Nathan Bowen's Blog

One band that has managed to rise along with the growth of Youtube is OK Go.  But their label, EMI, felt like it wasn’t a good way to earn a return on their investment to have the video available to be viewed (and embedded) for free.  Damian Kulash of OK Go was interviewed a few weeks ago on NPR talking about ditching their label so they could continue to make viral videos (and allow someone like me to embed their video on a site like this).

OK Go’s latest video (must see):

The thing that interests me about this is to see how old business models are reinvented through changing social trends and practices.  It’s not so much that OK Go has parted with their label, but that State Farm Insurance stepped in and sponsored this video.  Kulash mentioned in the NPR interview that this is more like an artist/patronage relationship similar to 17th century visual arts.  In Kulash’s words, “We got to do what we wanted to do, and we put a thank you on the end, and that’s it.”

Thanks to their reputation of creating viral videos, OK Go has enough views and new fans (ranging from an extremely wide audience – I learned about OK Go because my Dad forwarded a link to the treadmill video) to sustain themselves through downloads and online chirp.  At least that’s their current business model.  But that’s not the entire picture, since they seem to be finding a sweet spot where sponsors come in and want to associate themselves with what’s trendy online.

It makes me wonder about Beethoven’s patronage, for example.  I used to think that patrons would donate money and support artists out of generosity, genuine interest in promoting the arts, and spreading the wealth.  It never occurred to me that patrons would also be giving as a means of self-promotion and branding identity.  I suppose it depends on the patron.

Today, I marvel at the way in which OK Go has managed to maneuver its way to what seems like a perfect balance of monetary success coupled with tremendous creative freedom (and resources).  It’s not so much that the band got to this artistic nirvana, but how it evolved and when.  Not only was it lucky timing to come up with a viral video just as YouTube was ripe for a video of its kind, but they’ve jumped off a sinking ship (i.e. EMI, or the entire music industry for that matter) unscathed.  My music technology students think OK Go’s music is lame, so they might say the real interesting factor is that the band did all this with mediocre music.  OK Go is a group of guys who make cool videos, and happen to play in a band and make music too.

Regardless of what one thinks of their music or artistry, they’re making it work in a revolutionary time in the arts.  As a professor who wishes for more commissions and patronage, I gots to give them props.

Here’s a video of a presentation by Clay Shirky on information overload vs. filter failure.  Worth watching.  Came across this on the popular blog Boing Boing. I find this an interesting contrast to Barry Schwartz’s ideas in his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less.

I wanted to post this after having seen Jeff Beck and Imelda May pay tribute to the couple at the Grammys last Sunday. As the Grammys was a live event, I found the overall production/performance of most artists (including Taylor Swift – sorry) at the Grammys to be riveting. Not because the performances were amazing, but because it’s so rare to hear imperfections in the music and media I take in on a regular basis (yes, I don’t get out to live shows often these days). Missed cues, flat high notes, and awkward timing is what makes awards shows so fun to watch – you never know what you’re going to get.

Maybe that’s why I found this particular video of Les Paul and Mary Ford to be so interesting. I understand that in working with a tape recorder, Les Paul and Mary Ford would probably be the first to say that they’ve done countless takes to get things right. That said, if you watch them do a demo of their recording process, there is a clear sense of polish and discipline to their approach that makes it look easy. To me, it shows not that these guys worked harder than people do now, but that they had to out of necessity.

Nothing against current artists (especially Jeff Beck and Imelda May, who sounded great), but generally speaking, I think the rise of recording engineering virtuosity and efficiency has dovetailed with a decline in performance precision. As studios can quickly edit multiple takes together to create a flawless track, it puts less pressure on artists to sound awesome live. Most still do sound awesome live, but I think the change of recording technology itself has driven the changes in performance proficiency.

Finally, not to make an example of Taylor Swift’s poor performance at the Grammy’s, but I think she is a great example of the contemporary successful musician: doing a lot of things well, but maybe not doing one thing amazingly well. She’s been a pretty busy bee, and is more of an impresario than a songwriter. Writing her own songs, yes, but then recording them in the studio, working on the accompanying music videos, appearing on Saturday Night Live, appearing in commercials, not to mention the touring and all the trimmings that go along with establishing a brand. Again, not that Les Paul & Mary Ford weren’t establishing themselves with a multi-pronged approach (I mean, I guess Les Paul did that electric guitar-making thing along with his loop-recording innovations…), but you get the idea. We may sometimes have unrealistic expectations of our stars.

