Song critiques

Here are the three critiques I did on Nick (http://nickshega.blogspot.com/), Steve (http://steevka.blogspot.com/), and Maddie's (http://mcschneidy.blogspot.com/) songs.

http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/9314b3ad91526d93acb17f813a545938

Brainwashed

After reading Seth Godin’s “Brainwashed” (http://changethis.com/), I was struck by one of his seven levers for reinvention. Make art. Godin explains that art is the creation of something that’s never been created he believes even the simple act of human interaction is art, and I love that, there is so much beauty to be found by just spending time with other people, there are so many new things to learn new ideas to be discovered through the meeting of the minds. His lever acknowledge the lizard goes hand in hand with make art, it’s to hear that voice that tells us not to do things to not stick our necks out for fear of rejection or ridicule, we have to hear that little voice inside of us to be able to push past it and come out the other side with whatever we created proud that we made it. Both of these levers are things that we are working on with our blogs. We are making art, creating the uncreated, and also risking ridicule and rejection by putting them out where everyone can see them, we are acknowledging the lizard but posting everything anyway. I think these levers make for a better well rounded person, an artistic person. It gives us the tools to fight our fear and get in touch with the purest form of ourselves, our creative selves. There’s not a whole lot that could be cooler than that.

Soundscape critiques

I critiqued:

Katie Mack's soundscape (http://mdia203mack.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape.html?showComment=1303825322317#c1181724202707536351)

Gretchen Kesseler's soundscape (http://gretchenk-media203.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape-worry.html?showComment=1303825899473#c4837726107099179928)

Maddie Schneider's soundsscape (http://mcschneidy.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape.html?showComment=1303826437254#c7648499969090222881

Cover songs.

“With a little help from my friends” is a song from my childhood, but until a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize I had grown up listening to two different versions. The Beatles played the original version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBDF04fQKtQ) and Joe Cocker made a remake (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV1ULAAg5LU&feature=related). I honestly and truly thought they were two completely different songs until I realized they not only had the same name, but also the same lyrics. The reason it was so hard for me to realize they were the same song was because of the differences between the melody and the musical quality. I would say that the differences in the melodies were the biggest contributing factor to my belief that they were two different songs, I could find myself humming both songs in the same day and each time I would be humming different notes because each artist sings it so differently. The Beatles sing it with a very clear beat hitting each note they’re supposed to while Joe Cocker has a little more fun with the notes, going up and down and all over the place. Joe Cocker’s version also has female vocalists signing the chorus, which definitely changes the way it’s sung. The musical qualities of each song are also very different. The rhythms are different as is the speed; Joe’s is a little faster than the Beatles’. The Beatles’ version is much less intense than Joe’s and I would say that the difference in timbre helps this; Joe’s is definitely more complex, which only adds to the intensity. I would say the Beatles’ version is more organized, note wise at any rate. They have a clear definition between the chorus and the verses and they do pretty much the same melody for the verses, but Joe Cocker’s version is all over the place with the verses. As much as I hate to admit this, I prefer the Joe cocker version better. It kills me to admit that I like a Beatles remake better than the original, but I just love the added quality of soul in Joe Cocker’s version, this song makes me feel this intense sense of happiness and, as strange as this sounds, safety. Sorry Beatles, I am going with Joe on this one.

Song project.

 Here is my song:
http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/15e9e69f4b96502e31570f922a541058

Soundscape

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX0X2EIrMmA

Podcast thing.

Here is a link to my podcast on the "Find Your Howl" article: http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/6957bd85283928c95a324af0fa501448.