Category: Assignments

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

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
Posted on

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

Posted on

“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.

Posted on

The Blood and Veins of Machines: Glitch Aesthetics in Alexander Schubert’s “Serious Smile”

Glitchy image, source: https://www.izotope.com/en/blog/music-production/5-artists-who-are-masters-of-glitch-music.html

Technological development is tied with the concept of perfection—people believed that, through inventions and discoveries, they were able to do things that needed to be done. Every new creation of technology is supposed to be perfect, because it serves specific purposes and follows a set of rules. At least that’s what people expected from it: purposiveness, meaningfulness, and perfection.

However, everything started to change while we step into the digital age, or, as some call it, the information age. The manipulative power of the Internet and the rise of consumer technologies create an unprecedented environment. As one receives vast information and acknowledges infinite technological possibilities, it becomes impossible for one to really harness them. We lose control of basically everything, because our choices are deeply influenced by the behaviors of technologies themselves; if, at first, it was human who decided what technology should do for us, it now seems that the technology is telling us what human should do. This exchanging of the two sides leads to disillusionment: both the purpose of technology and the identity of human are lost, and people have long criticized many aspects in this situation.

But what if this “perfect” technology intentionally make mistakes? What if we no longer strive for improvement of its functionality? As a response to the existential problems provoked by the digital age, some artists propose new ways of looking at technology, and the one we are focusing on in this blogpost is called “glitch aesthetics”.

Glitches are not stranger to our technological environment. In fact, we encounter them everyday: turbulence of television signals, malfunctioning software, and instability of internet connection…all have immediate influence on our user experience, and a glitch refers to a visual or physical manifestation of an error. During a glitch, the system fails to carry out its tasks, and the failure is directly shown in ways such as flickers on a screen, an error message in the operational interface, or the skipping of a defective CD in the CD player. Art works that deal with glitch aesthetics would intentionally expose or produce these manifestations of errors in technology, and what they attempt to present through such methods, according to the art organization “GLI.TC/H”, is the exact moment of the technological failure which gives a window into the technology’s abstract system, into the internal processes of its function. For example, in the moment of a display error, the RGB lights on the screen dance in frenzy, showing its most basic constituents. These mistakes were supposed to be “imperfections”, and were to be avoided in order to let the technology function correctly; yet artists have created works that appropriate these “imperfections”.

GLI.TC/H webpage illustration, source: http://gli.tc/h/

It is interesting for me to see artists presenting the imperfection of technology, because it provokes a sense of “Frankensteinian” nostalgia: as the technology refuses to reach its original goals, it almost seems that it is having its revenge on people’s manipulation, and the thought that technology is claiming its own identities in turn calls to people, reminding them to find their authentic “selves” as well.

What will happen then, if one brings all these defects of machines back to the human body? A particular work serves especially well as an example of this concept.

Score except from Alexander Schubert’s “Serious Smile”

The score for Alexander Schubert’s “Serious Smile”, a piece written for three instrumentalists, a conductor, and live electronics, is notated completely by aleatoric methods. Word instructions tell the performers what kind of things they should do, for example, “play some high clusters” is the only thing given to the pianist in the score at times. This means that specificity of pitches is not needed for the performance of this piece, but rather other aspects which I will discuss now.

One of the most significant aspects of this piece is that it uses motion sensors to enable the performers, including the conductor, to control the sound of the electronic part, so that their physical movements trigger series of prerecorded or synthesized sounds. Many of these sounds clearly refer to malfunctioning electronic devices, collisions of metallic and plastic machine parts, and low-quality midi sound sources. Because the velocity and frequency of the occurrences of these sounds are at times directly controlled by the gestures of the performers, the piece gives the audience an illusion that as if the performers are a group of malfunctioning robots; yet, knowing that the performers are actually human, the piece expresses an unresolvable paradox, a duality of flesh and artificial parts. However, one is absolutely not able to receive this message if one only listens to the audio recording of the piece, and this is where the vital component of the piece—the visual/choreographic elements—plays its role.

Score except from Alexander Schubert’s “Serious Smile”

The score for “Serious Smile” focuses rather strongly on the ways that performers move on stage. Instructions at the beginning says that “the piece is as much a choreography as a musical piece”, and that the performers should be fully aware of their appearances on stage. Additionally, the performers are told to maintain the quality of inhumanness throughout the piece: movements should be as robotic as possible; specifically, performers should show the differences between a human and a machine through the unnatural and clumsy manner of waving their arms, playing their instruments, etc.

