jasoncfor3-blog

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post 10

Rap has definitely changed the way I look at certain issues, like the ones J. Cole discusses for example. It has also impacted my character and the way I talk and the people I typically hang out with. I think that my favorite artists have influenced the clothes I purchase and style I prefer to have as well.

I definitely think so. Even though rap is its own genre, I would say there are sub genres within rap that I listen to based on my mood and what I need to hear. There are motivating songs that help before competition, slower songs to help calm my mind and recover, and songs that can help depression or going through hard times.

This is a tough question to pin point one song, but if it is the biggest impact on everyone, I would say it would have to be one of his popular songs that the most people have heard so I would probably say Crooked Smile. There are a lot of good quotes in that song that I know inspire a lot of people.

I updated the first few sentences of my paper to try to make it more interesting and lead in to my thesis. I also applied the notes you left to my paper. I thought my conclusion could have used some work and edited that as well.

This course gave me an overall greater understanding of the impact of music and appreciation for its importance and everything it can do. As a business major, understanding its ability to connect groups and bring people in with a catchy hook or a good protest song is helpful. Also, the research and presentation methods learned in the class will help me going forward as well.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #9

This article discusses protest songs and what makes a good one. The author references a professor that says, “It’s a strong performance about an urgent topic with a specific audience in mind.” I agree with this statement. I think the timing of the song in important in determining its effectiveness and that it needs to be something people can relate to and get behind.

One song by my favorite artist that serves as a protest song in order to make a positive impact is “Be Free” by J. Cole. The message he is discussing is police brutality towards African Americans and the inequality that still exists. He uses lyrical imagery and also in this live performance his tone and body language to show the pain and meaning behind the song.

I think this song is effective. It is relevant to the current circumstances in the country and was released after the murder of Mike Brown which helped the song become popular in the media and stand as a symbol for the protest that was taking place

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Symposium Day Post

On Symposium Day I attended Joe Kellan’s presentation on a virus. The presentation was in a classroom in Hanson and was done on a PowerPoint. He was dressed nice and the presentation involved very advanced chemistry, making it seem very professional. While presenting his information, he included bullet points as well as pictures and diagrams. The visuals were used to help clarify what he had been discussing and help make things clearer for the audience. Joe had a laser pointer with him that he would use to point out points he was discussing or specific points of his visuals that made it easier to follow along with what he was doing. Another thing that Joe did multiple times in his presentation was make analogies of the complex processes he was discussing to real world situations and easily relatable things. This made his complicated explanations much clearer to me and worked well for his presentation. The presentation was based on information that I have no knowledge of and used language that I could not follow at all so it was hard me to appreciate the presentation, but there were professors that could comprehend what he was discussing and asked him questions that he answered very well and proved he was well prepared on his topic and for the presentation. He did not use notecards in his presentation or show any signs of not knowing what to say next. Joe appeared to be an expect while making his presentation and did a good job in organizing his information and presenting that I will try to include when I prepare for my own presentation.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #8

My answers:

Some things I needed to purchase, such as food. Some I wanted to purchase because I wanted it and it was popular such as entertainment or clothes.

J. Cole’s album hard copy

He is my favorite artist and I like having a disc because it means more to me and because I wanted to support him.

hip-hop and r&b

I get nearly all of my music from Apple Music. I Also listen to music on apps that have free mixtapes or sometimes youtube. I listen all the time when I’m walking, driving, or just hanging out in the room or with people.

In the hip-hop industry I think that artists are heavily controlled by money and the people who run music labels that are in power. I think a lot of the new people that are getting popular and being advertised in the industry are bad for music and putting out the same low quality music that the younger generation likes but goes through quickly.

My favorite musicians are intelligent stylish people and have creative ideas and what they rap about or promote influences how I think and what I do.

Most of them promote brands or styles that I like and would purchase but most of it is very expensive and not worth buying.

Sometimes I do. If I think an artist or song is not socially responsible I try to not support them.

There are artists that try to fight social issues in their songs or in the media and public and that try to promote positivity and creating a better world.

On J. Cole’s new song 1985 he is talking to the new generation of rappers that are strongly promoting drugs and other harmful things to our youth and letting them know they have a big influence and should be using it for better purposes that aren't hurting society.

When I went to a J. Cole concert, near the middle between songs he took a moment to discuss the Colin Kaepernick situation and the racism that is taking place in our country and that we need to fight for change and make the world a better more loving place.

