Listening Assignments

Black Sabbath- Supernaut

This song is pretty cool. I love the rhythm to this song and the singing as well. You could really just rock out to it especially to the guitar and drums. I also like how the drum starts off the song at the beginning like a metronome. I actually never heard of this song until now but I don’t think I would have recognized it as a Black Sabbath song until the singing.

Ramones- I Wanna Be Sedated

This song is so well known. I still have no idea what the lyrics mean but they’re catchy. I also noticed as I was listening to this song that it seems super short but it’s about two minutes and thirty seconds. I guess it really catches your attention.

Iggy Pop & The Stooges- 1969

Honestly I never thought Iggy Pop & The Stooges would sound like they do. The song sounds like it has a mix of punk and rock in it. The singer sounds like a roadie and gives the song a traveling across the state feel to it. It’s also cool that he kind of screams the lyrics at the end of the song.

Television- See No Evil

It’s interesting the combination of all the instruments fit in together. They definitely have a similar sound to The Ramones. While I was listening to the song I noticed that the instruments would be separated left or right but would seem like they come together at some points.

Some Missed posts

Favorite Midi Song Format

https://freemidi.org/download-12917-marvins-room-drake

The First Electronic Filmscore- Forbidden Planet: A conversation with Bebe Barron

After Reading:

It’s crazy to think about the sounds we hear in movies, tv shows, and even some of our favorites youtube channels and video games. The average person doesn’t think about where they come from or who in the right mind could be so dangerous and to some, weird. For these creators making the sounds in “ Forbidden Planet” must have been hard. To create a sound that goes with something and you don’t know exactly what it should sound like but you somehow make it work is amazing to me. I think one would have to have a ear of a thousand men to be able to understand what the viewer/ listener would like. Sound is something that isn’t physical in which mean a person eye can’t see, it is hard for the average person to be able to tell another person what makes sense to something they both have very little knowledge of.

Music Listening Assignments (14 songs):

1. Fela Kuti - Zombie

Has a funk kind of feel to it mixed with some blues and jazz. I could hear a variety of cultures in this such as African and Latin. I could definitely see some dancing going on to this. It has a old feel to it but at the same time I picture something like this being in a lot of the new movies I watch today. Happy Music. Never really listened to something like this continuously but after listening to it I notice it help me concentrate on writing this, helped me to clear my head. Good stuff. Instrumentation: Percussions, Chordophones, definitely some aerophones and the voice saying “Zombie” Idio.

2. Bjork - Pagan Poetry

Interesting Song. I tried to understand the meaning of the song she kept repeating “she love him” and went on to say “I keep it to myself”. Even with the voice I still fell  more into the beat and melody of the woman’s singing. So I guess in a way it’s sort of a trance song. I feel this person interpretation of music is different than the “norm” and is probably why the video are so successful. Surprised I haven’t heard of them before. Instrumentation: Really hard to tell I know it has to be if not all tech based “computerized”.

3. Radiohead - Idioteque

I am not sure if I like song so much because Pat played it so much in class but it is really nice. I used to listen to a lot of dubstep in the passed and I sort of strayed from it but this reminds me of the things I used to listen to. Chillstep really chill and I actually watch the youtube video wit the lyrics it is really meaningful. “The Ice Age Is Coming”. Great track. Instrumentation: Guitar, Piano, computer tech, and the voice

4. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

Has a rock feel to it. I never had an interest in rock music, opening my ear to this will make me a good listener future music I listen to. It help to see where the artist was trying to go even though I was kind of confused where the effects came into but I feel it more for the feeling than for the actually thought of the song.

