its so loud!

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122114058

This article was actually really interesting. The main subject of the article is something called compression. This is used in a lot of music today and, according to the people who wrote this article, has made music today entirely too loud! They argue that bands would have a completely different sound if the music was not compressed and wonder if audiences are going to start demanding different versions of songs. I personally don't mind the louder music. Upbeat louder music actually makes up the majority of the music i listen to, to work out. I understand what they are saying about how the voices and vocal are lost in the loudness of the instruments, the guitar riffs, drum solos and base. However, when i am running, i need something that is going to take my mind off of my aching legs, not comforting lyrics. All i am saying is that sometimes, louder is better. In regards to audiences requesting different versions, i personally have several songs in my library that are in the original form and acoustic form. Some songs were just meant to be played loud, but some sound good acoustically as well.

The article also touches on digital compression. This is what they described as compressing a large digital music file into a file small enough to fit on an ipod. They talk about how digital compression takes away sounds of the music. When music is compressed, some sounds are virtually extinguished. I would say that i am willing to sacrifice sound quality for my ipod. The ability to carry around thousands of songs in my pocket is amazing and if it sounds good, then that's enough for me.

21st century music

I think during my lifetime, music has always been a huge industry. Not only the buying and selling of music, but the use of music to come up with new television programs. Gosh there are about a million "musical talent" shows out there now. American Idol, America's Got Talent, Singing Bee and Don't Forget the Lyrics are just a few of the more popular ones. American Idol is probably one of the most popular television programs today. The audience gets so involved in the show and can even vote on who they want to win. It is a huge industry and one that helps get new artist out there and known. Shows like Don't Forget the Lyrics don't actually have anything to do with musical talent. If you have never seen the show, contestants come on the show and they have to know the lyrics to the songs to win money. So the more music you listen to, the more likely you are to win. I personally never would have come up with this one. I guess they are starting to run out of ideas. This again is another example of using music in the television industry.

I think it is safe to say that the further you go back in time, the more music was played for fun and pure love of the music. Being an artist was more of a hobby than a profession. Now, in the 21st century, artist use their talent to support themselves. A really talented artist can make enough in their career to support themselves for the rest of their lives, even after they stop performing.

television

I watched an episode of House last night. I have never really paid a whole lot of attention to the music in the show because it's mostly instrumental, but the music plays a huge role in the show. It's almost as if the producers are using the music to tell you how you are supposed to be feeling or reacting in every scene. In one of the scenes, a mother and father were with their newborn baby and the just looked like it was sleeping in the mothers arms. The mother spoke to the baby and the baby didn't respond, and then upbeat dramatic music started to play as if to clue in the audience, "something is wrong". At the end of the show, the father was pushing the mother and their new baby out of the hospital and happy soothing music came on in the background. It was almost a relief to the audience that nothing else bad was going to happen and everything turned out just fine.
I have also noticed that scary movies probably utilize background music as much as any genre of movies. They can take a completely normal scene, add scary music in the background and it is utterly terrifying. With scary music it build so much suspense that nothing even has to happen to scare you. The increasingly louder music and dramatic instrumentals just lets you know something bad is going to happen and its going to scare you to death!

where is music?

Honestly, i can't think of too many places where i don't encounter some type of music. Whether i notice it or not, music is usually playing in the background just to break silence. I probably pay the most attention to background music at sporting events whether it's one i participating in or just attending.
If i am warming up for a volleyball match, the warm up music is everything. Hearing my song come on during our warm up just gets me so pumped! There is something about a great warm up cd that just gets the blood pumping and gets everyone excited for the game. Now during timeouts and breaks between games during the match the background music is more for the fans than the athletes. I mean obviously i'm not going to be jamming out to the music while my coach is trying to tell me what i need to do for the next game. Music has it's place in every situation and my attentiveness to it just depends on the situation.
Now if i am just attending a sporting event, the music is a little less influential. Even though i am not getting ready to compete, listening to a team's warm up music gets me excited to watch the game. As an athlete i know how pumped up they are getting and how excited they are to compete, and that makes me excited to watch. As i mentioned before, i think that music during timeout and halftime is all for the fans. I would rather there be music playing in the background than just sit there listening to nothing waiting on the game to start up again.
There is nothing a whole lot better than a great celebration song after game winning buzzer shot or a final kill. Yes, this moment is going to be awesome whether there is music or not, but music just makes it so much better. Not only does music enhance the moment, but it also creates a memory to associate with the song.

five songs...really?

