Tuesday 21 January 2014
Postmodernism & Music- M.I.A
Postmodernism & Music- M.I.A Initial Research
-M.I.A has created a fusion of various rhythms from different parts of the world into a distinct form of dance music.
-Her music has a raw energy derived from its DIY production process and the influence of rebellious American hip-hop.
-M.I.A boldly describes the reality faced by the slum inhabitants of the world, constantly referring to radical politics that is absent from most music today.
-While filming a tour documentary with British alternative band Elastica, she was introduced to the Roland MC-505 Groovebox (a programmable drum machine). She then began making her own tracks with this, a 4-track tape and a microphone (DIY production process).
-Her debut album Arular (2005) became popular via the internet and underground DJ's.
-Arular uses Jamaican dancehall and other rhythms from third world musical styles as the basis for most of its beats.
-Her lyrical style is 'a sort of rapping that draws elements from third world musical styles and incorporates pitch inflection without quite being singing.'
-The DIY ethic and raw energy that is said to be central to punk rock and hip hop has turned into its complete opposite due to its lack of creativity and detachment from social reality. Arular stands out from these due to the the song's intensity and brashness on certain 'taboo' topics.
-The subjects of the lyrics on Arular reflect the everyday lives of those confined to the slum's and promotes political struggles in some of the world's most oppressed countries and nations.
-the song 'Pull Up The People' contains a basic Jamaican dancehall beat (using an electronic bass and snare drum) and adds layers of drums and synthesisers. The 'low pitched and slightly distorted synthesiser bass drone plays mostly eighth notes' alongside this the occasional high pitches and 'random accents' give the song its jagged and raw edge.
-M.I.A uses a certain pitch inflection which serves to make the vocals sound like a drum beat. And at other times it also sounds like it is mimicking a synthesiser and drum machine sounds.
-'Pull Up The People' is said to be a 'genuine dance song that uses typical lyric ideas from hip hop to convey a radically different message' e.g. "I've got the bombs to make you blow, I got the beats to make it bang bang bang."
-'Sunshowers' samples the song Sunshowers by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band but drastically transforms and challenges the original material to create a whole new 'texture'. The drum and bass that is used in this song to make the dancehall style rhythm has a distorted sound that resembles the rattling bass heard from car 'trunk' speakers.
-The music video for Sunshowers was released and banned from MTV for its political content e.g. "like PLO I don't surrendo" and other sexual references. Also, the description and identification with warfare participants in lines such as "see it through like protocol, which is why we blow it up 'fore we go" got a lot of attention from the media as it threw accusations of supporting terrorism from governments and nations.
-the song 'Bingo' adds a steel drum sound to the dance style beat. The gasping and breathing sounds give the song a nervous energy, whilst the synthesiser resembles distorted guitars.
-Arulars album art is bright, bold, uses stencil-graffiti style techniques and depicts bombs, guns, masked guerilla fighters and military planes and helicopters, plus tigers as a symbol of the Tamil nation liberation struggles.
-As well as the support for third world national liberation struggles, the lyrics on Arular are laced wth casual references to the 'normal life' for oppressed people around the world e.g. "Everyday thinking 'bout how me get through, everything i own is on I.O.U."- Pull Up The People and "He got... Reebok classics on his feet, at a factory he does Nike, and the he helps the family"- Sunshowers.
-This all contrasts the 'fantasy world' of most current rap artists and rock and pop music.
-The album from M.I.A is a break from the mainstream that presents the social reality of the world's oppressed and also embraces the revolutionary struggles in the 1960s that is now considered as a 'thing of the past'.
-M.I.A's DIY approach to making her debut album Arular successfully conveys the raw energy that displays a musical intuition for sampling, lyrical flow, rhythm, musical textures and its lack f fear for being 'abrasive' the proof for this is said to be in how 'danceable' her music is.
-M.I.A has created a fusion of various rhythms from different parts of the world into a distinct form of dance music.
-Her music has a raw energy derived from its DIY production process and the influence of rebellious American hip-hop.
-M.I.A boldly describes the reality faced by the slum inhabitants of the world, constantly referring to radical politics that is absent from most music today.
-While filming a tour documentary with British alternative band Elastica, she was introduced to the Roland MC-505 Groovebox (a programmable drum machine). She then began making her own tracks with this, a 4-track tape and a microphone (DIY production process).
-Her debut album Arular (2005) became popular via the internet and underground DJ's.
-Arular uses Jamaican dancehall and other rhythms from third world musical styles as the basis for most of its beats.
-Her lyrical style is 'a sort of rapping that draws elements from third world musical styles and incorporates pitch inflection without quite being singing.'
-The DIY ethic and raw energy that is said to be central to punk rock and hip hop has turned into its complete opposite due to its lack of creativity and detachment from social reality. Arular stands out from these due to the the song's intensity and brashness on certain 'taboo' topics.