 Besides the crowd being inspired by this speech and wanting to help make change, no.

Someone who uses their platform and voice for the better of the world to promote positive change instead of solely focused on themselves.

I think it is very important because they have a lot of influence on their listeners and people act based on what they are hearing, so this can be used in a good or bad way.

Yes. When you think the person is doing good things and helping issues you see in the world you want to support them and their cause more.

I have not.

I think it is similar, but with musicians you know who the person is and can put a face to it rather than a brand or business so if you see them it means more to you that they are being socially responsible since you feel like you know who they are.

My partner (Carson’s) questions:

A few factors that went into my purchase were whether it was a want or need and if I could afford it without hurting me in the long run.

I subscribed to Apple Music so I could download any song that I wanted.

The main reason was that I love music and I listen to music all day.

I love hip hop/rap, R&B, alternative rock, country, etc.

I listen to music whenever I am in the car, walking to my classes, doing homework, and working out. I also watch music videos every once in awhile when a new song comes out.

I think a lot of the music now is very mainstream, which in my opinion, is okay, but I also appreciate how many artists are sticking to what they know, and that is to be real.

I think many of my favorite artists have had a positive impact on me. Especially if they do charity work and are speaking out for good causes.

They do not have influence on my purchases really, unless they just released new music and I want to buy it.

Yes, I do consider these things when I am purchasing music products, I do not like to listen to artists that have been known for making awful life decisions.

There are artists that try to fight social issues in their songs or in the media and public and that try to promote positivity and creating a better world.

Kendrick Lamar in his album, To Pimp A Butterfly, raps about social injustices that have struck America.

Yes, I have. I have been to only fair concerts but there are still a ton of people there that may take offense to certain actions, so I am always on my best behavior.

Yes, I am always mindful of others around me.

Someone who uses their platform and voice for the better of the world to promote positive change instead of solely focused on themselves.

Yes, I believe so because they have so many young fans looking up to them.

I absolutely would be more likely to attend a concert or buy an album of there’s.

No, I have not. 

I believe they are pretty similar. However, with artists, you can picture their face when you see their name, so then you would feel responsible because you feel as if you know them.

Authenticity is important because people want the actions made by the musicians to be genuine. People do not want the big mainstream musicians to simply be sellouts and do what will help their agenda. People relate more to smaller artists than to the big wealthy musicians making the smaller ones seem more authentic and have a better ability to promote their social or political. 

An example of this is the consumer who said he went to a small gig and the cd that the musician sold his cd with a cardboard cover and the lyrics sheet was folded up paper tied with a string and this showed social responsibility to the consumer because it was all biodegradable and good for the environment.

An example of a very popular artist appearing to do a socially responsible act was Drake in his music video for Gods Plan. In the video Drake is seen giving out money to people who are much less fortunate in life and could really use the money. This is a very kind act to see as he is helping lots of people, however, I do not know how authentic the notion really was. Like the article said about people being suspicious when very wealthy people do these actions because it may not be sincere, when I watch the video I feel like Drake did this for his own purpose and benefit to get people talking positively about him and to get views.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #7

This means that all of the fighting that has taken place over the years has made it so that every side is very close-minded and unwilling to look at things from the other side’s perspective. Something that I think is like this in America today is the argument on abortion and that lots of people say they're strongly for or against it and seem very stubborn about listening to the other side’s reasoning and making any agreement.

The Jews claim it because it is the site of the Wailing Wall, the Christians because it is the site of Jesus’s death and resurrection and the where the religion originated, and the Muslims because it is the home of Haram al-Sharif.

The first few stanzas have a certain mood as they discuss the image of Jerusalem and the struggle between the religions that exists and that they are praying for the city. Then in the fourth stanza it shifts to a darker description and describes the historic violence that has been seen in the city. However, at the end the author says that the city is for everyone and gives a sense of hope and that they will fight until their is peace.

In Palestinian popular music and poetry, you will see and hear lots of improvisation. The music often is connected to Arab history and recently has been focused on resistance. The music is typically pure melody with strong vocals and beat. Israeli music has similarities to this, but is different in, “its base and use of Slavic and Russian melodies as well as in its orchestration”.