Ok, there is no way i could give you my top five all time favorite songs. The second i type them down and post it to my page i am going to think of some other song that i absolutely love and wish that i had put it on my list. So yes, technically i guess im going to give you five songs but there's no way i would be able to settle on a perfect list. Well here it goes (in no particular order)...

Fix You-Coldplay

I put this song on here because, well first of all i just love coldplay. But this song in particular just gets me every time i listen to it. There's something about the lyrics, his voice, and the piano all working together that just gives me this feeling of complete happiness.

Love You Madly-Cake
I love this song. I love the sound of Cake and the lyrics to this song are awesome.

Are You Gonna Be My Girl-Jet
This song just makes me smile everytime i hear it. The first time i heard it was at at a party in high school. It one of those songs that just makes you want to get up and dance around!

Hotel California-The Eagles
I absolutely love the eagles! I don't know if they have a song that i don't like. I had a hard time choosing which Eagles song i was going to put on here, but this is definately one of my favorites of all their songs. I probably love the Eagles so much because my dad played them every time i got in his truck. Listening to them reminds me of him.

The Future Freaks Me Out-Motion City Soundtrack
Ok, if any of you guys have ever heard this song you are probably laughing at me right now for putting it on here ha. It is a ridiculous song but that about 90% of the reason why i love it so much. It has a really upbeat happy feel to it. And if you ever see me driving in my car jamming out and dancing around. more than likely it's to this song:)

Well there's my list. There are so many songs that should be on here, but i tried to get one of my favorites from a few different types of music that i listen to. On that note, im going to go ahead and wrap up this blog because if i talk for too much longer i am going to end up switching out my songs again!

negative feelings

Really the only types of music i have negative feelings for are country music and bluegrass music (sorry professor Leonard). I would be hesitant to call them negative feelings in the first place. Yes, i will change the station if either of these two types of music come on. I don't like the "twangy" sound of country music and i get a little tired of hearing about how men cheated on their girlfriends or how someone has a broken heart and just can't go on living. I have a hard time listening for a banjo for more than about two minutes. I just don;t like the sound of either of these two types of music. No i do not like these genres, but i still think that they should exist as genres of music. I can see why some people might enjoy listening to them but i am just not one of them. Just because i don't like a type of music doesn't make someone else wrong for liking it. Who am i to say that my music taste is right and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong? If every time had the same music taste then we would all be listening to the same music and how boring would that be. I respect the artists in these two genres for being able to make music at all (which is more than i can do). Classic country music singers like Garth Brooks or Clint Black are very talented musicians in their genre. I have respect for anyone who produces music that make people happy, but just because i respect them doesn't mean that i have to listen to their music.

buying and selling music

What are my thoughts on the buying and selling of music? There are a lot of people who have a lot of different views on this topic. Buying music is probably on the more controversial end of this question.

Because of the advancements in technology, it has now become extremely easy to access music without buying it. Before technology, the only way to get a bands music was by purchasing their music. The issue of downloading music off of the Internet for free is obviously a very controversial one. Downloading music for free from the Internet, for obvious monetary reasons, has become a very popular thing to do in today's society. Although it may be convenient, selling albums is the way that artists support themselves. So by getting these downloads for free off of the Internet, you are cheating the artist out of compensation that they deserve. There is no denying (even by people who do it) that downloading music off of the Internet for free is stealing. I know (hearing from a friend) that a lot of college campuses are cracking down on illegal music downloading. Sites such as Limewire, if found on a computer, could get you fines ranging from ten dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on how much you have downloaded. The advantage to these sites however, is that people are more likely to download more music. In this, they may discover an artist that they wouldn't have otherwise. They might also start listening to the artist more, show it to friends and increase the artists fan base. This in turn could sell more tickets to shows or even sell merchandise. Exposure and growing popularity is the advantage of free downloads.