In this day and age, many people, including myself, believe vinyl to be obsolete. My grandmother owned a vinyl record player, one that my family inherited, but never used. My family also owned old vinyl records for a long period of time, well into my teenage years. I never thought twice about those records, or even cassette tapes, what with my CDs and Mp3s to occupy my time. Even seeing modern-day DJs using vinyl records to scratch and mix music tracks is a sight that takes a moment or so for me to get used to seeing.
That's why reading Christian Marclay's article was so peculiar to me. To think that someone used and manipulated vinyl records in ways no one had previously thought of before was bewildering... although the article does state Christian was creating these audio projections since "the late 70s" when this technology was still widely used by the public. Nevertheless, Christian's work is impressive, especially when you consider that today's computer software can easily replicate effects that took a lot of experimentation on vinyl disks.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Vichyssoise of Verbiage Concerning Vinyl
I remember growing up I had a record player in my room, it was a stereo but the top part of it played records. I had various records that told children stories and fables. I also remember having a beach boys record that I would listen too. My dad had a huge record collection, he would play music while cleaning the house. So for me records have a very nostalgic feel. I instantly remember my old room in my old house before we moved. Its more like a piece of a metaphorical time caspsule for me rather than a how i would view a music cd that is strictly a tool for delivering my music.
I found Christian Marclays work to be interesting. I think it works because records have such a nostalgic feel to them. They are viewed in a lot of communities as a precious item of the past, making its appropriation as a tool for new sounds and technology more effective. By making people aware of the medium and how the sound is delivered it really establishes a difference between recorded audio (which is how most of us relate to music), and live performance. I especially liked were his views on music and installation art, and how there was a break in the audience between those who went to hear the music and those who went to enjoy the art.
"Unfortunately, one of the big differences is the audience. I've always tried to break down these divisions. Some people just listen to music others just look at art, some do both but they don't do it in the same place. It's sad that a lot of people can't be open-minded enough to be curious about something they don't understand. "
I agree with him on this, I think its possible to be aware and be appreciative/critical of both areas. He also spoke of the experience of recordings vs live performance, which I can relate to. I know that when Ive gone out to concerts, sometimes instruments are out of tune or the vocals arent perfect. But thats not important, its more about the performance and the energy being experienced.
I found Christian Marclays work to be interesting. I think it works because records have such a nostalgic feel to them. They are viewed in a lot of communities as a precious item of the past, making its appropriation as a tool for new sounds and technology more effective. By making people aware of the medium and how the sound is delivered it really establishes a difference between recorded audio (which is how most of us relate to music), and live performance. I especially liked were his views on music and installation art, and how there was a break in the audience between those who went to hear the music and those who went to enjoy the art.
"Unfortunately, one of the big differences is the audience. I've always tried to break down these divisions. Some people just listen to music others just look at art, some do both but they don't do it in the same place. It's sad that a lot of people can't be open-minded enough to be curious about something they don't understand. "
I agree with him on this, I think its possible to be aware and be appreciative/critical of both areas. He also spoke of the experience of recordings vs live performance, which I can relate to. I know that when Ive gone out to concerts, sometimes instruments are out of tune or the vocals arent perfect. But thats not important, its more about the performance and the energy being experienced.
About Vinal
My experiences with Vinal go back to when I was a kid. My parents still have a record player in my house, and I used to have my own records that I used to listen to. My first favorite band stemmed from my mom's old Monkee's records. My favorite Christmas songs are still on our Christmas records - not on the new CD's we've bought. There's just something timeless, classic, and comforting about those records that I can't replicate in tapes or CD's or even DVD's. I remember having to clean off the dust so it wouldn't skip, I had these big headphones I wore when I didn't want to disturb the family. Recently, our needle broke for our record player, so we're still hunting online for the right make and model to replace it. We miss our records!
I was interested in what Christian Marclay's was dealing with- combining found records into new music. I would like to experience some of his shows. I do not know much about DJs and how they perform, but I like the idea of using a turntable as in instrument just like a guitar or a piano. I agree that the scratches can be just as interesting as the music, but I also feel that it becomes luck as opposed to actual content when you deal with beatup records. His processes are interesting though - he does a lot of experimentation with how he can play the vinal. I thought the most fascinating part was when he was saying that people began to hear familiar songs in his work that he did not play - that we CRAVE placing unfamiliar sounds into context.