One of the repeated passages in this piece is called “frenzy” in the score. Performers play their instruments (or conduct, for the conductor) or move their bodies (while triggering all kinds of “error” sounds using their sensors) in a continually convulsive manner, resembling the glitches on electronic screens caused by display errors. Sudden long pauses of their movements, then, represents “freeze glitches”, indicating a loss of signals. The sound at these points, which is violent noises that happen when network connections of devices are lost, is also very important in producing this human embodiment of frozen display. Another very impressive moment for me is the passage where all the performers imitate certain human behaviors that are constantly disturbed and corrupted by each others, which resembles the effect of the mentioned skipping CD player; Alexander Schubert intentionally plays with the duality of flesh and machine, stressing the jarring incompatibility of human and robot.

Another aspect which I consider essential to the overall effect of the piece, which was actually added by the producer of the video above—Ensemble Intercontemporain—rather than the composer himself, is the manipulation of lighting. Rapidly flashing lights enter when “frenzy” passages begin, and that changes everything: it is no longer only the players that embody the glitches, but the whole stage; now that the stage corresponds with the performers’ movements, it creates a “cyborg world”—an environment even further removed from the audience, yet, with this unique effect of magical(/cyborg) realism, one can make deeper connections with the performing “robots” and oneself. When it comes to video editing, Ensemble Intercontemporain is then free to use all kinds of close-ups to show the performers’ movements more clearly, because the lighting already indicates the interactions between the players, and not too many distant views of the ensemble are needed.

Audience has evidently realized that all the striking aspects of the piece cannot be achieved without the help of visual/choreographic design. One audience comments that the only good thing about the piece remains in “the flashing lights and the performance of the electrocuted”, otherwise the sonic aspect of the piece is generic and uninteresting, resembling other typical serial and synthesis music. Another says that the electronic part is interesting, but the acoustic playing is just appropriating pieces by Xenakis.

From these criticisms one can see that “Serious Smile” challenges the concept of music itself. In correspondence with the question of “what a machine or a human can be”, new conceptualist composers like Alexander Schubert propose the question of “what music can be”. Both questions touch the core of the digital-age contemplation, a constant denial and doubt of meanings in the era of loss of directions.

The glitch aesthetics in “Serious Smile”, therefore, is presented by a collaboration of both the visual and the sonic effects in order to express the dissonance between human and technology. While the performers “enjoy” this dissonance in the state of “euphoria and frenzy”, we as audience are violated, and the piece leaves us with questioning of our own beings.

It is then certainly surprising to see that one audience comments on the video, saying that the performance is “like a Mahler symphony”. What type of “Mahler symphony” is “Serious Smile”? I cannot find the answer. However, what I am certain is that, the visual and sonic elements in the piece speak to us in different ways. Regardless of how clear a concept is presented in a piece like this, the audience can always interpret this presentation in unpredictably varying ways, and that is what I find fascinating about new conceptualist works: composers play with concepts and illusions, and cross the boundaries of art genre and medium, not in order to set new metaphysical rules, but to open a brand new world of possibilities while revealing the internal processes of our thinking, just like a glitch—an abnormal “play” of error that shows the “blood and veins” inside.

Example of a PNG glitch, source: https://ucnv.github.io/pnglitch/

Posted on

Ariana Grande’s Image

Ariana Grande‘s thank u, next first piqued my interest because of a harmonic progression that initially contains bass movement of an augmented second. Upon closer inspection, I found this song to be very enjoyable as its message can seem to be pushy toward exes as to their poor treatment of her, creating a terrible environment to which she has an extreme desire to move on or a sincere thankfulness for these experiences that she has taken part in.

There are many references to an overall sense of power and comfort. First, we see her on a bed that is very elegant and surrounded by items of non-necessity. After that, we switch to her walking down a high school hallway, with what could be assumed to be a clique. She takes over the whole hallway and is not afraid to push people around, literally. Later on we see her getting out of an expensive car and wearing what would seem to be an expensive outfit. All these extravagant and luxurious items could be a way of visualizing that she has come out of the relationships with values, such as wisdom and personal emotional strength.

I-Sorta-Exist comments:

“Omg Mean Girls, 13 Going On 30, Legally Blonde…the best movies bihhh”

This comment is in support of the whole concept for the visual aid to give added context to her situation. Mean Girls (2004) is a movie that is involving a girl coming to a new high school. After a short period of time, she is accepted into one of the most popular cliques in the school. Her appearance to most everyone in the school is a sudden popular girl who gets her way because of her new found popularity. 13 Going On 30 (2004) is about a girl longing to be popular and proceeds to wish she was 30 years old in an attempt to get away from the constant incentive to be a popular person that she was trying so hard and failing to achieve. (IMDB) Lastly, Legally Blonde (2001) describes the near perfect life of an extremely popular college student who is (the president of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, [and] Miss June in her campus calendar.” (IMDB) All of these movies would be known by most people born around Grande’s time, 1993. So these references could very well be a simple act of communication through known stories of her age group. This gives a sense of reliability to feelings that many have experienced through these romantic comedies .