-The subjects of the lyrics on Arular reflect the everyday lives of those confined to the slum's and promotes political struggles in some of the world's most oppressed countries and nations.
-the song 'Pull Up The People' contains a basic Jamaican dancehall beat (using an electronic bass and snare drum) and adds layers of drums and synthesisers. The 'low pitched and slightly distorted synthesiser bass drone plays mostly eighth notes' alongside this the occasional high pitches and 'random accents' give the song its jagged and raw edge.
-M.I.A uses a certain pitch inflection which serves to make the vocals sound like a drum beat. And at other times it also sounds like it is mimicking a synthesiser and drum machine sounds.
-'Pull Up The People' is said to be a 'genuine dance song that uses typical lyric ideas from hip hop to convey a radically different message' e.g. "I've got the bombs to make you blow, I got the beats to make it bang bang bang."
-'Sunshowers' samples the song Sunshowers by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band but drastically transforms and challenges the original material to create a whole new 'texture'. The drum and bass that is used in this song to make the dancehall style rhythm has a distorted sound that resembles the rattling bass heard from car 'trunk' speakers.
-The music video for Sunshowers was released and banned from MTV for its political content e.g. "like PLO I don't surrendo" and other sexual references. Also, the description and identification with warfare participants in lines such as "see it through like protocol, which is why we blow it up 'fore we go" got a lot of attention from the media as it threw accusations of supporting terrorism from governments and nations.
-the song 'Bingo' adds a steel drum sound to the dance style beat. The gasping and breathing sounds give the song a nervous energy, whilst the synthesiser resembles distorted guitars.
-Arulars album art is bright, bold, uses stencil-graffiti style techniques and depicts bombs, guns, masked guerilla fighters and military planes and helicopters, plus tigers as a symbol of the Tamil nation liberation struggles.
-As well as the support for third world national liberation struggles, the lyrics on Arular are laced wth casual references to the 'normal life' for oppressed people around the world e.g. "Everyday thinking 'bout how me get through, everything i own is on I.O.U."- Pull Up The People and "He got... Reebok classics on his feet, at a factory he does Nike, and the he helps the family"- Sunshowers.
-This all contrasts the 'fantasy world' of most current rap artists and rock and pop music.
-The album from M.I.A is a break from the mainstream that presents the social reality of the world's oppressed and also embraces the revolutionary struggles in the 1960s that is now considered as a 'thing of the past'.
-M.I.A's DIY approach to making her debut album Arular successfully conveys the raw energy that displays a musical intuition for sampling, lyrical flow, rhythm, musical textures and its lack f fear for being 'abrasive' the proof for this is said to be in how 'danceable' her music is.
Friday 17 January 2014
"Uncool" Playlist
- Disclosure- Control ft. Ria Ritchie (House/Synth pop)
- Arctic Monkeys- Knee Socks (Indie Rock)
- Crystal Fighters- In The Summer (Alternative dance)
- The xx- Missing (Indie Pop)
- Justin Timberlake- Senorita (Pop/R&B)
- The 1975- Girls (Alternative Rock)
- London Grammar- Nightcall (Indie/Electronica)
- The Maccabees- Latchmere (Indie Rock)
- Crystal Castles- Alice Practice (Electronic)
- Foals- My Number (Indie rock)
- AlunaGeorge- Best Be Believing (Electronic Pop)
- Arctic Monkeys- 505 (Indie Rock)
There is no longer such this as being 'cool', the boundaries between high and low culture are no longer fixed and therefore it isn't possible to be 'cool' or to have 'bad fashion sense'. Before the genres in music were pretty basic e.g. Rock, Pop, Jazz etc. Now there are hundreds of mini-genres within each genre e.g. Indie rock, synth pop and so on. Nowadays styles and 'trends' are mutating all the time, so fast that there is no 'dominance' and therefore nothing is 'cool' or 'uncool' the diversity of the world has become accepted. Since globalisation and the invention of the internet, the world is able to access anything from almost anywhere, for example 'fashion trends' that you may only associate with particular countries and their habitants no longer exist due to the internet, Americans dress like the English and vice versa. We can access and communicate with different cultures by the click of a button, this has broken the boundaries of what we believe is 'significant' and what defines each individual.
The internet has played a huge part in the diversity of each individual, YouTube and iTunes have opened up a worldwide database that people can access and be introduced to 'new' music without any actual knowledge of music necessary. Its now possible to be interested in all genres of music as the 'categories' are now merging and becoming more and more difficult to decipher between all the sub-genres e.g. synth pop/ indie pop.