I like the idea of bringing old mediums back and reworking them - especially records. They have a lot of working potential, as opposed to a CD. There is something about a vinal record that I don't think will ever die, especially now with our music today with DJ's using turntables to play their music.
I was interested in what Christian Marclay's was dealing with- combining found records into new music. I would like to experience some of his shows. I do not know much about DJs and how they perform, but I like the idea of using a turntable as in instrument just like a guitar or a piano. I agree that the scratches can be just as interesting as the music, but I also feel that it becomes luck as opposed to actual content when you deal with beatup records. His processes are interesting though - he does a lot of experimentation with how he can play the vinal. I thought the most fascinating part was when he was saying that people began to hear familiar songs in his work that he did not play - that we CRAVE placing unfamiliar sounds into context.
I like the idea of bringing old mediums back and reworking them - especially records. They have a lot of working potential, as opposed to a CD. There is something about a vinal record that I don't think will ever die, especially now with our music today with DJ's using turntables to play their music.
9.26.06
i haven't had a lot of experience with vinyl records in my life. my mom once had a record player and i remember thinking that it was really cool. unfortunately it was broken, but i remember trying to play with my. you see, my sister had a "strawberry shortcake" record and i was like hmmm i wonder if it'll work if i were to spin it on the turny record thingy and put the little needle on it. well it was an interesting experience. even though it didn't work quite well, it did work in a sort of i'm in control way. for instance, i would spin it faster or slower just to hear the records in different speeds. i think that's all the experience i've ever had with records in my life.
marclay's interview was captivating and made me think about the way we hear things. in one part of the interview he mentions that people tend to have a need to identify the source of the material instead of absorbing what they hear or see as one whole entity (he used multiple records to produce a sound that he thought may trigger a memory of a time in an individual's life). i found it interesting that he used the material of the records to his advantage, like bringing forth the worn sounds (scratchings) of the record. he stated that it was something unpredictable, something old that becomes new and exciting. one other thing that i found interesting was his opinion of recording onto cds or just recording in general of his sounds. marclay states that when recording one must have a different type of listening where the recording changes it's meaning upon multiple plays. this made me think about how one may listen to something, but not be able to catch certain things until they replay the thing multiple times. it's almost like looking at a piece; one's eyes would look over it once, but the eye would go back over the piece to capture more information about the piece. his work is more about the instance of his work and the interaction of it.
i feel that using old technology to create new things is a good way to create something captivating. whatever you end up producing, there will always be a thought of the old, what it used to be, and what it is in today's world now. i personally have never really used old technology to create new things, but the idea, the concept is something that i wouldn't mind touching upon in some lifetime of mine.
marclay's interview was captivating and made me think about the way we hear things. in one part of the interview he mentions that people tend to have a need to identify the source of the material instead of absorbing what they hear or see as one whole entity (he used multiple records to produce a sound that he thought may trigger a memory of a time in an individual's life). i found it interesting that he used the material of the records to his advantage, like bringing forth the worn sounds (scratchings) of the record. he stated that it was something unpredictable, something old that becomes new and exciting. one other thing that i found interesting was his opinion of recording onto cds or just recording in general of his sounds. marclay states that when recording one must have a different type of listening where the recording changes it's meaning upon multiple plays. this made me think about how one may listen to something, but not be able to catch certain things until they replay the thing multiple times. it's almost like looking at a piece; one's eyes would look over it once, but the eye would go back over the piece to capture more information about the piece. his work is more about the instance of his work and the interaction of it.
i feel that using old technology to create new things is a good way to create something captivating. whatever you end up producing, there will always be a thought of the old, what it used to be, and what it is in today's world now. i personally have never really used old technology to create new things, but the idea, the concept is something that i wouldn't mind touching upon in some lifetime of mine.
