Discovering Soundscapes

So my team-member/ friend Anthony Aerni and I developed a soundscape this previous week, dealing with an emotion, that you should be able to guess, based off of sound effects, noises, music, and voices. What this abstract soundscape would be able to do is project certain emotions and enable the listeners to aurally observe the soundscape through various levels (listening modes, aural exploration of space, contrast/affinity/ manipulation of space, and Gestalt Principles). It was an overall enjoyable experience, and hopefully people realized the sound we were depicting was RAGE.



Artwork by Salvator Dali. Edited by me.




Artwork by Sally Mann. Edited by me.




Artwork by Ben Goosens. Edited by me.



I also took time out to critique several other students' soundscapes. Here were my findings:

Stephen Hicken's "Gratitude" from A02 Class:

Based off of Stephen's soundscape on "Gratitude," I definitely can hear the feel-good and joyful sound effects that are made throughout it. There is an upbeat guitar rift throughout the soundscape with children's laughter, swimming, and friendly discussion, making it sound like a very enjoyable summer day in the park. It's earthly sound presents its own demonstration of why we should be grateful for what we have. Likewise, the imagery presented matched up well with the soundscape. A homely atmosphere, a sunny day, and a couple kissing are a few things that can remind us of what to be grateful of. Some of the concepts I noticed were Stephen's manipulation of space. By adding multiple layers of sound, Stephen's soundscape gives one the illusion that he or she is at a park on a sunny day. Also, you can observe the Gestalt principle of Figure & Ground, noting that the guitar rift would be the groundwork of the soundscape and the children's laughter and recreation throughout the soundscape are the figure. Overall I both enjoyed Stephen's soundscape and find the sound effects and pictures relevant to his emotion. Furthermore, it reminds me to count my blessings and be happy for what I have, rather than what I want.

Andrew Cooke's "'Optimism" from A02:

Andrew's soundscape on "Optimism," is insightful and inspiring because it best depicts optimism in the midst of difficulties and hardships. Aurally, we hear this with darker and sometimes eerie sound effects. A low instrumentation signaled meloncholy and despairing moods. However, midway through his soundscape, we hear a child's laughter, and the mood changes from slow, depressing and sad to upbeat and cheerful. The imagery also goes from lighter to darker, starting with a woman drowning and ending with balloon-faced men, floating in a bright, blue sky. Like life, we have moments where we're surrounded by difficult situations, but in the end, if we maintain the optimism, we, too can be balloon-faced men, floating in a bright, blue sky. Some of the concepts I noticed were Andrew's manipulation of time, starting with a slow, dragging sad song (making the soundscape seem longer) and ending with an upbeat, cheerful song (making the soundscape move quickly through). Also, Andrew's manipulation of space can be heard with the certain sound effects chosen. With the darker ones in the beginning, it seemed like one was making an ascension from underwater to the sky, as the mood moved from sad to happy. I thought Andrew's soundscape was entertaining, innovative, and overall original. To make two soundscapes within one is completely genius. Good job, bro!

Grace Roulston's "Relief" from A03:

Grace's soundscape on "Relief" was definitely an entertaining one that really haunted and blessed the ears if you closed your eyes and envisioned everything that was going on. Almost like watching a movie, "Relief" began with eerie doors opening, a strong windstorm, and some odd character walking through the woods (judging by the footsteps in some creepy forest). Entertaining already, the soundscape turns into a bigger drama when the character dives/drowns/swims/submerges into the water. For about 30 seconds we are engulfed in heartbeats, a struggle underwater and bubbles. Finally just as we think the character is gone, he or she emerges out of the water calmly, only to find that we (and the character) are relieved of what happened to them. Immediately, the first concept I notice that Grace uses is the manipulation of space. Her soundscape has your ears follow the footsteps from the dark woods, into the water, and out somewhere safe and calm. Furthermore, her manipulation of time is also notable. Grace uses silence for a good couple seconds to confuse or disorient her listeners when the character goes underwater. I feel as if it is very cinematic and very original. I enjoyed Grace's soundscape and encourage others to listen to it.

What's My Number?!?!?

It comes to no surprise that I love music, since many of the posts I have are related to music. My blog is named after a hip hop group (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All); under a picture of myself, it reads 'music is my religion;' 3/6 of my posts thus far have been about music, music videos, or something music-oriented (Jason Goldwatch and his music videos/Comparing hip hop over the years/ etc.
Finding a cover to a song I like was definitely not difficult. Typically, I am not a fan of covers (I tend to gravitate towards authenticity), but to my fortune I like both Toots and The Maytals's and Sublime's versions of the song, "5546 (That's My Number.)

However, listening to both versions of the Sativa-inspired song I realize various similarities and differences in their lyrics and musical quality.

The similarities, of course, are apparent and obvious within the song's lyrics. In both Toots and The Maytals's and Sublime's version of "5546 (That's My Number)," the lead singer describes being incarcerated for possession of marijuana. During his time in prison, the singer wails to us that "5546" is his prison number while serving his time. Originally, the song was written by Fred "Toots" Hibbert, using his personal experience in prison for possession of weed as the basis of his song. He also covered the same "riddim," or rhythm/melody to the song as  The Ethiopians's song 'Train to Skaville.' Later on, Sublime covered this song on their 1992 album, "40 Oz. To Freedom." The only lyrical difference between the two songs is that Sublime's breaks down midway through the song with another one entitled "Ball and Chain," dealing with the issues of having a child in a non-committed relationship (and that it is like having a "'ball and chain"). One can infer that this is a play on words because both song titles have something to do with prison.

The songs also have similarities and differences through their musical quality. Their similarities are far and few. Aside from the fact that they are both reggae ska songs, the songs also use similar instrumentation and fairly ordered organization. Where they differ, however is their pitch, speed, and timbre. Toots and The Maytals's version of "5546 (That's My Number) is much slower, much deeper and lower in sound, giving off more of a bluesy feel to the songs (this, of course making sense, since it was about Toots's arrest for marijuana). In contrast, the Sublime version is much more upbeat, fast in tempo, and high in pitch. It's a much more jovial song, as singer Bradley Nowell makes it sound more like an overnight trip to the jail with a story to tell the next morning , as opposed to Toots depressed woeful experience to the big house. Also, the timbre of each song has their differences too. Toots and The Maytals have a much more simple guitar rift followed by a bass line and a church-like tambourine. The vocals are much more choir-like, with backup singers making their "oohs" and "ahhs" throughout the song. In contrast, Sublime uses electric guitars, drums, and a piano, as well as a few sexy female vocals sampled from movies in the parts where Sublime says "give it to me." Sublime's version, again, is much more of a jollier tune compared to Toots and The Maytals bluesy version.

Picking a favorite version is like picking a best friend or choosing a favorite sibling. Both versions of "5546 (That's My Number)" were highly entertaining, but at the end of the day, I choose the Sublime version, mostly because its more upbeat and cheerful, compared to the sadder Toots and The Maytals version. Nevertheless, "5546 (That's My Number)" is one of my favorite reggae songs, whether bluesy or cheerful.

Toots and The Maytals

Sublime

Audio Response to Finding Your Howl

I had just finished reading a pretty interesting and inspiring work by an author by the name of Jonathon Flaum, who wrote Finding Your Howl which metaphorically discussed how we must endure some hardships to get to where we want. He uses two stories, one of which about a wolf trying to regain his skill to howl and another about a tiger trying to escape a zoo, to represent such hardships and how to overcome them. I decided to make an audio response to how I felt about Flaum's work as well as talking about one of my favorite, inspiring quotes.

Audio Response with Finding Your Howl