes the limits of music in most of his most recent songs especially everything in his latest album Yeezus that was pretty far out there. But when listening to Kanye think of Sun Ra. Nobody really understands what he is trying to accomplish but Kanye. He is a "production master mind" the beats he's able to make are second to none. Lyrically he's good but sometimes can be out there. 

The Impact of Christmas Music

It's not a surprise to everyone that Christmas music has been on for a few weeks now. The big debate is whether or not people want to hear the music this early. My opinion is, since I love Christmas, that I could listen to it two months before Christmas. Christmas to me isn't just a day, it's a season. And if people don't want to listen to the music, there are always other radio stations to listen to. I believe Christmas music being on this early just sets up the mood for everyone to get into the Christmas spirit. People are already Christmas shopping this early, so why not have the music on already? Although some people get depressed around the Christmas, I think the music does more good than harm. It puts people in the giving and cheerful mood. So while some people think Christmas music is a nuisance, I believe it does some good.

10 Unknown Commercial Songs

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-hit-songs-you-only-know-because-they-were-in-tv-commercials-2012-8

I was on a quest to find out how music executives found songs for commercials and I found this website about how these songs only became hits because they were in a commercial. It struck me as shocking because I realized it's true. Some of the songs I love I only knew about because I heard them in a commercial. It really shows how far TV reaches to its consumers. These songs would have otherwise been unknown had not the population of the world seen them in a commercial.

Now on to Eminem

Since I'm finished with my rant about Kanye, I'd like to praise Eminem and Rihanna on their new song The Monster. Eminem always releases amazing songs. The meaning behind The Monster, I'm not exactly sure. But I can say I'm in love with the sound and they lyrics. Honestly, I like everything Eminem releases and just about every Rihanna song I hear. The two are a musical match made in heaven.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDXXi19_7iE

Bound2

I'm not really one to bash an artist because I don't understand their song but I have got to say Bound2 has got to be the most idiotic song I have ever listened to. That is 4 minutes wasted. The opening isn't bad, but once Kanye starts singing in all goes down hill. "How you gon' be mad on vacation? Dutty winning 'round all these Jamaicans" "I wanna f*ck you hard on the sink, After that give you something to drink" "Maybe we could make it to the church steps, But first you gon' remember how to forget" seriously what kind of lyrics are these? There are comments on the video claiming Kanye is a lyrical genius but I just don't see it. Can someone enlighten me? That'd be great. The only good thing I can say about this song and the video is that Kim looks good after having her baby in July.
Lyrics at
http://rapgenius.com/Kanye-west-bound-2-lyrics
Video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBAtAM7vtgc

THE MOST ANNOYING ANIMAL SOUNDS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTRhbQNIcLc

Free bird remix

We are as free as the lions in the jungle but even the lions In the jungle are caged by poachers and big game hunters trying to make a name for themselves and prove their manhood. Since we are as free and the lions of the jungle who aren't even free what are we really? Are we hunters or are we the hunted? 

-Chris Richard 

Rothenberg's birdsong CD

While listening to the birdsong CD today in class, it gave me a whole new perspective on Rothenberg's book. There's a big difference in reading about the birds reaction to him playing and actually hearing their reactions. While I took Rothenberg's word for it, it was nice to hear it for myself. It gave me the sense that the birds were actually "jamming" along with Rothenberg. I could really hear how the birds were reacting to his playing and it gave me even more proof that birds do sing and make music for a reason.

This goes out to anyone who thinks animals can't be musical....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hQwjrzjTQ

What is Culture?

If you ask 100 random people what culture is you're more than likely to get 100 different answers. Each person has their own culture, each group of people have their own culture humans & animals have their own separate culture. Since there are so many different subcultures who is to say which is more acceptable than another? Why is one culture more weird or "frowned upon" and another praised. But that's the great thing about the world. You can have so many different people with different cultures and yet we can still come together and live along side each other and along side animals and still be different yet have the ability to adjust to each other and adapt to new cultures. The same goes for animals in the wild. They have many different cultures themselves but they survive because they live off of each other and in ways help each other. It's amazing to me how that all comes about to where you have different animals and different humans with different cultures and different can build off each other and it seems to work so flawlessly. 