Records Lyuba
The thing that stood out to me most about what Marclay said in his interview was the distinction between music experienced live and that experience in headphones in the dark while you lie on the bed. You listen to completely different things this way, you listen FOR different things.. it's a completely diferent listening experience in each, neither is better than the other, just different. I had records growing up.. never messed around with them much, I had a few favorites I would play over and over. One was a telling of my favorite fairy tale, i was terrifying.. the sounds.. It started with the grandma telling a child a bedtime story.. then the terrible sounds came. Then there were tapes.. didn't get CDs until they were far from new. Then, for a long time I had a bunch of records but a broken needle on my record player. now I have 3 records, 2 of them different versions of the same, and nothing to play them on. Marclay's remixes sound interesting to me in concept, I haven't heard them.. but I imagine the record players acting as a sort of delayed orchestra.. where you can command only one at a time.. but they "improvise" on their own as well. Sounds kind of like an audio mess. The idea of having the instruments played by a group of "DJs" as part of a real "band" seems very interesting as well, DJing not a solo act? Dueling record players? Using the old to make new is something I absolutely love.. because what is there other than the old, the already extant.. sure that's a wide way of looking at it, the whole scale.. but what else could we possibly do than recycle? Not changing the source material to remain recognizably referential is the key here. this is interestign becaus eit forces the viewer to hear the reference and bring other personal references into the work.. bringing together things from all times and all genres and all parts of the world into one.
Sept 27
My experiences with vinyl are very limited. I used to have a ratty record player when I was little that I would play disney tunes on. I dont remember it and I don't know where it went... probably to the trash... probably to a landfill... or it got given away and resold...
Response to Christian's DJ work:
I'm not personally interested in his idea of getting old records and experiencing their scratches as unpredictable, creative moments. I do agree with the idea that the sounds something makes when it is broken can be really engaging, but records seem boring to me to convey this point. I liked that Christian tried to create a collective meaning or a sparking of individual's memories with the nostalgic sounds he uses from his records. Records really don't say much to me though. I guess, because I have a limited past with records, that it doesn't really say much to me to be using these old records and giving them a new/old sound by using them in the same way they were intended (to make sound) but with attention to different sound making techniques.
My thoughts about using old technology to make new things...
100% for it. I totally like the idea of using old technology to make new things. I like to take apart stuff and repurpose it or to collect old junk just get new ideas. Recently I got a REALLY old projector and the problems that came out of it and it's limited format gave me some really cool ideas on how to deal with incorporating that into my new work... dumpster searching is my hobby (if that can be counted as "fun" then go for it)
Response to Christian's DJ work:
I'm not personally interested in his idea of getting old records and experiencing their scratches as unpredictable, creative moments. I do agree with the idea that the sounds something makes when it is broken can be really engaging, but records seem boring to me to convey this point. I liked that Christian tried to create a collective meaning or a sparking of individual's memories with the nostalgic sounds he uses from his records. Records really don't say much to me though. I guess, because I have a limited past with records, that it doesn't really say much to me to be using these old records and giving them a new/old sound by using them in the same way they were intended (to make sound) but with attention to different sound making techniques.
My thoughts about using old technology to make new things...
100% for it. I totally like the idea of using old technology to make new things. I like to take apart stuff and repurpose it or to collect old junk just get new ideas. Recently I got a REALLY old projector and the problems that came out of it and it's limited format gave me some really cool ideas on how to deal with incorporating that into my new work... dumpster searching is my hobby (if that can be counted as "fun" then go for it)
Vynil, no, not like that
When I was young, my parents had a record player with their stereo system. One thing I really remember about the player, which we still have, is the way you would tweak the speed of it playing. You had a small prism that directed a light onto the wheel. When the wheel through the prism looked as though it wasn't moving, it was in harmony and in tune. The whole technical aspect of the device and how it worked and moved always fascinated me.
I vaguely remember the actual playing of records on the player though. My parents had a huge selection of albums, both the LPs and 42s, but I only remember a few thins playing on the player. I remember the scratching that would occur occasionally as you played through a record, but at the time I thought it was more of a flaw than a nice way of hearing the medium at work.
