Final Blog!

My first thoughts when I think about this class is coming to an end is yay and I can’t believe I actually made it! Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed this class and I have learned so much, but I am so happy for it over. No more stressing about getting all of my assignments in on time and no more staying up until almost 3 in the morning because between my son, my job, taking care of the house and all the other responsibilities I have, night time was the only time I had enough alone time during the day to actually sit down and concentrate on all of my school work. No matter how frustrated I got or how often I procrastinated, I never once even considered dropping this class which is something I am very proud of! I started college right after high school but I honestly just didn’t care about it, back then I would have dropped this class in a heartbeat as soon as I felt overwhelmed. I am so happy that I took some time off and have grown up since then and am really set on finishing school.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this class was that we didn’t have a normal text book. I loved that the curriculum was based on Music and Culture and They Say I Say. I learned a lot about English and writing from both books, but I have to say how much I learned from music and culture about music. When it comes to music I kind of stick to the same thing and don’t really venture that far out of what I am comfortable with. Music and Culture made me step outside my comfort zone and discover music that I actually really like. It has even changed my mind about certain genres and even artists that I thought I didn’t like…except hip-hop and “Gangsta Rap” I still don’t like that and never will ha-ha. It was a nice and unexpected surprise to not have to do all of the boring English assignments that you would expect from an English class.

I think that my least favorite thing about this class has to be the group assignments. It was just so difficult for everyone to get to do their fair share of work because everyone has such different schedules and a lot of people (myself included) are procrastinators. The two combined just make for a miserable time trying to accomplish a group project. The people who aren’t procrastinators or who don’t have as busy schedules or the same kind of responsibilities as others feel like they’re doing all the work and it is unfair which it kind of is. I enjoyed doing the actually projects themselves it was just the process of everything that made it so unattractive. Group projects for an online class are just a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.

As stressful as it all was I’m so glad I took this class and it really seemed like these past 16 weeks flew by.  Good job for everyone who stuck with it and good luck with everything else!!:)  

How My Writing Has Changed

When I first started this class I was not very confident about my writing abilities at all. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing and like whatever I did do was all wrong. I was actually terrified of writing, especially essays. When we all started this class and I was learning about the assignments and found out that we had to write a weekly blog for the entire class and possibly even world to see I totally freaked out. I’m really self conscience about other people reading what I have written. I guess I’ve just never been confident about it.  Then I read that our blogs had to be a minimum of 500 words and I thought that was so long. I remember in week 1 writing my first blog, it seriously took me like an hour and a half. Now fifteen weeks later I can write a blog in about 20 to 30 minutes depending on the topic. If it is something I really and enjoy and feel passionate about I can write it in even a shorter time. I know some of you probably think that is still a long time to write only 500 words but that is major progress for me, believe me! I think I am also a lot more confident about my writing because of the blogs. I am not so self conscience about other people reading my work and even thoughts for that matter, and I am also a lot more open to critique. I actually went in looking for help on something  I wrote which is something I would have never done before, no matter if it could have helped my grade or not.
Another thing that I think has opened me up to letting other people read my work is the PDRs. I was also terrified of this LOL. The thought of other people reading my stuff to try to tell me what I did wrong about it made me REALLY nervous, even if it is people I will probably never meet in person. I was just as nervous as doing a PDR for someone else as I was someone doing one for me. At first I didn’t feel like I knew enough myself to try to tell someone else what they did wrong and what they should fix. But after doing and receiving a couple of times I realized that it was a good thing and that everybody else wasn’t out to get me or make me feel bad. It really helps to have other people look at your paper because they usually catch something you didn’t and have very useful and helpful advice.
As for writing essays…well it still isn’t my most favorite thing to do and probably never will be. I am a lot more confident about it. I don’t think I’ve ever put as much effort and time into any essays I have wrote in the past as I have done for this class. I have learned so much and am really thankful I took this class as one of my firsts. I think it has given me tools that will help me throughout the rest of my education.

Paper or Plastic?

First of all I think any band or musician who sing, perform, play, dance or whatever it is that they do is creative in some way. There may be different levels of creativity in different artists, but in order to be successful in some way, the artist or band has to have some creative aspect about them. If they didn’t no one would be able to determine whether they thought they were plastic or original because they would have never got the kind of exposure needed to become known in the first place.

That being said, I think there are some artists that are more creative than others. Some artists create and write their own music, have their own style, and refuse to be something that they are not. Then there are the artists who tries to be what they think society wants them to be, wear clothes someone else has picked out for them, and does whatever their “people” think is best. They sing songs that other people have written, but only if the label give it the ok. I’m not saying that I have anything against artist who doesn’t write their own music, I’m just saying that it does put them in a position for people to think they are plastic.