Artists distribute their music by tapes than can copied and spread around across the country. It could also be disseminated through the broadcasting network, but the Israeli media has control over it and censors the Arab and Palestinian music. Also, there are border checkpoints where they check baggage and will take the artists tapes from them so they can not be dispersed.

This song was a duet with a man and a woman. The melody was very pleasant, and the song switched languages several times and the part in English was simple and easy to remember. By being a beautiful song and incorporating different languages, it can attract a large and diverse audience. By doing this, I think it works for its purpose in trying to unite the world and create peace.

I agree with the author’s final words. Music has a lot of power and can be a big factor in creating change. It will be important in getting to a place where things are peaceful healthy in the Middle East and across the world. However, I also agree with the author’s last sentence explaining that each side needs to one another’s beliefs and reasonings and be able to respect each other before there will really be any chance at a peaceful world.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post 6

Parody Verse: (not sure exactly what you wanted or if we were supposed to follow a specific format, but I thought this was good)

As more and more black people get shot down (A)

White people sit back and stay quiet. (B)

But when black people protest in town, (A)

White people don't like it and start to riot. (B)

They say that this land is meant for you and me (C)

But this land is not for equality. (C)

A. The main idea is discussing the variety of types of music that was made during wartime and the songs that helped fuel wars and how they were spread and put out by the radio and record labels.

B. They were plugged on the radio so that that they could get heard and advertised.

C. Because of all the unions going on, they were not getting the support necessary and certain stations and record companies were not giving them advertising or allowing them to reach an audience

F. “the innocence, the slogans, the idealism [of WW1] had vanished”

G. This song has a very memorable hook that was repeated a lot that would get stuck in peoples’ heads which would help its success. Also, the content is inspiring and motivating and makes it seem like we need to go fight a bad guy that is threatening and bullying us.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #5

I chose to look into the brainwave entrainment technique discussed in chapter 12. I have practiced meditation a bit over the last few years and the book said that this acted as a form of meditation and could be even better than typical meditation so I wanted to give it a try. I did not have the time to listen to sit through the whole video, but from the first 10 minutes, I felt very relaxed and it seemed as if my brain connected to the music. It was very soothing and I think it was effective at improving my cognitive processing and clearing my mind.

I have never used music therapeutically in the ways that this chapter discusses, but after I am done playing basketball or working out I like to put on R&B and relax which I think helps me to calm down and allow my body to begin to recover. I think that these examples given would be helpful and effective for me as a way to release stress and clear my mind with everything I have going on.

This chapter serves as a conclusion to everything Mannes has discussed in the book, and the main idea is that music is more important than you may think, that it brings together people from all over the world and connects us on a higher level and that the new science and research going into it is giving us more knowledge about how music is a part of us as humans and can be used to heal and make the world better.

6 different sources she used in chapter 13 were interviews with Bobby McFerrin, Maestro Daniel Barenboim, Petr Janata, Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Richard Hawley, and an interview with Lawrence Parsons. This list is interesting because they are all interviews and she gives the direct words of these people, and they are all highly regarded in the music world or scientists. I think she chose these types of sources to use the words of other credible sources to help summarize what she has been saying throughout the book and that this will help strengthen her argument.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #4

I do not think these sounds are musical. It sounds like noise because it is not appealing to listen to and the sounds like random everyday noise, not something that was organized and synchronized to sound like music.

For my favorite song that I worked with earlier, the only time there was any silence was at the end of the song for several seconds. It was a slow song, and I think that the silence at the end is used to close it out and it created more of a sense of appreciation to look at what the song did. For the song you shared, there was lots of silence and it seemed to be used to create more emphasis on the sung phrases and anticipation for what was to come next and I think it was effective in doing this.

1. Snowball 2. Bonobo 3. Perfect Pitch Dogs

3. The criteria I used primarily in ordering these was how much understanding and appreciation they showed for music. Snowball is able to match the beat and seems like he enjoys the music and is dancing with it which for me showed a fairly high level of understanding and appreciation. For Bonobo, he was creating his own music which takes a certain level of understanding, even though it was pretty random so I can not be sure if he really understood what he was doing or appreciated what he was making, as he might have been trained to do what he was doing as well. Lastly I put the perfect pitch dogs last because it showed that they could distinguish sounds, but I think they were just trained very well to do what they do, not that they have some special understanding of music or enjoy listening to it.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #3

A common perception of rap is that it only includes explicit and derogatory content. Because of this, rappers aren’t always taken seriously when they speak up about social issues. Although rap music includes a lot of content that can be seen as derogatory, rappers have a powerful platform which they can use to speak up about the social injustices in today’s society. J Cole is among the most influential rappers in our generation and strives to put attention on issues in our culture and get us to look at them from a different perspective.