Birdsong Definition

I looked up birdsong and I found it interesting that dictionary.com defined it as "the musical call of a bird or birds." The definition actually uses the word music instead of subtly defining it as the calling of birds or some other scientific definition. This led me to wonder what Hamilton would make of this definition. I believe he would try to debunk this definition and chalk it up to simple wording to make for better understanding. He wouldn't agree with this definition because birds aren't actually musical in the human's sense of music.

Sounds Organized for Their Own Sake?

Sir John Tavener

As an Englsih composer of spiritual music his compositions are very soothing and push the human voice to its highest limits. At times it pushes the higher pitched voices to become even higher and vice versa for the low pitch voices as to resemble the highest of the heavens and the lowest of hells. When asked if he made his music for God Tavener said that when composing that he started out making music for God and the church as his main influence but it would be foolish for him to believe that after hearing it performed over the years. Out of all of the artist that we have listened to this semester Tavener is high on the list for me. He gives sense of peace and calm which I like. 

Tweet Tweet Little Birdie

So many people always tend to go back and forth between the idea of if birds make music or are musical. I personally thing that birds can create music. Yes I know a major argument that we have read in class that can quickly go against that is that birds don't have a language or culture. I don't think that should be a big reason behind music making. I think birds can make music without it. Birds just seem to have a lovely sound to them and sounds like a song at times. So I am kind of interested in seeing what Rothenburg has to say about birdsong.

Bird Song According to David Rothenberg

      In the videos we watched in class on David Rothenberg he was playing along with the birds while they were singing along with him. He also did this in the first chapter of his book. So my question is, if us and birds have a common understanding and can play together, then why do we have so much trouble understanding their language. There must be some similarities between their language and our music or else we wouldn't be on the same page when it comes to "jamming" together. Is it possible that they only way we can communicate with birds is through our music? Or maybe we aren't communicating at all; we're just playing and their just mimicking the sounds they find familiar. Our music is made to sound like their songs, but they aren't actually their songs.
       We know that birds are born with some set of music for different purposes, yet others develop music through their lifetime. So how is this any different from humans? Some of us develop music over our lifetimes and it's considered music. Why aren't bird songs considered music. It's because we have an understanding of what music is because we made up the definition in our own language. Maybe birds are musical in their own language, we just don't understand it in ours.

Survival of the Beautiful

The bower bird is a very interesting animal, it makes art for non-practical reasons. It creates lavish tents and other nest like sculptures that are for the soul purpose of attracting a mate. 

Hump back whales are a huge mystery of the ocean. They sing and have songs that scientist first thought were to attract mates but they aren't. They sing for pleasure as it doesn't effect any of the female whales. The males come together and sing and evolve their songs over time. Birds don't do that, birds compete with each other in order to out do each other and they don't come together to improve on their songs. 

VCDC Review from All About Jazz

VCDC: Insult (2013)

By 

EYAL HAREUVENI, 

Published: November 6, 2013

The sophomore release of the Norwegian-American free improvisation quartet VCDC (following the self-titled album, Hispid, 2011) features the quartet as a highly inventive and playful unit. Clarinetist Frode Gjerstad, one of the forefathers of the Norwegian free jazz and free improvisation scene; cellistFred Lonberg-Holm, who in the last years collaborate regularly with Scandinavian musicians as Gjerstad on other projects or the Swedish-American quintet Seval; drummer Ståle Liavik Solberg and vocal artist Stine Janvin Motland, who work together as the duo MotSol—recorded two extended improvisations at the Galleri Sult in Stavanger, Gjerstad's hometown. 

Both improvisations are anarchistic and eccentric in its spirit. The only rules oblige careful listening to the other musicians uncompromising attempt to expand the sonic envelope with inventive nuances and unconventional usage of the instruments, and maintaining an arresting level of intensity. The parts where Motland sets the tone challenge the other players to accommodate with her imaginative vocalizations, full of humor, drama and emotion with a stunning range of voices. She has a unique approach of using her voice as an instrument, different from other fellow Norwegian vocal artists as Sidsel Endresen or Eldbjorg Raknes, at times closer to Maja S.K. Ratkje noisy, experimental employing of the voice as raw sound. Gjerstad uses extended breath techniques to answer her and to push further the sonic palette, while Lonberg-Holm and Solberg enrich the thick sonic stew with surprising colors, strange, subtle sounds and changing pulse. 

