This is part of a research project I’m doing for my Psychology of Music class at NYU, thus the formal tone. The backbeat is a ubiquitous, almost defining feature of American popular and vernacular music. Clapping or snapping on the backbeats is generally considered by musicians to be more correct than doing so on the [...]
Also filed in Dance, Music, Race and Identity, Science
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Tagged africa, america, backbeat, dance, drumming, funk, hip-hop, james brown, jazz, neuroscience, nyu, race, rhythm, rock, swing, syncopation
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Quora user Andrew Stein asks: Musicians: How do you deal with playing songs that have very monotonous parts? I’m going to use James Brown’s Sex Machine as an example. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song. However, the rhythm guitar seems to be nothing but 2 chords played over and over and over with [...]
Also filed in Music, Race and Identity
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Tagged africa, classical, funk, groove, james brown, looping, meditation, Music, prince, quora, repetition
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For my final project in Advanced Audio Production at NYU, I created a 5.1 surround remix of the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun.” You can download it here. If you don’t have surround playback, you can listen to the stereo version: I was motivated to create a surround remix of a Beatles song by hearing [...]
Also filed in Composition, Copyright and Authorship, Music, Recording, Software
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Tagged ableton, beatles, danger mouse, dreaming, electronica, film theory, mixing, Music, nyu, paul geluso, pro tools, Recording, remixes, rock, surround sound, synths
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Sunday, November 11, 2012
Susan McClary “Rap, Minimalism and Structures of Time in Late Twentieth-Century Culture.” in Audio Culture, Daniel Warner, ed, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004, pp 289 – 298. This is essay is the best piece of music writing I’ve read in quite a while. She articulates my personal ideology of music perfectly. Also, she quotes Prince! [...]
Also filed in Composition, Emotion, Improvisation, Music, Music Theory, Race and Identity, Recording
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Tagged america, classical, Composition, hip-hop, history, Improvisation, prince, race, Recording, repetition, schoenberg, susan mcclary, technomusicology, theodor adorno
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
For Paul Geluso’s Advanced Audio Production midterm, we were assigned to choose two tracks from his recommended listening list, and compare and contrast them sonically. I chose “Regiment” by David Byrne and Brian Eno, and “Little Fluffy Clouds” by The Orb. Recorded ten years apart using very different technology, both tracks nevertheless share a similar [...]
Also filed in Copyright and Authorship, Key Musicians, Music, Recording, Sampling
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Tagged brian eno, dance, david byrne, digging the crates, eighties, electronica, funk, mixing, Music, nineties, nyu, paul geluso, production, Recording, Sampling, synths, the orb
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Saturday, October 6, 2012
I love music grad school and am finding it extremely valuable, except for one part: the music theory requirement. In order to get my degree, I have to attain mastery of Western tonal harmony of the common practice era. I am not happy about it. This requirement requires a lot mastery of a lot of [...]
Also filed in Autobio, Music, Music Teaching
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Tagged america, classical, harmony, history, learning, music teaching, Music Theory, Politics, rhythm
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Recently, I was on Connecticut Public Radio’s Colin McEnroe show, talking about the culture and history of the mashup. I gave my usual enthusiastic endorsement of the practice. My friend Jesse Selengut, an ace jazz trumpet player and all-around music master, had some responses.
Also filed in Composition, Copyright and Authorship, Music, Recording, Sampling
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Tagged appropriation, capitalism, collage, Composition, copyright, dj earworm, hip-hop, jesse selengut, mashups, memes, Music, ownership, production, Recording, rolling stones, Sampling, susan blackmore
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Frank Ocean is the R&B singer of the moment. Does he merit all they hype? There’s no doubt but that the man can sing. I first heard him in Jay-Z and Kanye West’s tremendous “No Church In The Wild,” which owes a lot of its intensity to Ocean’s vocals. He’s been releasing some good mixtapes [...]
Also filed in Composition, Copyright and Authorship, Music, Sampling
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Tagged audio two, digging the crates, Evolution, frank ocean, genealogy, honeydrippers, jay-z, kanye, mary j blige, memes, rnb, Sampling, top billin
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On Tuesday, July 17, I appeared on the Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio to talk about my pet topic, remixes and mashups. The great DJ Earworm was on the show too, which I was totally geeked out about. You can stream or download the show here. Or listen to my remix of it: [...]
Also filed in Autobio, Copyright and Authorship, Sampling
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Tagged copyright, dj earworm, electronica, Evolution, girl talk, hip-hop, mashups, memes, Music, npr, pop, remixes, self promotion
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I recently saw Under African Skies, the documentary about Paul Simon’s Graceland, and it was spellbinding. The music is so beautiful, the politics are so agonizing. I watched it with my mom and sister, which is appropriate since Graceland was in heavy rotation through my childhood. Mom isn’t a big pop scholar and knew next [...]
Also filed in Autobio, Composition, Copyright and Authorship, Improvisation, Key Musicians, Music, Race and Identity, Recording
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Tagged accordion, africa, apartheid, Bakithi Kumalo, bass, chevy chase, copyright, graceland, guitar, judaica, ladysmith black mambazo, Music, ownership, paul simon, Politics, race, ray phiri, south africa
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