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Authentic Re-Purposing and Bridging the Pop-Classical Divide in Black Violin’s “Brandenburg” (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDn2r_Qgg70
Black Violin’s first music video, unlisted, found only on Black Violin’s official channel

Though Florida-based classically-trained hip-hop duo Black Violin may not have a huge following, middle school me circa-2010 was a big fan. I have distinctive memories of listening to Black Violin’s “Brandenburg” on my first-generation Zune 30 while trudging through the snow to after school swim practice. Years have passed since then, but I can probably credit Black Violin for giving me some of my earliest tastes of classical instruments in a non-classical setting, and something like that can be huge for a young sixth grader just starting out on the violin.

Breaking down Bach

The music video opens up with a pretty tame performance of the theme from Bach’s 3rd Brandenburg Concerto.

This is interspersed with depictions of typical upper class symphony-goers–old men and women dressed to the nines, one woman asking “Bonnie, are you ready for the symphony?”–juxtaposed with shots of more casually dressed concert goers who appear more in line with the hip hop video that takes over around (00:40).

It’s this juxtaposition that serves as the thematic thrust for the video, shot in a style mimicking hip-hop videos from the 90’s and early 2000’s, like this video for Snoop Dogg’s 1994 “Gin and Juice”:


Notably, Kev Marcus and Wil B (the two members of Black Violin) are dressed in tuxedos on stage until about (01:00), where suddenly (through camera magic) they are wearing deconstructed, “hood-appropriate” outfits to denote the dramatic change of style in the music. At this point, the music includes record scratches and synthetic beats to accompany the more syncopated and swung rhythms in a hip-hop version of the Brandenburg theme. The two different kinds of audience members are dancing at this point, with the more “hood” attendees pulling the stuffy old folks up out of their seats (and their comfort zones).

Also in line with the hip-hop style Black Violin is going for is their use of the Brandenburg theme. For about a minute and a half, they loop their stylized rendition of the theme, using it as just another track over which other tracks–beats, vocal patterns, etc.–are layered. The New Penguin Dictionary defines multitracking as the “[technique] by which recordings are made separately and then combined.”

Authentic re-purposing

Interspersed in between sections of the looped Brandenburg theme are two “interludes” at (01:44) and (02:25), containing secondary themes, or variations on the same theme, more virtuosic and improvisatory in sound (a.k.a. with more leaps, repeated intervals, running eighth-notes). At (03:10), there’s a cadenza of sorts (more of bridge leading to the end of the song), with a much slower tempo and a more lamenting tone, as the concert and ensuing dance party come to an end. Again, middle school me thought this was lit.

So the question is: does this sort of re-purposing of the Brandenburg concerto and the 90’s hip-hop aesthetic in 2010 count as authentic music-making?

One might draw parallels to the pop-Baroque era of the 60’s, with records by Sonny and Cher, the Doors, and Procol Harum utilizing harpsichords, recorders and other stereotypically Baroque sounds in pop music. As Dr. Elizabeth Upton writes in the Ethnomusicology Review,

“The Baroque sounds imported from Early Music wave #1 recordings are cool, hip new sounds, included in compositions as a means of conveying a playful freshness, rather than a sense of history or temporal exoticism. ”

The emphasis here is on creating a new sound out of old materials.

And so I would argue that yes, Kev Marcus and Wil B are acting very authentically. They are not pretending to be giving a faithful variation on Bach, nor are they truly copying hip-hop techniques for the sake of copying them. Rather, they fall back on Bach’s theme as a piece of the Western canon and heritage, adapting it to the hip-hop style. If the music video says anything, it’s that the juxtaposition of these two source materials is intentional. They aren’t just trying to make another hip-hop record in the steps of Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg–they’re using their classical and hip-hop backgrounds to making something new and unique.

Musical Advocacy

As I’ve hinted at before, listening to Black Violin adapt Bach and make the violin sound “cool” had a tremendous effect on my as a young musician. Though I’m now more firmly a “classical” musician, I never would have found my passion for pushing my violin or piano skills early on if I hadn’t had some sneaking desire to be able to play anything I wanted from Bach to Snoop … Lion, I guess?

As such, I think we can look at what Black Violin did with Brandenburg as a form of music advocacy. The divide between classical and popular music styles is a hard, wide line in the public paradigm. Artists like Black Violin demonstrate just how easily that line can be bridged, and they’re well aware of the power in that. In an article in the Pennsylvania-based The Morning Call, music critic John Moser writes:

[Wil B] says he and [Kev Marcus] are strong advocates of music in schools and do workshops with children and children’s performances at nearly every tour stop. He says the duo will work with and perform for 100,000 children this year.

“Hip-hop loving classical musicians combine their passions into Black Violin “

I’ve lost count of the Uber drivers, upon learning that I was a musician, who asked me “what” I played. I try to play any and everything put in front of me, because I’ve been shown that the classical-pop line doesn’t have to be impenetrable, and I can credit Kev Marcus and Wil B for showing me the light way back when I was 12.