The two improvisations progress patiently. The second one in particular, "Sultan For Seitan," is more theatrical and uplifting. Motland begins with chirping and later ecstatic vocal utterances, Gjerstad joins with brief, poetic blows on the clarinet and unhurriedly the quartet even manages to articulate a fragile rhythmic outline through this chaotic interplay. This improvisation unfolds slowly as a detailed dadaist story, told as by four creative storytellers. 

Masterful and arresting.

Track Listing: Glutton For Insults; Sultan For Seitan.

Personnel: Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello, electronics; Frode Gjerstad: clarinet; Ståle Liavik Solberg: drums, percussion; Stine Janvin Motland: voice..

Record Label: FMR Records

Chris Brown

Chris Brown has another assualt charge because he reportedly punched a guy in the face on 10/27/13. The victim says he photobomb a picture Chris was taking with two female fans, Chris went crazy and said, "I'm not down with that gay s..t, I feel like boxing." and hit the guy in the face and broke his nose. It was reported that the victim will need surgery and will press charges against Brown. He is still on probation for the Rihana beating so this may conflict with his probation and could spend up to 4 years in prison. According to TMZ, Police are looking at video footage from busnisses around the area that the fight suposedly happened at. Police have found nothing yet. The whole Rihanna thing really hurt Chris's image and now he's wrapped up in another violent scandal? Will this affect his music? No one likes a crazy person that beats everyone up, lets remember that he has also fought with Drake and a heated argument with Frank Ocean. His most rececnt fight has nothing to do with his music but I think people will use this to in a way boycott his music.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/10/27/chris-brown-arrested-felony-assault-washington-dc/
http://www.tmz.com/category/chris-brown-fight/

Life-changing music

In class last week we were talking about the woman who left her family and her whole life after hearing the Gregorian chants. This left me wondering is there some music that has the ability to change my life? And if so why haven't I heard it yet? If music has such a power to make someone forget their whole life, then why isn't it common knowledge to the whole world? There's always been music that has given me goosebumps, but I'm usually finished with it two weeks later. I've gotten bored and moved onto something else. Then I got to wondering if this music exists, but it's my body and mind that doesn't have the ability to absorb it fully. Maybe my mind is so full of preconceptions and stereotypes that my ears can't hear the music for what it really is; I just hear another boring piece of music. So, what if these preconceptions and stereotypes didn't exist? Maybe my mind was just not developed to feel what music makes others feel. Maybe there are a select few that music can really get deep into their soul and change their whole thinking and outlook on life. So, the big question is whether it's the music that fails to move me or my mind that fails to absorb the music. How depressing it must be to be able to listen to life-changing music, yet your body won't let you react the way it's able to.

Work it Out

Working out at the gym is apart of my daily routine. A major thing that affects my work outs is the music I'm listening to. If I'm lifting weights I need music that has a fast tempo and somewhat "hard" music. Some of my favorite songs to listen to while lifting weights are Rap God by Eminem, Breaking News by Machine Gun Kelly, Party Up by DMX. If you know these songs or listen to them you'll know what I mean by them being "hard". On cardio days I like to listen to, I guess softer, easy flowing music such as Beware by Big Sean, French Inhale by Wiz Khalifa, and Go Out Tonight by Mansion Boys. Different songs are better for one or the other for me. When I'm lifting I like to feel like a beast lol and music like the ones I've listed help me get in the mood to lift. And for cardio I like to run at the pace of the music and keep going until I can't anymore, the music I've listed above helps me do that. Different music gets me into different moods and mentally helps me perform my best while working out. Here are some pictures that I have on my phone for motivation!

Sun Ra

Sun Ra is a very interesting person & musician. He claimed to have never been born & denied all of his past from where he was born (Alabama) to being trained in classical music which he was. His thinking was more far out than anything that I've ever heard. In learning about him I was under the impression that he had to be doing heavy drugs in order to come up with the ideas that he came up with but he wasn't. He claimed to be abducted by aliens & probed so he can transcend from being a basic human & now he believes that he is not of this earth. What gets me the most about his music are there crazy costumes that look like Egyptian royalty robes mixed with outer space Star Trek type clothing. With all that said & understanding how far out he was & how disconnected he sounds like he is from reality & society, Sun Ra was a very big impact on the black community during his time. 