Instrumentation: Voice of singer, Guitar, drums, sound effects car engine like, airplane like, alien like, outer space “retro”

5. Captain Beefheart - Moonlight in Vermont

Honestly one word, huh? I mean I guess a couple more. It was an interesting listen, tried to get what the artists purposed was and I think I might have got it is either too confuse the hell out of the listener or subliminally talk about sex/ a relationship with another person?? Not sure, but overall it kind of gave me a blues, country, kind of feel. Not my cup of tea but it was bad. Good song, learning experience. Lol Instrumentation: band ensemble(guitar, drumset, some sort of guitar/string instrument)

6. Terry Riley - In C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJPJywWfyGo

Not sure if I was supposed to watch this video. I really liked this this one. I feel like this is a good meditating song, but if played at a low sound level. Deep meditation!!! Still listening to it as I write this it has it nice slow parts but then it’s nice but steady paced higher frequency. Different variety of songs… Instrumentation: Piano, violin, cello, voice, some sort of flute/ wind instrument, I could also hear some strings

7. John Chowning - Stria

His use of FM synthesis to make the bell like sound in this track is amazing. He didn’t just make one specific bell sound but many different kinds that varied in its frequency and modulation frequency. Throughout the track you could hear ringing, some very sharp and some that seems to fade. Instrumentation: FM synthesis

8. Steve Reich - Come Out

Listening to this at first I did not know what I was listening to. I had to do some research on what was really going on, it was then that I understood why certain things were being stressed. I even watched a kind of weird video before doing the research of two women doing something to the music but after learning about the song I understood completely why they were doing these “weird” things. Very meaningful song.

9. Xenakis Concret - Ph

Sounds like small pieces of glass hitting the ground and popping. I thought something was wrong with my headphones originally and after clicking a few other video I figure out I was on the right video. I the read the description of one of the videos and it said this was a use of burning charcoal layered to create snaps, crackles, and pops. After knowing what the sounds were I could actually hear it to, but to my untrained ear something so complex couldn’t be understood.

10. Miles Davis - So What

Listened to the whole thing. Growing up I always wanted to take interest in jazz music but never did. Listening to this brought me back to those same thoughts. This was a nice song. No adays I would only hear that in elevators or some fancy place. I feel like society myself included sometimes forget where the sounds we have in our music today comes from. Instrumentation: drum, trumpet, cello, saxophone, and  piano.

11. Parliament Davis Funkadelic - The Mothership Connection

Definitely some funk and soul in this. A happy setting kind of sound, some sort of upliftment. Did not get nothing to exciting from this but I felt very chill mellow listening to it I feel this is something a person could listen to in their car lay back and “chilling”.  I could picture that a lot people got stoned listening to this, it just sets the mood. Not that I know anything about smoking, non smoker over here.

12. Charles Mingus - The Chill of Death

Very poetic, the music in the back just supports the voice of the poetic storyteller. The accompaniment of the sounds make what he is saying to be dramatic and helps the listener create a image in his/her mind. It sounds like someone in a movie speaking in third person describing a scene. Disney like. Instrumentation: trumpet, saxophone, piano, sounds like some recorded sounds also some some technology based sounds

13. James Brown - The Big Payback

Soulful. Soft music in the back but a very expressive singer. Showing off his skill of apply high intense volume and screeching in certain places to draw the listener to key points where he feels need more expression. A very smart tactic and very different to the other songs. Instrumentation: drums, guitar, recordings, trombone, adlibs

14. John Coltrane - My favorite Things

Very smooth! Not sure why, but when listening to this song it reminded me of a movie introduction. Sort of had a modern day feel to it but at the same time you could recognize it wasn’t. Nowadays this type of music is exaggerated where as this song sounds very simple. Very structured song, wasn’t any random parts, everything flowed together.

     15. Black Sabbath - Supernaut (Metal):

Even though the guitar and the singer stood out the most my ears loved the drumming. I am a bass/percussion kind of guy and with the simple drum part I feel kept the tempo of the song and did it for me. Overall the song was not that bad. I am not that really interested in metal but this song was very effective in the way that it drew me in.

     16. The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (Punk)

Very catchy from the start. I feel like no matter what kind of music you listen to a person could enjoy listening to this. It gives you a healthy rush and with the catchiness again it draws the listener in. The instrumentation was pretty fast but somehow the vocals somehow was able to slow the feel of the song down in some parts of the song, I feel this was a very smart song in the way it was both played and written.

