Podcast Description

In my class, we had to create a podcast about whatever we wanted to. I obviously wanted to do something with music, AGAIN! So I just happened to know that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was right around the corner. I talked about the inductees and the history of the museum and the ceremony. Sadly, I couldn't put it on this blog, but perhaps in the future I will become more technologically inclined and will be able to upload it.

This is an autobiography that we had to create. I was interviewed about my family and friends, as well as what I enjoy doing.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQDFyEi1s0&feature=youtu.be

GRAFFITI ARTICLE

Finally something that doesn't praise great rock artists! It was time to write a shorter article when it came to this one. I'm genuinely interested in all the different forms of graffiti, so it was fun to learn about the art form.

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            Is Graffiti expression of creativity and imagination or just an act of public vandalism? On debate.org, 85% of people think that it is in fact art, making only 15% of the people who voted believe that it is just a felony.

I personally believe that graffiti can be a form of expression. It lets people know how other individuals feel. Many popular themes in graffiti are environment, war, and current events. The most popular things that you see, though, are unique creations that the artist paints.

Many people describe graffiti as Art through Vandalism. It can also be used to send a message to political leaders and celebrities. Many forms of graffiti have a political message, for example, to show corruption in government and society.

            Graffiti originated in the 1960’s in America and was created by political activists and gangs who protested the Vietnam War.

            There are many different forms of graffiti, according to weburbanist.com, such as:

·      “Tagging: writing the artist’s street name in a single color usually used simply as a signature.

·      Throw-up: a more complicated tagging technique that has two or three colors, which shows more of the artist’s personality and imagination.

·      A Piece: a piece is a large, elaborate creation of at least three colors that is much more complex than a tag or throw-up.

·      Blockbuster: a graffiti technique used to either cover up others art or keep others from painting in the same area. It usually is painted with a paint roller and can have as many colors as wanted.

·      Heaven: A heaven piece is the most dangerous kind of graffiti. It is always in a hard to reach place such as the tops of a high buildings or freeway signs.”

Graffiti has gone through years of praise and years of hatred. Many graffiti artists, including the famous Banksy, have climbed to fame for doing what some people say is just a felony. Banksy, whose work is shown below, is most likely the world’s most famous graffiti artists. He used a dark sense of humor and his signature stencil design to make a name for himself.

Documentary vs. Reality Television Essay

                   There are many differences between documentaries and reality television. According to the dictionary, documentaries are defined as a movie or television show that provides factual evidence about a certain event or person. On the other hand, reality TV is defined as a television program in which real people are continuously filmed and are designed to entertain rather than inform.

            Documentaries are usually praised for their raw and honest perception of someone or something. Even though most documentaries do not include action sequences or deep romance elements, the genre has increased in popularity over the past fifteen years. Some of these highly acclaimed documentaries include Bowling for Columbine, Bully, and Super Size Me. These documentaries have won awards for their insight on pop culture and problems in our society.

            Reality television shows on the other hand, are usually highly false and, more often then not, panned by critics. They usually include a celebrity or a dysfunctional family and only choose to include what makes the person look bad most of the time. This clashes with the truthful and unscripted feeling of documentaries. There is an oversaturation of reality television shows on television, with too little honest television programs. They brainwash people into thinking what they are watching are true events, while they are almost entirely created by writers. A few examples are American Idol, Survivor, and Dancing with the Stars. Even though these television shows are formulaic and repetitive, in their heyday these shows killed it in reviews and have developed huge followings.

            With the honest and real feeling of a documentary providing a new view of society and the almost idiotic feeling of a reality show, it is not surprising both have huge fan bases. Overall it is up to the viewer to tell the producers what does well in the box office and what fails. With the growing popularity of documentaries and the decreasing popularity of reality television, this may be the sign of increasing intelligence in our society, or just that there is nothing good on television. 

Dan Eldon and other Photographer's Essay

After watching a documentary on the late photojournalist Dan Eldon, we had to write an essay about wether or not we believed that photojournalists are heroes. This took some thought and time, but I believe that they are.

