Article Discussion

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122114058

I found this article very interesting because it relates to the arguments from class. Essentially, the quality of music. The article talks about compression and how it is affecting the quality of music. The idea of compressing music is to make it louder, so that it is more recognizable. The producers want the song to jump out at you from your MP3, that is one of the main reasons for compression. Also, in order to fit all the songs we want as a consumer, they have to compress the song down so that it is a small file, but in return it decreases the quality, increases the volume, and I think, will lead to a lot of hearing problems in our generation. I understand the need to make the file small so that the consumer can have more music, but by doing so we are losing the quality of music and increasing health problems. Therefore, I think it comes down to a question, do we want quantity or quality? Personally, I would prefer better quality out of songs, and only have say a hundred or so, rather than have seven thousand and poor quality that hurts my ears. And in keeping with the discussion with Auto-tune, is compression just as bad because it distorts the truth, or does it all make sense for the consumption of music?

Music in My Lifetime

During my life music has changed a lot, not just in sound but in availability and the medium through which it is listened to. I can remember listening to tapes, and trying to record my favorite songs off the radio to listen to on tapes. Though mostly, I remember CDs. They were everywhere and I had so many, well, most of them were the boy bands. I loved my portable CD players, they were amazing. I could listen to my own music when I was out with my parents. Though they did skip, a lot, sometimes they had to perfectly still for it to not skip. I didn't get a MP3 player till they had been out a while. But I love being able to change up my music, and not being stuck to the radio or one CD. Unless I really like a song, I can hardly stand to pay attention to the whole song. So MP3 players are great for me. I also love the fact that on the internet I can listen to a song before I actually buy it, because I do not want to waste money on something that I will not listen to. The internet, I love the internet, point blank. I like to watch music videos; it gives me a sense of what the song was about to other people, sometimes. The internet provides all sorts of outlets for discovering new music, some that I have never heard in my life, nor probably would have if the internet hadn't changed music.

Music on T.V.

Watch a television program or movie and discuss the use of music in that program/film. For example, does the music heighten emotion, distract from the action, complement the dialogue, or serve some other purpose?

    The best TV show that I have found that has the best selection of music is Grey's Anatomy. Every episode has a lot of music. I think that the music in the show most defiantly heightens emotions during the show. I've noticed that music is most often played during something significant or something emotional throughout the show. If something is sad, then the show will play slow, low music but if there is something amusing about the situations then the show will play more upbeat music. The beginning season really didn't play that much music that had vocals; it was mostly a wide variety of instrumental music. Actually, most of the show consists of instrumental music, I think that most of the time if the show is playing music that has vocals it is during a time in the show that no one is talking. Therefore, it heightens what is going on in the show at that time period. The music defiantly complements the dialogue because it just adds to the emotions. But the music really doesn't distract from the action, but instead draw you to the action. Another thing that I've noticed is that the music with vocals is played at the end of the show when the drama is increased and everything is coming to an end.

Music in places

In what other places/spaces do you encounter music – athletic events, grocery stores, parties? Choose one of these spaces and discuss how music is encountered and what purpose music serves in that space.

I think that the majority of people do not realize how much music that the normal person actually hears throughout the day. I think that I encounter music more in grocery stores, even though I have defiantly experienced music at parties and at sporting events, I see it more as a tool in grocery stores. In Grocery stores it is played to relax the customers and to provide noise to the otherwise, generally, quiet store. For instances, I was in my local grocery store yesterday and Michael Buble was playing. It was soft and quite so that most people do not acknowledge it. It is funny though, most of the time I hear the music, but my mom or dad or whoever I'm with never hears the music playing. Something else, I've noticed that my local store, Publix, plays today's hits along with older stuff. Maybe that is to keep the store balanced with the diversity of people that go to the store. It is also funny how sometimes I have seen people listen to their MP3 devices while shopping. I think that music is played in grocery stores because it is generally a solitary activity.

Five of My Favorite Songs of Right Now

When I sat down to do this blog I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me. The songs are not in any particular order, and are constantly changing. To start off with I pick According to You by Orianthi. Initially I like the song because it sounds like a cross between a Pop song and a Rock song, because Orianthi is a really talented guitar player. It is kind of like a cross between Taylor Swift and some female rock band. For me it's almost like one of those 'girl power' songs because she's talking about either her ex or current boyfriend and how he didn't appreciate her, but this other guy does. It is relatable for me. Next on the list is Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood. Even though it is one of those crosses between Country and Pop, I still enjoy it. First off Carrie Underwood has an amazing voice. This song is just so flirty and fun, while also giving a warning about players. My next pick is Dreams by Brandi Carlile. I really like this song and it is complicated to say why. I really like how the music steadily builds throughout the song. I also love her voice, it's kind of deep, a bit 'punky' in a sense and distinct. The lyrics are pretty good, to me they say that your dreams are your own and you don't have to tell anyone about them, nor do you have to act on them all of the time. The next song is Ain't no Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephants. I've liked Cage the Elephants well enough for a while now, but right now I'm really into this song because it is in your face. I also like the way it sounds, it is kind of lazy sounding. And lyrically it talks about real life, though not everyone is necessarily wicked. My last song is 40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet) by Bob Schnider. This song to me is very happy and care free. It has some random lyrics but I think that is part of the point of the love he is describing. The song is all about living and not taking anything for granted. The things he says aren't necessarily the most conventional romantic phrases, but they work because it makes the song a non-conventional love song.

Negative Music

I try to not be very negative to music, but it happens. For instances, I really do not like Mariah Carey for reasons I’m not going to discuss right now. What I will write about instead is two songs that I have equal strong negative feelings towards, making it hard to just pick one of them. It’s not a genre, because they are from separate ones. The songs are “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt and “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. The James Blunt song was very popular a couple years ago, it is difficult to try and avoid the song when every single girl within 5 yards had the song as a ringtone. Initially, the first 5 seconds of the song are good, nice beat, an almost pleasurable sound, but then he opens his mouth. His voice is like nails on a chalk board for me, all whiney, scratchy, irritating, and really just annoying. The lyrics have some potential, if they were rewritten. Singing a song for a random girl, telling her how beautiful she is, that’s a bit weird. Now for The Police, really it is just the lyrics that bother me. I don’t have a problem with The Police, I’m partial to Roxanne. But “Every Breath You Take” is often played at weddings, romantic events, etc… If you look at the lyrics, however, it’s a lot creepy and a lot stalker-ish. It is not at least bit romantic in my opinion. It really annoys me that it is perceived as a romantic song.

Distribution of Music

The idea of buying and selling music is complicated. On one hand it is up to the listeners to support the artist, because if they don't then all artists would be homeless beggars littering the streets. There would not be any money for them to produce the music, unless they had a 'day job' but then, generally, their music would suffer because it wouldn't be their main focus. Therefore, the right thing to do is to properly buy the music. On the other hand, you have the producers who charge so much money for everything, that the cost of listening to music becomes ridiculous. It is understandable that producing music cost a lot of money, but it seems to me that the higher up on the totem pole you are in the industry, the more money you can charge for the production of a single record. I do occasionally purchase a CD from a store, but I really don't like to because it adds to clutter. I'll get the CD bring it home, rip it to my laptop, sync it to my Zune, and be done with it. The CD is then just sitting there. But if I was to purchase it from say Itunes, the middle ground, and it's cheaper.