Reading about Marclay, I really got his appreciation for the record as a medium itself. While the sound he was producing was a medium too, and he focused on it, he did love the medium of the record itself. That focus on the medium really showed me an understanding how to manipulate the medium of both the record and sound it produces.
The 'old technology' as 'new technology' theory is really unique. Old technology, at least what I am thinking about (records, cassettes, etc) are simply old due to time. The technology behind them is still very advanced. They still are viable technologies and can be used on any given day without too much manipulation of electricity or any other 'current' technology to get it to work. They are old in the eyes of the young, but they are still usable, so that makes them mighty. To stand the test of time, you have to look at technology that doesn't still work. Look at old stoves from pre-WW2, or other household technology. A lot of that technology doesn't work now (the actual pieces produced then). However, you can still dust off a cassette player, hook it up to your brand new 10,000 dollar stereo system, and listen away.
I vaguely remember the actual playing of records on the player though. My parents had a huge selection of albums, both the LPs and 42s, but I only remember a few thins playing on the player. I remember the scratching that would occur occasionally as you played through a record, but at the time I thought it was more of a flaw than a nice way of hearing the medium at work.
Reading about Marclay, I really got his appreciation for the record as a medium itself. While the sound he was producing was a medium too, and he focused on it, he did love the medium of the record itself. That focus on the medium really showed me an understanding how to manipulate the medium of both the record and sound it produces.
The 'old technology' as 'new technology' theory is really unique. Old technology, at least what I am thinking about (records, cassettes, etc) are simply old due to time. The technology behind them is still very advanced. They still are viable technologies and can be used on any given day without too much manipulation of electricity or any other 'current' technology to get it to work. They are old in the eyes of the young, but they are still usable, so that makes them mighty. To stand the test of time, you have to look at technology that doesn't still work. Look at old stoves from pre-WW2, or other household technology. A lot of that technology doesn't work now (the actual pieces produced then). However, you can still dust off a cassette player, hook it up to your brand new 10,000 dollar stereo system, and listen away.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Project Proposal- Marie/Brandon
For our sound project, Brandon and I are going to be working with the emotion of fear. We will be using sounds to create an environment that plays with everyone's fears. This environment will not be a recognizable place, or something that one can easily identify, but rather a creative use of sound effects to create an eery mood.
The installation will be in a completely dark room. We do not want any visual effects to interfere with the sounds. We want people to use their imaginations to create their own "horror movie enviromnent."
We will be using speakers all around the room to play with the movement of the sounds. We would like to make these sounds tangible and have movement, so the people in the space think that something else might be in the room as well, moving around.
The installation will be in a completely dark room. We do not want any visual effects to interfere with the sounds. We want people to use their imaginations to create their own "horror movie enviromnent."
We will be using speakers all around the room to play with the movement of the sounds. We would like to make these sounds tangible and have movement, so the people in the space think that something else might be in the room as well, moving around.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Sound
Im working with kim for the sound project. For location we are interested in utilizing FAC 310, the back area where the couch is, like sectioning it off and making our own room/space. Kim already posted about technological sounds. I had an idea that it would be neat to use water, and how sound vibrations make water ripples, kinda like in Juriassic Park. There is a famous scene where the TRex stomps create ripples in a glass of water. I dunno im just interested in the idea of sound waves creating some kind of visual presence.
Project brainstorming
I am wondering if wearing a discombobulation hat would affect a person's balance / orientation. This hat is conical with 4 or 6 equidistantly placed speakers lining the lower edge perimeter on the inside. A cage separates the head from the hat skin as in a safety helmet. Mysic players are housed just above inside the cone, to be activated before the show. One or more sounds moves from speaker to speaker in either direction forming intermingling circles of sound- I would like to test if this has a disorienting effect.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Final Project Starter Idea
I want to work with similar techniques the electric guitar thing that we played with in class-- that was REALLY AWESOME and I want to see what I all I can expand on it with. For my project I want to go dumpster diving and make a found object symphony by rearranging the trash to make instruments. I'd like to focus mainly on the objects and what kinds of sounds I can get them to make in the settings that I choose to put them in. I guess that is a little vague, but I think there is something poetic about old trash and new songs.