Chainy MyKala comments:

“This is really everything, I’ll be honest I’ve never really been a huge fan of her, but more and more I’m finding myself drawn to her, she’s just really seems like such a good person, like her kindness in everything she does just like shines through. Ugh yep, definitely a fan now. “

This comment made me re-think my initial thoughts of what the lyrics were meaning. My interpretation, in the beginning, was that of sarcasm. Her lyrics made me think that she was thanking all of these people as a way of regretting those people in her life. With this comment, I am starting to think that there is actual gratuity to the people that, through her knowing them, taught her love, patience, pain. I also began to take the time to really think about all the lyrics instead of listening for just aural aesthetic. These lyrics upon good inspection reflect this pleasant attitude, compared to this bratty attitude I got from it through a few listens.

Manya Barot comments:

“Guys the beginning when they’re speaking…7 rings is playing

SIS WAS GIVING US A TEASER”

This comment brought an interesting idea to the table. The music video’s length is 5:30, while the single release is only 3:27. There is quite a bit of extra material in the video and I find it interesting that Grande included her song 7 Rings, because it happened to become the top single for the week of March 19th, 2019. She could not have known that this would be the case for the song, but this encourages the “popularity/success” idea. I find it highly interesting that she would include this song in the intro to the video since 7 Rings‘ content is about primarily “conspicuous consumption.” The fact that she left it out of the single is to preemptively avoid problems of copyright, as 7 Rings‘ melodic content is a blatant copy of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s and this is why when “Concord requested 90 percent of Ms. Grande’s song, and her representatives accepted without further negotiation.” (NYTimes)

I think this video is depicting how great her life is now that she has had all these experiences to better her attitude, outlook, and demeanor. Grande’s video conveys exactly what she means by her lyrics, “thank u, next.”

Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Girls

https://www.directv.com/movies/13-Going-on-30-SXh6cGFtL2l5SmpIVll6OG1nUlh1UT09

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde

https://www.billboard.com/photos/8488625/ariana-grande-2018-woman-of-the-year-photo-shoot

Posted on

“Honesty” Pink Sweat$

In what seems as a pink wonderland, David Bowden, also professionally known as Pink Sweat$ reflects his past loves through a small business owned laundromat in his music video for his first single “Honesty”. Rising in the R&B community, Pink Sweat$ shines a new light and adds a little color to R&B music starting with this single. Unlike the great R&B classic rough boys, fierce women, who sing and rap about getting lit and having sensual nights, “Honesty” is about his experience of a past relationship and the insecurities it brings, sweet yet in some ways still masculine. The lyrics focus on one main relationship but when looking at the music video, past relationships have cameos all over.

The music video first opens with children playing in the laundromat. A little girl running with her little backpac past two men playing chess introduces the viewers to Pink Sweat$, the employee at the cash register. As the music video continues it can be seen that the cash register is a reflection of his heart. When a woman spills her pink lemonade all over the floor the employee leaves the register. While the employee mops the floor cleaning up the mess with the register, his heart, unattended, the camera then directs itself towards a woman dressed in all pink with a halo of light shining around her imitating the employee’s viewpoint and impression of this customer. It can be seen that he’s into her because the lyrics “I want you” repeat over and over as the camera switches back and forth between the woman in pink and the employee.  

The employee continues to go about his business, every customer that seems to pay before they leave are all people of age, no children, no teenagers, representing his past partners. Some end well, thus paying the employee for the laundromat’s service while some end roughly. There’s an argument between the employee and one of the customers resulting in an out of order sign on one of the machines. Symbolizing how he’s been hurt from his past relationships he needs time to work on healing himself and getting over the pain, thus the out of order sign.

Many women wearing vivid colors such as blue and yellow are seen in the laundromat but the woman in pink stands out the most matching the Pink Sweat$ and well, the entire laundromat. Later on in the song, news of a mass robberer appear on a mini television. The robberer represents a woman that goes into relationships feeding off stolen hearts until moving on to the next. With the identity reveal near the end the audience can see that the robber is none other than the woman in pink. She had came into the laundromat and caught the employee’s attention while he was away from the cash register, in other words, watching over his heart. Sneaking right under his nose she ends up robbing him as well just like she did with all the others before him.

Even as her identity is being revealed, the lyrics “I want you” repeat, she is the only person that the camera focuses on when these words play throughout the video. When she robs the cash register the employee is at first surprised but in the end seems more hurt than shocked.

This video depicts so many different types of relationships aside from the one sang in the lyrics, bringing a lot of viewers to be able to relate to this video and connect with the artist. Being able to reminisce on past relationships, dwell in current ones while listening to this song has allowed many viewers to share what they’re going through and with which relationship they connected most with in Pink Sweat$’ Honesty music video.

