My life with electronic music

While going through the links on the Wikipedia site, I started to think about my own involvement in with different musical styles. Often, I am asked what music I listen to. I do listen to many different kind of music as I think that many different kind of music can speak to the many different moods that we go through.

	U.T.F.O. - Roxanne, Roxanne
	Found at skreemr.com

I began going through different types of music that I do listen to. One area that I had not really explored was how electronic music had been introduced in to my liking as a means of expression. In the early eighties, I used to walk down the street to my friend's house and we would shoot the basketball around. His boombox would have songs playing that his friends had recorded on to mix tapes. Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, UTFO, and Run DMC where always in the rotation. I enjoyed what I heard, but I didn't get into the hip-hop sounds really until later in life. But, I was interested in the sounds I was hearing. I liked the hard beats, and the rhymes. The pieces that moved to hold on to this form of music was the use of sampling, playing the game of where did that come from. The icing on the cake was the sound of the record moving back and forth, the act and sound of scratching.

	Paul Hardcastle - 19
	Found at skreemr.com

While I liked rap in the early days, I didn't personally relate to the songs. Then, in about 1985, Paul Hardcastle's 19 hit the playlist in the radio stations in Anchorage. I found myself captivated by the use of music and old documentary/news reel style samples to convey a message. To me this was more though provoking than "Born in the USA." I wanted to hear this song over and over again. It faded from heavy rotation, but I wanted to hear more songs like that with the electro-break beat. I didn't have a personal connection to the Vietnam war, but I felt like I had a better understanding of it from that song.

	Falco - Rock Me Amadeus
	Found at skreemr.com

Next came the one-hit wonder in the US, Falco. While never having another hit in the US, Falco had a number of hits in Europe. His song Rock Me Amadeus had a similar effect on me that 19 did. I liked the use of the strong beat, and I likes the learning that happened. I had never thought about Amadeus and how young he was when he started to compose music. Being in 4th grade this was incredible to me that someone my age was producing music that people were still talking about in the present.

	Fingers Inc - Can You Feel It
	Found at skreemr.com

At this point in my life, there is a bit of a pause in my exploration of electronic music. I moved into a more alternative/punk era with songs by They Might Be Giants, Pixies, and Suicidal Tendencies. Industrial sounds of Nine Inch Nails were intriguing as was the entire soundtrack to Cool World. In the early 90's, Anchorage had developed a "Rave" scene and like many other kids at that time, I went and pretended to enjoy myself. I didn't really, not that much. It wasn't until I went to college and experienced the parties/raves of San Fransisco. One morning, after a night of dancing and watching the DJ mix the records, the final DJ in the second room put on Fingers Inc while the sun was coming into the atrium that was the second room. It was a very powerful experience and I thought to myself, this is what this is all about.

	DJ Shadow - 02 Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt.mp3
	Found at skreemr.com

I transferred from California after my sophomore year of undergrad to Augsburg. Prior to the move, had been in a funk band through the summer and was looking for that musically. At the time, REV 105 was the station that I listened to. I loved the variety it presented. One song that stuck in my head was DJ Shadow's Building steam with a grain of salt. No other commercial radio station I had listened to before would even attempt to bring that type of sound to the mass audience. With the use of drums and samples, the feel of the song was so... deep? I had to get the album, which is still one of my absolute favorites. The album was entirely composed of samples, but the mood and emotion conveyed through the songs really spoke to me. Taking what you know from one context and moving it artistically into another context.

	Kid Koala & P Love - Moon River
	Found at skreemr.com

After being exposed to DJ Shadow, I had the opportunity to see Kid Koala in concert. He was able to take what DJ Shadow did in the studio and move it to the turntables. The manipulation of analog sound that wasn't too forceful as many other scratch djs. The scratching was tasteful and purposeful.

	Roni Size - Brown Paper Bag (Full Vocal Mix).mp3
	Found at skreemr.com

Breakbeat and jungle style of electronic music was something that I had known about,but found it too rough around the edges. Hearing Roni Size changed that for me and still influences what I listen to while I am working on coding or grading.

This progression of electronic music throughout my life has turned from a method of learning to explorations of emotion and mood with different rhythms. Tracing this through time while looking at one genre of music is rather illuminating. As mentioned before there are many different genres I could have explored. The punk one would be very different and compact compared to this one, but something that would be equally as important in my life.

Lesson Assignment #2

These lessons are more in the line of something I might use for a Music Therapy session.

Lesson #1



Context: Everyone has a favorite place or spot to go. These spots have a safe and we feel very comfortable in them. This songs talks of some of the things that are in his favorite room.

