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Markakis Blog 9

I chose Joanne’s Music and Friendship playlist. Friendship is when people establish a connection/bond together where they can depend on one another, feel comfortable around each other, etc. Music, specifically lyrics, are a way of expressing something and that stands true for friendship as well. Another thing is if two people listen to the same type of music or artist, it creates a stronger bond between them. The songs that were chosen were good examples of the topic. The lyrics and context are sentimental which would be expected from songs about friendship.

One song I would use is “Friends” by V and Jimin of BTS. The song is about their own friendship. They reference their own inside jokes and even call each other “soulmates.” A musically interesting moment is the 2nd verse because it sounds so different from the rest of the song. It becomes more upbeat and V whispers and does a sound effect with his mouth. Another song is “Lunchbox Friends” by Melanie Martinez. The song touches on another side of friendship, superficial relationships. The lyrics refer to being friends for a while, then ignore and treat you badly after and how Melanie doesn’t want these kinds of friendships. A musically interesting part is the last part of the song where Melanie has an effect over her voice that makes it deeper while she repeats the chorus.

Markakis Blog 7

I will be discussing the Greek Orthodox religion which I am personally a part of. The music played in the Greek Orthodox Church is Byzantine chant. It used Greek text and took inspiration from “the artistic and technical productions of the classical age, on Jewish music, and inspired by the monophonic vocal music that evolved in the early Christian cities…” (https://www.wsgoc.org/our-faith/music). This music is sung during Church service and prayer.

Agni Parthene (O Virgin Pure) is a chant that is sung when praising the Mother of God and during evening service. This is an example of the Byzantine chant used. It is monophonic and the vocalists are loud to make sure it echoes around the Church. The lyrics are often repeated. The song is slow paced.

Markakis Blog 6

I attended a BTS concert in May 2019. BTS is a K-POP group that performed music in a few different genres such as hip hop, pop, R&B, etc. The concert was held at Met Life Stadium. The performers changed outfits throughout the concert to fit the music set. They danced and interacted with the crowd energetically. Fans had “Army Bombs” which are light sticks created specifically for BTS. At one point of the concert close to the end, BTS told the fans to make a wave which they directed. They also took a selfie on stage with all the fans in the background. Throughout the concert, fans cheered loudly and sang along to the lyrics. They even yelled a fan chant at certain points in some songs. What surprised me the most was people loudly singing along to the music videos before the concert itself started. However, I expected fans to do the fan chants. This concert reminded me of the Khalid concert we looked at in class because of the way the fans interacted with the performer and the dancers.

Markakis Blog 5

In “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater,” Amar Toor writes about the public’s reaction to the debut of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet. The audience laughed and mocked the ballet from the beginning. When the dancers arrived on stage with unusual costumes and abnormal choreography, the crowd reacted so negatively and loud that the choreographer had to shout the commands from backstage so that the ballerinas could continue. There were two types of people in the audience: traditionalists and modernists. Daniel Waymouth explains that traditionalists were “those wanted things to be tame and ‘pretty’,” while modernists were “eager for something new.” A small fight broke out which concluded with angry audience members throwing vegetables and other objects towards the stage. It has been speculated that this event was a publicity stunt or an operation planned by the traditionalists. This performance led to Stravinky’s international stardom and status as the world’s leading contemporary composer.

In “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?” the author argues that the riot didn’t even happen. The only witness accounts of the premiere are from the people that were seated on the balcony. Their environment most likely exaggerated the sounds causing it to be overwhelming. It is unknown whether the audience in other seats experienced the same issue (11). The costumes and the choreography was supposed to represent the primitive aspect of their setting. The stomping were inspired from ethnographic accounts of dances in Serbia. The dance moves were intended as humor when they were danced outside of the actual stage where aristocrats would laugh at them. This was racist and considered disrespectful which caused a lot of outrage from people. However, it’s speculated that only those close them heard and saw these insults. The accounts mention nothing of physical violence or any riots happening. There was another ballet performed right after with the same choreographer (18). Instead of being angry at the premiere, it seems that the audience was more confused. The author uses Tamara Levitz’s essay, “Racism at the Rite” as evidence.

