kygorant

Our class sound-map provides a generalized visual along with our sound recordings to give the listeners context to the sounds. Our visual provides key context about the environment in relation to the soundscape, such as whether there are walkways where people could be passing by or streets where cars could be driving, however the google earth visual fails in certain aspects. The images seem to have been taken over the summer or during a time where a lot of construction and renovation was occurring, as we see construction by new dorm and moving vans outside the library. These visuals provide context that is not represented in our recordings. In Westerkamp’s soundwalk, she uses a voiceover to describe her environment in the exact moment she is doing the recording, giving context that you would likely not know from just the recording, such as how she is standing on some rocks near the shoreline with barnacles on them. She describes not only the visual aspect of the environment, but also the sounds we hear. She says ““The tiny clicking sounds you hear are the meeting of the water and the barnacles.” Her description also guides the listener around the soundscape. The noise of the city that is present in the beginning of the recording was something that I initially didn’t even recognize and just thought of it as background noise until Westerkamp mentioned it by saying “The city is roaring around these tiny sounds.” She then proceeds to use technology to take away the noise of the city which forces and emphasis on the explicit sounds of nature.

Stover states very early on that “Race in America is a visual phenomenon.” (3) I found it interesting that how she then translates this largely visual form of discrimination into an auditory form by introducing the Sonic Color Line. Stover explains this term in saying “The Sonic Color Line connects sound with race in American culture, showing how listening operates as an organ of racial discernment, categorization, and resistance in the shadow of vision’s alleged cultural dominance.” (4) Something that appeared to me to challenge this concept is the example we viewed in class of Taylor Swifts cover of September, by Earth Wind & Fire. Although I struggled to find a clear definition of the characteristics of dividing line that Stover surrounds her essay around, she mentioned culture having a large role in the sonic color line. Listening and the way different people perceive sounds is somewhat subjective, so that should be kept in mind, however there is a cultural difference in the two distinct versions of September. Earth Wind & Fire’s music has spanned across many genres including, R&B, soul, jazz, and disco, which all have a certain culture surrounding them. Taylor Swift, in her rendition of the song, translates the piece in to a new genre of pop/country. The culture and history between these two groups of genres are very distinct, yet are connected by a similar song, even though sung by one artist.

Original – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY

Cover – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4c7EE8_IX0

The iconic and well known Africa by Toto, originally release in 1982, has made a comeback in recent years thanks to the internet meme community. In 2018, Weezer released their cover of the song, opening with a slight “Island in the Sun” vibe. The cover version contains slightly more aggressive vocals all throughout the song. The Weezer version also uses a guitar with more gain/distortion to complement the adjustment in the vocals. There appears to be more volume going into the recording device in the cover version, as the original sounds more reserved. The difference in the instruments themselves between the two songs is best highlighted in the bridge of the song. Toto seems to have a more traditional, wind based instrument playing the lead in the bridge of the original version. Weezer, on the other hand, uses a more modern, synth sounding instrument to play the leading during the bridge, giving the piece a more modern sound. Although the presentation of the music and lyrics are indubitably distinct, the fundamentals remain constant. The differences in the two versions are easily noticeable and make the song unique to each artist, but also keep some fundamental and stylistic aspects that dont change the song into a completely different song. Also, both versions of the song emphasize the line “I bless the rains down in Africa.”  The lyrics are also identical between the two version of Africa, unlike the example of Taylors Swifts cover of “September” where she alters one of the lyrics from the original Earth Wind & Fire version.

Crawford expands our current definition(s) of voice and adds a more modern aspect. This breaks through our current definitions of voice. Aristotle defines voice as a noise coming form a body that possess his definition of soul. Crawford analyzes a new definition of people having a voice through written texts, specifically online. In reference to her idea of contributing a voice online she says “Speaking up’ has become the dominant metaphor for participation in online spaces such as blogs, wikis, news sites and discussion lists (Karaganis 2007; Bruns 2008).” (p. 80) Crawford aims to express voice to be more about having and sharing an idea, or contributing something to a conversation, rather than distinguishing between voice and mere sound.

Crawford also introduces a new concept we have not previously studied, which is listening. Crawford’s definition of listening here is more comparable to reading, as she talks mostly about those who observed and read more instead of contributing to online conversations. In reference to these people she defines as “lurkers,” she says “Rather than freeloading, lurkers are actively logging in and tracking the contributions of others; they contribute a mode of receptiveness that encourages others to make public contributions. (81) Crawford further elaborates on the importance of this group in saying “The concept of listening, on the other hand, invokes the more dynamic process of online attention, and suggests that it is an embedded part of networked engagement – a necessary corollary to having a ‘voice’. (p. 82) This concept of listen is parallel to the past concepts of voice we have seen. Just like the “lurkers” who read rather than speak online, without listeners, why would people speak their voice or perform auditory pieces?

https://beta.myvoice.lyrebird.ai/g/y6-v0rnx_5

The musical and visual accompaniment of Scotts performance of blert attaches a completely new perspective to his writing. Without the accompaniment, I found myself generating my own visuals in my head while trying to decipher his text. With the visuals and music, I thought that the performance had more of a set purpose or meaning that Scott was trying to get across. I also found that Barthes concept of grain is highlighted by the content of Scott’s performance. Especially in his solo performance, I struggled to find the meaning in some of his words, which made me pay more attention to his deliverance of them. Something I took away from reading Barthes was the mention of visual or auditory pleasure loosing the motive behind written works. He sums this up in his final thoughts in The Grain of the Voice by saying “Were we to succeed in refining a certain ‘aesthetics’ of musical pleasure, then doubtless we would attach less importance to the formidable break in tonality accomplished by modernity.” (P.509) Although he said this in reference to music, I think this same concept can be observed in Jordan Scott’s performances of blert.

1) My senior year roommate at my boarding high school was an avid video game player, specifically Fortnite. I would be sitting at my desk, attempting to do my any sort of school work and my ears would be flooded with a plethora of gun shots, snippets of dance music, and countless other sound affects. One specific compilation of sounds, however, will be permanently engraved in my mind. My roommate would often leave the one screen of the game open while he waiting for his friends to join his game. The background music to this screen consisted of a synthetic drum kit, mysterious and deep sounding bells, and a distorted guitar chords playing in a loop over and over again. While I don’t hear this piece as often as I used to, when I do a certain feeling of nostalgia kicks in and reminds me of all the good memories my roommate and I had in room 409 our senior year.

2) After hearing Lucier mutter the same words over and over again, my mind began to wonder. I focused on the first part of his statement and began to wonder how the room he was sitting in was so explicitly different from the room I found myself in. I was awoken from my thought when I noticed that his words went from decently clear and comprehendible to a string of resonating frequencies. I was expecting his recording to transform into something more melodic, but instead I found that the tones at the end seemed to clash.