Thank You Jason Kossol for Your Reccomendation

I will forever look at a gas mask in a new light.

The Funniest Song I've Heard So Far

My friend and I have a continual joke about me being a creeper and it's gotten as far as me to stop walking as soon as she looks behind her, I stare at her with my face in shadow underneath my black hood.

Listen to This Song and Tell Me It's Not DIVERSE

This song has so many different instruments that my ears have become accustomed to recognizing thanks to MDC. So much better than the original, makes me want to say "Britney Who?" :]

This Has To Be The Coolest Thing I've Seen

Simply Amazing

Since This Class Assignment Was So Cool

I'm officially addicted to posting new videos of music. This song is pretty cool and the singer sounds so much like another lady named Joanna Newsom, she's a wonderful harp player and seems like she's really doing what she loves.

This is Joanna Newsom. This is one of my very favourite songs by her.

Wrap Up

1. What is something you learned about another culture this term that surprised or intrigued you?

I think that about every culture that we went over provided a lot of different things that intrigued me. While I looked for videos for cool stuff, I found more information on the music through wiki and some really good sites and sometimes got really caught up in learning and reading that I'd forget that I'm doing it because of an assignment.

2. What is something that you realized about your own culture through our discussions.

I've always just thought that I didn't really have a heritage until about the first week of class. I was never really able to truly find out because I only knew my dad for a summer every year and my grandmother on my mom's side was really eclectic about culture, she used to say that we were a different thing almost every five years; it seemed as though her imagination grew with age. Thanks to this class I've seen that my father has sort of adopted the Native American culture and some how passed it down to me through name.

3. What is something that this course has inspired you to learn more about.

Well, on one of my blog posts for cool stuff I ended up doing something on the zithers and the tremendous similarities and the fact that each country had a version of that same instrument. It boggles me how much of a circle and connection that each country shares.

Cool Stuff #3C

Although most of the lyrics are in Latin and the band is all American, I couldn't help but hear some Arabic influence in this song. It reminds me of System of a Down, who are Armenian. If the vocalist sounds familiar to you, Faith No More might have been a band you've listened to before. You might even find their song "Epic" familiar as well...

Cool Stuff #2C

I was interested in finding more information on the Chinese instruments (especially the stringed) because they all looked familiar to me even though I haven't really been introduced to them before. I remember seeing something that looked like the Zheng while looking through a magazine of American folk music. The instrument was called the dulcimer, there are two different types, the hammer dulcimer and the Appalachian dulcimer.

APPALACHIAN DULCIMER

CHINESE GUQIN

It's really neat to see how similar the Appalachian dulcimer and the guqin are.

HAMMERED DULCIMER

CHINESE YANG QIN

Both of these instruments are the hammered dulcimer. The hammered dulcimer originated in Central Asia and somehow found it's way over to America. America along with many other countries such as India, South West Asia, China, South East Asia, Central Europe and many other European countries has it's own version of the hammered dulcimer.

Cool Stuff #1C

Chinese Mask Changing Fail

Interview my friend's mother Michelle

What kind of music did you listen to as a child?

"Well, my parents listened to country/western music like Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline. In my early teens, I heard my first song by Bob Dylan and loved him. Other music that I listened to included the Credence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen. "

How did you listen to music, i.e. what technology did you use?

"Mostly the radio, but there were rare occasions when my father would come home with a cassette or a record."

Was there any dancing involved? Why or why not?

"There was always room for dancing. My mother and father would often dance just because they were happy."

What sort of environment did you listen to music in?

"We listened to music in church, my mother sang in the choir and my father played the organ."

How did your parents or teachers feel about your music of choice?

"My mother would let me listen to my music in the kitchen while I did homework and she cooked, she could only handle a few songs by Bob Dylan, she said that he had a nice way of story telling but not a great way of singing."

What happened once you became the parent or teacher?

"Well, my sons and I both have similar tastes in music. I especially love Darius Rucker. I was kind of afraid when my oldest, Alan, started getting interested in rap and hard rock because of their use of language. Now that has passed on to Matthew and I'm hoping it doesn't last for very long."

Did you play an instrument or sing yourself? How was that for you?

"I played the clarinet in marching band during. It was really fun but I didn't keep up with it. I still have it tucked away in my closet somewhere."

What was your musical environment like?

"My brother was a part of a band in Georgia during the 70's, they played covers for some country music and rock like Pink Floyd and The Eagles."

Why did you listen to music? Were there any situations that caused you to turn to certain kinds of music?

"I listened to music everyday. When I broke up with boyfriends, I'd listen to old country music like Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and when I wanted to just cry, I'd listen to Patti Smith's music especially her song called "Pissing in a River" because it had lots of emotion in that song."

Were you ever exposed to music outside of your own culture? How so, and what was it like?

"Last year we went to the International Festival at Barnet Park and had lots of fun listening to different music. My son Alan found a few videos of popular american music being played across the world and I like to watch them and see all the different types of instruments and costumes they wear."

Michelle's Favourite Video- Enjoy

Cool Stuff #3B

While we were on the subject of funerals and the similarities with the music choice, I couldn't help but remember one song in particular that I've grown attached to... After my great aunt's funeral, I sat in a room full of girls who's faces were painted with tears and smeared lipstick and mascara, these girls were the daughters and nieces of my aunt Elenore. Since we didn't really know each other and weren't really up for attempting to make any connection at all with each other; we just sat on the pieces of furniture that were placed around the room and waited until it was time to leave. While we waited, the oldest of the daughters flipped through the stations on her clock-radio absently until she found a familiar song, "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz. This song is important to me still because it served as a catalyst of some sort which helped each of us break the silence and sing together. Although I DO NOT remember the faces or the names of the girls, I still remember the feeling that I felt while hearing the song and sharing that same longing to be somewhere other than the place that I was then.