When I think of an artist who in my opinion is plastic, contrived, and formulaic the first person that comes to my mind is Britney Spears when she first started out. She was a sweet innocent little girl with a cookie cutter image, but it worked for her, her young fans and the parents of her young fans. Everything about her was plastic, contrived, and formulaic right down to the way she talked and laughed. Her songs from her first album “Baby One More Time” talk about relationships, and falling in love for the first time. Her outfits were always conservative and she had a girl next door type of persona. If you watch a video of Britney being interviewed during that time they way she spoke just sounds so fake, like she is trying way too hard to be cute and innocent.  When she started growing up a little bit and wanted to try new things people started freaking out. No one can forget her performance at the 2000 MTV music video awards when she started out in a pant suit and in the middle of her performance she ripped it off and had a beige rhinestone two piece underneath it. That was one of the first times that she stepped outside her bubblegum, cookie cutter image, and into a new sexier version.

When I think of an artist who is innovative, creative, and original I think of Jack Johnson. I’m not too sure if a lot of people know who jack Johnson is, but if you don’t you should go look him up and listen to some of his songs. He is known in the acoustic and soft rock genres. He writes all of his own music and plays the guitar and Ukulele. All if his songs are about his life and his opinions on life. He never has any technical machines in his music, it is all just has a pure natural sound and feel to it. When he plays at concerts it isn’t a huge production with fancy lights and sparklers in the back ground. It is always just him with his guitar, wearing everyday clothes, singing his music. Jack Johnson’s music is like a breath of fresh air, it is great when you just want to relax and escape from the reality of everyday life or when you need a break from the plasticsJ.

Research paper

For my research paper I chose the topic of the history of the PMRC. I chose this topic because when I was going through the choices it was the only one that struck my attention and interest.  I’m going to focus on the lawsuits filed by the PMRC against artists and their songs and their reasons for filing. My research so far has been ok. I haven’t been able to go to the library for actual books yet so I’m limited to what I can find on the internet. I know you can find books and articles online but I would really like to have actual paper to read instead of just getting it all online. I’ve tried looking searching on EBSCOHost but quite frankly I don’t really understand how it works although we did an entire assignment on it. Maybe I should go back and do that assignment again.

I haven’t actually started writing my paper yet since I don’t have all the research that I feel I need. This makes me super nervous. Is anyone else still gathering research and hasn’t actually started writing it out?? I am terrified of writing papers, I feel like I wasn’t taught how to do it right while I was in high school. Well it could be that I didn’t pay enough attention or even go to high school that much, but either way I feel like I’m not as knowledgeable as I should be. I think we only have one draft of this paper too, which is slightly terrifying to me because getting the feedback from peers and the teacher really helped me.

I live in Tehachapi and I am only taking online classes this semester so I am never on campus which is a problem because I really want to gather some research from the library on campus. I am making a trip down there next week so I can go to the library on campus and finish up my research. I feel once I have everything I need I will feel a lot more confident about everything but as of right now it is all up in the air. I think one of the things I have the most trouble with is taking all my research and figuring out a nice, organized way to put it all in writing and make it come together. I seem to have a problem with organizing my papers. Without any paper being well organized it is pretty much doomed. No one wants to try to read a paper that is confusing and unorganized. I really need to focus on this part and put a lot of time into how I want all of my research to come out in my paper because I would really love to not sound like an idiotJ Ugh did I mention I am NOT a fan of writing??? I guess it is a good thing I didn’t want to be an English major! See I’m already running out of things to vent about...

Internet Piracy

An official definition of internet piracy is Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) of unauthorized or prohibited use of works covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works. In other words Internet piracy refers to the use of the Internet for illegally copying or distributing unauthorized software. The offenders may use the Internet for all or some of their operations including the advertising, offering, acquiring, or distribution of pirated software.

In today’s day and age people use the internet to illegally download anything that you can possibly think of; music, movies, T.V. shows, music videos, games, and even papers used for academic purposes. In my opinion it is getting pretty ridiculous. When internet piracy first started becoming really popular it wasn’t nearly as extreme as it is today. It was usually only a song here and there that people were downloading. Now, not only can people download entire albums, but you can get the artwork from the album and a copy of all the lyrics in the same download. If you go to the right site, you can download movies that are still in theaters and the quality of the movie usually isn’t that bad. Personally the first internet piracy website I can remember is Napster. To my knowledge this was the first web site of its kind and anyone and everyone who had a computer and internet could download it then start downloading music.  Napster was developed by a 19 year old college student named Sean Fanning. He saw a need for space on the internet where people could search and share files. He knew that most people had lots of files on their computer’s hard drives that were going unused. Why not share these files with other users who might enjoy them or otherwise find some use for them?  A few years later, and with the help of his uncle, Napster was created. When the music industry started to catch on to people sharing these music files people started to get concerned. Several high profile music artists, including the band Metallica filed law suits against Napster for copy right infringement, forever ending the legal glory days of free music downloading. Napster still exists today you just have to pay a monthly fee.

No matter how hard the high profile people of whatever try to stop internet piracy it will always be there. Sites like Lime wire, pirate bay, and Music Oasis are out there where you can search and download all kinds of files illegally but free. However, a few months ago Lime Wire did receive a court order to shut down although I’m not sure what happened with it or if it is still working. I think that no matter what they do there is always going to be another way or another site to download stuff off the internet. Not only is there the fear of getting caught and fined for downloading stuff off the internet, but you never know what you are about to put in your computer when you download a file that you have no idea what is in it. It could be some kind of virus or something else that will do bad things to your computer. At first I thought the artist of the music were the ones to lose from internet piracy. But after reading the assignment from Music and Culture I think the people of the music industry are the ones that lose because they have the most to lose. If anything I think it gives the artists more exposure because people who can’t afford to go out and buy their cds can listen to their music from the internet.

