R+P Post 2: Myself as a music consumer

Although I would not consider myself an incredibly musical person, I have been able to pin down how my consumption of music has evolved from an early age to where I am now, and how it relates to uses and gratifications theory.

5-9 Years Old

As a child, I did not own any albums. My mum owned some albums that I used to listen to; Dido, Enya (which I used to fall asleep to) and the song Rain Rain Beautiful Rain by Ladysmith Black Mambazo are the highlights of what my mum introduced me to. My family's main source of current music was through the radio channel Capital, which would feature the most recent hits. I remember being especially drawn towards the solo artist James Blunt; my dad bought me Back to Bedlam, Blunt's alternative/soft rock debut album and the first album I ever owned - I was obsessed over it. 

James Blunt - You're Beautiful

This song was my favourite on the album - I remember skipping the first song of the album so that I could get to this one first. I think what I liked so much about this song is how different it was from the other songs that played on Capital; the channel was populated by disco and R&B, and the most prominent male artists (e.g. Jay Z, Eminem) were fronting a tough masculine image. James Blunt's slow guitar and feminine vibrato in You're Beautiful resonated with me as it showcased a vulnerability and sensitivity that was lacking in the popular media image of masculinity. 

Jay Z The Blueprint (2006); James Blunt Back to Bedlam (2004)

The image of Jame's Blunt conveyed lots of compassionate values to me as child, and helped me form my own personal identity. This is important in the music industry as for an artist to resonate with an audience, they must have a behaviour or set of values which people can support and rally around; therefore, when we create the artist that we will be promoting in our coursework, we will create an identity that will allow audience's to resonate with their values.

10-14 Years Old 

As I grew older, my source of music grew wider as I started to listen to songs socially, introducing me  to some of my favourite party anthems, such as S Club 7's Reach for the Stars. My family also started to collect the Now That's What I Call Music compilation albums, which hosted a wide variety of artists and genres. I remember being particularly gravitated to the louder, angrier music when I was about 10, and one of my favourite singers to deliver this tone was P!nk. 

P!nk - So What

So What is from P!nk's fifth album Funhouse. I liked this song in particular when I was coming into my teens as it was my rebellious anthem - I sung in choirs at school so it was great to have a song that could only be sung effectively if shouted! Also as a lot of changes where happening in my life at that moment, as is common with children of that age, any anger or angst could be filtered out through hearing or belting out this song, which was just the kind of outlet 8 year old Jack needed.

The entertainment I sought through P!nk's songs is representative of music's power to create diversion and escapism from reality, allowing an audience to express emotions that are hard to express in day to day life and get away from problems and major changes in life. Our song choice must therefore have an entertaining quality to it that pushes an emotional reaction from the audience (e.g. anger, joy, sadness).

15+ Years Old 

My source of music has changed quite a bit. As my list of commitments have grown I don't actively seek new music on my own, and tend to just take music recommendations from friends as and when they come. This has led me to become more up to date with some classic artists as well as newer ones, singers like David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who I hadn't had the opportunity to listen to before. Mostly, I find music and artists I like through other media I enjoy, such as films, theatre and video games, hence why most of my albums are musical and film soundtracks - my favourites being Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the soundtrack to Baby Driver, both very much inspired by rock, my favourite genre.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (1999), Baby Driver (2017)

At this moment in time, I tend to seek music that has dimensions to it and can stir an emotional reaction. Although I do enjoy some of the pop music of today, independent artists tend to achieve this for me as they tend to include experimental and creative qualities in their composition which I really appreciate hearing.

Tom Rosenthal - Don't You Know How Busy And Important I Am?

Tom Rosenthal is an independent singer who releases all of his songs free to watch on YouTube, as well as selling albums without a studio. I first discovered him through a YouTube short film and have been following his work ever since. Similar to James Blunt, his voice and style are contradictory to mainstream music, and I particularly enjoy his quirky lyrics. Don't You Know How Busy And Important I Am? is very catchy and has a darkly humorous edge to it which I really enjoy and love to sing along to. Rosenthal, with over 130,000 subscribers, also demonstrates that you can create a name for yourself and your art without need for studio intervention, which I find very admirable.

This song also demonstrates diversion, through its entertaining satire on the world of business. Comedy and satire are common in music as they lend an extra layer of entertainment to the text, thus widening its appeal. The music video also reflects this by showing the business people dancing goofily. Our song choice and music video could do well to reflect this by having comedic or satirical elements that will satisfy music consumer's need to be entertained.

R+P Post 1: My A2 Group

This year, I will be in a group with Emilio Francischelli (Candidate Number 9225) and Noa Craig (Candidate Number 9205), who I am very happy to be working with.

From left to right: Noa, Me and Emilio

I think we will make a very constructive team. All of us are very creatively inclined; from our very first meeting we have had no problem in churning out ideas for song selections and concepts for our music video. Having worked with Emilio before in our Year 12 film project, I know he is a very meticulous worker and is particularly skilled at lending the best results in post-production and using other computer tools. Noa is also very skilled in terms of using technology and also contributes a lot of musical knowledge. As a drama student, I think I can contribute towards the performance side of things. I think our mix of skills will help each other take up a variety of roles in the group, and help push each other's learning outside of our comfort zones.

We have agreed to meet outside timetabled lessons at least three times a week and have made a schedule to meet in the media department during study periods when all of us are free. We will use these meetings to communicate and note down feedback and ideas, and continue with any immediate project work. We have also created a Facebook Messenger group so we can stay in communication outside school hours if any thing needs further discussion, as well as a WhatsApp group that includes our media teacher that we can use to run any problems or ideas past her.

I am very excited to begin this project. Noa and Emilio are both good friends of mine and I feel comfortable and happy to be working closely with them for the next few months.