avelasquez – MHS 123: Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century

April 17, 2019

Our Favorite Brothers are BACK

Jonas Brothers pose for the cover of their single, Sucker.

The Jonas Brothers took to world by storm when we were children in the late 2000’s, and now they are back to rock our world once again. On February 28, 2019, they announced their reunion, and on March 1, 2019, the Jonas Brothers released their single, “Sucker” after a six year hiatus. We thought 2013 was the last time we would see our favorite brothers, but after a few sudden Instagram and twitter posts, we prepared ourselves for their return. They quickly hit the top charts, reaching #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard. Not only was their song a banger, their music video was unique and unexpected, pulling us closer to our computer screens.

The elegance of the castle and the costumes contrasts with the pop, upbeat feel of the song. But I feel like there is a connection. In the ages where elaborate dinners and large ball gowns were in, there was an emphasis on showing off and giving importance to women. Their spouses are the center of their attention, the brothers singing these endearing lyrics to them for the whole video. Sucker seems to have been inspired by the fact that the three Jonas Brothers have grown up, and now have wives/fiancees. A popular comment from the video was about the brothers including their significant others, someone writing, “lol I love they added their significant others!” The inclusion of their beautiful, powerful spouses adds emphasis to the meaning of the lyrics “I’m a sucker for you”. Each of the spouses personality was shown through choreography, outfits, and even hair styles, adding to the personal effect that they wished to convey.

The video has a mix of old and new, antique and modern. The castle with the long driveway, the butlers, the elaborate dresses and the large dinner party with dozens of guests is a flash of the past, but they twist it to include a more modern vibe, with smaller details such as the colors and contemporary lyrics to add a 21st century feel. The outfits were bright and flashy, symbolizing their stunning return, but also shows how fashion has developed over the centuries, from monotone colors to bright pinks and sequins, but also referencing current fashion trends sported by other celebrities. For example, Kevin Jonas is seen wearing a psychedelic patterned shirt, a reference to one that Beyonce wore on a day out

This music video was everything good and new, and everything we could have hoped for. The technology used was mostly cameras and lighting, using aerial cameras to capture the mansion and its gardens in its entirety. Another effect of this music video was to be confused about the time period: is this a flashback or just a really ornate costume party? Surprisingly, most of the reactions and comments were positive, people stating, “who else is watching this video continuously cause its just awesome.” Everyone was so excited about their return, there was little room for negativity. Most people were just so shocked that they were back together that every other comment was “omg” or “I love them”. Audience reaction was exactly what the Jonas Brothers were hoping for, the video already at 106 million views.

“Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers. 106 million views.

April 2, 2019

Unfortunately, This Is Our America

On May 5, 2018, the release of “This Is America” by Childish Gambino was at the peak of a desire for gun control, because this was also during a time where innocent people of color were being shot and killed by police with no real motive. Riots, arguments on social medias, and hope for change stood nothing against the government. Even after the fatal killings of dozens of innocent lives, If the government isn’t going to listen to normal civilians, they are sure going to listen to celebrities of higher status. When a person of influence states their position on a topic, this gives people a platform. This song blew up in a matter of minutes. The lyrics were strong, but the music video behind the lyrics was even stronger, portraying the killings of dozens of black men and women.

This song is clearly political, saying repeatedly that the America that we live in will shoot and kill you if they catch “you slipping now”, with the main target being black people. According to a study, black people are more than 10 times more likely than white people to die by gun homicide. This video could be seen as a a call to action, to warn African-Americans to be cautious, and to tell politicians in a unique way that change needs to be made.

Colin Kapernick kneeling during the national anthem.

Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) makes it a point to include in his video criminals, as well as young school children, church choirs, and just regular people to show that gun violence and police brutality does not exclude anyone. His constant dancing is meant as a distraction from what is happening to these innocent people in the background. This song and the video accompanying it are in response to the killings of many individuals, a grave widespread problem affecting our African-American population. It is pretty common to see celebrity responses after a controversial event. For example, Colin Kaepernick responded to oppression by kneeling during the national anthem, saying, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” I agree with the actions Colin decided to take. Even against judgement, he does what he believes is correct. Colin Kaepernick and Donald Glover are similar in that they respond in a healthy and nonviolent way. Violence would only discredit their point and lead to more controversy than what controversies are happening now. Celebrities like these are able to grab the attention of crowds and politicians and force them to see what is happening, and fight for a change.

Most peoples reactions to “This is America” we’re positive. I am on social media A LOT and I really only saw support and awe for this artist. I believe this is the outcome he hoped and expected, with thousands supporting his artistic endeavors. This has influenced others to have a sort of protest of their own to fight against inequality and in what they believe is right, a protest rooted in respect and non-violence. It is safe to say that music reflects politics, down to the president (Donald Trump being in too many rap songs), economy (everyone is always singing something about money), and things along those lines. If more celebrity artists state their position on major political topics, it would spark a widespread realization, and possibly even leading to politicians implementing new laws to help protect the lives of innocent people from racism and gun violence.

Each time you watch, you catch something new !

January 31, 2019

We Don’t Just Blow Into Our Instruments

Can breathing be a technology, and how does our breathing evolve?

When we think of technology, we list off every electronic device that comes to mind, and if we can’t think of any more, then we search on the internet, which is also categorized into the electronic department. But what is rarely thought of as a technology is the body. Your body, my body, everyones body. More specifically, an involuntary function in our body: the breath. Ok… isn’t technology supposed to be techy or something? No. The breath is something we as musicians, and I guess also as human beings, depend on. Technology is something developed and in turn used as a way to facilitate something, or to make something work. In order to make most of our musical instruments work, we must use an airstream, which needs our breath. We don’t just *breathe* into our instruments — there is a lot of thought that goes into making the airstream. Airstream is a development of our breath; it is something we manipulate for our own use, therefore making it a technology to musicians.

Pneumo Pro Flute airstream device: helps build control of direction of air, and with practice results in a beautiful tone.

We never really wake up and think “oh man maybe I should breathe”, but as musicians, we lock ourselves in practice rooms and obsess and over analyze breathing and airstream; it is no longer involuntary. It dictates intonation, tone, color, vibrancy, pitch accuracy, etc… As a flutist, any pain in my body, stiff jaw, tight chest, wack oral chamber, affects the outcome of my air that I am trying to achieve. So there is a reason to obsess over it — we cannot play our instruments beautifully without it. The development of our breath into airstream has sparked an interest in developing other technologies to even further improve our breath, which in turn helps our airstream, such as variations on the breath builder , breathing bags, finger breathing, and other breathing accessories specific to instrument types, such as the Pneumo Pro for flutists.

It is interesting to think that musicians hold and attend classes that teach you how to breathe. Like, why do I need to sit here for an hour listening to some old guy talk about breathing? Over time, and across the globe, musicians developed different ways of explaining and manipulating breathing. These classes, although sound boring, help us think about breathing and air, rather than doing it mindlessly and involuntarily. I’ve definitely attended classes like these and each time I would freak out because I would suddenly overthink breathing and then I sit there very uncomfortably breathing for the rest of the class, but also I have a new perspective of breathing as a tool for improvement.

But actually productively thinking about how your air moves through your body, then how it moves through your instrument, allows you to develop as a musician, since air has so much to do with playing (which is pretty wild honestly). Usually the longer you play an instrument the more organic this dream airstream becomes (obviously with lots of practice). I breathe everyday and think about my air when I play so I hope maybe someday I’ll have a marvelous airstream too!

https://didgeproject.com/free-didgeridoo-lessons/strengthen-breath-expand-lung-capacity-wind-instruments/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/music/music-instruments-orchestra/woodwinds-music/v/flute-interview-demo
http://kimballtrombone.com/breathing/respiratory-training-for-musicians/