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The Politics of “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” from Cabaret

With its book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Cabaret is quite significant in the history of musical theatre. The show sort of defies categorization. Adapted from the Berlin stories of Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret follows American writer Cliff Bradshaw as he travels to Berlin (as the 3rd Reich begins its rise to power) to find inspiration for the novel he’s writing—and boy does he find inspiration. Demanding that the audience “leave [their] troubles outside”, the opening number of the show—“Wilkommen”, arguably one of the greatest opening numbers in all of musical theatre—tells the audience exactly what they’re in for: comedy with plenty of focus on debauchery, facilitated by an emcee who enjoys himself a bit too much. (To see the original cast’s performance at the 1967 Tony Awards, click here: https://youtu.be/A9uE9TmpieI?t=90)

The storytelling of the show is divided rather cleanly into two distinct worlds: the main story goes on in Berlin, and then there are songs that take place in the Kit Kat Club which between scenes comment on the events of the story. As an example of how this commentary works in act 1, let’s take a look at “Perfectly Marvelous” & “Two Ladies”—the former taking place in the real world, and the latter in the Kit Kat Club directly after. Early on in the play, Cliff ends up agreeing to let an English singer from the Kit Kat Club (which is an actual place in the main story, not just the limbo world for the commentary songs) room with him where he is residing in Berlin. When Cliff protests for fear of social ridicule regarding his rooming with a woman to whom he isn’t married, Sally Bowles (the singer) sings the song “Perfectly Marvelous”, in which she tells him what he can say to any skeptics, at the end of which he agrees to let Sally room with him. After this scene, the emcee and two cabaret girls sing “Two Ladies” at the Kit Kat Club, which expresses how risqué Sally & Cliff staying in the same room is by offering a more extreme example: the emcee and the two ladies sleeping together as a trio.

With the comedic tone established throughout the show, the closing scene of act 1 throws quite a curveball at the audience: Nazis. After a pair of older characters decides to get married, they throw a party to celebrate their engagement. At this party, it is revealed that one of the characters whom Cliff (and by extension the audience) has come to respect is a supporter of the Nazi party. As soon as Herr Ernst Ludwig takes off his jacket and reveals his red armband with a swastika on it, the tone of the show can never be the same. Attending the party as an old friend of the bride-to-be (Fraulein Schneider), Herr Ludwig feels compelled to leave after learning that the groom-to-be (Herr Schulz) is Jewish. Trying to keep Herr Ludwig from leaving, another partygoer (Fraulein Kost) begins to sing “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”—written as a pastiche of a Nazi anthem—and this initiates the most powerful moment in the show (with the possible exception of the very end of the finale). As more and more of the guests join in singing the song, the understanding that the Nazi party is gaining support from Germans of all walks of life hangs over the heads of the principal couples (Cliff & Sally and Herr Schulz & Fraulein Schneider, who listen in worried silence) and over the audience, which is filled with people who know what the Nazi party’s rise to power means for the world. The video of the Donmar Warehouse production of Cabaret does an excellent job of giving the viewer a look at each of the four’s distress regarding the situation, and the entire scene is truly well-performed. To watch the entire party scene from that production, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbw8WGupTmE&list=PLrBEhoLJ_TN_rXUUxU_47xp4ErgbD7d1H&index=8

(As a matter of clarity, it should be noted that the emcee—dressed in a trench coat and displaying his bottom with a red swastika tattooed to it at the end of the scene in this production—is not a Nazi sympathizer. As revealed in the extremely sobering end of the show, the emcee is actually Jewish, as he takes off his trench coat to reveal a concentration camp uniform before singing “Auf Wiedersehen” to the audience.)

“Tomorrow Belongs To Me” marks a complete shift in the tone of the rest of the show. Whereas the first act until this point has been comedic and focused on debauchery, the second act becomes focused on how the four leads deal with the changes happening in Berlin. In a stroke of poetic and symbolic genius, the emcee maintains his wild (and, in the Donmar Warehouse production, extremely sexually-charged) and humorous mannerisms throughout the rest of the show, right up until he removes his trench coat at the very end of the finale, as mentioned above. (Alan Cumming’s demeanor change after taking off his coat in the Donmar Warehouse production is a phenomenal moment of acting, as a matter of interest.) By maintaining the comedic style of commentary on the events of the show, the seriousness with which the characters consider what to do about their situation is juxtaposed with the way the rest of the world takes no notice and carries on as before.

Most people in the audience of any production of Cabaret will have nearly the same ideas and reactions to the end of the party scene. It is generally agreed (to my knowledge from my perspective as an American with certain ideals that I have always assumed go along with that) that the actions of the Nazis were terrible and that their supporters are a threat to the world. To those that agree with that view of Nazis, as Kander & Ebb did, “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” is clearly meant to make the audience uneasy. It’s powerful and terrifying to an audience that fears Nazis being in power anywhere again (as American audiences in 1966 would be, given how much fresher WWII was at that time).