Nothing Was The Same

Drakes new album, Nothing Was The Same, is a result of him wearing his heart on his sleeve. This makes his album different, its not all about money and women, its about love and compassion, things everyone can relate to. "Nothing Was the Same is essentially an album of bedroom confessionals with a million dollar budget." This album is different from his others and also from a lot of other rappers. No, Drake didn't sell crack on the streets but he struggled to get where he is today and you can see it in his albums. 'The streets come up again on “Wu-Tang Forever,” where amidst some of Drake’s most poised rhyming to date, he confesses, “I find peace knowing that it’s harder in the streets, I know. Luckily I didn’t have to grow there, I would only go there ‘cause there’s niggas that I know there.”' Kitching, author of the review, says.



Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/26/drake-wrestles-his-insecurities-on-new-album-nothing-was-the-same/

REVOLT

Revolt was created by Sean "Diddy" Combs, he first came up with the idea about 7 years ago. It will be a station on NBCUniversal. The station is for the artist by the artist. There will be music oriented, have interviews and live shows. Revolt will also be producing films, one being Lawless. Some celebs have been supporting Combs by helping spread the word via Instagram, one of the being Machine Gun Kelly.

Emotional Music

Today in class we chatted about music showing emotion or giving off some type of emotion. I don't think music can truly give off emotion because it is not a living thing buuuuuuuuut music can definitely make people feel a certain type of emotion. Can you just see it little music notes cry during a sad piece, a quarter note crying and here comes mr. whole note with a tissue. Sorry I pictured that and couldn't help but share.  Back to what I was saying, I think how music can make people feel a certain way is what makes music so great. There is music out there that can make people cry, and don't say you never cried at a song. I mean come on everyone has done that before right!? Maybe it is just me. There is also music that makes people smile and happy and makes people feel great all over. All I really want to say is that music doesn't express emotion but makes the listener express an emotion. Oh how lovely music is. Here is a lovely song that I think can make people feel a certain emotion, and no worries it is not sad, or at least I don't think so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naPmRCD_3v8. Enjoy.

On An Overgrown Path: Today people go to concert halls looking for answe...

On An Overgrown Path: Today people go to concert halls looking for answe...: Reaching a wider audience is seen, quite rightly, as classical music's number one priority. Yet the strategies for reaching that wider ...

My project and bird song, did I produce music?

As I'm doing my midterm essays I was looking into what gracyk thought about bird song and how he thought it was musical but how he didn't think that meant it was music at all. As I was pondering this I thought back to how my john cage inspired piece sounded a lot like bird song and thought that maybe my piece too might of only of been musical and not music. Surely my piece was intended for aesthetic enjoyment and not to attract a mate but surely the lack of rhythm and musical experience must have some affect on what people think of my work. Gracyk states that for something to be art it must reflect culture, natural outpourings of unchecked emotion are not art lol. So I wanted to see what everyone else thought about this. Below I'm going to include a link to some bird songs and I want to know if you find them to be musical or if they're able to be considered music.

actual birds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEkeLmy14PA

Music on your Brain

CNN recently published an article talking about what kind of effects music has on the human brain. One question was, does music help your health? Dr. Levitin and his colleagues conducted many research projects and found that listening to music after surgery help patients with their anxiety better than some patients who were just on anti-anxiety medication. Dr. Levitin found that music releases immunoglobin A, an antibody linked to immunity. There is much more information in the article but I thought this was the coolest. Below is a link to the article to read more about their findings!

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/health/brain-music-research/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/health/brain-music-research/index.html  

The 20/20 Experience Pt. 2

As some of you may know, Justin Timberlake has released his new album, The 20/20 Experience Pt. 2. This album and it's "sister" album both share sexual music and love songs. The part 1 album is said to have neo-Sinatra affectations  while part 2 is more dirty. Both albums flirt with sexy and sexual lines that Timberlake is famous for.

John Cage Quote

If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.
John Cage
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_cage.html#R5pAst50RVg0rFeR.99

I think this quote is saying that if you don't like something you should give it another try. You may find something in it that you like, by doing this you become more open minded to things you may not of been before.

What is music?