Monday, September 18, 2006
AM radio and This American Life
AM radio-
I listened to a few stations after scrolling through the AM stations for a while (I had a hard time picking up signals). I first stopped on a local sports station talking about florida football. I then found a local news station. The final one I didn't get where they were broadcasting from, but they were playing country songs that I've never heard before.
This American Life
Music Lessons: Episode 104
There was a proloug and three acts, everyone talking about their experiences with music. The first act was about a boy who wanted to play jazz, but his dad gave him a guitar. He didn't know what to do with it, and eventually gave up on it. The second one was a woman talking about her experiences in the marching band when she was in high school. She didn't see why she should be getting class credit for it. She talked about having to memorize how to march, and how that could never be practical information for the real world. She complained that she could not play the instrument of her choice because of her jaw structure. Then she talked about the differences between orchestra, band, and chorus kids, and how chorus kids were the worst out of the three. The last one was a story about a woman who got everyone in the plane to sing a song. In between each story was a musical interlude.
I listened to a few stations after scrolling through the AM stations for a while (I had a hard time picking up signals). I first stopped on a local sports station talking about florida football. I then found a local news station. The final one I didn't get where they were broadcasting from, but they were playing country songs that I've never heard before.
This American Life
Music Lessons: Episode 104
There was a proloug and three acts, everyone talking about their experiences with music. The first act was about a boy who wanted to play jazz, but his dad gave him a guitar. He didn't know what to do with it, and eventually gave up on it. The second one was a woman talking about her experiences in the marching band when she was in high school. She didn't see why she should be getting class credit for it. She talked about having to memorize how to march, and how that could never be practical information for the real world. She complained that she could not play the instrument of her choice because of her jaw structure. Then she talked about the differences between orchestra, band, and chorus kids, and how chorus kids were the worst out of the three. The last one was a story about a woman who got everyone in the plane to sing a song. In between each story was a musical interlude.
project idea?
so...the idea that Dominick and myself had, was to create an environment juxtaposing the sounds of nature and that of technology and things that are mechanical. This is a very broad idea and we are open to suggestions on where to go with this or on how to narrow it down.
AM Radio Hijinx and Web Episode Madness
For the AM radio, I could'nt get any signals on my stereo, so i went online and listened to station 870 KRLA news talk. They were talking about the "Mexican Invasion" and about how illegals were creating all kinds of problems and creating garbage along the border. Some angry callers called in talking about Mexicans and how they were corrupting the US. The talk show personalities also repeatedly asked for donations to keep themselves on the air.
For the This life website I listend to episode 314. The general theme was about looking into the past, and there were 3 different stories. The intro was about a man who was bullied for playing the cello, then later in life his bully became commited federal crimes and was sent to prison. Then the next guy spoke about how when he was younger a group of boys tossed him into a lake. Later in life he became a successful author and went to his school reunion, where he spoke with one of his tormentors. He however remembered them all jumping into the lake and it being a fun time. Then next story was about a woman who bought a house from this elderly man, thinking he was about to die. However the man never died, so an interesting relationship was created between the buyer of the house and the woman who is waiting for the man to pass on. And the last story was about a comedian who held onto a political joke for years before getting the oppurtunity to use it. I found all the stories to be pretty engaging. In the intro for instance, when the guy talks about playing the cello, a cello is heard playing on in the background. Many times instruments are used to move along the story. And usually there is some kind of current dialogue going on to keep things interesting, whether its between story teller and host or between two characters in the story.
For the This life website I listend to episode 314. The general theme was about looking into the past, and there were 3 different stories. The intro was about a man who was bullied for playing the cello, then later in life his bully became commited federal crimes and was sent to prison. Then the next guy spoke about how when he was younger a group of boys tossed him into a lake. Later in life he became a successful author and went to his school reunion, where he spoke with one of his tormentors. He however remembered them all jumping into the lake and it being a fun time. Then next story was about a woman who bought a house from this elderly man, thinking he was about to die. However the man never died, so an interesting relationship was created between the buyer of the house and the woman who is waiting for the man to pass on. And the last story was about a comedian who held onto a political joke for years before getting the oppurtunity to use it. I found all the stories to be pretty engaging. In the intro for instance, when the guy talks about playing the cello, a cello is heard playing on in the background. Many times instruments are used to move along the story. And usually there is some kind of current dialogue going on to keep things interesting, whether its between story teller and host or between two characters in the story.