There are people, however, for whom the song has a completely different (and backwards) meaning. For some who take the song out of context, “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” is an anthem that can unify people in support of Nazi ideals. In March of 2017, Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer (who, per a quick Google search, prefers other labels than Neo-Nazi) referenced the song in a Twitter response, linking a video of it from the 1972 Cabaret film to make his point. (To view an—informal—article responding to the Twitter thread which includes screenshots of the tweets, click here: http://www.pajiba.com/web_culture/is-tomorrow-belongs-to-me-from-cabaret-a-neonazi-anthem-.php) The tweet got a reply from Jason Kander (nephew of John Kander) that pointed out the irony of the song being used to promote Neo-Nazi views. Given that the song was written by two Jews (Kander & Ebb), there’s no reasonable perspective that can lead to actually believing “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” was intended as a pro-Nazi anthem in 1966. In the documentary series Broadway: The American Musical, Hal Prince comments quite clearly on the relationship between the Civil Rights Movement in the US and Cabaret being about Germany just before the Nazis’ rise to power. He says “I brought in a photograph from Life magazine, a two-page spread of a bunch of Arian Nazi boys snarling at the camera. And of course, it was in our country, and it was them snarling at some poor little black girl.” (Link to the section about Cabaret in the episode here: https://youtu.be/DymYqaBFdcA?list=PLl2LG8zi1XLBdwv_jiMReatyE5Raipdvx&t=883) There was no positive feeling about Nazis at work behind the scenes of the show.

This removal of song from context is something that takes place with all sorts of music. In an article on Musicology Now from September 2019, Ted Gordon discusses how classical music (specifically the music of Haydn) is sometimes used to similarly promote alt-right sentiments. (Link to the article here: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2017/09/does-music-trump-politics-dennis-prager.html) With the context of a controversial concert in California, Gordon discusses how Haydn’s music is used by Dennis Prager & Heinrich Schenker as being symbolic of the greatness of western culture & Austro-German culture, respectively. While few people (well, actually there definitely are some) would argue that Haydn’s music isn’t worthy of esteem, its use as a means of promoting nationalistic ideas is quite similar to Spencer’s concept of “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”. Neo-Nazi supporters go so far as to claim that Kander & Ebb’s use of German folk songs as models for the song validates their claims about the song’s intent, ignoring the fact that their decision to write a reasonably similar pastiche of songs that did have that intent was a decision born of the power and validity it would add to the song’s function in the scene and the show as a whole. Using the music of Wagner, who was absolutely anti-Semitic, to draw support for Nazi sentiments is one thing, but to use a song meant to comment negatively on the Nazi rise to power for that end is another matter entirely. The irony of ripping “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” from its context in this way only serves to made evident the ignorance of Neo-Nazi supporters.

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This Is America and the Ubiquity of Politics

Politics is a sticky subject, and one that seems to show up in every aspect of our lives in some way or another. Throughout all of American history, minority groups and underprivileged people have been systematically oppressed, and this oppression usually gives birth to many different forms of protests. When most people think of protests, they think of the images of Martin Luther King Jr. making a speech or staging a peaceful march, or of the many protesters holding up signs in a city street. What usually doesn’t come to mind, though, is protest music, and it is protest music that this post will focus on.

Protest music has been created throughout history by many different musicians from many different backgrounds, and it is one of the clearest examples of how politics can make its presence felt in every part of our life. There have been many examples of protest songs in America, from Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam”, to Edwin Starr’s “War”, to Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, protest music has been a part of American culture for a long time. Recently, with the introduction of social media into our daily lives, political tension is seemingly reaching greater and greater levels as people become more aware of the atrocities committed in America.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at perhaps the most provocative piece of protest music we’ve gotten in a long time: Childish Gambino’s 2018 song, “This Is America”. When Childish Gambino (real name Donald Glover) released this song and its accompanying music video, it went viral, and is currently sitting at 536 million views on Youtube. If you just listen to the song on its own, it doesn’t seem like such an overt piece of protest music, but it’s the music video that makes it so provocative. The video contains countless references – some subtle, some not so subtle – to issues that the black community faces in America.

The video is extremely clever in the way it symbolizes American culture. There are two things to pay attention to: what is happening in the foreground, and what is happening in the background, and how they relate to American society. The foreground happenings are all centered around Gambino. Gambino’s dances throughout the video are taken from many viral dances and videos around the internet. In between the dancing, there are two instances of gun violence shown; the first, where Gambino shoots a man tied to a chair with a bag over his head, and the second where Gambino shoots a singing and dancing chorus. At both of these points, the music switches from a cheery, gospel-like church chorus sound to a heavy, agitated rap verse, before slowly returning to the more cheery sound. In the background, the references are more subtle. People carry the guns off-screen carefully handled and wrapped in cloth while dragging away the dead body in the first instance, or running towards the chorus angrily in the second. A man (who looks to possibly be representing a police officer) forcibly pulls someone out of their car. Another man jumps from a high place in the rafters in what looks like a suicide attempt. Other younger people sit on their phones recording all of these events happening.

Image result for this is america
A still from Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”

What happens in the foreground and background in the video is similar to what happens in the foreground and background of our lives. Gambino’s dancing seems to be a reference to how we as a society get easily distracted from these issues with viral trends, and when the terrible events do happen – the homocides and mass shootings that make national headlines – it doesn’t take long before they fade back into the background.

This video is a perfect example of how protest music can use a medium like music and video as a way to protest. A couple years before this video was released, Colin Kaepernick also used a new medium to protest; the medium of the National Anthem ceremony before football games. It just goes to show how many different ways there are to protest politics, and similarly, it shows how politics can make its presence known in so many different areas of our lives.

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Who knew Lotus could fly?