I was thinking a lot in class about what Emily said in class. If we as a human race "invented" music, for lack of a better word, how can we not have a concrete definition on what it is? Why is there so much debate on whether or not bird song is music? There are a lot of different types of music that some people would definitely not label as music, but then there are some composers that no one would dare say don't make real "music." If you Google music, the first two definitions that show up are completely different.

1. vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
2. the written or printed signs representing vocal or instrumental sound.

The second definition is completely straight forward and concrete. But, the first definition is more of an emotional definition. According to the first definition there are a lot of compositions that aren't considered music at all. For example, the worse song ever heard produces no beauty, harmony or emotion. Maybe it produces annoyance and anger to some extent, but it definitely does not produce a good emotion. According to the second definition however, that song could be written down on a music sheet and then it would be considered music. So why can we classify music one way, but it can be completely classified a different and not be music anymore? Why is it so difficult for us as humans to put a label on what is music and what is not?

Brian Eno

• Born in Woodbridge, England  May 15, 1948
• as a child he grew enamored of the "Martian music"
•  introduced to work of contemporary composers John Tilbury, Cornelius Cardew, & minimalists John Cage, LaMonte Young, & Terry Riley. Instructed in the principles of conceptual painting and sound sculpture, Eno began experimenting with tape recorders, which he dubbed his first musical instrument, finding great inspiration in Steve Reich's tape orchestration "It's Gonna Rain."         
• 1974 - developed a "tape delay system" (lead to sampling of electronicia and hip hop), hospitalized by a lung collapse, got out, went to San Francisco, got into a car accident --> led to creation of ambient music--> realized music had same properties as light and color
• 1977 - return to pop but continued ambient experimentation and created, Music for Films    
• 2000 - started to focus on vocals
• 2012 - returned to ambient 
• collaberated with many other musicians into same ideas as Eno
• Key Ideas - experimental rock, ambient, minimalism, elecronic, art rock, glam rock, art pop
• Song writer, producer, musician, artist

For more info about Brian Eno, visit:
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/brian-eno-mn0000617196/biography
Example of Ambient; Music for Films:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEzkhI5gWx4
Example of Pop Art:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPhxZBRD8ug

Jonathan Harvey- Composer

Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) 

• ·        Composer
• ·        Born in Sutton Coldfield, England in 1939
• ·        Earned doctorates from the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge
• ·        He was a professor of music at Sussex University from 1977-1993.
• ·        He was very influenced by cathedral music after being a chorister at St. Michael’s College.
• ·        In the 1980s, he worked in Paris where he developed his interest for electronic music.
• ·        He was a professor of music at Stanford University from 1995-2000. This is where he composed Bird Concerto from a bird song he heard in the California hills.
• ·        Jonathan wrote three books: “The Music of Stockhausen” published in 1975, and “Music and Inspiration” and “In Quest of Spirit,” both published in 1999.
• ·        He died in 2012 as a result of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was survived by his wife Rosa, daughter Anna and son Dominic.

“Body Mandala”: composed in 2006 as a result of his transcendental meditation and his interest in Buddhism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fwvzoi-njY  

“Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco”: composed in 1980. The focus of this piece is on the great tenor bell and the voice of Harvey’s son. He synthesized and mixed the sounds to get the final version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYdRzDx1_J4

Pauline Oliveros

Just to re-cap a bit on what I presented earlier...Pauline Oliveros is a composer and performer of John Cage and more Avengarde styled music, and is an accordion player who specializes in post-war electronic music. She coined the term deep listening in 1991which she applied to her deep listening band and deep listening program of the deep listening institute. haha, say that five times fast. She's also a black belt and believes that listening can apply to ritual, healing and meditation. She splits up her philosophy of sound or "sonic awareness" into four major parts, the first two are global and focal attention, and from there it is split up into four parts: actively playing music, imagining music, presently listening to music or remember past music. Pauline Oliveros believed that every sound should be heard by everyone, everywhere and to enhance her performances she often played in resonant and reverberant settings such as in the great canyon or down in caves.

 

 "Listen to everything all the time and remind yourself when you are not listening".  

Lou Harrison Presentation

This is just a post that contains the information in my Lou Harrison presentation, in case anyone wanted to know anything more about him, or if they wanted to read my presentation for some reason.

