Once upon a time, iTunes wasn’t a store. It was simply an application used to play CD’s. It wasn’t until a couple months into using it that anyone I knew started using this program to import songs onto their computers (We’re talking about the early 2000s here). iTunes was far better at not only organizing music but also burning music CDs.
Before iTunes you had to import the songs, arrange a playlist, create an image and then burn that image onto a CD. Most of the time this two-hour process would mess up and you’d have to restart. iTunes slimmed this process down and it opened up the world of making mix CDs. All you had to do was drop some songs in a playlist you had previously uploaded and press burn and in about 45 minutes you would have a personalized audio CD.
I really loved making these mixes for people. I tried to create something that expressed the way I felt about them and also gave a joyful to experience. Most of the time I started the mix with faster music and ended with slower and more introspective tunes. I didn’t really try to send subliminal messages through these mix CDs. Most of the time if there was something that I wanted to say through a song, it was pretty explicit like with “Bobby Jean” by Bruce Springsteen, which I discussed in this post.
When I set out to make the first mix CD I ever made for Diana, I spent a lot of time figuring out which songs to include. One of the first songs that came to mind was “All I Need” by Matchbox Twenty.
This song is probably the most joyful song that this band ever recorded. Released in 2002 from their third album, Matchbox Twenty leaves behind the brooding darkness of many of their hits embracing a hopeful joy. There’s an 1960s feeling in this song even featuring a quote from The Buckingham’s hit “kind of a drag” in the bridge.
Within this shiny soundscape the lyrics talk about difficult times and people with “a sinking feeling” and being “down on themselves.” Thomas’ reaction to this in the chorus is that all he needs is someone to lean on. It’s such a simple sentiment but at that time it was exactly how I felt about Diana. All I felt like I needed was someone to lean on and in some ways that has never changed.
Putting “All I Need” on that mix CD forever connected this song with that time in my life and the feelings I had for Diana. When I talk to my students about music, this idea that you can create a group of songs for about how you feel is lost on them. We don't have any more as people share songs more than playlists.
Music isn't just about how we feel about ourselves, but also how we feel about each other. Mix CDs communicated my feelings to other people and while I haven't made a mix CD in a while, whenever I hear "All I Need" that reminds me of the joy creating one. As dorky as they may seem, mix CDs were awesome and I wish we could embrace this unique gift of music once again.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Year 2: Week 17- From The Back Of The Bus
“What does the word segregation mean to you?”
When I posed this question to my third graders what was fascinating wasn’t so much the content of what they said but how they said it. They all knew about the Rosa Parks and the fact that the buses were segregated. However they had a really hard time describing the groups that were segregated from each other.
I heard students stumble over the words, “Aftrican-American,” “black” and “minorities.” Also they had issues dealing with the words “white” and “Caucasian.” One student was so confused about the terms he asked me “It’s Cauc-Asian, right? So does that include Asians?”
Instead of immediately correcting my students I let them try to work out the language and take cues from each other. What I found and was very proud of was the fact that they all knew that they needed to be careful with the words. They just didn’t know which to use.
Before I settled this issue for my students I introduced them to the term “colored people.” I explained that myself as an Asian American would also be subject to Jim Crow laws because I was a “colored person.” Some of my third graders didn’t quite believe me but as I discussed how other minorities were affected by this type of discrimination it started to make sense to them.
The reason I began this class with discussing segregation is because as part of our Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly next week we are singing “If You Meet Me At The Back Of The Bus.”
Charles Neblett took the tune of “O Mary Don’t You Weep” and added lyrics about positive develop in desegregation from universities to swimming pools.
As I described the different verses and the stories behind them, there was a level of disbelief from my students. I told them that this stuff is hard to understand and hard to imagine for me as well. At the same time we have to try so we can understand how much we’ve grown as a country since these times and be grateful that we get to share
After learning the song, I came back to the difficulty they were having with terms for groups of people. I told them how “white” used to not include groups of people that we call “white” now. While I explained this, it made me realize how these labels don’t really describe anyone accurately and are often used to disenfranchise people.