              Photojournalists are extremely determined and brave people. This was no exception for Dan Eldon. Dan Eldon was a twenty two year old photojournalist who took photographs of famine and riots in Mogadishu, Somalia. He was stoned to death with three other photojournalists on the day he was scheduled to go back to his home in Kenya. Photojournalists are heroes because they deliver us the truth about what is going on throughout the world.

 I think that Amy Eldon’s journalistic journey while filming “Dying to Tell the Story” was interesting because she got to learn about her brother’s life and photography, as well as meet other photojournalists. She gained a better understanding of the art of photography and why people feel compelled to take photographs. She learned just how far her brother and other photojournalists would go to get a specific photo by going out and interviewing people. One photojournalist in particular that she interviewed was Martin Bell. He photographed conflicts in Vietnam, Nigeria, Ireland, and the Middle East. He believed that you could not become detached from photography, especially when you were taking a picture of someone being shot at. He even said “Don’t feel sorry for us and don’t feel bad for us.” He let people all over the world know what it was like to be in war-torn countries.

An example of a photojournalist that believed that you should never become emotionally attached to your work is Peter Magubane.  He believed that when you become attached, you would not be able to do your job. His life goal was to tell the world about apartheid in South Africa. He said that “My camera is my mouth piece, some of us have to use their pen, and some of us have to use our cameras to bring down the system.” Don McCullin is an example of a photojournalist who got so attached to his work that he is now haunted by his memories and photographs. Don McCullin even said to Amy Eldon, “There is no place to hide behind a camera. The pain is almost more real when looking through the camera.” He took pictures of soldiers and people that were affected by war.

I think that Dan Eldon and other photojournalists are, as Jacqueline Arzt Larna said, “a public service.” They provide everyday people with photographs that can make us laugh, cry, smile, or yell in anger.  They are essential in delivering the raw and real news we will not get on the television or in newspapers.

Genesee River Photography Project

After we finished learning about world famous photographers, we had to take a stab at it ourselves. We got to choose what the focus of our photo analysis project, and it took me awhile to figure mine out. Eventually I realized that I could go to the local Genesee River Falls. I have been going to the falls since I was very small and always find something new whenever I go there. It lets me realize the beauty of nature, and the dirtiness of the human nature.


http://prezi.com/wnqs9ndi_vnp/genesee-river/

W.Eugene Smith Photography Analysis

Instead of just writing an article on some random photographer none of us had ever heard of, my teacher had us create a prezi on a photographer none of us had ever heard. For those of you who have access to better presentation programs, or any other presentation programs, prezi is a free website that you can create a web of ideas and be able to present them with "ease." I decided to do my prezi on the great W. Eugene Smith.

 http://prezi.com/pm5pvgp9hhrj/w-eugene-smith/

CENSORSHIP IN ROCK AND ROLL

Here we are again with more useless knowledge about rock and roll. Sooner or later, this might be classified as just another look on rock culture. All joking aside, I just love researching and learning about my favorite genre of music. I originally decided to write about censorship in rock music because I was sick of having to sit through the "radio friendly" edits of classic songs, but as I continued to research, I thought it was kind of funny that people protest for the freedom of speech in newspapers and boycotts, but then are fine with censoring music. I was trying to express the hypocrisy of the situation in this article.
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            Since its birth in 1948, rock and roll has been censored. Radio stations or governments have been either changing lines or completely banning the playing of the song.

            The first rock musician to be censored was Hank Ballard in 1954. The Federal Communications Commission for its overtly sexual lyrics restricted his song “Work With Me, Annie”. The attention that Hank Ballard and his song received instantly boosted the song in sales and was on the top of the R&B charts for seven weeks.

            Another early example in the censorship of rock music was when Elvis Presley was going to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan’s producers decided to only film Presley from the waist up because they believed that his hip gyration was to suggestive for the show. They were worried that concerned and angry parents would boycott the show.