So, who was Lou Harrison? If you had asked the man himself, he would describe himself as a myriad of people, some of which include a record salesman, an animal nurse, and a florist (otherminds.org). In his own words, an American composer was someone who had to be many things in order to do what they loved. But Lou Harrison managed to do all of these things, completing masterpieces of sound. Harrison's focus was much different than that of other composers and musicians which we have covered, being of a more structured nature, and focusing on a more avant-garde music style, which he studied under Arnold Schoenburg. He also studied atonal music, which heavily influenced his opera, Rapunzel.

However, Harrison suffered from a nervous breakdown with his music in 1947, and on the advice of a friend, John Cage, retired to Black Mountain College. It was there that he first began studying and working with Asian music and tuning, which became the focus of his later works, especially after a visit to Asian countries. Some works, such as Suite for Violin and American Gamelan, feature his distinct style in this theater, specifically atonality and one of the instruments that he himself favored, the gamelan. Harrison became famous for his views on atonality, and was honored in many festivals for his contributions to both Asian music styles and his theories on music. Unfortunately, on February 2, 2003, Harrison passed away from a heart attack while on his way to a festival in Ohio.

Information on Harrison:

List of Harrison's works

Short biography of Harrison

Longer biography of Harrison

Harrison Documentary (trailer)

Stan Kenton

Stan Kenton was a jazz pianist during the early to mid 1900s. Kenton was signed to Capital Records in 1943 but before that he started his own orchestra "Artistry in Rhythm". As his career progressed he became a very accomplished musician winning multiple Grammy  Awards. After listening to a few songs I really liked Eager Beaver but during my research Mama Sang a Song came up and I couldnt get into it i only listened to about 30 seconds of it. below is the eager beaver link from youtube
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6hJMaDsO4Y

Miley Cyrus

Everyone knows Miley Cyrus, either you like her or you don't. She's done a complete 360 from her Hannah Montana days. She's just released her new song, Wrecking ball, in which she appears completely nude while sitting on a wrecking ball. If you listen to her lyrics, she's describing how her failed relationship has destroyed her. "I came in like a wrecking ball, I never hit so hard in love, all I wanted was to break your walls, all you ever did was wreck me." Thre the video and the lyrics she expresses how she feels. It may not be the way some of us express ourselves, but she is expressing herself and how she feels about her heart break, "Don't you ever say I just walked away, I will always want you." I think everyone can relate to this song because at one point or another everyone experiences a break up that is world ending to them.

Intro

My name is Christopher Richard, I am a Sports & Entertainment Marketing Major with minors in Business Administration and Psychology. I am also on the basketball team, and soon will be on the Students Activity Board. I have a very side spread taste in music, i like rap, hip hop, r&b, old school r&b, country and some jazz.

Music or Not Music?

Just found this while scrolling along through another blog, and it made me think of this class. I really started to question whether or not this would be considered music, especially since it follows a classical piece. Either way, I thought it was very interesting, and thought it could provoke some discussion.

Introductory blog: Emily Knight

As my first blog post officially I thought I should just introduce myself and share my thoughts and ideas on music and even share what kind of music I listen to. I'm 19 and I currently double major in biology and philosophy, I'm a sophomore and I'm a huge rock and roll fan in case you can't tell by looking at me lol. I sometimes wish I would of been born in the 70's so I could be this age back in the 80's and 90's when rock and roll really took off. With that being said my view on what music is takes more of an aesthetic approach, I would normally agree with the acousmatic approach but since it doesn't fully cover jazz music in its definition i'm really just tempting to come up with my own. Basically I view music as a man made thing first off. Music is also a man made word so I think it fits. I honestly don't see why we get so angry when we try to include natural sounds as music. Why not come up with a more fitting term to describe and categorize natures music as we did with man made music. I think the term music is used and abused in modern day English, I view music as a collected of sounds intended for aesthetic enjoyment that is composed and performed to the height of its musical capabilities with the intention of captivating and moving an audience to its sound. If you think of music as being man made its easy to see music as having an intended purpose. People write music with an underlying purpose and that purpose is for others to listen to it and for them to think about what they just heard. Music provokes thought and imagination. It is the metaphor of composition with sounds and melodies. Music can transcend language and convey thoughts and feelings with out ever speaking words. Also why do we value great composers such as Mozart and Bach? Because they used music to show their genius and skill. They mastered their craft and the product of their craft is the best of all others. We awe at their abilities to make us think and feel a certain way when listening to their music. Its as if a writer were to make a compelling metaphor that painted a picture in your mind as you were reading a novel. Also I'm wondering as I type this. What's the difference between labeling musicians composers and artists? Now a day we call someone who engages in musical activity an artist (usually in pop) and a composer usually in classical and a musician for the gray areas in between. Why do we have a need to have three names for distinct genres of music that all really try to do the same basic thing? Why is Beethoven a composer, Louis Armstrong a musician and Michael Jackson an artist? Is there a huge difference? All I can think of to separate the three is their responsibilities held with in their professions. For example, Beethoven is the lead director that commands and orchestra to play his prepared pieces but he himself doesn't need to play along with them. Louis Armstrong may or may not write the pieces for his players but he plays along side them in a more democratic fashion and does not sing. Michael Jackson may not write or play his on songs but he's a fabulous singer and dancer and utilizes technology to enhance his music. So my question also is, If there is such a difference among these musical professionals, does that difference also mean that one may be better than the other? Can Michael Jackson really be placed on the same level as Mozart even though he can't play instruments? What is the difference in sung music and music played with an instrument?  