I didn't give them a clear answer of that any particular term was right or wrong because none of the term really feel right. There's better and worse and some are offensive that's not what we are really talking about here. My third graders have not developed a sense of a person directed connected with labels because they haven't really learned to do that yet. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
If you ever wonder why we have a day set aside for Martin Luther King Jr., think about the fact that by simply talking about the struggles he was a part of it teaches us something about ourselves and each other.
When I posed this question to my third graders what was fascinating wasn’t so much the content of what they said but how they said it. They all knew about the Rosa Parks and the fact that the buses were segregated. However they had a really hard time describing the groups that were segregated from each other.
I heard students stumble over the words, “Aftrican-American,” “black” and “minorities.” Also they had issues dealing with the words “white” and “Caucasian.” One student was so confused about the terms he asked me “It’s Cauc-Asian, right? So does that include Asians?”
Instead of immediately correcting my students I let them try to work out the language and take cues from each other. What I found and was very proud of was the fact that they all knew that they needed to be careful with the words. They just didn’t know which to use.
Before I settled this issue for my students I introduced them to the term “colored people.” I explained that myself as an Asian American would also be subject to Jim Crow laws because I was a “colored person.” Some of my third graders didn’t quite believe me but as I discussed how other minorities were affected by this type of discrimination it started to make sense to them.
The reason I began this class with discussing segregation is because as part of our Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly next week we are singing “If You Meet Me At The Back Of The Bus.”
Charles Neblett took the tune of “O Mary Don’t You Weep” and added lyrics about positive develop in desegregation from universities to swimming pools.
As I described the different verses and the stories behind them, there was a level of disbelief from my students. I told them that this stuff is hard to understand and hard to imagine for me as well. At the same time we have to try so we can understand how much we’ve grown as a country since these times and be grateful that we get to share
After learning the song, I came back to the difficulty they were having with terms for groups of people. I told them how “white” used to not include groups of people that we call “white” now. While I explained this, it made me realize how these labels don’t really describe anyone accurately and are often used to disenfranchise people.
I didn't give them a clear answer of that any particular term was right or wrong because none of the term really feel right. There's better and worse and some are offensive that's not what we are really talking about here. My third graders have not developed a sense of a person directed connected with labels because they haven't really learned to do that yet. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
If you ever wonder why we have a day set aside for Martin Luther King Jr., think about the fact that by simply talking about the struggles he was a part of it teaches us something about ourselves and each other.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Behold The Hurricane by The Horrible Crows
Brian Fallon of the founding members of one of my favorite bands The Gaslight Anthem started a side-project last year forming the band The Horrible Crows.
Fallon and Ian Perkins released the album Elsie which has echos of the The Gaslight Anthem. Like his work with The Gaslight Anthem, Fallon's work is a combination fo punk and Springsteen-like storytelling, which is clearly evident in the lead sing "Behold The Hurricane."
While the story of this song is sad, there is a triumphant glory in the music that allows you to comprehend the darkness of the lyrics with a unique perspective. This song isn't suppose to depress, instead it makes you consider yourself and the choices in your life. Fallon, triumphs again pushing rock music into places that few musicians date to approach.
Fallon and Ian Perkins released the album Elsie which has echos of the The Gaslight Anthem. Like his work with The Gaslight Anthem, Fallon's work is a combination fo punk and Springsteen-like storytelling, which is clearly evident in the lead sing "Behold The Hurricane."
While the story of this song is sad, there is a triumphant glory in the music that allows you to comprehend the darkness of the lyrics with a unique perspective. This song isn't suppose to depress, instead it makes you consider yourself and the choices in your life. Fallon, triumphs again pushing rock music into places that few musicians date to approach.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Where The Streets Have No Name by U2
As the organ rises like the sun breaking through the darkness of night, the world awakens. In the guitar there is the rivers flowing through the land, birds flying through the sky and people facing the daylight. The guitar grows in energy and as the pulsing bass enters, the heartbeat of our humanity begins and the guitar vigorously throws off our fears and insecurities with a new found energy.