class 9.18
AM radio stations
At around midnight I decided to listen to some AM radio and found 3 stations. One was a country music station around the 1000 area. Another one that I received clearly was 560WQAM, the sporting news radio by Todd Wright. I noted that there were listeners from Texas, Colorado, Los Vegas, and of course Florida. He mentioned something about a New York Team that revamped their goal tendor. I didn't quite understand and eventually I lost interest so I continued to change the station. I landed on a station around the 655 area, unfortunately it wasn't clear enough for me to hear the actual station number. I heard that they were getting calls from Seattle about some lights and alien sightings. That caught my interest, so I tried harder to listen. Then they spoke about the US news and how a US Embassy was being bombed in Iraq. After a while of news, it went into commercials about sponsoring a child. Another commercial I found humorous was one where they advertised a cd that should be played while you're sleeping to help control your cravings.
This American Life
I listened to episode 316: The Cat Came Home. They first talked about their dog that howled all the time but couldn't bark. It ate the neighbor's bunnies and eventually they were forced to give the dog to a person who lived in the country. One night the family was coming back home and it so happened that there was a dog in the road. This was their dog. Apparently the dog travelled back to come home. So this story is about anything, either it be a dog or cat or person that would continually come back no matter the odds. One touching story was the one in Act one (there were 4 acts; another was about john kerry continually coming back into the main steam when he was supposed to just disappear) which was about a homosexual couple and how one was tested to be HIV posivitve. Subquentially, the person stated to be HIV positive was supposed to die, but because of a certain drug, he was able to live longer. This was unexpected especially for his ex-bf who promised to always be there for him. So the story continues and eventually the ex was relieved of his promise so he didn't feel like he was tied down by it anymore.
What I personally liked about his episode was that he used the integration of certain sounds/ music to invoke a certain type of feeling. For instance, when he talks about his dog, the part where he stated how the dog would be wild and free, there was an upbeat jazzy sequence which evoked a strong and intense feeling (one of being loose and fun). I especially liked the part where when he was telling the story about how the dog came back (a story he heard from his mom) there was an integration of a woman's voice (probably his mom's) talking about the incident every now and then. There was another part like that in the "promise keeper cat" where the ex was talking about his experience and there would be a cut where you were able to hear the phone conversation with the AIDs victim and his ex letting him go of the promise he made a long time ago. So I guess what caught my interest was the integration of sounds that help create a certain feeling or mood and also how he integrated recordings of the live event in which the people were talking about.
At around midnight I decided to listen to some AM radio and found 3 stations. One was a country music station around the 1000 area. Another one that I received clearly was 560WQAM, the sporting news radio by Todd Wright. I noted that there were listeners from Texas, Colorado, Los Vegas, and of course Florida. He mentioned something about a New York Team that revamped their goal tendor. I didn't quite understand and eventually I lost interest so I continued to change the station. I landed on a station around the 655 area, unfortunately it wasn't clear enough for me to hear the actual station number. I heard that they were getting calls from Seattle about some lights and alien sightings. That caught my interest, so I tried harder to listen. Then they spoke about the US news and how a US Embassy was being bombed in Iraq. After a while of news, it went into commercials about sponsoring a child. Another commercial I found humorous was one where they advertised a cd that should be played while you're sleeping to help control your cravings.
This American Life
I listened to episode 316: The Cat Came Home. They first talked about their dog that howled all the time but couldn't bark. It ate the neighbor's bunnies and eventually they were forced to give the dog to a person who lived in the country. One night the family was coming back home and it so happened that there was a dog in the road. This was their dog. Apparently the dog travelled back to come home. So this story is about anything, either it be a dog or cat or person that would continually come back no matter the odds. One touching story was the one in Act one (there were 4 acts; another was about john kerry continually coming back into the main steam when he was supposed to just disappear) which was about a homosexual couple and how one was tested to be HIV posivitve. Subquentially, the person stated to be HIV positive was supposed to die, but because of a certain drug, he was able to live longer. This was unexpected especially for his ex-bf who promised to always be there for him. So the story continues and eventually the ex was relieved of his promise so he didn't feel like he was tied down by it anymore.
