Music Movements:

Assignment: Considering the grouping I used for this module, choose 5 different music “movements” from the ones listed above and add one group/musician/performer to that category, especially related to the usage of technology. Why did you choose this artist? Why do you consider their work fits with technology and electronic music in their context? Post their works (videos and links) and your comments on your blogs. 

1)    Techno- Armin Van Buuren is a born perfectionist, striving to stay on top of the scene he’s helped build. As the flag-bearer of the trance movement, he’s one of the most influential figures in EDM- worldwide. I chose Armin because he is a dominant player in the techno genre. He not only headlines every major festival known today, but he capitalizes on staying ahead of the times which is paramount to his success given his current age and tenure in the music scene. His entire music collection from day one has been solely created through technologies that blend electronic sounds created on multiple software platforms breeding global hits. A true mastermind and continues to set the bar high for the techno scene. Check out his #1 hit with over 170 million views:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxvpctgU_s8

2)    Dubstep- Flux Pavilion (Joshua Steele) is an English DJ, EDM producer, singer-songwriter and label owner who has been performing since 2008. Also headlining every major festival in the dubstep arena, Flux Pavilion meshes deep electronic beats with dramatic stretches of sounds created on technologies that are cloud based and downloadable. Unlike his predecessors and the aforementioned Armin, Flux made all his success through digital downloads before he headlined festivals. Many artists became a success through festivals and concerts, whereas Flux led the way for becoming famous without ever leaving the recording studio. All music is also created with technologies and easy downloaded via the click of a button. His most notorious sound track that put him on the map with over 14 million views is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzExWz7KP5M

3)    Disco- Donna Summer was a singer-songwriter and painter who became the “Queen of Disco” in the 1970s. A five-time Grammy award winner, she was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard 200 chart and have 4- #1 singles in the U.S. a single 12-month span. Disco its self is such an eclectic feel of so many genres thrown into one mix using electronic base lines, electronic rhythm guitars, and electronic pianos that bring people of all backgrounds together. A major success for club-goers, disco was a genre and scene that brought so many different groups of people under one roof. One of her most famous songs were “Love To Love You Baby” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPXizlnS7go

4)    New Wave- Depeche Mode are an English electronic band that formed in 1980 in Essex and have been an established name in the electronic music scene- ever since. Most of their successes were in the U.K. branching off to the U.S. between the decades. The entire groups successes were all hits mainly made with electrnic music instruments, specifically the synthesizer. Which generates electronic signals that are converted into sounds through amplifiers and loud speakers. Their careers peaked all through the 80’s into the early 90’s but still inspire major movements in the heavy metal, indie, and alternative rock genres- today. A major hit that put them on the map with over 30 million hits is “Strange Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIrm0dHbCDU

5)    Electronic- Calvin Harris: Scottish record producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Harris rose to international prominence after his 3^rd album release-worldwide. Harris currently holds the record for the most top 10 songs from one studio album on the UK Singles Chart with nine top 10 entries, surpassing Michael Jackson. His entire collection is based from technologies and electronic instruments that now made him the #1 DJ on the world today and my all-time favorite. One of his hit classics are “You Used To Hold Me”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzujNk-yYrE

XEROX:

I pieced this project together to mirror my ‘millennial’ generation. These items are a mix-use space containing items I carry with myself- everyday. Either wearing them or having them in my cross-body bag, these items make who I am. The “graduation cap” signifies that I have graduated- undergrad. Millennials have the highest rate of college grads than any other recorded generation. Millennials are on track to become the most educated generation in Western history. 34 percent of 25 to 29 year-olds Americans held a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, professional degree or doctoral degree last year, a higher share than in any year in data going back to 1968. The “Macbook with my face” signifies how tech savvy I am online with my friends and the world. We are the first generation to grow up constantly connected to the world via technology. We have become addicted to technology like no other generation. The neck has my “Bose headphone pouch” to show how connected I am with my friends and the world. We are the only generation to adult and consistently be connected to everyone- all the time. Pew Research Center has named us “Digital natives in a land of digital immigrants.” My torso/chest/abdominal areas are “iPhones” to represent how mobile- first I am with my communications, interactions, commerce, etc. Millennials spend on average between 4-5 hours on our cellphones between the times of 9AM-9PM. The waist line is “credit cards” to represent the student loan debt I accrued studying abroad. The millennial generation alone has the highest student loan debt than anywhere else in the world. Our generation has accrued so much student loan debt from the government that analysts predict the next bubble to burst is student loans like the housing economy burst in 2008. The legs are “lipstick” chargers to show I am always “on the go” and never have to time to mentally re-charge. Our generation are the true entrepreneurial ones. Millennials are startup children. We were raised eating entrepreneurship for breakfast- watching Steve Jobs head the renowned Apple & Mark Zuckerberg invent a social media trauma with many other young innovators/inventors disrupting traditional industries. We Millennials have constructed new businesses out of the trash of our 2008 recession- changing the career expectations for a whole generation. The “lightbulbs” are my feet to represent how creative I am and how progressive I am in everything I do at work. We (millennials) don’t just accept the status quo. We think on our own despite the system we’re operating around. We constantly question the messages society puts through the mass media.

Flip Book: Dad's Balloons

Flip Book: Dad’s Balloons

                                                                                      

To Start off with, lets clear my name for the creative design- not my best work. Also free hand drawing isn’t my forte. But the reason why I chose balloons was because it is one of my best child hood memories growing up. My dad, with a career in finance, never worked in the entertainment industry BUT had a funny way of expressing to my brothers and I, his emotions. He blew up balloons of all sorts and shaped them into fun creatures and objects. From dinosaurs to flowers to even a dog with a leash, he was the true creative mastermind at heart. And he did this my ENTIRE childhood till I was at least 12-13 years old. And if I kept every balloon to this day, we could fill Plant Hall! My Birthdays, I had a room full of balloons, all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, and with a theme each year. It was like Cirque Du Soleil but with Helium. All my friends used to be so excited for my over-the-top birthday parties because they knew it was going to be quite a SHOW- aesthetically anyways. And he did this for all four of his sons! My best experience was Chinese New Year when I was 11-12 years old. He put on a show for the whole neighborhood. With the help of his friends, he managed to turn our house into a dragon festival using balloons and colors that would make you gleam. Dramatic ensembles just using balloons, and created huge dragon like creatures- floating all over the house. In our living room he hung a dragon so large that probably expanded 8-9 feet and filled it with glitter and money so when he popped it, colors exploded everywhere. Quite an experience growing up when you can wield a child’s creative mind using plastic balloons and helium. As simple as that may sound, so much thought went into each holiday, birthday, basically at any given moment, I could walk into my house, and overnight, be in an alternate world. But my parents got into an ugly divorce going into college and haven’t had contact with him for a few years now- to sum up this story and bring you to present day. So I figured I’d use one of the books he gave me to read my freshman year and re-create my childhood. So though this book was just stick-figure drawings, the drawings themselves, the book, and how the balloons floated away-  were a huge part of my life and symbolize years of my life growing up.