Everything you need to know about U2 can be understood in the first 45 seconds of “Where The Streets Have No Name.” Actually everything you need to know about Rock music can be heard in this introduction. Bono described Rock music as being about one thing: liberation. In this song, U2 encapsulates the desire, the hope and the complexities of what liberation really means.
One thing that many great albums share is incredible opening songs. Springsteen’s Born To Run, opened with the unforgettable piano chords of “Thunder Road,” The Rolling Stone’s Exile On Main Street, exploded with the snarl of Keith Richard’s guitar on “Rocks Off,” and U2's Joshua Tree begins with “Where The Streets Have No Name.”
Bono was inspired when he heard about how in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a person’s religion and income could be determined simply by the street they lived on. Like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Bono wrote a song to question the assumptions we base our world on and like Lennon, brings these desires to a deeply personal place.
The first verse speaks of desire. There’s the want to “tear down walls,” to liberate, and the desire to feel, “touch the flame.” It continues wanting shelter, “poison rain,” the divisions in our lives to the place where they do not exist. The chorus is a call to stop “burning down love,” to stop tearing down the things that we work so hard to build. All this desire and passion ends with the thought “I go there with you. It’s all I can do.”
In that one line, Bono foreshadows “With or Without You” later in the album speaking that moving through life with someone else that you love is not a choice. It’s something that we simply have to do. It’s all we can do to be alive, maintain hope and keep moving through the world.
The second verse and chorus speaks of destruction and even though “love turns to rust” and he is “blown by the wind” they got together to the place where we aren’t judged by the world and the labels we put upon each but rather by love. Yes, love is getting old and rusty, but it perseveres.
Musically we take U2 for granted. Most of us can’t imagine a musical world without Bono’s soaring vocals and Edge’s symphony of sound he creates with his guitar and the simple fact that along with the rest of U2 they are one of the greatest and most original bands ever.
If you try to listen to “Where The Streets Have No Name” with fresh ears you find that everything about this song is astounding. If this song came out today it would blow people’s minds the way it did twenty-five years ago.
Rock 'n' Roll may not be able to save the world but U2 makes you believe it can. Somewhere in their we find the part of ourselves that believes that through all the darkness we can save the world as long as we have hope in our hearts and loved ones by our sides.
If you still need a little help to understand what I mean check out this trailer and you'll know exactly what this songs really is about.
Everything you need to know about U2 can be understood in the first 45 seconds of “Where The Streets Have No Name.” Actually everything you need to know about Rock music can be heard in this introduction. Bono described Rock music as being about one thing: liberation. In this song, U2 encapsulates the desire, the hope and the complexities of what liberation really means.
One thing that many great albums share is incredible opening songs. Springsteen’s Born To Run, opened with the unforgettable piano chords of “Thunder Road,” The Rolling Stone’s Exile On Main Street, exploded with the snarl of Keith Richard’s guitar on “Rocks Off,” and U2's Joshua Tree begins with “Where The Streets Have No Name.”
Bono was inspired when he heard about how in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a person’s religion and income could be determined simply by the street they lived on. Like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Bono wrote a song to question the assumptions we base our world on and like Lennon, brings these desires to a deeply personal place.
The first verse speaks of desire. There’s the want to “tear down walls,” to liberate, and the desire to feel, “touch the flame.” It continues wanting shelter, “poison rain,” the divisions in our lives to the place where they do not exist. The chorus is a call to stop “burning down love,” to stop tearing down the things that we work so hard to build. All this desire and passion ends with the thought “I go there with you. It’s all I can do.”
