Thursday, February 18, 2010
the times are a changin'
The changes to sound recordings over recent years is truly amazing. The Way the Music Died piece was helpful in understanding some of the changes from insiders’ views and even though this production for PBS’ Frontline program was made in 2004, many of the trends the artists discussed continue today. Since this program was made mp3 players and iPods have exploded into such a pervasive part of our society and I believe this was mentioned in our session last night for class. This program in particular made me think about my time working at the Bloomington Public Library (IL) and how music cds were such a huge collection seemingly when I began working there in 2001 and how they began to decline in numbers overall and in new titles as I was about to leave there in 2007. Since that time the collections only gotten sparser it seems. The number of audio books on cd has diminished likewise in a similar pattern which stinks for me as I had only just figured out how to use My Media Mall last summer when Bloomington and others in the library system got rid of it. Now I have to find new reads from this limited format there. I was ready to make the technology leap and the rug got pulled out from under me! I think many patrons like myself in public libraries will have to adapt likewise as it’s more feasible to have services like My Media Mall than cds and other physical formats. I wonder whether music collections at public libraries will dwindle to nothing with so many using services like iTunes, Rhapsody, and the like. In schools, especially in this cash strapped state, I imagine audio books on tape or cd will have longer lives but even in this library setting mp3 audio books like Playaways are making in-roads.
Media Literacy and Criminals
I know that this course is about youth and media literacy, but I've been quite amused recently about the articles that I have been coming across concerning criminals and their use of new media and games.
Gaming, for instance, seems to be greatly misunderstood. The article about Dungeons and Dragons that I have posted above is a bit problematic for me. I suppose if one is in prison, then they are being punished for some reason and shouldn't be able to do everything. On the other hand, I don't know that I agree that Dungeons and Dragons "promotes fantasy role playing, competitive hostility, violence, addictive escape behaviors, and possible gambling." Statements like that lead me to believe that there is an air of ignorance towards gaming that needs to be addressed in our criminal justice system.
With all of this being said, I have found these articles quite interesting. Our focus on youth in this course is not wholly separate for these topics. Informing young people about new media and gaming is important, but it's also important to teach them about being responsible with new media and making them aware that the choices that they make about what to share and post online are choices that need to be taken seriously. A new site has been created called Please Rob Me that simply searches for public Twitter posts in which people freely mention that they have left home. This information can be combined with other location-based social networking tools to determine the location of homes that have been left unoccupied. I'm sure most of us don't think about that when we post status messages about our locations, but it's perhaps something that we should be thinking about and it's a great example of a seemingly simple action that has rather unintended consequences.
- Gangs use of Twitter, Facebook on the rise
- Criminal Colin Gunn Used Facebook To Threaten Enemies From Jail
- Dungeons and Dragons Prison Ban Upheld
- Fugitive Christopher Crego Posts Facebook Info That Helps Police Arrest Him
- Prisoners Lose Facebook Pages After Victim Taunts
Gaming, for instance, seems to be greatly misunderstood. The article about Dungeons and Dragons that I have posted above is a bit problematic for me. I suppose if one is in prison, then they are being punished for some reason and shouldn't be able to do everything. On the other hand, I don't know that I agree that Dungeons and Dragons "promotes fantasy role playing, competitive hostility, violence, addictive escape behaviors, and possible gambling." Statements like that lead me to believe that there is an air of ignorance towards gaming that needs to be addressed in our criminal justice system.
With all of this being said, I have found these articles quite interesting. Our focus on youth in this course is not wholly separate for these topics. Informing young people about new media and gaming is important, but it's also important to teach them about being responsible with new media and making them aware that the choices that they make about what to share and post online are choices that need to be taken seriously. A new site has been created called Please Rob Me that simply searches for public Twitter posts in which people freely mention that they have left home. This information can be combined with other location-based social networking tools to determine the location of homes that have been left unoccupied. I'm sure most of us don't think about that when we post status messages about our locations, but it's perhaps something that we should be thinking about and it's a great example of a seemingly simple action that has rather unintended consequences.
10 Technology Ideas Your Library Can Implement Next Week
From American Libraries, this article on easy technology tweaks offers up some good ideas for libraries of any size and flavor.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I Feel the Earth Move...