Steven Ellison, better known by his stage name Flying Lotus or Flylo is a American born record producer, beatmaker, DJ, and filmmaker hailing from Los Angeles California. His music is often referred to as “post Dilla”, “post-hip hop”, “post avant-garde jazz”, beat music. However, this is only one interpretation of what a listener may experience when listening to any of Flylo’s four studio albums. The grand nephew of  the late jazz pianist Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane it’s no wonder Flylo’s music seems to transcend the musical boundaries normal listeners impose upon organized musical sonorities. The only thing that can be definitively said of Flying Lotus’s music is that it creates a experience for the listener unlike anything of its time. In the words of the man himself “when it comes to film and art and music I loves things….that take me somewhere else I’ve never seen”.  

Without a doubt Flying Lotus music creates an oral experience that blends jazz, hip hop, electronics, sound effects, dub, rock, soul, and whatever else into a pseudo psychedelic oral journey. But hearing is not the only way in which audiences can experience Flying Lotus’s imaginative depiction of the world we live in. Drawing inspiration from cinematic icons such as Stanley Kubrick and Shinya Tsukamoto, Flying Lotus has distributed a total of 12 music videos, directed several screenplays, and works closely with visual artists to create visual landscapes for his live performances. Flylo’s music video for his song Zodiac Shit off his fourth studio album Cosmogramma is especially striking visually. The video concept is very easy to make sense of as it simply depicts images of each of the Chinese Zodiac signs in order from 1 to 12 and then backwards from 12 to 1.  The cat at the end of the video is staring eerily at the screen because they got left out of the Chinese Zodiac according to the legend as to how the animals were picked. The song itself begins with a string drone underneath a soothing chime like synth sound that seems to float on  top of the entire track. About thirteen seconds in a drum like patch begins to build momentum along with some type of low frequency filtered drone which builds to a massive *thud* signalling the beat drop. The listener is then immersed in a groovy glitch pop electronic soundscape of bass and drums with other light sound effects coloring intermittently. Almost like a Warner Brothers Cartoon of Bugs Bunny. The groove seems to be very momentary as it fades back into the initial string drone and chimes from the intro about fifty seconds in.

The album version of  is about two minutes and forty five seconds however the music video only covers the first minute thirty two seconds. This is probably because the last minute and 3 seconds of the song act as a transition into the next song ‘Computer Face// Pure Being’ off the album. The last minute and 3 seconds of Zodiac Shit can be described as a electronic groove based outro accompanied by a light string section, acoustic bass, and rhythmic computeresque sounds on top. Although somewhat similar to the first minute and 32 seconds of the song in terms of instrumentation it very much feels like a separate musical idea altogether worthy of its own title. This is very much apart of Flying Lotus’s unique creation process. Often listening to his albums its difficult to tell where a song ends and starts. In my personal listening of the album I see the whole album as one musical journey from start to end. I rarely find myself listening to a single song of Flylo’s rather than the whole album, unless there’s an awesome weird psychedelic video accompanying it!

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Aladdin the Musical at the 2014 Tony Awards

One of the biggest changes to Broadway in the last 25 years was when Disney began to expand its entertainment behemoth onto the live stage. Following the success of its first Broadway production (Beauty and the Beast, opening in 1994) and most famous & successful so far (The Lion King, which has been running for over 20 consecutive years now), Disney has been adapting many of its beloved animated classics for the stage in recent years. One of Disney’s more recent additions to the Broadway scene was Aladdin the Musical. With an accessible story, fantastic music, and breathtaking set & costume design & staging (not to mention help from the original movie’s popularity), Aladdin was a big hit on Broadway, as well as on national tours. It should come as no surprise, then, that the production had a featured performance at the 2014 Tony Awards. (You can view the performance from the telecast of the Tonys here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UL0CDMhjj4)

For the performance at the Tony Awards, the Aladdin company performed “Friend Like Me”, Genie’s show-stopping introductory number. Taking place in the Cave of Wonders, the set certainly delivers on the expectations for what that might entail—with dazzling gold- and jewel-covered pillars and a menacing stone background, it’s a very detailed set that’s even more astounding when seen live. The set prepares the audience excellently for the spectacle about to unfold as Genie begins to sing. Throughout the number, all sorts of factors come together to make the performance stellar. Various jokes in the words, music, and staging—some obvious in the scene and some in reference to outside things, including a nod to the fact that the performance is at the Tonys (“Dance like you’re holding a Tony!”)—keep the audience laughing; some magic tricks and pyrotechnics (although much less than in the context of the full show!) wow the audience; the dance breaks give great, extended opportunities for the orchestra and the chorus (as well as Genie & Aladdin) to shine (literally, to an extent); the lighting cues add to the changes in pace throughout (with the most noticeable moment being when the lights go blue for Genie’s moment to rest from dancing to sing some “classics”—excerpts of songs from other Disney shows); and the music itself is just a blast.

It’s interesting to consider what the thought process was behind this song being selected for the Tony Awards performance. Most people wouldn’t argue with selecting this song to represent the production as a whole, and there are several good reasons for that. In my opinion, the number is representative of what the show appeals to in the audience: there’s an element of awe to it, it’s funny and over-the-top, and Genie steals the show. (Oh, and apparently the actor for Aladdin is good-looking, for what that’s worth from the comments on the video.) Having seen the production when it was on tour in Chicago, the scene in the Cave of Wonders was the one that stuck with me the most, so from that experience I would say it’s a great number to show off the show.