American Idol or American Dream?

The American Dream can be described as a belief in freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Today, in America it generally refers to the idea that one's prosperity depends upon one's own abilities and hard work, not on a rigid class structure, though the meaning of the phrase has changed over America's history. For some, it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity than they could in their countries of origin; for others, it is the opportunity for their children to grow up with an education and career opportunities; for others, it is the opportunity to be an individual without the constraints imposed by class, caste, race, or ethnicity.
I think the show American Idol exploits the concept of the American Dream. American Idol is a reality show where ordinary every day people can be given the chance to show off their talent, and work towards achieving their goals and making a name for themselves in the music industry. American Idol does change people’s lives but it is a million and one chance. Thousands of hopefuls try out in different cities for the one chance of a dream career and life. Contestants have to audition to audition, meaning that they have to first audition for the show’s producers. This is where the controversy of whether or not American Idol exploits the “American Dream” or not comes in. The producers turn down many talented singers that are serious about the entire thing for people who dress up in stupid costumes, who know they can’t sing worth crap. These people are just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, but honestly that is why a lot of people watch this show and the producers need to please their audience to keep it going.
American Idol isn’t the traditional or ethical way of achieving the American dream but it does happen. Take Carrie Underwood for instants. Before American Idol she was just a sweet innocent country girl from Oklahoma that was raised on a farm. When Carrie’s audition aired, they played a video of her background and it was her feeding her cows. When she made it to Hollywood they showed footage of her out seeing the town and Ryan Seacrest asked her if she had seen any stars yet and she very seriously looked up at the sky and said “um no it’s been pretty cloudy though”. He was referring to celebrities but her mind didn’t even work like that at the time. You can’t fake that kind of innocence. She obviously went on to win and now she is one of the most successful country artists of all time. People accepted her in spite of her none traditional way of getting there.
I think people don’t consider things like American Idol to be a way of people achieving the true American Dream because it is so different. It is a reality show and it is true that some people can and do abuse it just to try to get on T.V. Those people don’t work hard they just act stupid and it ruins the original purpose. But there is living proof that American Idol can be the gateway to someone’s American Dream no matter what race, gender, sexuality, or whatever you are.

Snoop Doggy Dogg

 When asked to write about any musician who I would classify as a “gangsta rap” artist, the first person who comes to mind is Snoop Dogg. I think Snoop Dogg is one of the most famous gangsta rap artists. Unlike other rappers who would be classified as gangsta rap artist, Snoop is not only successful in the music industry but he has also done film as well. He has surprisingly been in 15 movies, including Half Baked, Old School, and Malibu’s Most Wanted just to name a few. I think these movies have helped add to his persona of being a “gangsta”.
 In Nelson George’s essay Gangsters—Real and Unreal, he defines gangsta rap as a celebration of gatts, hoes, gleeful nihilism, and crack as the center of their economic universe. I agree with his definition and Snoop Dogg is a prime example of this. His music is about these sorts of things, he doesn’t rap about anything real or serious. For example, in Snoop Dogg’s song “For All My Niggaz and Bitches” he says “So all my bitches and my niggaz and my niggaz and my bitches wave your motherfuckin hands in the air and if you don't give a shit like we don't give a shit wave your motherfuckin fingers in the air.” Really? Stuff like this has no real meaning or purpose, I absolutely don’t understand it. I personally don’t have anything against rappers like this; it just isn’t my cup of tea. There are a few of Snoops songs that aren’t meant to be disrespectful and crude like his tribute to his mother called “I love my momma”. He talks about how much he loves his mother and how much he appreciates her and is thankfully for everything she has done for him throughout his life. Like I said, he has a few songs that are sweet and sentimental, but for the most part they are about the typically “Gangsta” things. In another one of Snoop Dogg’s songs called “break a Bitch Till I Die” he says…
Now don't get mad when you see me wit ya girlfriend
She ridin shot gun, smokin the damn thang again
Now say it ain't true...
Baby you gank em and play em it ain't no ring on you
That ain't what I do, just because I spend time wit you
Don't really mean i'm lyin to you
You got to understand what this young pimp will say
Cause right about now, it ain't no time for play
Now watch me slap ya ass wit dicks, bitch
You was stricly dickly, why you turn clitly
Thats even better, now both of you bitches lick me
Then I sit back and watch y'all eat pussy
Kick off my feet and count my cheese
Snoop this ain't the XLF, this the P-I-M-P
Look, she think she burned out
Wait until I put her on the fast track and have her turned out
P.I!
 Songs like this is why parents don’t want their kids listening to any kind of rap music. It sends horrible messages and promotes this kind of lifestyle. To be completely honest I wouldn’t want my son listening to anything like this. I don’t want anyone or anything telling him that it is “cool” to disrespect woman in any shape or form. Finally I don’t think Snoop Dogg would resist the “gangsta rap” label. In fact he glorifies and prides himself on it.