     17. Iggy Pop and The Stooges - 1969

Listening to this song I was trying to find a point and after a while I started saying in my own head “It’s 1969 Bayyyyybe”. I think it was not  supposed to be as complex as I tried to make it and just enjoy the repetitiveness of the song. Sooner or later the listener would start singing the song in the way the artist did even after the song is gone because of how catchy it is. One thing that I really liked was the guitar solo with the change in treble and fader.

     18. Television - See No Evil

Whoever is playing that guitar has some skill and passion going into it. It very crazy that I am really liking these song choices, I am not sure if it is because I have a different mindset about music now but I would never had picture myself listening to punk or metal but this song really does it for me. The emotions I get from listening to this is very positive and it just shows me people have different ways of interpreting good music and from this group punk was there way of  interpretation.

Listening Homework

"Supernaut" - The song opens up strongly with the cymbals going rapidly, telling the listener that they are in for what will likely be a wild ride. And when the guitar starts playing it's two part repeated rhythm, it puts in that steady tone into the back of your head to act as an instrumental chorus. As the lyrics start, the guitar breaks away from the pattern to allow allow for it to match with the song being sung. The song ends with that fade off into black, perfect for countering the fast paced way it opened up.

"I wanna be sedated" - The Instruments start up a beat that persists throughout the entire song, and matches perfectly with the snapping that happens. It's perfect to tapping your fingers against a desk, or foot on the floor, much less chaotic sounding than "Supernaut". The beat of the lyrics also matches with the instruments too, with repeating words and the words themselves staying short at only one or two syllables.

"1969" - The opening has a very elastic feel to it. As if the cords are being stretched after being strummed. Not as high energy as "Supernaut" or "I wanna be sedated" but holds a constant beat that isn't too erratic. Everything about the song feels, like i said before, elastic and calming. A song that you can have on continuous repeat and relax to.

"See no evil" - Opening up with slowly with introducing each instrument individually and allowing them to get they beat for the song heard in compilation with the previous beats introduced allows for the listener to become interested with the song one step at a time. Then the lyrics explode forth and we get a song with a solid tempo that you can't help but rock back and forth with. All of the different sounds keep the song fresh and exciting, even with it having a continuous beat through out it.

Listening assignment

Black Sabbath.. "Supernout" Great start. I like how one guitar introduces the other one and then you can hear a steady beat. The beginning vocal is what I call great for classic rock. The guitar solo starts playing and it's awesome I've always like guitar solos specially because I used to play this kind of music. The song consists more of what the guitar is telling us, very few vocals. Then there is this sound that I can't describe but reminds me of kids toys. Ending is very similar to the beginning, so I will say that this song kept a really steady beat, great solo and few vocals.

The Ramones, "I wanna be seated" I remember this song and it has not change how awesome it is. It starts with that rhythm that you wanna dance to it and also gets stuck in my head. The guitar has a steady rhythm the same as the battery. Then they change the lyrics by the end where they just say papapapa and is one of those things that you get stuck in your head.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges, “1969”: the begging starts very nice, they pull the strings of the guitar and then seems like it slows to a repetitive rhythm. The song seems to be like for cowboys. Seems like it came from the west. The vocals aren't that great, he seems like he is just talking and telling a story. The guitar are at least changing the rhythm a little bit but then they come back to the same one from the beginning. They have a solo which is great, battery still with the same rhythm so I'm not sure if this will be a solo but I'm sure this part the guitar is showing off and is awesome. I would say is a good song but not of my liking.