In the words of the great songwriter, Carole King, "I feel the earth move under my feet.." Although she was referring to someONE, those lyrics can apply to feeling the music, too...quite literally! As I read the excerpt from Jourdan's Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy I found myself nodding and saying, yes, yes, he got that right...I love to listen to music. I listen in the car while I commute, and I listen while I'm working around the house. I like to listen while I'm cooking, or reading (although I can't have words while I read - too much input!!) but I really like to just sit and listen. I'm a concert goer - and I can be mesmerized just listening to the notes float and entwine. The music appreciation class I took in my undergrad days has actually paid off through my life time - the instructor was very focused on training us to actually listen to what we were hearing. I was very interested in Jourdan's explanation of how the mind works, and the relationship between right brain and left brain tasks in listening. The opening of the section we read brought such clear images of early musicians to my mind - I appreciated the evolution of performing, and the dual goals of expressing oneself through music, as well as moving others to emotion through hearing that performance.
In my library each December I host an open house musical Christmas extravaganza - we clear out the desks, move in round cafe tables, bring out the decorations, set up the piano and keyboard and the drums and really let loose. The whole school is invited to drop in any time they can - musicians are "booked" throughout the day - teachers and students alike. Some performances are spontaneous, some evolve, sometimes it's like a jam session. I bake cookies (actually my husband baked 85 dozen for me this year!!) and serve hot chocolate all day. Each student gets a coupon good for a "couple of cookies and a cup of cocoa." We have had student/teacher bands, combos, duets... you name it. One year a faculty/student band performed a heavy metal rendition of White Christmas! The audience went wild! The place is packed from 8 am to 3 pm. Feedback from administrators, faculty and students is that it is such a common denominator - the atmosphere is naturally more relaxed, and they all get to see each other in a whole new way that they don't get to see in the classroom. I've thought about skipping a year, but they've already started making suggestions for things to include next year. I've also been frustrated at times because there is so much conversation during the performances, so I was very interested in the article's discussion of the evolution of concerts, and the listening habits of the audience. I will share some of that information with my teachers.
On a different note... from the New York Times article of Jan. 3, 2010, "A World of Megabeats and Megabytes," I was interested in the history of the portability of music with the advent of the digital file format. This sounded like a recounting of my own personal journey through music in the last 35 years! I can't seem to carry enough music with me - I always have a couple of flash drive full of music, my iPod, and even a portable 120 GB hard drive that I keep just for music - and keep it plugged in to my car's sound system. I related to the "need for instant gratification" in being able to pull up whatever song I'm in the mood for at the time.
In all of the readings I was struck by how we have come to take music for granted in our lives, to the point that it is often just in the background without us consciously listening. I thought about how people without hearing miss what we take for granted, and that led me to do some searching for more information about how the deaf "hear" music. I found a good article in Science Daily online: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011128035455.htm When we owned a Ford dealership, we had a customer who is deaf. Whatever vehicle he bought needed to have a great sound system in it - and he would set the bass so that he could feel the vibrations. The article, "Brains of Deaf People Rewire to "Hear Music," dovetailed with the readings on the way the brain functions in hearing people when listening to music. At home he would place mega-speakers on the floor so that it would reverberate through the floor - which drove his wife nuts because the sound was definitely different for her!
In my library each December I host an open house musical Christmas extravaganza - we clear out the desks, move in round cafe tables, bring out the decorations, set up the piano and keyboard and the drums and really let loose. The whole school is invited to drop in any time they can - musicians are "booked" throughout the day - teachers and students alike. Some performances are spontaneous, some evolve, sometimes it's like a jam session. I bake cookies (actually my husband baked 85 dozen for me this year!!) and serve hot chocolate all day. Each student gets a coupon good for a "couple of cookies and a cup of cocoa." We have had student/teacher bands, combos, duets... you name it. One year a faculty/student band performed a heavy metal rendition of White Christmas! The audience went wild! The place is packed from 8 am to 3 pm. Feedback from administrators, faculty and students is that it is such a common denominator - the atmosphere is naturally more relaxed, and they all get to see each other in a whole new way that they don't get to see in the classroom. I've thought about skipping a year, but they've already started making suggestions for things to include next year. I've also been frustrated at times because there is so much conversation during the performances, so I was very interested in the article's discussion of the evolution of concerts, and the listening habits of the audience. I will share some of that information with my teachers.
On a different note... from the New York Times article of Jan. 3, 2010, "A World of Megabeats and Megabytes," I was interested in the history of the portability of music with the advent of the digital file format. This sounded like a recounting of my own personal journey through music in the last 35 years! I can't seem to carry enough music with me - I always have a couple of flash drive full of music, my iPod, and even a portable 120 GB hard drive that I keep just for music - and keep it plugged in to my car's sound system. I related to the "need for instant gratification" in being able to pull up whatever song I'm in the mood for at the time.