The number is also a great choice for performing at an awards show because it’s a spectacle number and a show-stopper. What makes it even more applicable to this particular awards show is that the actor featured most prominently in the number was nominated to receive an award for that year. Genie’s actor, James Monroe Iglehart, was nominated for (and actually won) the 2014 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his portrayal of Genie, and this number shows why. Iglehart sings or dances (often both simultaneously) for almost the entire four-and-a-half minutes of the number, and he hardly seems to break a sweat! Commenter Mica Xoxo points this out, stating “How does he move around that much AND sing at the same time and not pass out[?]” Needless to say, Iglehart also sounds and looks great the entire time, adding to the impressiveness of his endurance.

“How does he move around that much AND sing at the same time and not pass out like I woulda been dead not even half way through the song” – Mica Xoxo, commenter

The only dissent to be found anywhere in the comments section regarding the quality of Iglehart’s performance is based solely on the popularity (and impression left on people’s hearts) of Robin Williams’s portrayal of Genie in the original animated movie, which, as commenter Kat Holland expressed, “is a shame…[because] these are two entirely different versions of the same song with different goals and different target audiences.” (Kat Holland’s comment was actually on the video with the Broadway cast album recording of the song, accessible here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HdwdptrmQQ)

“This is such a wonderful rendition of this song and I think it is a shame that people are comparing it to Robin Williams’ version instead of just appreciating the two completely separately.” – Kat Holland, commenter

As great as Williams’s performance is, one can’t deny that Iglehart has a lot more work to do in bringing the role to life than just voice acting. The two mediums require very different things of the actors, and the stage has very different limitations (as well as benefits) from animation’s limitations (and benefits). If this were a live-action movie instead of a live performance, there would be yet more completely different aspects available for comparison, but even as commenters discuss how everything seems to look for the upcoming Aladdin movie (featuring Will Smith as Genie), it’s not completely fair to judge them against each other as “better” or “worse” without addressing the differences in art form. (Anyone wanting to watch the version of the song from the original animated movie can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Op1TaXmCw)

Often just as noteworthy as what a chosen number to perform at the Tonys does showcase is what the number doesn’t showcase about the production. There are a lot of leading and supporting characters who don’t participate in this number, with Jasmine & Jafar being the main two. In this particular case, there is no reason for me to question the validity of the decision considering everything said above, but it’s still interesting to point out (and perhaps someone else would want to expand on it).

Having seen the touring production on Broadway in Chicago twice during the summer of 2017, I can say with complete sincerity that this scene was even more spectacular live. The Cave of Wonders and the scene taking place inside it took my breath away and stuck with me both times. Commenter Caleb DeLaBruere agrees with me, stating: “I got to see this show live on Broadway, and let me say, the video doesn’t do it justice. It’s even better in person, and I’ve heard of instances when the genie gets a standing ovation at the end of this act.”



“I got to see this show live on Broadway, and let me say, the video doesn’t do it justice.” – Caleb DeLaBruere, commenter

Commenter mermermer123 brought to the attention of those reading the comments that “they made the song shorter for the Tonys!!!”, supporting how Iglehart’s performance is even more impressive in the context of the show by virtue of there being more that he does during the number. The number was indeed reduced to fit the slot for the Tony Awards, as is made evident by the length of the cast recording of the song. The Tony Awards performance is greatly reduced in length from the 7’35” recording, which itself is also cut down (as big numbers frequently are on Broadway cast albums) from the full version performed in the show.

“And just think they made the song shorter for the Tonys!!!” – mermermer123, commenter
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A Rare Appearance of Coltrane On Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePScRElDHOY

This video of John Coltrane playing, “On Green Dolphin Street,” is less of a music video and more of a music documentary.  What it lacks in production value is made up for in historical value. There are no expensive props or dazzling visual animations— just four musicians playing a simple 32-bar form, show tune. Because the context of their performance is so spontaneous and evidently casual (because the leader missed the session), each musicians talent is showcased brilliantly and without distraction.

The quartet’s first musical decision is to start the tune off with a rubato piano intro featuring one complete statement of the melody.  Paul Chambers accompanies him with the bow which sets up a nice contrast for the pizzicato petal-point figure he plays when Jimmy Cobb brings the time in.  The staging and camera work reflects the musical decisions made by the quartet perfectly. The video opens with an overhead shot of Wynton Kelly’s hands on the piano.  They pull the camera back to reveal Paul Chambers, then Jimmy Cobb, and finally John Coltrane, but just his silhouette. Once Coltrane brings in the melody, the lighting shifts and the horn player has the spotlight.  

During the saxophone solo, we have some subtle camera movement to add liveliness and motion to the shot.  A wavelike animation also appears right by the bell of Coltrane’s saxophone. The first time I watched this video, I was mystified by the animation that fades in around 2:18 until I read mobuisII’s comment which points out that the animation was generated using an oscilloscope.  The waves are entertaining and they offer some variation to an otherwise static shot, but they don’t do much for me. I find myself not paying too much attention to them while they are visible and I certainly don’t miss the when they fade out.

While the decision to include the oscilloscope animation was questionable on the videographer’s part, all the decisions they made with the lighting were excellent.  Jakob Kurup says in the comment section that the, “musicians almost look divine.” The image of these legendary musicians playing against a solid black background is quite powerful.  The spotlight illuminates each one of them when they take a solo casting dramatic shadows over their concentrated expressions. Sometimes it even appears as though the musicians are glowing when the camera goes slightly in and out of focus temporarily blurring the picture.