            Censorship in Rock and Roll is not just a thing of the past, though. After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the world trade center and the pentagon, a list of songs went out through all the Clear Channel Communication Radio Stations. Clear Channel Communications is the largest owner of radio stations in the United States of America. The list that was sent out was a compilation of classic rock music that should only be played after “serious consideration.” On the list were over two hundred classic songs including:

·      Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven"

·      Queen’s Another "One Bites the Dust"

·      The Beatles’ "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

·      Billy Joel’s "Only the Good Die Young"

·      Elton John’s "Rocket Man"

·      Don Mclean’s "American Pie"

·      Bruce Springsteen’s "I’m On Fire"

·      Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday"

·      Van Halen’s "Jump"

·      Bob Dylan’s "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door"

Why are some songs that are now considered classics censored is the real question though. It was a combination of profane and vulgar language, sexual tones and innuendos, and drug related lyrics.

Rock and Roll is often blasted for promoting violence, non-abstinence, and having overly obscene lyrics. Many of the most famous classic rock bands of all time were on some kind of drug. Whether it was alcohol, marijuana, heroin, painkillers, or an extensive amount of other illegal substances. Some of these bands are:

·      The Rolling Stones- Cocaine, Alcohol, Heroin.

·      The Grateful Dead- LSD, Marijuana.

·      The Beatles- LSD, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana.

·      Aerosmith- Cocaine, Alcohol, Painkillers.

·      The Doors- Acid, Payote (Traditional Native American Drug), Alcohol.

Some of the most slammed rock bands are the most famous. Some include Guns N’ Roses, Nickelback, and Creed. Some people think that they shouldn’t just be censored or played on the radio, but shouldn’t even be considered music.

One of the most impressively moronic examples of censorship in rock and roll comes from the city of Santa Cruz, California. In 1956, people described rock and roll as “the devil’s music” and “morally corrosive.” The officials banned the airtime and playing any rock music for several days. They lifted their ban because of several protests and social backlashes. They later explained that it wasn’t the music that they didn’t like, it was what people did while listening to the music.

-Mitchell Duncan

LED ZEPPELIN ARTICLE

In my creative writing course, Creative Journalism, we were tasked with the job of writing an article based on what we are interested in. As a hardcore rock fan, especially classic rock, it was easy to come up with a topic for my article. The hard part was choosing which band to write about. I finally settled on one of the most iconic rock bands, and just bands in general, to be the basis of my work.
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             Led Zeppelin is one of the most successful rock bands of all time.  Appearing almost out of nowhere, the folk and blues inspired rockers originated in 1968, in London, England.

            The band was composed of singer-songwriter Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, Bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and the late drummer John Bonham.

            Though the classic rock band used folk and blues influences heavily, they also used plenty of guitars and are credited with eleventh spot of the top one hundred best selling albums with their worldwide phenomenon, Untitled or Led Zeppelin IV. They beat out an infinite amount of bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, The Beatles, Linkin Park, and Metallica.

            Page originally wrote most of the bands music while Plant wrote most of the bands lyrics. To get to this point, they signed on with Atlantic Records and dropped their original name, The New Yardbirds. They kept the deal with Atlantic Records throughout their entire music careers.

            The band gained moderate success with their first three self-titled albums, but was initially panned by critics. Some memorable and now classic tracks from these albums are:

·      “Dazed and Confused”-Led Zeppelin

·      “Whole Lotta Love”-Led Zeppelin II

·      “Immigrant Song”-Led Zeppelin III

It was the recording of Led Zeppelin IV and “Stairway to Heaven” that really launched the band members into their lives of fame and fortune. Their previous efforts had gained a small following, but after Led Zeppelin IV they gained an incredible amount of mainstream recognition. Critic’s previous accusations about them had been transformed into words of praise.

      “Stairway to Heaven” was Led Zeppelin’s most famous and accumulative song from their twelve-year lifetime.  Rolling Stone Magazine published a list of 500 greatest songs of all time in 2003. “Stairway to Heaven” made it to the short list, ranking at number thirty-one. Classic Rock, a British magazine that focused on rock and roll culture, stated that it was the number one song of all time in 1999. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stated that it was one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll history.

      Led Zeppelin was inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, at the tenth annual induction dinner. This was twenty-seven years after the formation of the band. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, who were inducted in 2001, presented the award. While delivering the award, Perry said, “ Everything you ever heard about Led Zeppelin was true… No way was it for the faint-of-heart. Led Zeppelin was the real deal.”

-Mitchell Duncan