Discuss:

- Listen to the song and list the various items that are in the song.
- Discuss any items that aren't known.
- Who is in the garage with him?
- How does he feel in the garage?
- Why does he think his songs are stupid?
- What items would you want in your room?
- Who would you let into your room?
- How big would your space be?

Activity :

Have the students draw, describe, or otherwise create a representation of what their safe would be. Have them identify who else would be in the room with them and why they are there.

Lesson #2





Context: We all have times that we think about from our past. Sometimes it is something that is personal. Sometimes it is a national or global event that triggers these memories.

Discuss:
- Listen/view each of the videos
- What are each of the songs talking about?
- Who are each of the songs talking about?
- What is an event that happened to you in the past that made you feel good?
- Describe the feelings around the event.

Activity:
Through the next week, keep a journal of any little thing that happens that makes you feel happy or good.

I will admit I heard this on the McDonalds commercial while my wife had the TV on.

A little humor...

Making of Buzz Aldrin's Rocket Experience w/ Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli from Buzz Aldrin

I found this rather funny. Enjoy...

Favorite line: "I have only two passions...Space Exploration and Hip-Hop."

Lesson Plans

Well, it has been quite a bit of time since I have had to think up lesson plans. The last time I did my own, original planning was in 2005, so I will give it a shot for the future teachers out there.

Rationale:

I thought about these assignments as a way to show that the use of pop culture and youth oriented content can be used in a way that stimulates critical thinking about a topic. The use of pop culture within the classroom setting so often is used as a dressing for an otherwise mundane activity. Through these examples of lesson plans, students will be able engage in the pop culture while examining what is occurring within the content as well as what is going on around the context of the music. The students will get to actually interact with the content rather than simply be consumers of whatever is pushed at them in terms of music, style, fashion, or thoughts.

The first activity is a way for students to look a little closer at what is going around them in their own environment to see the trends of what is happening and what might be the next, up and coming trends. By taking pictures or their classmates, students can sort on various themes they identify as trends and look for clues as to what might be the next big thing. The students will then present their findings in some organized manner through a PowerPoint or photo-movie.

The second activity the students will identify three or four random songs with the various charting systems from Billboard. Using some means of constructing a concept map, the students will compare and contrast at least three different layers of the songs including but not limited to music/sounds, words/lyrics, and emotional responses/mindscapes.

Pop music and youth culture can provide a wealth of opportunities for learning. The more a student is given the chance to interact with and think a bit deeper about material they are familiar with, the more likely they the though process will continue into other unknown territory. Teachers should allow for this opportunity to happen more often.

Disclaimer: With my back ground in Special Education, I tend to focus on the social skills needed to accomplish these tasks. I will try to make these as general and adaptable as possible for anyone to use. The activities in these lessons can be pretty easily adapted for a specific content area, I think. Also, these lessons will be more in line with 7th – 9th grade.

Lesson #1:

Cool Hunters

Objectives:

By the end of the assignment, students should be able to…

* Identify marketing techniques
* Find and examine trends in the student population
* Understand how what market research might look for when pitching a product to youth
* Critically think about different ad campaigns and how they are trying to appeal to youth

Context:

Cool hunters work in various fields such as fashion, design, and media consulting to identify “the next big thing” in tends. These big things can be a style of dress, type of music with a particular sound, or way of communicating.

Background

General information from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolhunting

More specific information from FRONTLINE with video interviews of CoolHunters (this is before the era of Facebook and MySpace)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/etc/hunting.html

Materials:

* Digial cameras for each student or for each group of students
* Computer to view and edit the photos (with GIMP or some other photo editing software)
* Some kind of presentation software (openoffice Impress, Microsoft PowerPoint…)
* Some kind of movie making software (iMovie, Windows Movie Maker)

Technology considerations:

* Knowledge of how to use and teach the software for the presentation or for creating a photo-movie
* Or knowledge of who can teach these skills to the students and assess if they are able to produce material with the software pieces.
* Ability to troubleshoot various issues with the digital cameras or the software and communicate those solutions to the students.

Procedure:

Pre-Activities:

Make sure the students know if they are working in groups or individually.

Present the video of the Cool Hunters from the FRONTLINE website or a summary of their profession to the class.

Discuss what the Cool Hunters are doing and how they are doing it.

State that the student’s task is to identify the current and up and coming trends occurring in the school.

Explain the use of the digital camera and various other technical aspects of locating and viewing the photos.