The first two cuts in the video happen at the end of the saxophone solo into the piano solo. We see Coltrane’s profile for the entirety of his solo and towards the end a three quarter shot gets overlayed with the profile shot.  The profile shot quickly fades out and the viewer gets to watch Coltrane finish his solo from the three quarter angle. The next transition is a slower one which shows the back of Wynton Kelly sitting at the piano. All of the video editing described previously happens in about 15 seconds and is done very smoothly.  The video is certainly deserving of Chris Lawrence’s praise, “So incredibly polished and professional. Like something out of a movie. Breathtaking stuff.”

The “no-frills” vibe of this video combined with the greatest playing the history of jazz has to offer makes this production something that belongs in an archive.  Watching this video as a musician is a truly educational, and equally inspiring, experience because we get to understand how Coltrane and his contemporaries carried themselves on stage through visual means.  We’re not left guessing how Wynton Kelly’s hands looked on the piano, or how Paul Chambers held his bow all thanks to the skilled recording engineers at work that day.

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Still Waiting

Music in America has been forefront in the efforts to change the world. From Nina Simone to Jimi Hendrix, musical artists have used their medium to speak out against oppression and voice their opinions. John Mayer offers his own take on this in his single, “Wating on the World to Change.” The song is one of Mayer’s most popular; it won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The official music video from JohnMayerVevo

The music video on YouTube has nearly 41 million views. The video opens with pictures of New York City. John Mayer walks stoically along the East River. He looks out over the river, waiting for something to happen, waiting for the world to change. The video cuts to three graffiti artists, Futura 2000, Tats Cru, and Daze. They are gathering supplies for some large graffiti projects across the city. The rest of the video shows broken clips of them working on their art. It is in slow motion, with a blue filter that gives a laid-back and chilled out mood, fitting the music very well. We do not see their completed art until the end, creating an element of suspense as the song progresses. When it is revealed, we see that their art relates to the theme of the song. The first image is the word “Exploited” written on a wall, with the ‘O’ exploding into pieces. This depicts the exploitation of humans and the planet that happens in the US and around the globe. The next image is the words “wake up!”, with the ‘K’ constructed of assault rifles. This points to anti-war efforts and gun violence. Across the city, we see pictures of a circular design which perhaps depicts an atom, warning about the horrors of nuclear weapons. Finally, the word “Think” is written in bold letters on a billboard. All of these things illustrate the horrible things about the world that we must change. As the song says, “we see everything that’s going wrong, With the world and those who lead it.”

A still shot from the music video

From war and gun-violence, to exploitation and environmental issues, the problems are rampant. However, the song’s response to these issues has caused controversy. It states, “We just feel like we don’t have the means, To rise above and beat it.” Mayer feels powerless against the systemic problems he encounters. He and his friends, like the graffiti artists, are outsiders, they’re “standing at a distance” which means “It’s hard to beat the system.” Mayer is content to sit back and wait for changes to occur, until his generation “rules the population.” Critics take issue with this stance. As YouTube user Sebrina Greggs points out, “all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.” User Elani Aniyvwia elaborates: “We need to stop waiting for the change and be the change. Dr King didn’t wait. Neither did Mother Theresa. They became the change and changed the world!! We are the ones that have the power to change the world. We need to stop waiting and be the change.” TheBuddyLama says “Waiting = Apathy.” This critique of Mayer’s hit song comes from other sources. An NPR article claims that “Rather than urging people to change the world, he seems to say, there’s nothing we can do.” Mayer comes to his own defense: “Look, demanding somebody do anything in this day and age is not going to fly…All I want a song to do is just to kind of present an idea…”


We are the ones that have the power to change the world. We need to stop waiting and be the change.

-Youtube User Elani Aniyvwia

So where is the line between political action and making demands that will turn off others? How do we seek change in a way that does not alienate others, but instead brings them in as allies? Mayer seems to suggest the moderate approach of starting a conversation, but not being overbearing. Like the graffiti artists, Mayer outlines a problem that must be solved but does not offer a solution. He is content to begin a conversation and back away. But will this really “bring out neighbors home from war?” Mayer is ok with waiting, and says that, “All I want a song to do is just to kind of present an idea…”

Whatever the critique of John Mayer, whether wittingly or unwittingly, Waiting on the World to Change” began a conversation which has continued on years after the song’s release. Perhaps it worked; for the world to change, first we must have these conversations. At Mayer’s expense, perhaps the wait has grown a little bit shorter.

Sources:

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/john-mayer/waiting-on-the-world-to-change

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/john-mayer-waiting-on-the-world-to-change/

https://borderlessnewsandviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Waiting_on_the_world_to_change_by_PaLiLinz.jpg

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7765148

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“when the party’s over”

Emerging alternative-pop artist Billie Eilish has written many songs that describe loss and heartbreak. With over 2.5 billion overall combined streams globally, one of her most popular songs, “when the party’s over” describes the ups and downs of a toxic relationship.

“when the party’s over” was written by Billie’s own brother, Finneas O’Connell, who had claimed he had just “wrote this crazy f*cking song.” The lyrics allude to an unhealthy relationship, as she confronts her partner about their relationship, but it is hard to let go.

