Blog 8: A Different Kind of Rap

Kanye West

1) Heavy Bass

2) Sampling

3) Taking voices from other songs and raising the pitch

Rap is often criticized for its lack of creativity, as well as its repititive rhythms and melodies. However, it takes creative thinking and a mastery of drum machines, computer knowledge, as well as engineering ability to make great hip-hop beats. Kanye West is an example of this. All hip-hop contains heavy bass. West did not start this, but he does use it in his songs. Originally, hip-hop was the anti-disco and African-American's way of expressing themselves through music. The heavy bass is symbolic of aggression that used to be part of hip-hop music. West just does this because it creates more fullness to the sound of the piece, and hip-hop is dull without it. Sampling, however, is something West is known for. He will take a piece from another song, chop it up and alter it on a drum machine, and put a beat to it. Many feel this is unoriginal, but it is characteristic of hip-hop music. It recreates the piece, and changes the feeling altogether. West's sampling is different because he takes music from unordinary genres and makes hip-hop out of them. He also combines genres, which is seen on a song with rap star Common and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. And finally, taking the voice from another song and changing the pitch. Though it is done a lot in hip-hop now, West was the first to do so. He has taken voices from many different varieties of music, and combined them with other samples to make distinct beats. This shows his creativity and desire to steer away from the norm. Hip-hop is continuing to evolve, and West is known for his ability to sample. Because he is a rapper, he wants to incorporate other types of music into hip-hop. This is the reason West is considered one of the best and is respected by not only hip-hop fans and artists, but musicians worldwide. It is his ability to sample music no one would thought could be sampled that reveal Kanye's true identity and creativity.

In the two Eastern European scenes, I noticed some instruments that were more familiar to me. The first scene begins with a kid walking and two men are playing music under a tree. One instrument I noticed was what appeared to be some sort of vibraphone, which was played with mallets. The other instrument was a violin. While the man did play the violin with the traditional bow, he also done something that was foreign to me before watching the film. One string was broken and he produced a new sound appropriate for the song by pulling on it. I thought that this was a very interesting aspect to the movie and scene because I have never seen anyone play the violin this way. I felt this scene was also interesting because it was a political song. It discussed the tyranny in Romania these men suffered from.
The second scene took place around in a town around railroad tracks. It this scene, there are plenty of familiar instruments. Like the previous scene, there are violins played in the traditional way, but there are also accordions, flutes, and a bass. I felt that with all these different instruments, a fuller sound was produced. Unlike the scene before, this song had instruments that ranged from the actual sound of the instrument, as well as the range of the notes that could be played. I thought this scene was interesting because everyone circled around the musicians, which I enjoyed because I could relate to it. Whenever I go to the 3rd Street Promenade, many others including myself circle around and enjoy the entertainment of the musicians playing. It is interesting that while the music is much different intheir culture and Western culture, the instinct to crowd around musicians is the same.
And another interesting thing that I noticed in the movie is when there is a song about Auschwitz. I probably would not have been so affected by it had I not seen Schindler's List the previous week, but it opened my eyes to the knowledge that not only Jews were prosecuted and sent to the death camps. Gypsies were as well, and I felt a sense of sympathy towards a culture I know nothing about.

Blog 6 Film Questions

While watching this movie, I was able to get a sense of the instruments that these Northern Indians used. The tabla was of the common instruments that I noticed in the scenes, as well as what appeared to be a large bowl. In the first and second scene, I saw an instrument that had strings and was played with a bow. In the first scene, it is a typical rebaba, but in the second scene, a kid is playing a rebaba made from a coconut. This instrument was similar to the shamisen of Japan, but also reminded me a little of a sitar from India. The tabla-like instrument that was used in the film was appropriate being that the presenter who played Northern Indian music explained how the tabla is such a big part of N. Indian music. Another instrument I noticed were little cymbals, a member of the idiophone family.
In the film, the Gypsies absorbed the music cultures they encountered. He shows this by how he films the movie. He films it as it is: a journey. In the three different scenes, the performers are in different settings and perform differently. But doing this, the director is showing how the Gypsies have taken in from other cultures and show it through their own music.
I thought the most interesting aspect of the film was how it was filmed. It was as if we were following these Gypsies on a long journey. This gives the viewer a first-hand experience, rather than be bored from a documentary. I enjoyed seeing how the Gypsies performed and the different instruments they played. It really opened my eyes to music from a side of the world I know nothing about.

Blog 5 Modern Day and Age Influences

Real life situations are often depicted in movies, music, and music videos. It targets an audience that is not as well aware about current problems within the world and can ultimately be positive. The media can be used, as it has been for years and years, to show what we as Americans take for granted. These are two example of how the real life influences the media and in turn these representations influence society.
One example of a song that discusses the issue of blood diamonds is Kanye West's "Diamonds are Forever." The cruelty and child labor in Sierra Leone influenced this artist to make this song and expose the horrors of blood diamonds. Kanye West is of the most known hip-hop artists and hip-hop itself has a huge influence on America and the entire world. So West uses his popularity in order to describe a terrible situation that is going on in Africa that many do not know about or care anough to do something about.
Another example of exposing the horridness of blood diamonds is the recent movie entitle "Blood Diamond." While this movie was indeed "Hollywoodized," it does reflect upon an actual situation occuring in Africa now. It exposes to the world the poverty and slavery that is still affecting the Africans. It shows the savagery that is not imaginable in this country, and by doing so, it leaves us with a sense of selfishness. In doing so, it influences society to try to make a difference in the world.