Today in class, the professor messed around with garage band some more which helps with my understanding of it since I had no prior knowledge of it or practice with it. I was glad to learn we were able to incorporate a song into our musical creation and put our own spin on it because that makes it all the more exciting and I’m sure the whole class can agree. I’m grateful he demonstrated how to find and apply the midifile. I’m still not totally clear on how to operate it but through exploration of it I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it in no time. It seems like a really fun project and I’m happy I have the opportunity to play with garage band because I know artists who use it and it’ll be exciting to be an artist for a day or 5 days, however long it takes for me to understand and whip up something I think is worth presenting for a grade. I also look forward to writing about my experience with garage band which won’t just be for a grade– I enjoy writing and I love simply reflecting on anything I’ve done, big or small. Also, the fact that it doesn’t have to be formal will make my reflection all the more real and unique to me. Thanks for this opportunity!

Today, class closed with the professor saying “Music is saturated with the politics of America.” I guess that’s what this entire class has centered around but it wasn’t until he actually said that line that I really began to think about it and decided to write and think about it generally. We’ve been taught multiple lessons with specific examples on how this is true such as minstrelsy’s influence, which I find unfortunate, but I never wrote about the topic itself. Until it was said, I didn’t feel like I was really absorbing any truly valuable information in class other than what was expected for the final project and paper. Not only do people no longer listen to music without any distractions, but people probably don’t think about how politics have shaped a song or entire genre. Writing about this could easily be a 10 page paper but in this small blog space I just want to acknowledge that the products of music we receive are in large part results of political events or people’s financial standings and any form of art is impacted by this. I feel like hip-hop/rap artists are notoriously known for expressing their feelings of discontentment surrounding their place in society and their journey to success that was harder to achieve being part of a certain community. All genres can and have vocalized their passionate ideologies as rock has done it too, U2 for example, but rap has never been reserved in the regard of current politics. I think the world operates in such a way that we are ever-influential to one another and music is influenced by politics which in turn represents those who don’t have as powerful of a voice and that’s why it’s so important to people. Politics have both positively and offensively impacted artists and it’s a conversation many are unaware of and worth discussing.

Today’s class on various topics were very thought-provoking and eye-opening. We discussed whether a song is popular because it’s good or because it is overplayed because of a powerful market that controls what we listen to. I think we’re led to believe it must be popular because it’s “requested” a lot when really it just temporarily claims the radio stations and is a money maker because it’s heavily marketable. I realize that I’ve fallen for the trap time and time again without awareness. Usually, when I hear a top 40 song the first time, I’m less than impressed and never want to hear it again. However, it’ll find its way back to me and eventually I’ll be hooked, shamefully jamming to it and making myself feel a little better by calling it a guilty pleasure. I think this is true for a lot of songs, not just annoying top 40 hits. Even songs you just barely take a liking to, if you continue to listen to it, your appreciation for it increases the next few times you listen. I liked that it came up how people like certain songs because they’re evocative, possibly reminding you of a memory or something positive. I think it’s pretty complex, why we like a song or music itself, and its evocative power is part of that. It can make you feel and think a certain way and we really like that. Lastly, I won’t give anyone who pirates music or movies a hard time. I personally don’t do it, at least not anymore with the loss of LimeWire, and frankly the process of pirating movies seems too difficult for me. However, when you think about the artist who is deserving of money for their art, you can’t help but feel sympathetic towards them. I do feel like an artist who genuinely enjoys making art for the sake of it and isn’t out for money won’t put down anyone for listening to their music illegally because at least they’re listening to it. I’d be content that I have a fanbase no matter how my music is accessed but obviously if you’re not already a big star like Taylor Swift, it might affect your wealth greatly. People will most often choose convenience, though.

Today’s class on sampling really intrigued me because it’s an interesting part of music and we hear it often, especially in rap in my opinion. I do have some unfair criticism for it, though, because it makes me think that the sampling artist lacks ideas of their own and they need to use someone else’s material to enhance theirs or to carry it in general. Perhaps that artists has a strong appreciation for the sample and that’s it. I think it can either fit well into a song, like that last puzzle piece, or it doesn’t really help but it doesn’t matter. I learned that sampling isn’t necessarily defined by a few seconds of another song and doesn’t necessarily contain lyrics from a song which is what I thought. Sometimes sampling can be an entire song like “I’ll Be Missing You” which has an identical chord progression as “Every Step You Take.” I also have to agree that “Stay With Me” sounds a lot like “I Won’t Back Down,” contrary to popular belief. I’m a big fan of instrumental music whether it’s rock, hip-hop, jazz, or just ambient sounds and I really enjoyed our brief listen to J Dilla’s “Life.”

I researched the music term “rock ‘n’ roll” and read a June 1984 newspaper article titled “ROCK: Heart of rock and roll is still beating in the good old U.S ROCK,” from the Chicago Tribune that centered around a discussion of the genre. Here, rock ‘n’ roll is described as patriotic, but not in a “blind, flag waving variety.” It uses Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” album as an example because it’s not a typical American anthem drenched in pride and love for the fifty states. However, rock ‘n’ roll is “essentially American music.” The article also criticizes the nature of record companies that seek a certain image over the substance. Frank Sinatra is an example of a desirable image that is favored over a truly talented and inspiring artist who look to make an impact on the world. The article talks about how there are a multitude of good music towns that the corrupt industry will never know exists and it’s not that the artist/band isn’t working hard enough to be discovered, it’s solely on the industry. I found through this article the downsides of an artist’s journey in the music business. Many, if not at all at some point lose their artistry and market themselves whether they want to or not. Clearly, not much has changed in the last 34 years in the music industry and I wonder if the record companies will ever be more geared towards the artists’ best interests and less about making a profit for themselves. Good music deserves good representation that will be fair and respectful to the artist, producing their material as is and that’s what the people listening deserve as well. As the article states, “(music) should come from the heart, not from the mind.”

Today’s class was largely focused on the inaccuracy of white-washed history textbooks. This is not an unfamiliar concept to me as I have discovered a multitude of truths regarding U.S. history that I was deprived of learning throughout my public school education years since entering college almost five years ago. It’s amazing what harmful lies we were taught and expected to believe to be reality, and I find it insulting as whoever the authors of these textbooks and those who teach them believe we’ll accept this fabricated information and not question anything. They are sadly mistaken, however, as many of us are angry and not willing to shrug off the deceitful “education” we received. We have a right to know our country’s violent, unmistakably racist past that public school students often have to find out about on their own, probably later in life in college where the knowledge disseminated is less likely to be filtered. I didn’t know much about slavery’s harrowing presence in the U.S. until college because the topic and its importance was desperately ignored in the past. I was disturbed upon learning about this claim that blacks fought in the confederacy in order to undermine the argument that slavery was egregious treatment towards dark-skinned humans who were viewed as possessing less value than their lighter-skinned counterparts. Although there may be truth to blacks fighting in the confederacy, the motive behind featuring this in textbooks and inflation of it being involved is sickening but I’m not surprised because this is a country that refuses to see ownership of other humans among other inhumane acts as part of its identity. It’s hard enough for it to be accepted as part of its past.