How Digital Audio Works (Please read this by Wednesday 1/13.  Well worth reading in its entirety.)

Dan Hosken, Computer Hardware

Dan Hosken, Computer Software

Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part I Early Instruments

Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part II Tales of the Tape

Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part III Computer and Synthesizers

Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part IV Seeds of the Future

http://www.tenthegg.co.uk/tips/t018/

Hi Class.  Grab this file for practice editing audio (specifically speech).  You’ll need to insert a username and password to get it off my ftp, so to go onto Blackboard for that information.  There you’ll also find details about the assignment, including instructions and suggestions for proceeding.

Here’s the link:

ftp://shock.dreamhost.com/Obama_School.mp3

Click here to get the PSS sheet.

Click here to download your dictation/theory assignment for Monday. Here’s the deal: this melody is in E minor.  Your assignment is to write the melody (8 measures, in duple meter) and the bass line to your best ability, then write what the Roman numerals are implied (or what you hear).  This will be handed in at the beginning of Theory 2 at 1pm this Monday.

Here’s the Survey Monkey link.

Please do it!

Here’s where you can get the Max/MSP license:

http://cycling74.com/purchase/discounts

Here’s where you can get the CDs.

Hi class:

Go to http://songza.fm/nb23 to access my playlist.

Oh, and you can download the syllabus here.

Again, as the Hunter College Blackboard site is still wonky (well, it works right now), I’m posting the Extra Credit Assignment here for students’ convenience.

Choose one of the following topics and write a 3- to 5-page essay (double-spaced, 12 font size, 1″ margins) according to the guidelines specified below. Your essay will be worth up to 15 extra credit points and will be added to the point total of either your test scores or your homework scores (whichever has the lower percentage). This essay will be due at the beginning of the last class, Wednesday May 13th (no exceptions).

Extra Credit Topic A

Explain the difference between classical and flamenco guitar styles.

Your writing should account for the origins of these styles, how these styles have been transmitted over time, and differences between classical technique and flamenco technique. What are the objectives that a player of these styles would strive to be able to do (e.g. clear tone, minimum muscle effort, speed, etc.)?

Terms to be incorporated into your essay:

palos
cante
baile
golpe
picado
rasgueado
alzapua
tremolo
harmonics

Andrés Segovia (classical) and Paco de Lucia (modern flamenco) are two fantastic artists representative of two contrasting styles of guitar performance. Watch some performances of the two below to get started:

Your essay must include at least three scholarly resources. While I encourage you to use the internet for starting (there is a great article on flamenco to get a starting orientation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco), the only online resource you may quote from for this essay is Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com. This is an online musical encyclopedia, which you may access from Hunter computers or with your Hunter username and password. Also, JSTOR is a fantastic online journal database for scholarly articles, and it allows you to download articles as .pdf files. Go here to access Grove Music Online and JSTOR: http://library.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/index.php.

Extra Credit Topic B

Bert Williams (1875-1922) is one of the most popular black entertainers and comedians of all-time, and was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. He managed to gain respect as a comedian from all audiences, despite living in a time where stereotyping and racial inequality was an accepted part of life. Your task will be to explain the following:

a) why Williams performed in blackface;
b) how he ascended to star status (specifically, what were the influential shows that brought him before larger audiences);
c) how he became a best-selling recording artist;
d) what roles did George Walker, Florence Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Gotham-Attucks publishing company play in furthering Williams’ career?
e) for a time Williams was viewed by many leaders of the black community as a hindrance rather than a progressive figure, but that has changed with recent scholarship. Why was he viewed negatively? Why is he viewed as a vitally important pioneer now?

A recent compilation of his music is available as a CD entitled “Bert Williams 1915-1921″ (2005 Document Records).

Your essay must be at least three pages (double-spaced, 12 font size) and must include at least three scholarly resources. While I encourage you to use the internet for starting, the only online resource you may quote from is Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com. This is an online musical encyclopedia, which you may access from Hunter computers or with your Hunter username and password. Also, JSTOR is a fantastic online journal database for scholarly articles, and it allows you to download articles as .pdf files. Go here to access Grove Music Online and JSTOR: http://library.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/index.php. New York has the fortune of being home to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, up in Harlem. For a thorough study I would definitely make a trip there to research the topic.

Here’s an example paper that got 15 points last semester.