Posted on

Juicy

In the 1990’s, Chirstopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G or simply Biggie Smalls, was the definition of rap and street Hip Hop to East Coast audiences. Growing up in a single parent house in the middle of Bed-Stuy only to become one of the biggest names in the Rap industry, Biggie became an incredible source of hope for the working class as well as the black community as whole throughout New York City. And so, as a way to keep that hope and inspiration going, in 1994, Biggie released “Juicy”: a song detailing the events and motivation he had in his life that made him keep moving forward. The way in which Biggie Smalls writes his lyrics with such an inviting, understandable flow as well as creates a music video that so aptly portrays the moments he discusses in his life is the reason why I believe this to be one of the best songs and music videos made in the 1990’s. And so, without further a do, here is Notorious B.I.G’s Juicy

Looking at the first 30 seconds of the music video (which is predominantly the dedication of the rap), we as an audience can already see the three main facets of Biggie’s life that he is going to present: his early childhood as a crack dealer living with his mom, his life in prison, and his life now as a rapper. Biggie also perfectly syncs the aspects of his dedication with the actual subjects (i.e during the lyric “To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin’ in front of called the police on me when I was just tryin’ to make some money to feed my daughter” Biggie is being shown being arrested in an undercover drug bust and the following lyric “And to all my peoples in the struggle” he moves to a shot of a corner in Bed Stuy where a huge crowd of people are standing expressionless). Biggie then moves into the first verse:

It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine

Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hangin’ pictures on my wall

Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl

I let my tape rock ’til my tape popped

Smokin’ weed in Bambu, sippin’ on Private Stock

Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack

With the hat to match

In this stanza, Biggie heavily relates to the young audience members listening to his music. Here he is as prolific rap idol having a childhood very similar to any other kid growing up in the 80’s. With this passage, Biggie can be seen in a prison cell (as he was for 8 months when he was 18) hanging cut pictures of people he got out of Word Up! Magazine; an activity which most normal people did in their childhood (minus the prison part!). With instances of drinking cheap malt liquor, shooting dice in the streets, and eating sardines from the can appearing in his lyrics and music video, Biggie is ultimately stating that he was just like everyone else growing up in Brooklyn in that he didn’t have any luxuries.

The chorus then directly addresses the audience with a message of determination and hope. It states that kids shouldn’t let anything “hold them back” and should “reach for the stars.” This is the moment in the music video where Biggie presents the payoff of reaching for the stars. He is seen at a beautiful house with a full pool and pool house partying with a huge amount of people having fun. Albeit a great well written chorus, this is actually one of my favorite Easter eggs in the song. The melody of this hook, as well as the beat, and backtrack are all sampled from the same song “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume, which is why the song is called “Juicy.”

As far as the rest of the verses, Biggie explains that while it may be hard to picture a living a lush life without being deep in low level crimes, it is certainly possible as long as you keep trying and flip from negative to positive thinking. He shows this lush life through the maids he has bringing him and his friends champagne as well as owning his own Sega Genesis (which Michael Che believes he very well could have afforded one even before he was a rapper). In short, Biggie Small’s “Juicy” promises a better future to people who are true to themselves and take advantage of the world around them.

As it seems, a lot of people have taken a liking to this message and Biggie Smalls has in recent times become somewhat of a pop culture icon. Reading through the comments of this official music video, I saw how much Biggie’s style and words meant to his listeners. One listener named Ricardo Zúñiga commented, “This song inspires me so much to push myself and make it big. It’s my anthem. I’m as broke as could be, but I’m putting myself through college… I’m fortunate to be able to live at my mom’s, but unfortunately, she can’t help much beyond that, since she works as a janitor earning minimum wage. And my father is equally as broke. But this song motivates me to keep pushing. I know I got what it takes to pull my family out of this poverty.” In my mind, the meaning of this song completely got through to this person, who is trying to live life to the fullest and achieve his goals. The majority of the other comments, like that of Charcoal Head, talked much more about his flow. They write, “This guy was a lyrical genius! His flows were smoother than water, and the beats Biggie sang over were raw.” Biggie was known as the king of flow with a style that couldn’t be matched by any other rapper at the time. Finally, an incredible number of commenters talked about the ways in which you could compare Biggie to rappers of today. This was usually to display that idea that 21stcentury rappers are much more fragile than older rap artists. For instance, Shady wrote comically, “Biggie and Tupac had beef because Tupac thought Biggie got him shot. Drake and Meek Mill are beefing because one tweeted about the other.” Although this comment was probably out of jest, it is a firmly held belief that modern day rappers like 6ix9ine and Drake don’t live up to the same intensity and strength as 90’s rappers like Tupac or Biggie. These were profound artists and, especially in Biggie’s case, constantly searched for progress in the people around them.