In all of the readings I was struck by how we have come to take music for granted in our lives, to the point that it is often just in the background without us consciously listening. I thought about how people without hearing miss what we take for granted, and that led me to do some searching for more information about how the deaf "hear" music. I found a good article in Science Daily online: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011128035455.htm When we owned a Ford dealership, we had a customer who is deaf. Whatever vehicle he bought needed to have a great sound system in it - and he would set the bass so that he could feel the vibrations. The article, "Brains of Deaf People Rewire to "Hear Music," dovetailed with the readings on the way the brain functions in hearing people when listening to music. At home he would place mega-speakers on the floor so that it would reverberate through the floor - which drove his wife nuts because the sound was definitely different for her!
A History of Media Technology Scares, From the Printing Press to Facebook
Via LIS News and Slate:
"...Worries about information overload are as old as information itself, with each generation reimagining the dangerous impacts of technology on mind and brain. From a historical perspective, what strikes home is not the evolution of these social concerns, but their similarity from one century to the next, to the point where they arrive anew with little having changed except the label..."
Same Old Same Old? or A Whole New World?
While listening to Radio Disney this weekend, I was struck by how little things had changed since I was a tween and young teen, lo these many years ago. “I will love only you forever and ever.” “Love me for who I really am.” “I can’t live without your love.” “I’m really special inside where no-one can see.” “I’m for real, and I hate phonies” “You done me wrong.” “Baby, it feels so right when I’m with you.” And so it goes. Idealism, extreme emotions, high drama, focus on the self, and a deep desire to both fit in and be unique fill the songs that fill Radio Disney. These are the same themes that have been the hallmark of teen music for decades.
In addition to the music, much of the programming and promotion on Radio Disney had a very familiar feel to it. There were interviews with stars, contests—“Be the third caller and you could win…”—request lines, relentlessly upbeat disc jockeys, and young people on the phone trying very hard to sound very cool. Although I was trying to call the radio station from a Princess phone and today’s teens are calling from cell phones, the desire to be on the radio has not changed. Although my personal heartthrobs were Mark Lindsey and David Cassidy (much though I cringe to admit it) rather than the Jonas Brothers, the passionate adoration and desire to know every single possible detail about that person’s likes and dislikes are not very different today than they were when I was young.
And yet, some things are very different than they were. I used to have to listen to a song over and over and over again to try and figure out what the lyrics were. There were endless debates: did he say “Rolled up like a deuce” or “Rolled up like a douche”? (How sophisticated we thought we were to be able to say that work without giggling…) Nowadays, the lyrics are there for you with a click if you want them. I’m not entirely sure why that seems important to me, but it does. I’d welcome others’ thoughts on whether this instant availability of the lyrics matters.
When a radio station had a limited broadcast range it could only reach the people within its area of service. There was at least the possibility that popular songs or singers could vary from region to region. The capacity of Radio Disney to reach the whole nation instantly probably increases the homogeneity of popular music. The same songs and stars will be hits in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles all at the same time.
Although there was some crossover between TV and music stars, i.e., David Cassidy, for the most part, music, movie and TV stars were different people. A musician followed one route to success and needed one particular set of people to back him or her, while a TV actor followed another route and needed a different set of people. The people who owned radio stations and music labels were not the same people who owned TV stations. But now, Miley Cyrus is a music/movie/TV juggernaut. Her TV show feeds demand for her music and her music and TV show promote her movies. Several of the songs I listened to this weekend were from the soundtrack of a soon to be released movie. There isn’t as much separation between entertainment venues as I remember.
I have heard it argued that the Internet would have a democratizing influence on music; anyone could get their music out there and find a following. Radio Disney seems to be an example of the opposite effect. By playing to young people’s desire to be on top of whatever is cool at the moment and being able to blitz the whole country with the few songs and singers that its owners deem to be marketable, Radio Disney has an enormously powerful effect on what tweens and teens listen to.
The idea of big corporations dictating what kind of music is available was also brought forth in the “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” and “The Way the Music Died” websites. This possibility bothers me a little less in those cases though, because they deal with music aimed more at adults. The argument that recording companies won’t buy hip-hop music with honorable or inspirational lyrics, that hip-hop musicians perform violent or homophobic songs because that is what sells has, in my opinion, some validity to it. If hundreds of thousands of people pay good money to buy songs with lyrics that I happen to think are hateful, it seems a little pointless to wring my hands and complain about the record companies or recording artists. As a society, we get the music we pay for, and if don’t like what is being paid for, we should probably think about why our culture values such songs.
Marketing to children though, may be a little different, simply because kids are developmentally more inclined to follow the herd. The need to fit in is so great at this age that it makes me a little uncomfortable to think of such a small group of people whose only motive is profit having such great influence. Having said that, though, I wonder what the solution would be. I would be very interested in knowing what others think about kids and music and marketing. Is anyone else troubled? Or am I over-reacting? Perhaps just another older person worrying needlessly about “young people these days?” In any event, spending time with Radio Disney was a very interesting and thought provoking experience.
