Podcast 2

Uploaded on Box.net like the previous Podcast.

http://www.box.net/shared/prb34nvy467st2gi4qjg

Peer Comment 2: Alan Marquette

I agree, the vocoder is a really awesome vocal effect. I've always really liked Peter Frampton's work with it. I didn't even know that it was originally developed as an encryption device in World War II, that's really weird to think how its evolved from that to what we use it for today. One of my personal favorite uses of the vocoder is in the guitar solo in 'Jambi' on !0,000 Days by Tool. It just adds a really cool organic feel to the sound of the guitar. Its wild.

Entry 8: Independent Research, Philip Glass

Philip Glass is a modern minimalist composer who is widely believed to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He is a composer in our modern times that cannot be over looked, his impact on music, particularly his innovations in scoring music have changed a lot of what we hear today. What makes his creations so unique is his use of instrumentation. When you think of orchestral music you think of the long violins, the big horns, the thumping timpani's, the drastic changes, etc ,and all though Glass doesn't shy too far these classic ideas, his music touches on classical orchestration in a new way. Using what he describes  as "music with repetitive structures", Glass layers simplistic music in large numbers, instruments often only playing one to three notes in a bar or sequence repeating over and over again for long periods of time.  If you listen to his piece 'Rubric' off of 'Glassworks' you will notice just how simple the parts of the woodwinds and horns are but how amazingly intricate the layering of the part are. Its almost like looking at immaculately weaved rug. All the little threads are just one color each, so simple, but when you step back and see them all together they make this beautiful design. I touched on it early, but another innovation of Philip Glasses music is its long pieces and long repetitions. Throughout his pieces its strange to notice that things will play over and over for extended periods with only very slight changes in notes that completely change the feel of the piece. Compared to a lot of popular orchestral pieces that seem to thrive in their drastic and often changes in the music, Glass's pieces seem to thrive in the opposite. They sit in rhythm for long periods and draw you in almost in a trance. If you listen to 'In the Upper Room: Dance IX', the piece is actually the same basic pattern for the entire eight minute song and he just applies different instrument and rhythm variations on top of the basic pattern for the entire piece. Its these basic seeming music elements used to fashion such beautiful music that really inspires me. It seems like we're trapped in a world of skill these days. You go on youtube and all you find are 6 year old virtuoso's and long haired metal shredders. Everyone is obsessed with playing as many notes as possible as fast as possible and there isn't a focus on the music anymore. Things don't have to be complex to be beautiful, its about the composition, not the instrument skill. You're never going to inspire emotion in someone by playing five hundred notes a second, especially if you don't understand this.

Peer Comment

Zach Mauldin

I agree. Revolver is definitely a benchmark album that the industry has yet to live up to. In very rare cases have other albums met the creativity and quality of Revolver. It amazes me that even over 40 years later people still haven't learned anything from Revolver and they still just stick to the mold and don't challenge the music they create to become something new and amazing. It makes me sad to think that a lot of what they tried to change at the end of the day will just be remarked to as "a great album" rather than an icon of music accomplishment we should all strive to achieve and surpass ourselves.

Entry 7: Electronic Music Innovations

Few can deny Brian Eno's massive impact on electronic music. Particularly in the world of Electronic ambience Eno has always been seen as the father of that music world, even being credited with the creation of ambient music. Inspired by minimalist paintings, Eno released many albums that tested what we expected from music. Using the simplest touches of sound, he created something totally new, albums that aren't meant to be directly listened to, but to sit in the background and fill in space, to be ambient. His use of electronic instrumentation in these albums such as Music For Airports is what truly creates the experience. By using synthesizers Eno creates these amazing organic sounds that totally changed the way people viewed electronic music. Though inspired by Kraftwerk, his sounds feel more alive and growing, compared to Kraftwerks often rigid feel. Eno also made advancements in technology like his creation of the tape delay system he used with Robert Fripp that also had an impact on electronic music. Fripp and Eno used this system to create a whole new sound with the electric guitar by taking what the guitar was playing and reversing it back around live and playing that back out at the audience. The result is this beautifully flow of long tones weaving in and out of each other, something totally out of this world. In all of these albums the goal is more of a whole body and emotional response  through the use of these organic electronic sounds and thats what really defines Eno's impact on electronic music. There are many artists today like Minilogue and Flying Lotus who are clearly inspired by the concepts of Eno's original feel and sound. Anywhere you hear ambient music today because of Eno's work. I love the sound of Eno's work, I have the album Music For Airports and I love reading and relaxing to it, the sound just makes my body so relaxed. It just feels so soft and warm and as an artist I find this incredible. If I could make people feel this way with my art, I would feel really accomplished, It would feel like a such a success.

Entry 6: Kraftwerk

Few can question the originality of Kraftwerk, When they released their first album in 1974 nobody was doing what these guys were doing, they had done what every artist always strives to do; create something different and totally unique and new. Their music was entirely electric and had this distant robotic feel to it, it felt almost as if the band had come back in time from some future place. Despite the originality behind their sound, the success of the band was always something of question during the 70's, some of their albums hitting home more than others. Their first breakthrough album came out in 1974, it was called Autobahn. This album was a success for the band in many ways. It was the first album to establish their sound, and it also established an image for the band, by identifying with such a German engineering concept like the Autobahn, they represented Germany. The first side of the LP, Autobahn, also got great commercial success. A success that the couldn't seem to achieve with later albums. With the success of Autobahn, they put all their money back into their equipment and studio and went right away back to work and released Radio-Activity, another concept album identifying with German technology and engineering, the only problem was the band had gone back towards their experimental days and the album therefore didn't appeal to as many people. After Radio-Activity they released Trans-Europe Express. Around the time other groups were starting to catch up with Kraftwerk in style and sound. Many diehard Kraftwerk fans consider this album to be their best, It continued their downward slope in mainstream success from Autobahn. This led to The Man-Machine. This album was Kraftwerks attempt to try and reclaim mainstream success. The album dropped their previous ideas of concept album and played more like a collection of singles. They band also amped up their image for this album, choose to associate themselves with the red colors of Russia. The album was a success compared to previous works but the world had caught up to Kraftwerk, their sound was no longer incredibly unique. People like Brian Eno and David Bowie had already taken the sound of Kraftwerk into a new and more pop like sound and had found huge success. When I listen to Kraftwerk I still see them as this original and creative piece of work. Despite what might have beaten them out later in the 80's, I still think they had a different sound than those groups that were like them. I have a huge respect for the amount of work they put into their music and the huge technological advances they made during the time of their music.

Podcast Project One

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