30 min of news

Over the weekend I watched 30 min of CNN during the afternoon on Saturday. Each news segment consisted of about 3 min of news time the first one was Remembering journalist Andy Rooney which aired for maybe 5 minutes, however the rest which included segments of the case about Michael Jackson's doctor, a family court judge accused of beating his daughter caught on video, Justin Bieber accused of supposedly impregnating a girl, all of which received about the same amount of news time. The commercials in between these news segments were longer than the actual news time however, which lasted about 5-6 minutes each. During this thirty minutes I did not see any news on sports or politics (which I assumed would get the most news time), but the segments I watched, I was surprised to find aired for the same 3-3 and half minutes of time.

Advertisements effects

After watching the film on Thursdays class I really felt I could relate to this idea of marketing which takes advantage of teens, by trying to get as much money as they can through the mass consumption of products by teens and young adults by advertising "cool". I remember being in high school, and feeling like the most important thing is what labels you're wearing and if they're considered to be "cool". Back then it was abercrombie, express, hollister, etc and maybe it wasn't until recently that I learned that these labels are just that -- labels. I developed some sort of shopping addiction as if I got a "high" for shopping or just spending money on not only clothes but products in general. This mass advertising targeted at teenagers has a real affect, because I still find myself using "shop-therapy" as the solution to everything. I completely agree with the film that advertisements are aimed at teens because this is definitely the group willing to fork up the cash for merchandise. When you're a teenager you don't have to worry so much about bills, and responsibilities, therefore all your money goes out to entertainment and spending money on "the new cool" item. All of this led me to oversee my high school senior brothers shopping charges at the mall this past weekend. He was surprised to find out he actually got a ton of compliments on the clothes I helped him find opposed to a $75 plane t-shirt that has an abercrombie tag.

bubble gum pop

On Monday's class you talked about how bubble gum pop is music that makes the radio because it has a catchy beat. Even though this music has really no meaning to it, people seem to like it. Do you think these type of songs like mmmbop represent American music in a positive way? I mean I have heard a countless number of people say that rap/hip hop is garbage although a lot of it uses instrumentals, beats, and has meaning to the lyrics. If people can say this about hip hop then should there be more criticism on songs like mmmbop?

hip-hop/rap

I absolutely love hip-hop and rap, which actually doesn't get as much respect as it deserves. After the guest lecture from Billy Drease Williams (and I wish all the people that bash hip-hop could have heard him) I feel he brought up some strong points about hip-hop/rap as an art. Many people think hip-hop is garbage, that there are no instrumental elements or components, but I disagree. Billy Drease Williams, for example creates his own beats, so why can't beats be considered an instrumental component? In order to create beats one must still learn to use an instrument (or in this case whatever equipment used to produce beats), practice, master it, and have an ear for a special sound and creativity in order to create that sound. To me this idea deserves the same respect as someone who can play an instrument. Hip-hop and rap also require an artist to write their own lyrics (hopefully, but there are many artists from other genres that don't write their own music who still receive more respect than hip-hop artists), and of course sing or rap. In Billy Drease Williams case, he even produces his own videos, and has created art work to illustrate those videos. I think their are a lot of components and elements of hip-hop that are undermined and go without notice. It truly takes a talented and creative person to be a hip-hop/rap ARTIST. =]

Minority guiding the Majority

With context to Dreases presentation and his look on artistic expressions in the hip hop and music world in todays age. When he described the stories of him accepting he may never make it big but still held onto his ownership of his music is rare for many artists. Many compromise along the way to make it big or to have moderate success in some way of television or radio exposure across the country. but with not only in Dreases case but with other artists as well in other genres that constantly progress or hold onto the values of what they feel is their music. their words and music personify a feeling that would want to share and its unique to them. Like      Drease other bands like the Black Keys who are known for their rough and tough grit and grime sound of two guys on Guitar and Drums mixing not only classic and forgotten blues of past generations but other elements of Rhythm and Blues with the feedback of Jimi Hendrix playing up to elven on every song. they also produced a Rap album with collaboration with Hip Hop Artists like Mos Deff, Q-Tip, Nicole Wray, and several members of the Wu Tang Clan. This just goes to show all musical styles can be made to co-exist and work together to make more unique sounds and styles for the masses and players to enjoy.

Parental Discretion Advised

Personally, I wouldn't consider myself someone who listens to the Hip Hop music on the radio today. I don't have any desire to listen to music about slapping hoes, banging for money, and shooting people down on the streets. It's not that I am personally offended by the way women are portrayed in some hip hop music, even though any other person has every right to feel offense, but it's the fact that I would not want to support any artist that thinks that passing lyrics such as "got her on her knees, the same knees that she be prayin' on" is in any way an accurate portrayal of music. Yes, freedom of speech allots these songs to be produced and played on the radio and so forth, but music was an escape for everyone. Why would someone want to escape into a world of guns, violence, and objectification of women? I know that I don't understand it, but a lot of people buy into it. This shows that for some reason, this subdivision of Hip Hop, which is a vastly different style from the roots of Hip Hop (which mostly focused on social commentary and naming grievances), people are focusing less on the meaning behind the lyrics. People, being (a) the rapper- because there are a lot of other issues to write about other than sex, money, and drugs, and (b) the audience- no matter what, people know that these lyrics are offensive, and they just don't care. People will listen to this stuff, memorize the lyrics, fully know their meaning, and they have no problem with saying that their favorite song is something called "p*ssy, money, weed." I don't know, I just think it's a little disheartening to see music, something that hold so much importance on the meaning and the message, take this type of downturn. It was refreshing to hear Billy Drease Williams' work in class on Monday because it showed me that the original style of Hip Hop is not dead; it is just masked by the chart topping, radio raiding rap singles that evince the wrong messages.

Progression

After taking a look at what the original sound of hip hop was and realizing how different a style it is from then to now it is interesting to see if those who were a fan of the "old school" style are disappointed or happy with the progression and change it has made over the years. It also raises the question of whether or not the various artists appreciate the stylistic change or not as well.