When I first heard “Sacrificial Dance” from “The Rite of Spring,” I felt unnerved. The music would suddenly get loud, causing me to slightly flinch. The dance was also unsettling as there were quick and sharp movements while the arms and the rest of the body would be at weird angles occasionally. If I was in the audience in 1913, I would’ve felt the same way. I would probably be pretty scared because the music would be even louder at the performance. However, I would still silently watch it until the end.

Markakis Blog 4

Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse. They debuted with their studio album “St. Elsewhere” in 2006 that contained the single that I’m using, “Crazy.” Melanie Martinez performed this song on the Voice in 2012. She later released her debut EP “Dollhouse” in 2014. She is most well known for releasing music in the alternative pop genre.

The song “Crazy” is about being isolated from society and being aware of your own emotions. It follows the story of him losing his mind and reminiscing about that time. He encourages others to become aware and to take control of their lives instead of being influenced by others.

The tempo of the songs are different. The original is faster than Melanie’s cover. The instrumentation is also different. For example, I believe there is a violin in the original chorus while the cover features a guitar (0:35 in the original and 0:55 in the cover). The dynamics are pretty similar as in their voice gets louder during the chorus. Their voices have different timbre. CeeLo Green’s voice is raspy throughout the song while Melanie Martinez’s voice is smoother. They are both homophonies. Their voice is the melodic line that has chords accompanying them. They have the same lyrics.

CeeLo Green’s version is very funky and it makes you want to dance and sing along because it has a fast tempo and the instruments that are being used. His voice during the chorus brings out a frantic emotion when he is asking “Does that make me crazy?”. Melanie Martinez’s version, on the other hand, makes the story stand out as it is paced more slowly. The build up is greater because it starts off with little instrumentation and picks up around the second verse. It also sounds like there is a music box playing in her version which makes it feel a bit unsettling.

Markakis Blog 3

Sampling is a technique that was born under hip hop that uses a clip from a preexisting song. The clip is isolated and then looped underneath a rapper. People are often debating the use of samples and the copyright laws behind it. It can be considered plagiarism if proper credits and previous negotiations are not settled. I have heard some songs where I can recognize a sample because I hear it in many songs. A popular song that used samples is M.C. Hammer – U Can’t Touch This. The sample is taken from Rick James – Super Freak. The sample played the whole time in the song.

Markakis Blog 2

One of my favorite songs is Flawless by The Neighbourhood. The Neighbourhood is an American band that was formed in 2011. The song Flawless was released in the album, I Love You. (2013). They are under Columbia Records and the genre they are mostly under is rock (alternative, indie, pop, etc). The band consists of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott, and drummer Brandon Alexander Fried. This is one of my favorite songs because of the story of the song. It is about a man who falls in love and it seems perfect at first, but later he finds himself trying to keep their relationship alive after it starts becoming flawed.

The tempo is 120 BPM and the measure is played in 4 beats. The song is mostly in C key and in Major. The harmony is dissonant because it is reflecting the instability of the love between the two characters displayed in the song. It is a homophony as most modern music is. There is a melodic line (Jesse’s vocals) accompanied by chords. The form of the song is verse 1, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, and the outro. A musically interesting part is the chorus. When I first listened to it, I didn’t expect for the second part (“The only flaw, you are flawless”) to pick up in the song.

Markakis Blog 1

Before reading about music during the Baroque period, I was more familiar with some of the art that was made. I knew of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as, Girl Interrupted at Her Music which were both created by Johannes Vermeer. I was aware that the colors were darker and that it used dramatic lighting; I feel that was reflected in the music as well.

The Baroque period is interesting to me because I like how musicians could express emotion differently from previous times. It was also interesting to find out that Opera was introduced during this time period. Since Opera is a way to show off a person’s vocal skills and entertain, it plays into the characteristics of this time period being dramatic, flamboyant, and eccentric. The textbook itself describes music from this period as “features that are characteristic of romantic expression- intense emotion, flamboyance, and dynamic movement”.

I listened to Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Dies Irae and I could see why he did very well in the court of Louis XIV of France. The music was how I expected it to sound. It feels heavy and intense, however, some parts feel light and freeing. It reflected the contrast of this time period, the intensity of their emotions, yet the freedom to express it. Afterwards, I searched up the meaning of Dies Irae and found that it means “Day of Wrath” in Latin. It is no wonder that the music makes you feel such contrasting emotion while listening to it.

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