In that one line, Bono foreshadows “With or Without You” later in the album speaking that moving through life with someone else that you love is not a choice. It’s something that we simply have to do. It’s all we can do to be alive, maintain hope and keep moving through the world.
The second verse and chorus speaks of destruction and even though “love turns to rust” and he is “blown by the wind” they got together to the place where we aren’t judged by the world and the labels we put upon each but rather by love. Yes, love is getting old and rusty, but it perseveres.
Musically we take U2 for granted. Most of us can’t imagine a musical world without Bono’s soaring vocals and Edge’s symphony of sound he creates with his guitar and the simple fact that along with the rest of U2 they are one of the greatest and most original bands ever.
If you try to listen to “Where The Streets Have No Name” with fresh ears you find that everything about this song is astounding. If this song came out today it would blow people’s minds the way it did twenty-five years ago.
Rock 'n' Roll may not be able to save the world but U2 makes you believe it can. Somewhere in their we find the part of ourselves that believes that through all the darkness we can save the world as long as we have hope in our hearts and loved ones by our sides.
If you still need a little help to understand what I mean check out this trailer and you'll know exactly what this songs really is about.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Year 2: Week 16-Laughing "at" Kids
When I looked down at one of my 3rd graders papers and saw the word “peanow.” I was really confused what musical instrument she was trying to spell and then I sounded it out and preceded to laugh out loud. She was trying to spell “piano.” Wow.
This was after class and the student had left the room closing the door behind her so my response wasn’t in front of anyone, but I did get a good laugh out of this. One of my fellow teachers enjoyed this when I showed him after school and he laughed as well. And then when I posted this on my facebook profile seven people “liked” it and four people made comments.
Am I a bad teacher because I laugh about things that my students do or say? Well, I don’t think so. It means I'm human, and laughing about students is a fact of life teachers. But there's some things you have to keep in mind like, first off, I never laugh at something a student does unless I’m 100% sure he or she is trying to be funny and even at those times, I often hold it in.
As a teacher one of the most important skills you learn is how to laugh on the inside. What I mean by this is the ability to keep a straight face and show no reaction when a student does something like raise he left hand when you ask them to raise their right hand, which would be fine if this student wasn’t in 8th grade!
It’s usually not very hard for me to do this because when you look at someone who says or does something that is inadvertently humorous, they usually aren’t smiling so you just take your cue from them.
Then the student leaves the room and you let it out. Sometimes at the end of the day, I sit in my office, go through the funny things kids did or say and laugh for five minutes straight. More often then not I find another teacher, share these stories and have a good time reflecting on the silly things our kids do.
Is this mean? Well, I think it could easily become mean. It’s one thing to laugh in private about students asking an obvious question and another thing to talk about how “dumb” they are. Almost all the time when I tell people stories about kids, which are funny, somewhere in there I express how much I like the kid.
I say this, because it’s true. I like my students and I like how sometimes kids say silly things that seem like something someone far younger then them would say. That’s part of the charm of kids they aren’t perfect. The thing is, if you really have done a good job at making your students feel comfortable in your class and take chances in learning, these moments will occur more often as you’ve allowed that students to feel more comfortable taking chances. That’s a powerful thing. If you as a teacher can keep that laughter inside it will teach the other kids to react to students taking chances and sometimes failing in an appropriate and respectful way.
Yes, teachers can be very mean when they talk about students and I've walked out of situations when I feel teachers cross the line from being mean to laughing about a cute mistake. There is a line and we need to be conscious as teachers about where that is, because the instant our laughter becomes meanness it shades the way we think about our students. This is something that we can't hide from students at any age. Once a students feels that you make fun of them in a mean way, your effectiveness as a teacher dramatically diminishes.
That's something that's not funny at all.
This was after class and the student had left the room closing the door behind her so my response wasn’t in front of anyone, but I did get a good laugh out of this. One of my fellow teachers enjoyed this when I showed him after school and he laughed as well. And then when I posted this on my facebook profile seven people “liked” it and four people made comments.