Television, "See No Evil”: This at the beginning seems to be just a guitar. Sound coming out of the amp is great. Then there's a pause which then introduces a new rhythm and then speeds up a little bit and then slows down. I would say that this is more of a guitar piece than a song, it sounds great and at the same time is very relaxing. Too short for me

Listening Assighnment: Black Sabbath, The Ramones, Iggy Pop and The Stooges and Television

Black Sabbath, “Supernaut" (Metal): I like how it started off with the cymbals then slowly escalates, having other instruments join in to make this steady but sick ass beat. Halfway through the song a guitar solo came on and it completely blew me away. The way it was played made you want to bob your head up and down to the beat, it continued to buildup, the strings that were being played got tighter and stronger, when played the pitch of the guitar riff got higher and higher. This feels like the type of music that begins to play in the beginning of a movie before something amazing happens. 

The Ramones: "I Wanna Be Sedated” (Punk): I can relate to this song in many ways, in my opinion this piece may sound very repetitive but it actually speaks a lot for itself. Just the words “ Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated-“ It kind of sounds depressing when you actually think about it and if you replace some of the words with the things thats gotten you upset, sad or whatever that makes you want to drop everything or sleep forever like the phrase here, “I wanna be sedated”, this is what represents the “I’m over it” for people. The guitar and drums in this piece go together very well and is played smoothly, you don’t hear any off beat tune or anything, its just plays all the way through like butter. 

Iggy Pop and The Stooges, “1969”: The first thing that stood out to me in this piece were the handclaps, it may not be something new or an instrument being played, but I found it to be pretty cool how they incorporated the hand claps to this piece. The singer is repetitive with the saying “its 1969-“ but it never did loose focus on itself which I thought was pretty neat. My favorite part was the “Wah Wah” part it was definitely played a couple times and just the sound itself sounds amazing, I feel like you can never get enough of that, because it’s what makes the piece great. In my opinion I feel like the music its self is stronger than the lyrics in this piece it doesn’t drain out the lyrics, the beat itself is just catchy that I don’t pay too much attention to the words. 

Television, "See No Evil”: In my opinion this would have to be my least favorite piece, its not terrible, but I wasn’t feeling it that much like I did with the others. Its a pretty interesting piece, my first time listening to it but there were some good pieces played. Overall the piece is very mellow and steady to follow along too.

Listening...

Black Sabbath - Supernaut: Awesome song, the drums and vocals stood out to me, although the guitar is still great.  I love how the song is structured to where there is the loop and vocals come in, and then there is a bit of a break with an awesome drum and guitar solo section where what sounds like toms are awesome.  Then, vocals come back in and kill the song (in a good way).  Classic.

Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated: Definitely familiar with this song. The Ramones are awesome and bring the unique vocal inflections into the consistent background beat.  Catchy lyrics, great vocals, and awesome beat.

Iggy Pop & The Stooges - 1969: Cool twangy intro, and I love the clap sounds mixed into the guitar.  Also really like the crashing guitar sound heard rarely in the song.  I also noticed that sounds were sent to the left ear and right ear, really cool, not sure if was intended by the artist or the particular audio I found. Awesome track throughout.

Television - See No Evil: Interesting vocals, and cool use of hi hats to give it that nice high tempo in parts of an overall cool and rhythmic song.  Catchy and cool lyrics, great beat mixup and nice overall track.

Listening assignment Black Sabbath, The Ramones, Iggy Pop...

Black Sabbath- Supernaut: Overall I really like the song. Although I didn’t care much for the vocals I really liked the guitar and the drums.  Especially from 2:35 to 3:10 I really loved the mini drum solo.

The Ramones- I wanna be sedated: It’s been a while since I last heard this song. I truly have no idea what the lyrics are but at the same time I find it so catchy. Anytime I’ve attempted to sing this song it literally came out like “something, something, something, something, something, something I wanna be sedated”. Altogether, I like the high tempo, catchy words, and the overall fun of the song.

Iggy Pop- 1969:In this song I really enjoyed the combination of the drums and the clapping sounds in the background. In addition I enjoyed the guitar and that iconic “wah-wah” sound.

Television- See no Evil: This was an interesting song especially the vocals. The vocal had a very unique sound to it and was pretty catchy as well. 

Listening Assignment 02.26.2017.....................

