Since the beginning of the semester, I planned to post what songs I hear when I think of others' (and my) mastertape. So, below, you shall find song(s) and rationales. Still searching for some, but these struck me immediately. Enjoy?
Nate B
Behold...the Arctopus - Alcoholocaust
Nate described his project as both apocalyptic and bombastic. I think that describes this band (and this song) to a t.
Perrin
The Dillinger Escape Plan - 43% Burnt / Queens of the Stone Age - Go With the Flow
Perrin's project seems to be a "mini" version of Nate B's, in a way, but instead of a sort of massive change, Perrin deals more with a localized change/recklessness (both in terms of relationships and religion). Originally, I just had DEP here, as it's "reckless" but not in the same bombast vein as B...TA, but visually, the video for "Go With the Flow" seems...appropriate.
Ames
Acceptance - The Letter
Pretty self-explanatory. Especially the chorus. And she disappeared--:/
Todd
King Crimson - Elephant Talk
I was stuck for a while--then I remembered this gem. What better way to explore the inadequacies of language than a song built by stringing alliterative/assonance-itive pseduo-non-sequitors?
Ryann
Dream Theater - About to Crash
A bit of background--this song is a "section" of one song called "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence," which has as its main theme mental illness. I think this song is more about fugue states, but I think it fits a bit into Rian's mastertape (maybe the whole song?) as how people are treated when someone thinks something is "wrong," mentally. "The Test that Stumped Them All" may also be appropriate, although the main figure in that "section" is male and that section deals more with PTSD/performance anxiety.
Liz
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Next
Being an instrumental allows more flexibility than having to filter for words, too--but with her mastertape being about "bridging" the gaps that exist between her city self and country self, I thought this was appropriate. Really a jazz band, but through Fleck's use of the banjo as a lead instrument, there is a sort of tension/dissonance that permeates the playing that wouldn't necessarily if he played guitar. Is it a bit cop-out-ish to say banjo = rural? Maybe, but c'mon--Deliverance.
That's...barely half the class. I'm still looking (listening?). Hopefully I'll finish this before the semester.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Connotations
Condensed to rid it of (what I perceived to be) whining--when does art (or more specifically, poetry) cross the line in terms of appropriateness? Is there a line? When does something become racist/ageist/sexist/____ist versus visceral? Just wondering, because if art is, in some way, meant to push an experience, how far should this experience be pushed?
-Glenn
---
As an assignment for one of my undergrad classes (a death and dying class--housed under the religion section of the uni), one assignment was to think of our funeral--the weather, music, etc. This is what will play and my (now...oooh, like, 5 year old explanations):
I would like tracks from the following artists: Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Marillion. From Dream Theater, I would like to have “Disappear” because it conveys that since of finality and acceptance, and “Learning to Live”, which is on the same wavelength of “Disappear”, only more uplifting and cathartic. From Porcupine Tree, I would like “Trains” which still holds down the vibe of moving on and “Arriving Somewhere but not Here”, because it will make people more aware of the ways of death around them, and encourage a more carpe diem attitude from them. From Marillion, “Easter”, because it just has a really calming effect.
Dream Theater:
"Disappear"
"Learning to Live"
Porcupine Tree
"Trains"
"Arriving Somewhere But Not Here"
Marillion
"Easter"
(also, incidentally, performed with Dream Theater--score!)
-Glenn
---
As an assignment for one of my undergrad classes (a death and dying class--housed under the religion section of the uni), one assignment was to think of our funeral--the weather, music, etc. This is what will play and my (now...oooh, like, 5 year old explanations):
I would like tracks from the following artists: Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Marillion. From Dream Theater, I would like to have “Disappear” because it conveys that since of finality and acceptance, and “Learning to Live”, which is on the same wavelength of “Disappear”, only more uplifting and cathartic. From Porcupine Tree, I would like “Trains” which still holds down the vibe of moving on and “Arriving Somewhere but not Here”, because it will make people more aware of the ways of death around them, and encourage a more carpe diem attitude from them. From Marillion, “Easter”, because it just has a really calming effect.
Dream Theater:
"Disappear"
"Learning to Live"
Porcupine Tree
"Trains"
"Arriving Somewhere But Not Here"
Marillion
"Easter"
(also, incidentally, performed with Dream Theater--score!)
So...
I feel so behind. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Maybe bananas are squirrels, who really knows?