Lots of things that popped up were songs by J. Cole that dealt with cultural issues that people were discussing. Lots of the ways J. Cole addresses these issues is in his songs, but there were also examples of him discussing these things on social media or other platforms. Here is a current song where he addresses political and social issues.

I did not find anything that caused me to evolve my thesis statement. 

1. I do believe that music is part of being human. An example from the book that proves this to me is on page 88 with the evidence that has been found that people who lose their ability to speak can still work with music and understand it. This shows that there is something within us that helps us understand and instinctively be musical rather than something that has to be learned.

2. Mannes transitions to chapter 8 by beginning a counterargument and by ending chapter 7 with a question. This is effective because it prepares the reader for what the next chapter will discuss and makes them want to read and discover what the answer to the question is.

3. One example of evidence is the findings of the researchers at Duke. By analyzing frequencies and speech, they hypothesize that music is part of our biology and make up just as language is. Other evidence is that Conard and his team were able to find flutes and other musical items carved out that they believe shows music can be traced back to the Stone Ages and could have been around as long as language. A third example is Pinker’s research and beliefs that language is necessary to share information and music goes hand in hand and allows us to reach and express emotions in a special way.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog #2

Pieslak uses several types of evidence in this chapter. He begins by going through history and giving evidence from different wars that historians and books have said that show soldiers using instruments and forms of music in combat. After using evidence from the past and what military leaders and soldiers have said about using music to help in combat, he gave evidence from soldiers’ accounts of using music in Iraq. I think these sources are credible because they are from historical books or direct quotes from soldiers from the past, and the accounts from the soldiers in Iraq are credible because they were actually there and had the first hand experience.

Most of the soldiers inspired themselves with metal and rap, listening with the songs blasting loudly and screaming the lyrics.

Technology that allows music to be played in vehicles and on loud speakers lets soldiers listen more often and play it nearly wherever they are has made music more prominent than it has been. 

Throughout history, music has played an important role for soldiers in combat. From early times, chants and screaming from warriors was used as inspiration, and as time has gone on instruments and musicians became an important part for armies as a means of motivation and a moral booster. The invention of different technologies allowed for more ways in which soldiers could utilize music and prepare for battle.

I C V P C V C B N A C O

One of the things I think that is powerful with this song is the melody. Because there are 5 people in this group, there are a variety of timbres heard in the song. They have a lot of range in there individual pitch, but with the 5 of them all singing at the same or different times, the range with the melody is beautiful and resonates more. Also, when they hum and create the harmony for the music in the background, their timbres combining with the range of pitches they are able to hit creates a very aesthetically pleasing sound that can be felt within the listener.

[jasoncfor3-blog]

Blog Post #1

Hello, my name is Jason Cassens and I am 19 years old and from the city of Puyallup, Washington. I chose to come to Augustana to play on the basketball team and because the school was a good fit for me. I took this class because of my love of listening to music, primarily hip-hop and r&b. I am not coming in to this class with a great background in musical terms and experience in playing an instrument or singing, but I am a good student and plan to work hard and be successful in this class.

I played the piano for several years when I was young, but that was over a decade ago and I do not remember anything about it.

Not quite sure what this is, but I’ll go with a 5. I can listen to anything but it might not be my favorite.

My favorite genres are rap and R&B and least favorite is country.

It is what best fits my personality and is how I grew up. As a basketball player, hip-hop is most connected and what my friends and teams listened to, and country is something I have never really listened to and does not fit my childhood.

The melody of this song is the phrase, “No such thing as a life that’s better than yours.” which is in the chorus of the song. The harmony is the instrumental and beat that is being played in the background during the melody. The tone of each in this song is smooth and the range of the pitches do not change much, but they do go from high to low and vice versa.

It is important because high and low is relative and how constructed by how a certain culture perceives it. An example from the reading is that the Greeks referred to sounds of pitches opposite of how we do because of the way their instruments were built.

Yes. Just because no one can hear it, even though, technically the bird can hear itself, the birds song is creating frequencies and vibrations that would make a sound.

True