Am I a bad teacher because I laugh about things that my students do or say? Well, I don’t think so. It means I'm human, and laughing about students is a fact of life teachers. But there's some things you have to keep in mind like, first off, I never laugh at something a student does unless I’m 100% sure he or she is trying to be funny and even at those times, I often hold it in.
As a teacher one of the most important skills you learn is how to laugh on the inside. What I mean by this is the ability to keep a straight face and show no reaction when a student does something like raise he left hand when you ask them to raise their right hand, which would be fine if this student wasn’t in 8th grade!
It’s usually not very hard for me to do this because when you look at someone who says or does something that is inadvertently humorous, they usually aren’t smiling so you just take your cue from them.
Then the student leaves the room and you let it out. Sometimes at the end of the day, I sit in my office, go through the funny things kids did or say and laugh for five minutes straight. More often then not I find another teacher, share these stories and have a good time reflecting on the silly things our kids do.
Is this mean? Well, I think it could easily become mean. It’s one thing to laugh in private about students asking an obvious question and another thing to talk about how “dumb” they are. Almost all the time when I tell people stories about kids, which are funny, somewhere in there I express how much I like the kid.
I say this, because it’s true. I like my students and I like how sometimes kids say silly things that seem like something someone far younger then them would say. That’s part of the charm of kids they aren’t perfect. The thing is, if you really have done a good job at making your students feel comfortable in your class and take chances in learning, these moments will occur more often as you’ve allowed that students to feel more comfortable taking chances. That’s a powerful thing. If you as a teacher can keep that laughter inside it will teach the other kids to react to students taking chances and sometimes failing in an appropriate and respectful way.
Yes, teachers can be very mean when they talk about students and I've walked out of situations when I feel teachers cross the line from being mean to laughing about a cute mistake. There is a line and we need to be conscious as teachers about where that is, because the instant our laughter becomes meanness it shades the way we think about our students. This is something that we can't hide from students at any age. Once a students feels that you make fun of them in a mean way, your effectiveness as a teacher dramatically diminishes.
That's something that's not funny at all.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Adele At 19
Three reasons to get Adele's first album 19.
1.
One of her best songs showcasing an Amy Winehouse-like wickedness.
2.
"Chasing Pavements" was the most famous single from this album. This isn't quite "Rolling In Teh Deep" but it comes close."
3.
This album featured a cover of Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love." It seems like everyone and their mom has recorded this song (Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, etc.) but Adele manages to make it sound fresh.
1.
One of her best songs showcasing an Amy Winehouse-like wickedness.
2.
"Chasing Pavements" was the most famous single from this album. This isn't quite "Rolling In Teh Deep" but it comes close."
3.
This album featured a cover of Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love." It seems like everyone and their mom has recorded this song (Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, etc.) but Adele manages to make it sound fresh.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Beware (Jay-Z Remix) by Punjabi MC
Recipe for great song:
Fist let’s start with a 1980s TV theme song:
Now let’s take the bass line from that and add in some vocals. How about we use “Mundian To Bach Ke” by Punjabi artist Labh Janjua. This Indian song warns a young girl that now that she is grown up she needs to be careful of boys, perfect.
Ok. . . this ought to be good, let’s see what happened when Punjabi MC mixes these things up.
That’s a party right there, maybe we should add a little of the “H to the Izzo” and see what we get:
My mind is officially blown.
This is one of those things that on paper seems like it would never work but it comes together in a way that is unbelievable. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised with Jay-Z, this guy did sample a song from Annie (which I wrote about in this earlier post).
Every once in a while a Western pop artist deeps into what people call “world music” for influences like Sting’s song “Desert Rose” which featured Algerian singer Cheb Mami.
I came across this song for the trailer for new Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator.
While the song seems to fit the vibe of this film it doesn’t really make sense. The trailer portrays this fictional dictator as being from a Middle Easter country and well, “Beware” is clearly of Indian origin. It’s like using “La Bamba” for the movie trailer for New Year’s Eve, which is set in New York City.