So, performances last week were pretty cool--it was interesting to see what resonated with different folks in the class. Todd's (and by extension, Perrin's) selections were interesting more because of the technology aspect--I really don't think it's too out of line to say in a few years that such enhancements will become the new boob/nose jobs of the plastic surgery field. Imagine not having to lug around an mp3 player when your arm literally has one embedded, mwuhahaha. What does that say for our (Western->American->however you want to define "our" here) culture? Moore's Law states that technology gets better every 18 months (I think Moore's law was initially in terms of transistor size, but it's widely applied to technology in general), so there are going to be some digital fireworks, I feel.
Another person who stood out to me was Ann Liv Young, who not only sung Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" but danced to Juvenile's "Slow Motion"--I was kind of intrigued by her, but further research...meh. I dig the total uncomfortability of not knowing what the fuck is going on, but her site (which sells, among other things, poop sculptures and used tampons) just...irks me. I understand its silly to try to define what art is/isn't can/can't do, but there's gotta be a line somewhere, even for art that's performance based. Then comes the issues with morals and decorum and "it's my goal to push boundaries blah blah," but are you really? This kind of hit me when Tom was talking about his idea to juxtapose a sermon with what he deemed sacrilegious--I know art, at times, can be (or needs to be) visceral, but do you ignore the internal compass? Can you really say you are amoral/lack an internal compass? Even if you do, there are obvious codes about what society does/does not expect (again, subjective as hell, but whatever), so wouldn't it be wise to tailor, if only in the smallest amount, work so that it reaches the most people? If your goal is really to alienate/challenge viewpoints, you will get people who are morbidly interested, sure, but will you get the in-between-ers who can really carry word of mouth like, "Damn, you need to check out X's exhibit--that shit was craaaaaaaaazy!"
For my performance, I definitely got some cool ideas for re-engagement--adding other media elements, maybe refining song choices, and making the piece as a whole a touch more interactive. My flash skills are limited only in the sense that I haven't used it in a while an ActionScript takes some getting used to, but again, excited to re-engage (especially knowing the trial window is slowly closing unless I further "procure" Flash CS5.
I'm still going to post, eventually, what I "hear" when others describe their mastertapes...soon, I swear.
-Glenn
---
Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster
Sucker for dance songs...even if I dance with various degrees of success.
So, performances last week were pretty cool--it was interesting to see what resonated with different folks in the class. Todd's (and by extension, Perrin's) selections were interesting more because of the technology aspect--I really don't think it's too out of line to say in a few years that such enhancements will become the new boob/nose jobs of the plastic surgery field. Imagine not having to lug around an mp3 player when your arm literally has one embedded, mwuhahaha. What does that say for our (Western->American->however you want to define "our" here) culture? Moore's Law states that technology gets better every 18 months (I think Moore's law was initially in terms of transistor size, but it's widely applied to technology in general), so there are going to be some digital fireworks, I feel.
Another person who stood out to me was Ann Liv Young, who not only sung Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" but danced to Juvenile's "Slow Motion"--I was kind of intrigued by her, but further research...meh. I dig the total uncomfortability of not knowing what the fuck is going on, but her site (which sells, among other things, poop sculptures and used tampons) just...irks me. I understand its silly to try to define what art is/isn't can/can't do, but there's gotta be a line somewhere, even for art that's performance based. Then comes the issues with morals and decorum and "it's my goal to push boundaries blah blah," but are you really? This kind of hit me when Tom was talking about his idea to juxtapose a sermon with what he deemed sacrilegious--I know art, at times, can be (or needs to be) visceral, but do you ignore the internal compass? Can you really say you are amoral/lack an internal compass? Even if you do, there are obvious codes about what society does/does not expect (again, subjective as hell, but whatever), so wouldn't it be wise to tailor, if only in the smallest amount, work so that it reaches the most people? If your goal is really to alienate/challenge viewpoints, you will get people who are morbidly interested, sure, but will you get the in-between-ers who can really carry word of mouth like, "Damn, you need to check out X's exhibit--that shit was craaaaaaaaazy!"
For my performance, I definitely got some cool ideas for re-engagement--adding other media elements, maybe refining song choices, and making the piece as a whole a touch more interactive. My flash skills are limited only in the sense that I haven't used it in a while an ActionScript takes some getting used to, but again, excited to re-engage (especially knowing the trial window is slowly closing unless I further "procure" Flash CS5.
I'm still going to post, eventually, what I "hear" when others describe their mastertapes...soon, I swear.
-Glenn
---
Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster
Sucker for dance songs...even if I dance with various degrees of success.
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