I'm really happy with the way my final podcast and artistic statement have turned out. It's been really great to see how this project has evolved into something completely different than I first imagined, and I'm proud that I gave myself the freedom to not stay locked in to one idea. My podcast is about the relationship between sociology, music, and technology. In my project, I'm arguing that music should be viewed as a sociological artifact as it is able to express societal change and technological growth through both a conceptual and sonic level. I speak about two standout albums that I believe represent a key shift in music and our culture, and these records are Ok Computer by Radiohead and Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk. I'm really proud of this final project, and I hope others like it and are interested in it. I want to thank Dr. Holt for her supervision and guidance for this project.
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https://soundcloud.com/francescoclementi/capstone-project/s-RCJU9V8ling
For my digital artifact, I chose to do a podcast, and I found this to be an awesome way of sharing my ideas and expressing my thoughts. Through a podcast, I was able to have a focused script that I stuck to throughout the recording process, but I also allowed myself freedom to dive deeper into particular sections. One thing I really enjoyed about having my project in a podcast format was that it allowed me to engage in almost a conversation with myself and my research. This was valuable because it allowed me to think freely and outside of the box. When thinking about the form of this podcast, I decided to start and end talking about albums and dissecting them. I chose to do this because it helped me express how certain albums can stand alone as sociological artifacts. I opened my podcast with an explanation of technological innovation and societal change that was happening during the turn of the 21st century. In this description, I included a long quote from Gene Kan during the “intellectual property in the digital age” trial. He was one of the first programmers to create an open source version of Gnutella which was an app where users could transfer and send files from computer to computer. Kan testified on behalf of new technological giants such as Napster against the Senate Judiciary Committee where he essentially stated that it doesn’t matter what the federal government decides; nothing will stop the advancement of technology. I included this whole story because I believe it summarizes the technological boom of the 90s and foreshadows into the new century. I think it also sets up my description of Ok Computer phenomenally well. I attempted to approach my analysis of Ok Computer through a sonic and conceptual lense. Sonically, I looked how the band had evolved from their past work of grunge and brit pop to more experimental song forms, weirder guitar tones, and a persistent use of synthesizers, pads, and other digital instruments in almost every song on the record. Conceptually, I focused on the human emotions that were being experienced due to technological innovation during this time and how Ok Computer reflected these in its storytelling and lyrics. I was able to compliment this dissection of the record by using snippets of songs from the album that included “Airbag”, “Climbing Up the Walls” and “Fitter Happier”. This was effective because I was able to enhance the experience for the listener by giving them a more intimate analysis. Following my dissection of Ok Computer, I got into my main thesis which is that “albums like Ok Computer, where there is both a reflection and a prediction of our society, are cultural milestones, and they should be viewed in the same way as cultural and sociological artifacts are”. I then listed other records that I would also consider to be cultural artifacts due to their reflection of society around them and for their prediction of the future. After my thesis, I got into my body section of the podcast where I explored technological innovation throughout the twentieth century and how it influenced music. I included concepts such as the electric guitar, amplifier, and synthesizer, and I used these instruments to demonstrate how music is ever evolving and changing as does technology. Following this, I talked about jazz and how it reflected the changes happening in society during this time and how the formation of a genre like jazz is a direct example of cultural shift. I chose to incorporate this into my podcast because I believe jazz has had one of the biggest cultural footprints out of any genre of music as it led to rock and ultimately hip-hop. Additionally, I think jazz is a representation of how music can sonically be influenced by technological innovation. For a conceptual example, I discussed blues music as it was an emotional outlet for people during the Great Depression. The emergence of blues music during this time period is important because it demonstrates how humans have used music to express their emotions around cultural change. Additionally, I talked about the invention of the radio, and I think this is very important because I believe it ties everything together. The radio is a direct result of how a technological breakthrough can influence music as you now had songs that either reflected how individuals were feeling about the Depression (more emotional/slower songs) or you had upbeat swing songs that served to distract the listeners from their daily hardships. I ended my podcast with an analysis of Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express where I discussed how the record is a cultural milestone as it demonstrated a clear shift in