Go over how ask to a peer if their picture can be taken.

Have the students brainstorm various areas they might want to focus on when taking pictures.

The students should make note of these.

During Activity:

Allow the students to take pictures of other students focusing on various items of clothing or other trends that can be captured with a camera.

Monitor student activity.

Post Activity:

Students should transfer photos from their camera to the computer they will be working on.

As a group or individually, students should organize the photos to best present what is currently a trend and what evidence there is for a future trend. This can be done either through presentation software or through video-creation software.

Assessment:

Based on the clarity of what is communicated through the various mode of communication.

Lesson #2

Connections of songs

Objectives:

By the end of the assignment, students should be able to…

* Identify different areas of pop music to compare
* Find and examine differences and similarities in song structure and presentation
* Formulate ideas on how popular music speaks to many different people

Context:

Music in popular culture is popular for a reason. They have elements within them that are familiar and comfortable, yet provide different aspects of other elements (sound, lyrical content, and mood). Examining the similarities and difference between various songs with help students understand what it is about pop music that makes it popular.

Materials

* Lists of various top songs (possibly from Billboard)
* Computers for students or groups of students
* Access to the internet
* Access to some kind of Concept Mapping Software

Technology Considerations

* Ability to locate songs to listen to on the internet
* Knowledge of the affordances and allowances of Concept Mapping Software
* Ability to troubleshoot Concept Mapping software with students

Activity : (not completely hashed out)

Pre-Activity :

Discuss with students about what makes pop music pop music

* Is it structure, content, money, other influences?
* What makes a song #1 on the charts verses any other song?

Brainstorm as a group areas to look across difference songs.

During Activity :

Have students locate different songs to listen to on the internet

While listening to the songs, the students will focus on the different areas of the class identified.

Using a concept mapping software, students will construct diagrams illustrating what they have discovered about the songs for each individual song

Using a concept mapping software, students will construct diagrams comparing at least two different songs indentifying similarities and differences.

Post-Activity:

The class comes together and discusses what they found as a whole and how that relates to what is on the radio and what the students listen to.

Assessment :

Bases on the quality of the findings of the individual songs as well as the comparison between the songs.

Politics

While reading through Chapter 7, it got me thinking about how much control the Nazi party had over the music and culture while they were in control and how much effort was given to maintain control throughout their rein to these areas. This control the Nazi party had led me to think about how much music is regulated within the school.

Often within school rules it is against school policy for a student to have some kind of play back device such as a CD player or Mp3 player. One would assume this policy is in place to prevent cheating or some other subversive behavior to curtail academic rigor in assignments or testing. However, if you think about the emotion that can be tied to music and how much music plays into how people feel and what it can call for within the song it’s self, school is very slightly controlling what is heard in the building within the school day.

When I was in elementary school, it was very rare to hear pop music within music class, much less the building. We constantly focused on folk tunes and other “academic” kinds of music for elementary aged students. Even in junior high and high school, we were not presented with anything that was popular. The music we played may have had a contemporary feel but was not accessible in the way that pop music is to the listening audience.

Another issue that Negus brought up is how music is interpreted by different people depending on the political context that one is hearing and using the song. Negus describes John Lennon’s Imagine and the various way that song has been used for various political parties and representations. I remember reading about Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In the Wall Pt. 2” and how the band was quite shocked that a students in South Africa were using that song as an anthem for their cause to end their oppression. The song it’s self is about the absolute power that a teacher can have in the classroom and can control what goes into the mind of the students.

Mediators

Negus touches on a few different topics within the chapter about who mediates music and how this various mediation practices have moved through time starting with the printed form of music and moving into how radio is mediated through corporations. Corporations have used radio to focus on different groups of people as a means of marketing and the stations have broken up into different genres of music for specific groups of so that you are just serve that set through one particular radio station. Negus then discusses the music video and how that has changed, from just simple filmed performances to adding a completely new dimension to music through the visual aspect weather seen as related or unrelated to the song it’s self.

One of the pieces within this chapter that I kept coming back to was how out dated this chapter feels, especially with the current obliquity of the internet and how the internet has lead to the beginnings of music democratization. It is now possible for anyone to listen to any different kind of music any time one would like to. The process is fairly simple through a simple search. Many sites do the searching for the user. The user only has to type in the song. The site will find where the song is housed on the internet, package the song in some kind of player for the song and present that to the user.

This is in complete juxtaposition to the waiting and hoping the radio listener would have to endure to hear the song that they desire to hear. Radio has a predetermined playlist or range of songs that are suitable for that radio station’s target market share. Through the internet, there is no mediation between the listener and the music at this point. The radio model needs to be rethought.