What I personally liked about his episode was that he used the integration of certain sounds/ music to invoke a certain type of feeling. For instance, when he talks about his dog, the part where he stated how the dog would be wild and free, there was an upbeat jazzy sequence which evoked a strong and intense feeling (one of being loose and fun). I especially liked the part where when he was telling the story about how the dog came back (a story he heard from his mom) there was an integration of a woman's voice (probably his mom's) talking about the incident every now and then. There was another part like that in the "promise keeper cat" where the ex was talking about his experience and there would be a cut where you were able to hear the phone conversation with the AIDs victim and his ex letting him go of the promise he made a long time ago. So I guess what caught my interest was the integration of sounds that help create a certain feeling or mood and also how he integrated recordings of the live event in which the people were talking about.
AM Radio & This American Life
At about 10 pm I turned on the AM radio and searched around for stations. I found about 4. One was some country bluesy kind of stuff, another was a sports channel, and the last one (which I only got clearly for about 2 minutes) was a latin music station. I think I was in too busy of an area to get more stations (34th St.).
I listened to the Babysitting skit on This American Life. It started off with a kind of intro with sounds of a woman dropping off her kids with their nanny. There were interviews with the nanny, the mom, and the kids about how they feel about the nanny. There were 3 acts with songs in between (remixes of the song about Nannies from Mary Poppins). I found the show pretty interesting to listen to because it was broken up between the narrator and the person actually telling the story (at least for the first story that is). One skit was about a guy who terrorized his little siblings while he babysat them. The second one was about a girl who told her story about travelling the day after christmas and her plane being cancelled. She had to be watched in a hotel room by a flight attendant. The last one was about babysitting kids that don't exist.
I listened to the Babysitting skit on This American Life. It started off with a kind of intro with sounds of a woman dropping off her kids with their nanny. There were interviews with the nanny, the mom, and the kids about how they feel about the nanny. There were 3 acts with songs in between (remixes of the song about Nannies from Mary Poppins). I found the show pretty interesting to listen to because it was broken up between the narrator and the person actually telling the story (at least for the first story that is). One skit was about a guy who terrorized his little siblings while he babysat them. The second one was about a girl who told her story about travelling the day after christmas and her plane being cancelled. She had to be watched in a hotel room by a flight attendant. The last one was about babysitting kids that don't exist.
Homework Write-Up
1) 3 sentences on AM radio, what stations, and they sounded like.
I went frequency by frequency looking for something interesting. I didn't find much in the way of actual stations. I did find a small Spanish network, and at first it almost sounded like English. The most interesting part was finding stations that reacted to the sounds my car made. Multiple stations picked up the click from my turn signal. A few stations on the high and low end (extremes) reacted to the engine of my car. I could affect the frequency of the sound coming out of my speaker (mostly static) by simply reving my car.
3) 5 sentences on American Life. How did they make it interesting and engaging. What it was about, how you liked it, and what made you want to listen to it.
I listened to the episode called "Getting and Spending." The episode dealt with people from all walks of life and how they found creative (and sometimes illegal) ways of making and spending money. This ranged from those on the stock market floor who reveled in global disasters to middle Americans who find a fascination with robbing business and banks. While mostly talking, they used a lot of foley sounds to emphasize certain actions in the stories. They also used foley sounds to transition from one scene to the next. I heard a few cuts that went straight form the narration of the story (the person involved) to an omnipresent narrator that pushed the stories along and offered 3rd party incite to surrounding events and circumstances. The cuts from within scenes really kept me interested because while the story continued, it broke it up in such a way that progressed the story while offering a variety of sounds and voices to listen to. I think the sound quality also had an impact because the clarity reminded me of the ideas of old story-telling on the radio akin to War of the Worlds. It provided a sense of surrounding through pure sound.