Supernaut, Black Sabbath:

The solo in this song is so amazing, from the guitar to the drums and he lead singers voice is unique. So I knew that the voice and song had sounded familiar, only to realize it was a guitar hero song that we played growing up. Probably my favorite song out of this list for this week. It’s even lovelier knowing that they were on a boat load of drugs while making this music.

I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones: 

Call me crazy but this was my least favorite song, for some reason it annoyed me? It just sounds so repetitive with saying “I Wanna Be Sedated” at the end of every sentence. I enjoyed the instrumental but just not the lyrics or the “bah bah bah bah” at the end of the song. 

Iggy Pop, 1969:

The beginning of the song had a sort of psychedelic feel and went straight into an upbeat. It’s also nice because the lyrics don't drain out the songs beat, like there isn't to many that I'm so focused onto it and letting the beat go in through one ear and out the other. The guitar solo has some pretty cool riffs and its an easy song to clap along too.

Television, See no Evil:

I pictured this as a beach song in the late 70’s and I'm not really sure why, I think it might be because of how chill it is. Guitar solo was great just like all the other ones, and I came around to like the drums and, well I couldn’t tell if they were drum cymbals or tambourines. Didn't really enjoy the outro to the song though, mainly because he repeated the same lines two or three times until he jumped to the next one and so on and so forth.

2/26 listening Kamzik

Supernaut, Black Sabbath: This is a great song. The drum beat immediately sets the tone for a high energy song. Between the quick drumming and repetitive heavy metal licks are Osborne's unique vocals, which pulls it all together to create one hell of an effect; lumbering and heavy, yet quick, fast paced. Its heavy weights and agility in one. This song is also an excellent example of looping. Tommy Iomi's guitar licks are really just a couple loop variations. Simple, yet effective.

I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones: Punk is one of my favorite genres of music, so naturally, I like The Ramones. The punchy quickness of this song coupled with another unique vocal set makes for a fun to listen to song. This is a good example of easy to follow song structure. Each part is broken down into easy to comprehend sections that repeat, but are different enough from one another for even a novice listener to be able to see clear distinctions between parts.

Iggy Pop, 1969: The early distortion in this song is fantastic. A wah-wah pedal was definitely implemented. This song is a good example of a drum loop. The song is pretty simply structured in order to fit around the lyrics, so it repeats itself frequently. A bit predictable, but Iggy Pop and the Stooges made a name for themselves by delivering high energy and charisma rather than prolific song structure or even musicianship. Punk vocals and punchy drum beat meets psychedelic rock guitar.

Television, See no Evil: I wasn't familiar with Television before listening to this song. Im glad I did because Television is a great band. Their sound reminds me of 60's style guitar (looping licks still abound), in a quasi-psychedelic style and punk vocals. A cool mix of sounds. This song is fun to dance to, so its not overly complicated composition. The guitar licks repeat throughout until they melt into a solo, which adds a nice depth to the track.

*/ All tracks above are also worthy examples of  the "wall of sound" concept. Each of these songs builds quickly into high energy music that is projectiled at the listener. Rather than it try an ambient approach to any of these songs, or guide the audience toward listening to individual parts, these songs are best taken on as a whole for full effect /*

   

Weekend Listening - Benjamin Greenfield

Black Sabbath - Supernaut

Starting off with the cymbals and guitar the song quickly kicks in. The guitar sections are tight but also flow smoothly. Ozzy's vocals are on point... as always. I love the sections where it is just guitar and cymbals, great combination.

The Ramones - I wanna be sedated

This a perfect example of a timeless, catchy and instantly recognizable song. Anyone cant help but sing along to the song. The guitars and drums are so smooth and the vocals are so fun.

Iggy Pop & The Stooges - 1969

The start of the song you have the tight drums and groovy sounding guitar. The way to sound resonates is really interesting it feels like its bouncing off the walls around you. Throughout the song the claps, loud wawa guitar effect and the lyrics are all so good.

Television - See No Evil

The song is interesting, it kind of reminds me of a punk, rock version of the eagles. The strong bass and guitar combined with the lyrics are really catchy and fun to listen to.