Cool Stuff #2B

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Africa

I'm really interested in how Africa is like a sponge for music. It's as if the music that is derived from there became absorbed into the very continent itself and produced man kind to be it's catalyst and transform music by recycling rhythms and sounds to make something unique but also similar to its predecessor. I kind of believe that each country that is still one with nature in whatever small way is connected to Africa and it's culture and influence on the world of music.

Cool Stuff #1B

Really interesting insight on African influence on South American music and the instruments that are used to make the sounds.

Cool Stuff #1

Music and Gender

I don't really have much to say about music and gender other than the observations I was able to make during my years in orchestra and maybe some non-academic situations. When I started orchestra in the sixth grade, the majority of violinists (first and second) were male, as were the cellists and the bassists, but when it came to the viola, there were no male players, as a matter of fact, the violists were the minority of the bunch. This stayed the same except for a rare occasion in the eighth grade where we had two boy violists, me being the only girl. For some reason during the middle of the year, they became slack and uninterested in playing the viola and decided to sit with their instruments in their laps and pluck throughout every piece that we played. They soon became obsolete and dropped the class leaving me to battle forces between octaves by myself. Things went back to normal in high school with less male violinists but more male bassist and cellists.

The males throughout primary school listened to varying genres of rock, hiphop, and rap. They would usually display their interest in music through their clothing and other accessories like stickers on notebooks or drumsticks with their favourite band tucked into the back pockets of their jeans.

In elementary school and throughout high school, there was always room left for bubblegum pop music for girls. The more mature girls usually branched away and found their niche in indie pop or rock music. Rap music was a minority due to the small amount of female rap artists. Rock music was always a welcoming genre to both genders. I think that rock is more popular to both genres because of it's history. My generation probably grew up listening to the music in which their parents listened to as teenagers.

Very happy djembe player

Cool Stuff #3

Cool Stuff #3

I came across this song while looking for native american songs about animals because they always have cool names and I heard something that sounded familiar which was my name so, I looked up some vocab for the Cherokee language and found that my name means bear in Cherokee as well as the Ojibwe language. I remember as a child being called little bear by the women on the reservation that I visited but I just thought that it was a nickname...

Cool Stuff #2

Nas and Bob Marley's son, Damien, recently did an album together which is just an amazing compilation of inspirational music. I especially like this song because you can hear some of the instruments that we went through today mixed with violins and electric music and interesting vocals.

Cool Stuff #2

Cool Stuff #1

I was introduced to Nneka one day while surfing the inter-webs and I've loved her music ever since. She's a great artist who sings for a cause. Most of her videos feature footage from Africa. There's a great Reggae feel to her music as well as a mix of other types of music.

Cool Stuff #1

Learn how to make a Djembe

your body can now be an instrument

Religion and Music

When I was a child, I stayed with my father's mother every other weekend and we'd go to a different church practically each time I visited. Some were the traditional straight laced churches that were strictly there to listen to the word through the preacher, and most of them were the more community oriented environments where fellowship was a must. The community oriented churches ranged differently as to how the music was performed. They ranged from just vocals to a full band with drums and organs and guitars.

The way in which the performers moved during their songs determined what was acceptable in the church, for instance, the performers who sang A Capella or a small group accompanied with drum and guitar usually stood in one spot, swaying and clapping to the music if it was a tempo in which to do so, which made the behavior of the audience mimic their movement. With a large group including a full band along with an organ or piano, the freedom becomes limitless. People sway and stomp and clap and sing and sometimes run around the room bouncing from pew to pew with joy on their faces.

This particular observation is proof that the type of music that is played determines the behavior of an audience. Fast paced music with a catchy tune enables the audience to move more and feel comfortable with the words that they are singing. It also ensures the possibility of the member returning to the church due to the freedom and connection they experienced.

Glass Music Glass Harp

Musical Autobiography

I've always liked music, the music that I was introduced to as a child was mostly Country/Western since I grew up in a farm town called Easley. After a few years in elementary school, my music experience broadened when I was given a radio for one of my Christmases. I became interested in hip-hop and pop music and slowly moved away from the music that I was raised on. On late nights when I couldn't sleep, I'd surf the stations until I found a song that I haven't heard and would come across classical music and gospel hymns along with some world music such as Latin American music, which I found familiar because I lived near a Latin American neighborhood called Little Mexico. Our bus stop was across the street from it and I remember old men sitting out on their porches playing guitars and clapping their hands while smoking their cigarettes and drinking coffee in the morning.When we were dropped off, a newer/ younger generation replaced them with the same instruments but they played different tunes. Although I've never really been introduced to their culture directly, I felt a connection to them.

I stayed with my father during a summer in North Carolina. Since he lived there for so long, he became friends with the men who lived on the reservations in Cherokee and even married one of their daughters. Every Friday night, we would go into town with a group of the men in their native dress and watch them perform and tell stories through song, the languages that they sang in were new to me but my dad has been able to see that performance so much that he was able to become a translator to the crowd of new comers and told the story about the Coyote and the Moon.

That was the only time that I was actually introduced to music that was some what out of my culture until I went to Europe for Mozart's anniversary. We went to Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria and played a few concerts. When we were in Germany and Austria, we passed by the usual street performers playing flutes and guitars until we came across a man who played music with glasses that had water in them. After seeing that, I started understanding that you can make anything an instrument.