I went frequency by frequency looking for something interesting. I didn't find much in the way of actual stations. I did find a small Spanish network, and at first it almost sounded like English. The most interesting part was finding stations that reacted to the sounds my car made. Multiple stations picked up the click from my turn signal. A few stations on the high and low end (extremes) reacted to the engine of my car. I could affect the frequency of the sound coming out of my speaker (mostly static) by simply reving my car.
3) 5 sentences on American Life. How did they make it interesting and engaging. What it was about, how you liked it, and what made you want to listen to it.
I listened to the episode called "Getting and Spending." The episode dealt with people from all walks of life and how they found creative (and sometimes illegal) ways of making and spending money. This ranged from those on the stock market floor who reveled in global disasters to middle Americans who find a fascination with robbing business and banks. While mostly talking, they used a lot of foley sounds to emphasize certain actions in the stories. They also used foley sounds to transition from one scene to the next. I heard a few cuts that went straight form the narration of the story (the person involved) to an omnipresent narrator that pushed the stories along and offered 3rd party incite to surrounding events and circumstances. The cuts from within scenes really kept me interested because while the story continued, it broke it up in such a way that progressed the story while offering a variety of sounds and voices to listen to. I think the sound quality also had an impact because the clarity reminded me of the ideas of old story-telling on the radio akin to War of the Worlds. It provided a sense of surrounding through pure sound.
AM radio and shows by Lyuba
I listened to some rather boring AM news station from LA AM880 or something. They were talking about IRAQ in a languid discussion and at random points in the conversation they would play music that didn't seem to fit quite right; it sounded like "theme" music and super heroes. Talk on the radio for some reason is rather painful to my ears.. usually I avoid it. The sound of discussion drives me nuts. However, this radio program had a different effect:
My American Life
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I listened to the show entitled "Obsession," on peoples obsessions and the spectrum from normal to OCD. First there was a woman obsessed with the number 2, who liked the number in childhood but then developed a compulsion to do evrything in pairs.. like touch your left ear, touch your right, a symmetry.. this began with a simple familiar phone interview, she and her husband spoke about exmples of the pbsession. Next there was some music and the show stepped into a segment that had an aura of fiction and mystery.. a personal narrative that started "I am 8 years old an I like to make snow angels.. blah blah 10 years later I noticed so and so.." this sounded like fiction and took me into a hyperrel world that was more effective and non fictiony than the phone interviews. The sound quality was different and sounded like a personal and pre-recorded monologue, unlike the previous low quality crackly phone interview. The presentation was of a great variety of voices. Music played between the segments as well as during some parts of the previosu monologue for efect.. mostly etherial ambient sounds to set the mood. Later a different point was introduced, as previosuly obsessions were compared to non-religious rituals, a practicer of judaism came on to talk about his rituals (or obsessions) but he spoke of them as giving him freedim rather than restricting him from life, later a moderator spoke and compared the different approaches, tying the separate speakers together.
My American Life
----------------
I listened to the show entitled "Obsession," on peoples obsessions and the spectrum from normal to OCD. First there was a woman obsessed with the number 2, who liked the number in childhood but then developed a compulsion to do evrything in pairs.. like touch your left ear, touch your right, a symmetry.. this began with a simple familiar phone interview, she and her husband spoke about exmples of the pbsession. Next there was some music and the show stepped into a segment that had an aura of fiction and mystery.. a personal narrative that started "I am 8 years old an I like to make snow angels.. blah blah 10 years later I noticed so and so.." this sounded like fiction and took me into a hyperrel world that was more effective and non fictiony than the phone interviews. The sound quality was different and sounded like a personal and pre-recorded monologue, unlike the previous low quality crackly phone interview. The presentation was of a great variety of voices. Music played between the segments as well as during some parts of the previosu monologue for efect.. mostly etherial ambient sounds to set the mood. Later a different point was introduced, as previosuly obsessions were compared to non-religious rituals, a practicer of judaism came on to talk about his rituals (or obsessions) but he spoke of them as giving him freedim rather than restricting him from life, later a moderator spoke and compared the different approaches, tying the separate speakers together.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
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