I guess its my turn..

To start this off, my names Charlissa Smith. I live in Dayton, Kentucky and enjoy working out and being with my friends and family. A major part of my days are spent listening to music. I enjoy a bit of everything. On my phone you'll find music from Led Zeppelin and Metallica to 2 live crew and Machine Gun Kelly.  I honestly like a good mix of everything except country music, I have a low tolerance when it comes to country music. I'm not really into anything that resembles country music either. I'm the girl with her windows down and her music up loud.

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

However, I'm not a man of wealth and taste. My name is Kimberly Yocom, known as Kim to most, and Fred to a few (it really depends on who you're talking to). I'm in my Junior year of English study with a concentration in Creative Writing. Music is something that is still almost completely new to me, since I only began to form my own music tastes about five years ago. So I've listened to a whole gamut of things, from Newer Classical, to the Rock-and-Roll Classics. I've also become quite fond of pop and what I consider to be hip-hop. If I had to go with a favorite style of music, I would generally go towards a more gothic style of rock, mixed with a bit of novel songs (by which I mean songs that tell a bit of a story). Since my tastes haven't really settled yet, I love  hearing new types of music, whether or not they can be defined as such. So, I'm pleased to meet you, don't forget my name.

Blog #1- Introduction

Just doing a nice simple introduction of myself, how easy is that. My name is Jessica Goines but I tend to go by Jessie. I am a 5th year senior Art/Graphic Design student. I love music as well, but of course who doesn't. I have been playing the violin for 8 almost 9 years now so definitely shows how much I like music. I have a wide variety of taste in music. I really enjoy listening to instrumental music, especially video game and movie soundtracks, like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxJE6SSX-aw or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYIh-OmRGmU, I think it is so calming. I also like rock/alternative music as well like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBKqaVk2Co, such a catchy song. Then I what I find very fun to listen to and is also my favorite type of music is techno/dubstep and 8-bit music (music that sounds like it came from old school video games, so cool) here is some of my favorite songs of those styles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjpOzsQ9YI (techno/dubstep, this violinist is pretty awesome) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOJZHNP_RnM (just can't help but sit here and dance to it). So yeah I have a strange variety of favorite music. I enjoy almost anything I listening to but these are some of my favorite styles and songs. So now you know a little bit about me and what I like listening too and now you are most likely going to think wow this girl is nuts with her taste in music but its okay. I hope you found some new music you might want to listen reading this but if not it's okay, I enjoyed sharing. :)

Cage on Defining Music

"A single sound by itself is neither musical nor not musical. It is simply a sound. And no matter what kind of a sound it is, it can become musical by taking its place in a piece of music. This point of view requires some adjustment of the definition of music which was given by my Aunt Phoebe. She hadsaid that music was made up of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Music now seemed to me to be the organisation of sound, organisation by any means of any sounds. This definition has the advantage of being all-inclusive, even to the extent of including all that music which does not employ harmony, which, doubtless, is the larger part of the music which has been made on this planet, since it includes all oriental music, all of the early and middle music of our culture, and a large and not inconsiderable part of our current production." (John Cage)

The Sound Art of Bruce Russell