“Don’t you know I’m no good for you
I’ve learned to lose you, can’t afford to
Tore my shirt to stop you bleedin’
But nothin’ ever stops you leavin’”

lyrics from http://storyofsong.com/story/when-the-partys-over/

The chorus repeats “And I’ll call you when the party’s over” alluding to the two meeting up after a party because they need each other, even though Billie is trying to move on away from them. This concept is relatable to many people, as unhealthy relationships can tend to spiral out of control.

The meaning of the title can also have another meaning, other than toxic relationships with other people. It can also allude to the anxieties that people encounter when they go to a social event with other people around. Many people can appear to be fine at a big social gathering, but what happens to them after? It may be a huge sigh of relief that it’s over, because it can be overwhelming to some.

One of Billie’s main inspirations is Tyler the Creator. The two seem to have a thing for merging traditional body horror with the psychological torture of social anxiety in their music videos.

“when the party’s over” video was inspired by one of Billie’s own fans, where they drew a picture of her with black eyes and black dripping down her face. She was immediately star-struck by the image, and wanted to recreate it in this video.

Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” music video

When the video released, fans went nuts over it and curiosity struck as to how these effects were created. The video shows Billie alone in an empty room, dressed in all white. She forcefully drinks an entire glassful of a pure black liquid. As she is finished, the same black liquid oozes out of both her eyes. This is not the average “girl crying and mascara dripping down her face” kind of vibe, but more of a gruesome yet beautiful image.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqBZGBlFGVH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Billie’s instagram (post now deleted) of how the effects were made in “when the party’s over”

As Billie drinks the liquid, it seems as if she is forcefully finishing all of it. Since so many of her songs are about toxic relationships, the black substance alludes to an unhealthy relationship

YouTuber “Cherry Pie” comments: “My interpretation of the video: Her sitting in an all white room with white clothing means that she is in a place of mind where she pure and happy. Even though many bad things have happened (which is kept in the cup) she is trying to rethink it to make herself a happier person. That’s why if you think about it she looks like she is hesitating to drink the cup of black liquid because she knows it will hurt her, but she can’t help herself so she gives into the pain. She drinks it and then the black tears come out of her eyes to show that she is suffering from not letting go on the darkness in her mind. Before the end, you can see she isn’t moving from her seat, she stays silent and still while this pain goes inside of her, and because she didn’t say anything and no one came to help, the sadness ripped her apart to death. I think this video represents that if there is sadness in your heart and everyday it gets heavier, do not stay silent about it. Heartbreaks and other things in life can be terrible, but do not hold it in, or else it will find it’s way out one way or another. Find someone to talk to your pain about. Don’t stay silent about it “

This comment stood out the most, as it also had 3.6k likes on it. Although most of the time, YouTube comments focus more on the negative aspects of a video, Cherry Pie’s comment is an example that now and then, there are people on the internet trying to spread love and awareness. I would agree/stand by this interpretation, as it describes a lot of pain that Billie is experiencing, and by drinking the entire glass of black liquid, she is giving in to the pain because she can’t help it. In an interview about the music video, Billie even stated that she enjoys pain and being uncomfortable: “Dude, I bring the most miserable things onto myself. I just do, I don’t know why I do it, but I do it. I just love pain. I’ve always loved pain. I love being uncomfortable.”

For the majority of the comments on this video, many focus on the positive and humerous aspects of Billie’s video. Jordan Alana comments a funny, “when you accidentally get liquid eyeliner in your eye 😩😩” while Madison Mitchell uses a popular meme “Me: Billie stop crying ink Billie Eilish: i said i like it like that”

Although not all the comments are as deep and emotional like Cherry Pie’s, there are fewer negative comments than one expects to see on the Internet. Rather than slamming on the artist, many YouTube comments commend her on the powerful message she is sending to her audience.

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bury a friend

Billie Eilish is a rising American singer and songwriter. She’s only seventeen and has already accomplished way more than I ever will. I love her. Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell writes, produces and records all their songs. We grew up hearing thousands of different songs everywhere around us, and often underestimate how difficult it is to write a song, whether it be pop, classical or jazz, etc. But even coming up with a decent melody is actually very challenging. I have to compose a song for theory 202 by next week, and so far it literally sounds like garbage lmao

Related image

Billie Eilish’s debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was released on March 29th, 2019. The album title is a line from her song “bury a friend”, released on January 30th, 2019. The accompanying music video plays a significant role in making ‘bury a friend’ so impactful. Eilish mentioned that she always knows exactly what she wants her music videos to be like, and is very involved with the filming and editing process. So it’s safe to presume that her songs and the music videos are closely related.

The video takes place in a dark, ominous, rundown apartment complex. There are three main settings that are interchanged throughout: a bedroom, empty hallways and a white room that resembles a lab. The music video opens with a man suddenly waking up from his sleep and then lying back down. He then mutters “Billie” and the camera pans down to reveal Eilish, with all-black eyes, lurking under his bed. She stumbles through flickering corridors then is grabbed and manhandled aggressively by gloved hands. When she sings the line “I wanna end me”, these gloved hands inject dozens of syringes filled with black liquid. This sequence of singing under/next to the guy’s bed, stumbling down the hallways, gloved hands pushing and pulling her then injecting needles on her back, repeats over the course of the video. One noticeable difference is that as the video progresses her body and face also progressively contort and transform unnaturally, looking more and more possessed and frightening. Towards the end of the song when she sings the lyrics:

“For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul
‘Cause I can’t say no, no, I can’t say no
Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won’t close
And I can’t say no, I can’t say no”

The camera zooms into her face, and her eyes are completely black, and her face is completely unnatural and emotionless, making those lyrics more effective. This is just one example of many where the video amplifies its connection with the music.