In addition to the music, much of the programming and promotion on Radio Disney had a very familiar feel to it. There were interviews with stars, contests—“Be the third caller and you could win…”—request lines, relentlessly upbeat disc jockeys, and young people on the phone trying very hard to sound very cool. Although I was trying to call the radio station from a Princess phone and today’s teens are calling from cell phones, the desire to be on the radio has not changed. Although my personal heartthrobs were Mark Lindsey and David Cassidy (much though I cringe to admit it) rather than the Jonas Brothers, the passionate adoration and desire to know every single possible detail about that person’s likes and dislikes are not very different today than they were when I was young.
And yet, some things are very different than they were. I used to have to listen to a song over and over and over again to try and figure out what the lyrics were. There were endless debates: did he say “Rolled up like a deuce” or “Rolled up like a douche”? (How sophisticated we thought we were to be able to say that work without giggling…) Nowadays, the lyrics are there for you with a click if you want them. I’m not entirely sure why that seems important to me, but it does. I’d welcome others’ thoughts on whether this instant availability of the lyrics matters.
When a radio station had a limited broadcast range it could only reach the people within its area of service. There was at least the possibility that popular songs or singers could vary from region to region. The capacity of Radio Disney to reach the whole nation instantly probably increases the homogeneity of popular music. The same songs and stars will be hits in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles all at the same time.
Although there was some crossover between TV and music stars, i.e., David Cassidy, for the most part, music, movie and TV stars were different people. A musician followed one route to success and needed one particular set of people to back him or her, while a TV actor followed another route and needed a different set of people. The people who owned radio stations and music labels were not the same people who owned TV stations. But now, Miley Cyrus is a music/movie/TV juggernaut. Her TV show feeds demand for her music and her music and TV show promote her movies. Several of the songs I listened to this weekend were from the soundtrack of a soon to be released movie. There isn’t as much separation between entertainment venues as I remember.
I have heard it argued that the Internet would have a democratizing influence on music; anyone could get their music out there and find a following. Radio Disney seems to be an example of the opposite effect. By playing to young people’s desire to be on top of whatever is cool at the moment and being able to blitz the whole country with the few songs and singers that its owners deem to be marketable, Radio Disney has an enormously powerful effect on what tweens and teens listen to.
The idea of big corporations dictating what kind of music is available was also brought forth in the “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” and “The Way the Music Died” websites. This possibility bothers me a little less in those cases though, because they deal with music aimed more at adults. The argument that recording companies won’t buy hip-hop music with honorable or inspirational lyrics, that hip-hop musicians perform violent or homophobic songs because that is what sells has, in my opinion, some validity to it. If hundreds of thousands of people pay good money to buy songs with lyrics that I happen to think are hateful, it seems a little pointless to wring my hands and complain about the record companies or recording artists. As a society, we get the music we pay for, and if don’t like what is being paid for, we should probably think about why our culture values such songs.
Marketing to children though, may be a little different, simply because kids are developmentally more inclined to follow the herd. The need to fit in is so great at this age that it makes me a little uncomfortable to think of such a small group of people whose only motive is profit having such great influence. Having said that, though, I wonder what the solution would be. I would be very interested in knowing what others think about kids and music and marketing. Is anyone else troubled? Or am I over-reacting? Perhaps just another older person worrying needlessly about “young people these days?” In any event, spending time with Radio Disney was a very interesting and thought provoking experience.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Free Information Visualization Tools
In class this past week, someone asked about building one's own visualizations. Here's a link to a post from FlowingData about a couple of free web-based tools to try out: http://bit.ly/9zOJLN
There are some tutorials on the FlowingData site (do a site search) that walk you through the process of creating some various visualizations, but most of them require knowledge of Python and basic scripting skills.
Cheers.
There are some tutorials on the FlowingData site (do a site search) that walk you through the process of creating some various visualizations, but most of them require knowledge of Python and basic scripting skills.
Cheers.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Google Wave
We talked in class about using the new Google Wave. This is a link to the site, which offers a video to explain the whole thing... http://wave.google.com/about.html#video
Waving is part chatting, part document editing - all in real time... All I have done so far is the chatting part, no document writing or editing. This month I have a couple of collaborative projects to work on and will try Waving to see how well it works.. I'll keep you posted!
Waving is part chatting, part document editing - all in real time... All I have done so far is the chatting part, no document writing or editing. This month I have a couple of collaborative projects to work on and will try Waving to see how well it works.. I'll keep you posted!
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