what a pop/dance song could sound like. Sonically, it was like nothing that had really ever been heard before. Unlike most of Kraftwerk’s earlier work, this record was much more digestible, and it indicated a clear turning point in the way that synthesizers could be used in music. Conceptually, I discussed how the record was about the actual trans europe express train which stands as a technological milestone on its own. This album is a reflection of the technological advancements happening during the late 1970’s. With this project, I was trying to demonstrate that throughout history music has been able to demonstrate how technology has been influencing our society. Whether it’s through new creations or an increasing dependence on technology or both, music has been able to reflect this growth through both the conceptual/lyrical side and sonically. Through this project, I wanted to look at how musicians have expressed an increase in technology conceptually and sonically. From a conceptual standpoint, I planned to research what themes of technological growth, both positive and negative, are reflected through the lyrics and concepts of a musician. Sonically, I wanted to research how musicians went from writing and performing songs on just a guitar, to a synthesizer, and now to a computer and what the drastic change in technology has done to music composition and theory. Cover letter
I’m feeling very comfortable with my project now, and I feel really good about it. I think my script is solid, and I think I have a lot of detail and supporting facts. Additionally, I think my podcast will flow very well, and I think the albums I talk about are very effective. I’m also pretty excited about my information around blues music and the radio during the 1930s. Script/Form
“20m Napster users can’t be wrong. 20m today—100m tomorrow. Technology moves forward and leaves the stragglers behind. The adopters always win, and the stalwarts always lose. Mechanized farming is a good example. You don’t see anyone out there with a horse and plow these days. The Internet touches everyone and everything. Everyone must adapt, business and intellectual property owners are not excluded.” As we now know today, the internet really does “touch everyone and everything”, and this quote seems like an eerie example of foreshadowing . But back to 1997, feelings of fear, change, and even isolation were palpable throughout the world. In this same year, Radiohead released their album Ok Computer, and it was different from a lot of the music at the time. Sonically, Radiohead ditched all of the lasting bits of grunge influences they had left in them, and they embraced a new sound. They traded their fuzzed out guitars and traditional three minute rock songs for more experimental song forms, a heavy use of synthesizers and pads, and cold, bleak production. Alien-esque guitar tones and effects teamed with Johnny Greenwood’s experimentation into synths signaled not only a change in Radiohead but a fundamental change in rock music. This band had been thrown into genres such as britpop and grunge was now doing something completely different. They were not ignoring technology, but were using it to their advantage. Radiohead used this tactic of embracing technology into the conceptual side of the record as well. The record is a genuine reflection of the colossal digital growth the world experienced during the 90s as feelings of isolation, fear, and loss permeate the lyrics. Looking back on this album, it is terrifying how relevant these lyrics are today and will be for the rest of our lives. Ideas like having anything we want with a touch of a few clicks are prevalent through themes on excessive consumerism and the rise of the internet.”
What is my idea?
“20m Napster users can’t be wrong. 20m today—100m tomorrow. Technology moves forward and leaves the stragglers behind. The adopters always win, and the stalwarts always lose. Mechanized farming is a good example. You don’t see anyone out there with a horse and plow these days. The Internet touches everyone and everything. Everyone must adapt, business and intellectual property owners are not excluded.” As we now know today, the internet really does “touch everyone and everything”, and this quote seems like an eerie example of foreshadowing . But back to 1997, feelings of fear, change, and even isolation were palpable throughout the world. In this same year, Radiohead released their album Ok Computer, and it was different from a lot of the music at the time. Sonically, Radiohead ditched all of the lasting bits of grunge influences they had left in them, and they embraced a new sound. They traded their fuzzed out guitars and traditional three minute rock songs for more experimental song forms, a heavy use of synthesizers and pads, and cold, bleak production. Alien-esque guitar tones and effects teamed with Johnny Greenwood’s experimentation into synths signaled not only a change in Radiohead but a fundamental change in rock music. This band had been thrown into genres such as britpop and grunge was now doing something completely different. They were not ignoring technology, but were using it to their advantage. Radiohead used this tactic of embracing technology into the conceptual side of the record as well. The record is a genuine reflection of the colossal digital growth the world experienced during the 90s as feelings of isolation, fear, and loss permeate the lyrics. Looking back on this album, it is terrifying how relevant these lyrics are today and will be for the rest of our lives. Ideas like having anything we want with a touch of a few clicks are prevalent through themes on excessive consumerism and the rise of the internet.”