Listening Assignment

Metal: Black Sabbath: Supernaut – My immediate response upon listening to this piece was that I could see this song as the theme/intro song to an Anime because a lot of shonen anime work with high energy metal music like this, because they make fighting scenes more intense and entertaining. I love the little guitar solo in the middle of the song it was my favorite part because I really flowed to it and bopped my head because the rifts had such a good and energetic build-up to them.

Punk: Ramones: I wanna be sedated – This track immediately started off with a high energy  happy feeling but as far as the lyricism I have no idea if its sadistic or evil in nature, I just know the feeling of the track makes me want to jump around like a crazy white kid. I feel like this is a track I would find while playing a Tony Hawk skateboard game and honestly, I loved those games so I really generally like this song for reminding me of that. Also, I feel like Adam Sandler has used this song in at least one of his movies (at least in the credits).

Iggypop & The Stooges: 1969 – This was an incredible piece, I don’t know how else to describe the “journey” of the song other than it felt like one would listen to this while tripping off Acid. This song had a great pickup in its vocals it is kind of subtle but noticeable enough to make you appreciate it and notice it, it just felt like the whole pickup of the song was a Journey into the world of Rock N Roll and Drugs.

New Wave: Television: See No Evil – This track was definitely different from the other tracks it felt not only happier but noticeably more mellow. I could see myself listening to this song on a long road trip to Las Vegas or something. The song gave me a pure feeling of invincibility, like I could do anything without facing the consequences, I felt like Superman, Black Superman! J. 

Listening Assignment (2/22)

Reviewed by: Emily Cesarini

Metal: Black Sabbath “Supernaut”

• Opens with a nice guitar riff and drum instrumental. I like that the lyrics they seem to be almost rebellious in nature: “ Don’t need no religion, don't need no friends… I've seen the future and I've left it behind.” An overall good song that makes you want to move your head along with the beat and just feel empowered.

Punk: Ramones “I wanna be sedated”

• This song has a great beat and funny lyrics that tie together nicely. I enjoyed the chorus and how that the singer was going crazy, unable to control themselves. It makes me think about how the writer felt when he wrote this song and whether they felt that they didn’t have control over themselves.

Iggy Pop & the stooges 1969

• The instrumentals are carried out well in this piece which is good because the vocals are minimal throughout.

New Wave: Television “Fear No Evil”

• This was my least favorite out of these piece because although the guitar riff was very good the overall beat of the song was a little too repetitive for my taste. Also the vocals seemed slightly screechy and overlapped to much for me to truly enjoy it.  

Listening Assignment (2/20)

Reviewed by: Emily Cesarini

 

Fela Kuti “Zombie”

• Begins with a nice jazzy beat that I generally liked, however, it was a bit to long of an intro as there was some vocals added a little after the 5 minute mark. I thought that the vocals were a nice add on to the beat, though they did become repetitive after a little while. I thought that the instruments used to create the finale of this piece came together and nicely wrapped it up.

Bjork “Pagan Poetry”

• I like the mysterious projection the piece starts off with. The overall feeling of this song was very airy, mysterious, with a little bit of a creepy undertone. The vocals where the singer repeats “I love him” was annoying but then it turned into a cool background vocals which I thought sounded much better. I enjoyed this piece and would listen to it again.

Radiohead “Idioteque”

• The beat makes me want to tap my foot along to it and is very catchy in my opinion. When the vocals began I felt like they just make the piece, I love how they sound, with a slight muffled or mumble creating the effect. This is not something even close to what I would normally listen to so I was surprised that I liked it so much.

Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love”

• The sliding effect created in the beat added to the vocals and gave them a lingering feeling. I thought that  a lot of the sounds used throughout the song were a bit unusual but fit the piece. The song also felt slightly crazed at points and I like how the beat faded out at the end.  

Captain Beefheart “Moonlight on Vermont”

• It is clear that this musician has very talented vocals and the lyrics are funny, however, I did not particularly enjoy this piece. As the instrumentals mixed with the vocals were a bit tangy and not really my style.  