Besides being a pleasing mix of sounds what does this all add up to. The bass line from a show about a talking car makes sense in the way its about protection and so is the warning about men. Jay-Z’s lyrics start with typical boasting in the first verse talking about how he’s the “black Brad Pitt” but he gets decidedly political in the second verse.
Jay-Z takes this palate of sounds to talk about issues in the Middle East. He talks about screaming, “leave Iraq Alone” and wanting the troops to have a safe return. Then we get a deeper look at Jay-Z’s world view.
Jay-Z starts talking about the attacks on 9/11 as well as referencing speculation that the Reagan administration had partial responsibility for the distribution of crack cocaine. He goes into his experience selling drugs out of a cab with his distributor. Then he wraps the verse up basically saying that it’s time to party. Like most Jay-Z lyrics there’s a lot crammed in here and he puts it across while effortlessly rapping through a variety of rhythmic patterns.
This song represent diversity in the best way. There's layers of meaning in all of the ingredients involved and each group of people these separate parts represent are invited through this song to explore cultures outside of their own.
This song isn't created for the sake of being "diverse." It's not a lesson in "diversity training," rather it's a celebration of how great a time we can have by coming together.
Fist let’s start with a 1980s TV theme song:
Now let’s take the bass line from that and add in some vocals. How about we use “Mundian To Bach Ke” by Punjabi artist Labh Janjua. This Indian song warns a young girl that now that she is grown up she needs to be careful of boys, perfect.
Ok. . . this ought to be good, let’s see what happened when Punjabi MC mixes these things up.
That’s a party right there, maybe we should add a little of the “H to the Izzo” and see what we get:
My mind is officially blown.
This is one of those things that on paper seems like it would never work but it comes together in a way that is unbelievable. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised with Jay-Z, this guy did sample a song from Annie (which I wrote about in this earlier post).
Every once in a while a Western pop artist deeps into what people call “world music” for influences like Sting’s song “Desert Rose” which featured Algerian singer Cheb Mami.
I came across this song for the trailer for new Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator.
While the song seems to fit the vibe of this film it doesn’t really make sense. The trailer portrays this fictional dictator as being from a Middle Easter country and well, “Beware” is clearly of Indian origin. It’s like using “La Bamba” for the movie trailer for New Year’s Eve, which is set in New York City.
Besides being a pleasing mix of sounds what does this all add up to. The bass line from a show about a talking car makes sense in the way its about protection and so is the warning about men. Jay-Z’s lyrics start with typical boasting in the first verse talking about how he’s the “black Brad Pitt” but he gets decidedly political in the second verse.
Jay-Z takes this palate of sounds to talk about issues in the Middle East. He talks about screaming, “leave Iraq Alone” and wanting the troops to have a safe return. Then we get a deeper look at Jay-Z’s world view.
Before Bin Laden got Manhattan to blow
Before Ronal Reagan Got Manhattan the blow
Before I was cabbing it there back and forth
Raw we had it all day, Papi in the hallway
Cop one on consignment give you more yay
Yea, but that’s another story
But for now, Mami turn it around and the let the boy play.
Jay-Z starts talking about the attacks on 9/11 as well as referencing speculation that the Reagan administration had partial responsibility for the distribution of crack cocaine. He goes into his experience selling drugs out of a cab with his distributor. Then he wraps the verse up basically saying that it’s time to party. Like most Jay-Z lyrics there’s a lot crammed in here and he puts it across while effortlessly rapping through a variety of rhythmic patterns.
This song represent diversity in the best way. There's layers of meaning in all of the ingredients involved and each group of people these separate parts represent are invited through this song to explore cultures outside of their own.
This song isn't created for the sake of being "diverse." It's not a lesson in "diversity training," rather it's a celebration of how great a time we can have by coming together.
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