I have not made much progress on the concrete version of my draft, but I feel very confident in my outline and format for my paper. I believe I could complete my introductory paragraph soon, as I am also feeling strong about my thesis. One area I am lacking in is information and evidence. I’m waiting to hear back from my external subject matter expert, Anthony Fantano, and I believe he will really help me with more information on this. I’m hoping he will provide me with more album recommendations and more places to look for growth. I believe I can also start taking the steps of deep listening into works that demonstrate technological growth, and I am planning to start soon with OK Computer. Analytically, I’m going to look at both the conceptual and sonic side to this album and figure out how it works. I want to go through the lyrics and dissect them and understand the story Radiohead is telling. Additionally, I need to look at how this album is different from their past works including the use of synthesizers, samples, robot vocals, and more atmospheric production. I think it’d also be smart to look at the cultural surroundings before and after this album and examine the cultural implications of this work.
Joseph Clementi
The main question I want to focus on is how music has expressed and is expressing the rise of the digital age. Through this project, I want to look at how musicians have expressed an increase in technology conceptually and sonically. From a conceptual standpoint, I’m planning to research what themes of technological growth, both positive and negative, are reflected through the lyrics and concepts of a musician. Sonically, I want to research how musicians went from writing and performing songs on just a guitar, to a synthesizer, and now to a computer and what the drastic change in technology has done to music composition and theory. Additionally, I need to take on the perspective of the listener in this ever changing relationship. I’m planning to address questions such as what the role of the listener is when dealing with these albums that reflect are changing society? What are they to do with these masterful creations and how should they change their life? In order to answer these questions, I need to do extensive research into the history of both the growth in technology and music. I want to look at other periods of technological growth throughout history and analyze the music during this time. I think it will be important for me to draw conclusions from each time period and then be able to summarize how the music has stayed the same or changed throughout the years. Following this, I’m planning to fully dissect the past thirty years and find notable albums that have expressed contrasting and/or similar themes. After the musician and historical side is complete, I will tackle the concept of the listener by speaking with experts in musicology and the music industry and drawing conclusions from these insightful conversations.
Works Cited CONNELL, MATT. "Talking About Old Records: Generational Musical Identity among Older People." Popular Music, vol. 31, no. 2, 2012, pp. 261–278., www.jstor.org/stable/23325761. Accessed 14 Feb. 2020. This source is from a social experiment where a DJ would play records and a group of people of all different ages would listen and discuss. This report is the DJ's conclusions from the experiment and what he noticed. It examines what the role of music and the advancements in music technology have meant to this group of people. One of the biggest discoveries of this experiment was that the musical identities of each generational group were not consistent. This source will help me because I am able to get an insight into how music has changed throughout the years. In this experiment, music was listened and analyzed from the 1940s to present day with a group of people of all different ages. Through this, I can see how music has changed and how generational bias plays into the advance of music. Earl J. Hamilton, Profit Inflation and the Industrial Revolution, 1751–1800, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 56, Issue 2, February 1942, Pages 256–273 This source is a global analysis of the Industrial Revolution with a specific focus on machinery. Along with the new advancements in technology, the author argues that the main factor behind the Industrial Revolution was profit inflation as workers were paid extremely low wages. The prices of products were increasing rapidly during this time, and this should have resulted in higher wages for workers. However, many of these workers were immigrants, and they were used to living in extremely low standards, so companies didn't end up paying them what they should have. The author explains how workers were essentially exploited by their employers, and this began a start of a growing income inequality throughout the globe (specifically England) This is helpful to me because I have a foundational understanding of anthropology during this time period. Workers were being pushed to the extremes and reaping little to no benefit. This was a time where the 1% of the world dominated the rest, and this has pretty significant sociological effects. Now that I know that so many people of the world were experiencing hardship, I wonder if they expressed these problems of stress they were dealing with through music. Laske, Otto E. "Verification and Sociological Interpretation in Musicology." International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, vol. 8, no. 2, 1977, pp. 211-36. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/836887. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020. This source is an introduction and a thesis trying to explain the relationship between sociology and musicology. It explains the two branches of musicology: historical and systematic. Historical musicology is the study of the history of music while systematic musicology covers fields such as psychomusicology, sociomusicology, and philosophy of music. In his thesis, the author attempts to describe how systematic musicology is more valuable than historical musicology as it provides a field for more than just the study of history and music. This helps me with my research because I am now getting a more specific field that I can look into and study. I now know that my project falls under the category of systematic musicology. Since my project and topic is more broad, it cannot simply pertain to the category of historical musicology. Through this source, I found the term "semiotic" or the study of signs. There is a field called music semiology which is essentially the study of signs or symbols in music. This is going to really help with my project and further research. Lundquist, Barbara Reeder. "Sociomusicology : a Status Report." College Music Symposium, vol. 22, no. 1, 1982, pp. 104-11. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40374145. This report is about systematic musicology, and it offers a much clearer and digestible take on the subject. It separates musicology once again into two facets: synchronic and diachronic. Synchronic musicology is the study of the internal processes of music such as composition, theory, and production, while diachronic is the study of external processes such as what people do with it. The source then talks about ethnomusicology and the way it works. Ethnomusicology is defined as a field that looks at both diachronic and synchronic mechanisms for dissecting music. Essentially, ethnomusicology is more of a cultural examination of musicology. This source was very helpful to me as I was able to further specify my topic. I believe my project contains serious elements of ethnomusicology as I am definitely looking at cultures and how specific ones react differently than others. Additionally, I've identified terms, synchronic and diachronic, to explain and research. These new ideas are kind of taking the place of "sonic" and "conceptual" for me. Nettel, R. "The Influence of the Industrial Revolution on English Music." Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, vol. 72, 1945, pp. 23-40. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/765857. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020. This source dissects the relationship between the English industrial revolution and the music during this time period and after. It contrasts the music of Handle and other classical musicians with the english folk scene that began emerging. This source is especially useful because it brings in actual examples of songs during this time period and how they express feelings of what was happening during this time. I'm going to benefit from this source because of the level of depth and specificity about the music during this time period. Though it is specific, I feel like a lot of these concepts mentioned in this source about mechanization and music in England can be applied globally, specifically to the United States. There is so much to unpack within this source such as music composition and lyrics. Additionally, this source approaches this time period with a synchronic and diachronic approach to musicology analysis. Internal Subject Matter Expert Plans:
External Subject Matter Expert plans:
I’ve begun to focus on the field of sociomusicology which is essentially the relationship between music and society and they way they reflect one another. This concept, which I was not aware of before my research, is integral to my final project. Because of this term, I feel like I now have a better understanding of what my project looks like. I believe the topic of my project is under sociomusicology with an emphasis on technology. Now that I know this, I feel like I have more control over my project. I came across this field of study when I was researching the scholarly conversation part of my project narrative sheet, and I found that many of the experts and stand-out people for my project are socio-musicologists.
I’m planning to speak with at least three internal experts at Galloway for my project. The first person I want to reach out to is Mr. Mitchell as he is an expert on how music has changed sonically over the years. I believe he will be able to provide me with lots of valuable information about the growth of technology in music and specifically how new genres have become possible due to technology. Then, I want to ask Dr. Barksdale some questions about the historical and cultural side of this technological boom. From this interview, I will gain an insight into how music was affected by technology and how it’s changed over the years. Finally, I will talk to Mrs. Benkesser who is an expert in ethnomusicology. From our discussion, I will take away how this relationship has been affected globally and how music from certain parts of the world, such as Germany post world war II, has been impacted more than others. I really only have one external expert, but I feel confident in him to respond. My expert is Anthony Fantano. He runs a Youtube channel called “The Needle Drop”, and it has over 2 million subscribers. On his channel, Anthony focuses on album reviews and opinion pieces on the music industry. I want to reach out to him because I think he’ll be able to provide me with an outside perspective on how technology and social media has recently been impacting music conceptually and sonically. Additionally, I want to ask him for other albums for me to look at when dissecting the relationship between music and technology in present time (post 1995). Besides reaching out to these people, my next steps are to begin my actual research. I’m first planning to look at the industrial revolution and what music was like before and after this. Other than this, I feel really confident and good in my project now that I’ve discovered the concept of sociomusicology. I’m super excited to get started on this! |
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