The music video ends with the camera zooming out on the man’s bed but Eilish no longer present under his bed. The song and the video both ends but the beat keeps on going, and the beat actually transitions straight into the next track in her album – ‘ilomilo’.

The song itself already has a sinister, eerie undertone, with the almost monotone melody, her whispery voice, and the dark lyrics. But the music video really levels-up the horror movie vibe of the song. Once you’ve watched the video it’ll be very hard for you to make your mind not automatically conjure up the video next time you hear the song.

Here are some of people’s reactions to this creepy music video:



When I first heard the song on the radio, I thought the song was about suicide because the line “I wanna end me” is so prominent and repetitive. Then I watched the music video and read the entire lyrics and I guessed that the song and the video is about drug addiction. Billie stated in an interview that she wants the listener to ultimately decide what the meaning behind her songs is, but she did mention in an interview that the song is about sleep paralysis and written from the perspective of the “monster under the bed”. I think it’s interesting how she wants the audience to decide what her songs mean to them, and so chooses not to discuss too much about her interpretation of them. Reading Youtube comments is an easy way to read millions of opinions in a short period of time just by scrolling down. I usually never really read youtube comments because irrational hateful comments that some people leave usually annoy the heck out of me. But I didn’t find any bad comments on this video. In fact, it was really cool how so many people interpreted the song differently:




same

In conclusion, Billie Eilish is awesome and everyone should go listen to her songs if you somehow haven’t already

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_a_Friend
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/02/song-of-the-week-billie-eilish-asks-the-big-questions-on-bury-a-friend/
https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/billie-eilishs-bury-a-friend/
http://bcheights.com/2019/02/03/billie-eilish-spooks-in-haunting-bury-a-friend/
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/02/song-of-the-week-billie-eilish-asks-the-big-questions-on-bury-a-friend/



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The Art of Visuals and Videography: How has Youtube Changed the Deliverance of an Epic Disney Medley

There is no doubt that Youtube has changed the game for many aspiring musicians. As an user-friendly, free (for the most part), and incredibly accessible platform, Youtube has become a digital space for creators to showcase their talents to the world. Youtube is definitely a successful outlet, given the amount of superstars that got their starts on it.

I remember when I watched the music videos posted by my favorite youtube artists whenever I could. From Kina Grannis to Kurt Hugo Schneider to Megan Nicole, I must have spent countless hours on Youtube in high school (with VPN – thank you, China for blocking every social platform I used!) watching covers of my favorite pop songs produced by these aspiring musicians. 

One genre that I remember being particularly drawn to was the world of a capella. As a self-proclaimed Disney fanatic, I fangirled over Peter Hollens and Alex G’s Epic Disney Medley as a 16 year-old teenager.

I watched this video at least 20 times, and marveled over how amazing this video was; reading through the comments, a lot of people seem to agree:

Rewatching the video now as a senior in a music conservatory, I have to admit that I am not blown away. In fact, I don’t really understand why I loved it so much five years ago. One thing that I definitely noticed is the amount of attention and detail put into the production of the video. This raises several questions: What role do the visuals play in this video? How does the video complement the medley itself? How does sight affect one’s auditory perceptions on a piece of music?

  1. “Yes, We are Actually Singing (A Capella Style)” 

One common characteristic that I frequently find across a lot of a cappella music videos are deliberate shots of the artist recording the different voice parts against a solid background all playing simultaneously. This music video is no exception.

I believe the intention of such videography is pretty clear: for viewers who are unfamiliar with a capella, these clips provide a visual representation of what a cappella is about. For viewers who are familiar with this style, these clips add another layer of professionalism and awe. Regardless, the music video is a confirmation that yes, Hollens and Alex G actually sang all the voice parts and this song is actually an a cappella piece. 

So Which Movie (And What Characters) Do My Costumes and Locations Remind You Of?”

As the medley unfolds all the different songs it is comprised of, the visuals transition from one set of costumes to another:  from Alex G’s flowing blue maxi skirt in a desert during A Whole New World to Peter’s bright red velvet shirt during Under the Sea (with Peter imitating Sebastian the Crab in a pool underwater), all the pieces of clothing are deliberately chosen to reflect the characters both singers are trying to portray at different points of the song. 

Changing the costumes is an incredibly smart move in terms of audience engagement and outreach. The producers know that not everybody on Youtube is a Disney fanatic: by providing clear visual elements, it allows audiences who aren’t as educated in Disney movies to easily identify which songs come from what movie. For viewers are Disney fanatics, the shots add a pop of excitement and (along with the songs themselves) nostalgia as the video rolls along. 

Concluding Thoughts 

Overall, the visuals themselves play a crucial role in the success of this song. Without the visual elements, I truly believe that the medley would lose the sense of magic and awe that the videography provides. Perhaps this is why so many a cappella videos on Youtube (or any music video, for that matter) take a long time to produce: from planning the video to hiring the best videographers, a lot of though goes behind these videos for maximum audience engagement. 

Want more a capella Disney covers? Check out this Epic Disney Villain Medley!