- Arctic Monkeys- Knee Socks (Indie Rock)
- Crystal Fighters- In The Summer (Alternative dance)
- The xx- Missing (Indie Pop)
- Justin Timberlake- Senorita (Pop/R&B)
- The 1975- Girls (Alternative Rock)
- London Grammar- Nightcall (Indie/Electronica)
- The Maccabees- Latchmere (Indie Rock)
- Crystal Castles- Alice Practice (Electronic)
- Foals- My Number (Indie rock)
- AlunaGeorge- Best Be Believing (Electronic Pop)
- Arctic Monkeys- 505 (Indie Rock)
There is no longer such this as being 'cool', the boundaries between high and low culture are no longer fixed and therefore it isn't possible to be 'cool' or to have 'bad fashion sense'. Before the genres in music were pretty basic e.g. Rock, Pop, Jazz etc. Now there are hundreds of mini-genres within each genre e.g. Indie rock, synth pop and so on. Nowadays styles and 'trends' are mutating all the time, so fast that there is no 'dominance' and therefore nothing is 'cool' or 'uncool' the diversity of the world has become accepted. Since globalisation and the invention of the internet, the world is able to access anything from almost anywhere, for example 'fashion trends' that you may only associate with particular countries and their habitants no longer exist due to the internet, Americans dress like the English and vice versa. We can access and communicate with different cultures by the click of a button, this has broken the boundaries of what we believe is 'significant' and what defines each individual.
The internet has played a huge part in the diversity of each individual, YouTube and iTunes have opened up a worldwide database that people can access and be introduced to 'new' music without any actual knowledge of music necessary. Its now possible to be interested in all genres of music as the 'categories' are now merging and becoming more and more difficult to decipher between all the sub-genres e.g. synth pop/ indie pop.
Wednesday 15 January 2014
Postmodern Elements Of Inception
Intertextual references:
-Beginning and the end of the film are the same (waking up in the sea, meeting with Sai Tao).
-Characters 'waking up' in the sea.
-Safe code, room code and females number are all the same.
Paradox:
-Two conflicting ideas that cannot co-exist e.g. the neverending staircase and not knowing if they are asleep or awake.
Textual reference:
-Hospital bed at the end of the film similar to Space 2000, meeting God/creator.
-Five different grand narratives within the film that interconnect, each using a different genre e.g. sci-fi, action etc to make a new film. This makes it postmodern.
-Questions what time is, as time is not linear. Everything has already happened, it is a fallacy.
-Hyper-reality: questioning what is real (dreaming or reality).
-Simulacrum
-Depthlessness: everything in postmodernism has no depth.
-Beginning and the end of the film are the same (waking up in the sea, meeting with Sai Tao).
-Characters 'waking up' in the sea.
-Safe code, room code and females number are all the same.
Paradox:
-Two conflicting ideas that cannot co-exist e.g. the neverending staircase and not knowing if they are asleep or awake.
Textual reference:
-Hospital bed at the end of the film similar to Space 2000, meeting God/creator.
-Five different grand narratives within the film that interconnect, each using a different genre e.g. sci-fi, action etc to make a new film. This makes it postmodern.
-Questions what time is, as time is not linear. Everything has already happened, it is a fallacy.
-Hyper-reality: questioning what is real (dreaming or reality).
-Simulacrum
-Depthlessness: everything in postmodernism has no depth.
Monday 13 January 2014
Postmodern Advertising
'Nothing is original'. Simulacrum can be applied to a large proportion of advertisements, they are copies of things with no original idea/meaning. These advertisements try to emulate emotions and experiences through their constructed advertisements that do not necessarily exist and are probably unobtainable to the general public, creating a hyper-reality for the viewers. This is concealed by the emotional attachments they connect to their products in order to sell them, basically selling products to the public that fail to deliver the 'experience' they are promised in the advertisements, we are continuously being tricked as reality is replaced by the image.
Postmodernism views can be very cynical, however they are also seen to be honest as postmodernists can see through the constructed and false reality that we are continuously being sold and tricked into. Postmodernists can see the unobtainable and superficial worlds some of the public are easily tricked into and can therefore avoid disappointment.
The majority of advertisements nowadays use the idea of a 'grand narrative' to sell their products to an audience, postmodern advertisements ignore this typical convention of creating emotional connections within an advert and actually explicitly expose the fact that other advertisements do this. Adverts become 'postmodern' when they either abruptly let you know that you're watching an advert and being sold a product, make sure you recognise the ideas they have taken from other texts or make a media text from a range of different sources that have absolutely no connection or correspondence to the product or lifestyle they are selling.
Postmodernism views can be very cynical, however they are also seen to be honest as postmodernists can see through the constructed and false reality that we are continuously being sold and tricked into. Postmodernists can see the unobtainable and superficial worlds some of the public are easily tricked into and can therefore avoid disappointment.
The majority of advertisements nowadays use the idea of a 'grand narrative' to sell their products to an audience, postmodern advertisements ignore this typical convention of creating emotional connections within an advert and actually explicitly expose the fact that other advertisements do this. Adverts become 'postmodern' when they either abruptly let you know that you're watching an advert and being sold a product, make sure you recognise the ideas they have taken from other texts or make a media text from a range of different sources that have absolutely no connection or correspondence to the product or lifestyle they are selling.
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