Class Today

Hello Everyone

Due to an unavoidable issue I may be a few moments late this morning. 

1.) please open Ableton and drag in or import your Midi file

2.) please have you was file you wish to loop imported and on a track as well 

Reminder: remember at the end of the PUSH tutorial I asked you to find some way file that you may want to loop for you r project 

Hint: it may be cool to find the recording of the Midi file you are using 

3.) if your Midi track has multiple instruments start experimenting with Ableton instruments 

If your Midi file is only one track duplicate it a few times so you can have some variety 

4.) add a drum rack to a track 

Please start this and I will be joining you directly 

We will discuss your second vocab quiz date and the midterm project as well as a new listening assignment for metal, punk and new wave today when I arrive

Listening Assignment (2/8)

Reviewed by: Emily Cesarini

Miles Davis “So What”

• I like the introduction of the song as the sounds seem to be actually saying the words “So What” as is the title of the piece. Although there was some repetition I did not find it to become annoying and frustrating as I have reviewing previous pieces for this class. The jazz was pleasant and the performers were very good at balancing their instruments throughout the piece so that one did not overpower the other. Overall, I liked this piece and would listen to it again as I find it to be relaxing and cheerful.

Parliament “Mothership Connection”

• The introduction of this piece is very upbeat and makes you want to tap your foot along to its rhythm.The overlay of instruments in this piece comes together nicely and although it is slightly repetitive it had enough variation that kept it fresh and enjoyable. It also has some funny lyrics and was an overall fun piece to listen to.

Charles Mingus ”The Chill Of Death”

• This piece starts off feeling very suspenseful even before the narrative begins. It sounds like the introduction to an old movie plot that I would be interested in watching.   It also talks about something that many people have thought about in there life, that being whether or not they were on the right path. If the road they had chosen was the right one to lead them to a happy afterlife in heaven or a torturous life in hell. This piece was very cool and I found myself invested in listening to it.

James Brown “The Payback”

• This was a pretty upbeat rhythmic piece that relied more on the lyrics then the instrumentals. This is because the instrumentals almost faded into the back as they were repeated throughout the piece. The message of this song has almost a comical undertone to it as the singer says that he wants payback even stating at one point that he doesn't know karate but he knows crazy.

John Coltrane “My Favorite Things”

• Hearing this song brought me back to Elementary school where my class had learned and performed this song. I generally feel like this is a catchy upbeat song and I enjoyed hearing it after so long.

Listening Assignment (2/1)

Reviewed by: Emily Cesarini

Terry Riley “In C”

• The beginning of this piece starts off with this repetitive dinging noise with string instruments playing over top it. It was infuriating and I did not enjoy it, I felt as if the piece would never come to an end. After listening for a few minutes more instruments began to be layered into the piece and it became slightly more bearable but I could not appreciate there sounds much as the dinging noise was still continuously present and directed most of my attention.

John Chowning “Stria”

• This is a very eerie song as it has a lot of drawn out notes that seem to just carry on into each other without much distinction between them. As the music continues it begins to get louder almost piercing and at one point it reminded me of an organ playing at church. I usual associate the sounds produced from organs as being rather ominous and believe that the deeper or more drawn out the notes are, such as in this piece, the more it fades into the background and fits into a horror flick scene. By far the best piece out of this selection to listen to.

Steve Reich “Come Out”

• Again the extremely repetitive nature of this piece drove me mad and there was no way I could subject myself to listening to the piece in its entirety. So when I skipped to the 6 minute mark I was taken aback that the same repeated line continued to be spoken the only difference being the slight echo now given to it. Overall, I would not subject my worst enemies to this.  

Iannis Xenakis “Concret PH”

• This piece begins with what sounds like millions of pieces of glass falling and landing on each other and then adds some other clanking noises sounding like utensils are being run over the glass. Overall, this was an interesting piece and made me think about what everyday objects could make the noises produced.