Music is something that is more available to the public than ever before. I think the biggest example of this would be the Napster cases from the late 90’s. This was the first popularized way for people to actively share music. Napster was eventually taken to court and stopped functioning in the original manner that it had. Currently, there are many different kinds of technologies that one could download different kinds of music at the push of a button. Once society has an easy way to get something that produces an emotional response like music, they will continue to find ways to keep getting what was available through different means.

The comment at the end of the chapter describing Blockbuster creating a partnership with IBM to help distribute CDs and the record companies saying that they don’t need any help with that aspect of their business was interesting to me. This is especially timely to all the press recently about Pirate Bay as well as the RIAA case against Jammie Thomas-Rasset for illegally sharing music here in Minnesota. Record companies are continuing to follow their model of distribution even after the distribution system has been shown to be out-dated. They are willing to fight tooth and nail to keep it relevant.

School of ... forced knowledge?

For this class we had the opportunity to watch School of Rock. I saw this movie a number of years ago and upon this re-watching of this movie, it was a very different experience for me. At the time the movie came out, I was finishing up my student teaching and classroom integration rotations and now having been a teacher and beginning to critically examine what happens in the classroom, School of Rock was very different experience the second time around. The Character that Jack Black plays is Dewey Finn and he scams his way into becoming a substitute teacher and takes on this group of kids and molds them into what he thinks they should be and how they should act especially in the area of music.

I am a little bit of a fan of Jack Black. I did enjoy his sketch comedy work in the Tenacious D shorts presented on the HBO channel as well as the DVD concert I had viewed. It gave credibility to Jack Black that he could actually play guitar and run around on stage. I found his way of presenting humor through music and little comedy bits rather funny. His choices for movie roles have not maintained that credibility. I think the presentation of this character is as close to what he used to play than anything that he has done since leaving the small screen.



So, coming back to the character of Dewey Finn, what kind of value judgments does he put on this classroom of 4th graders with the selection of music? There were two pieces that really struck me with this movie after having teaching experience. The first piece is the fact that this person is just able to go into the classroom with no prior teaching experience and work with these children. The second is how he asks for this student’s opinion about music and completely disregards what they think and feel about music.

His opinion of teaching is anyone can go in and teach as essentially a glorified baby-sitter. This opinion was addressed in a very little dialogue at the beginning of the film between Jack Black’s character and his friend, who Jack Black pretended to be to get the substitute teaching job. They go back and forth for a little bit around the issue of teacher training. However, when Jack Black's character actually experiences the classroom, he doesn't know what to do. This issues of what a teacher does is not heavily addressed beyond this point, but it does bring to light how the job of teaching is viewed by some people outside the field of education. This also leads into how Jack Black's character's makes decisions about the school day is laid out.

As the movie progresses, Dewey Finn figures out how to survive in the classroom. Upon hearing the student's music abilities and training, he gives the class a project for starting a class band to win the local battle of the bands competition. While in the midst of getting the class organized around the project, Dewey asks the student what music they listen to at home. One by one, Dewey shots down the opinions of the students.

This complete disregard for the opinions of the students was so uncalled for in my opinion. My first thought was about the number one rule for teachers with questions, "don't ask a question that you don't want an answer to." The next reaction was how unrealistic this was an this instance in the movie. To show the students that their opinions are not valid, especially within an area such as music, very much devalues who the students are and what they are going to possibly be willing to learn in the classroom. Personally, I do not listen to the artists that the students were listing off, but I would never say that my opinion of what I enjoy listening to is better is not a pedagogical strategy I would use in the classroom.This would be the case no matter what kind of school setting that one works in.

Basically, at this point in the movie, Dewey leverages his power as the teacher in the classroom and presents only the material that he thinks is important for the students to learn about. The message is forced throughout the rest of the movie that popular music is not that important and one needs to know the "greats" in order to create really good music. However, it is never established who determines who the "greats" are.

At this point, I will leave you with what I think a possible direction for bridging between the "greats" as established in this movie and pop music. The first video is a fan made video for an artist named Girl Talk. He produced mash-ups using pop music and classic rock. This video has synced up the source samples videos and aligned those videos to the specific parts used by Girl Talk. The second video is from a project called Thru-You. Much like Girl Talk, this is a mash-up style video, but the sourced videos are all amateur videos from YouTube. Both of these videos show how a collage of pre-recorded sound can be organized into something cohesive and familiar, but yet new at the same time.