Audio Critiques for Anthony, Kyle & Ryan

Anthony -

I hate losing stuff, yet my lack of short term memory makes it a daily routine to be searching for keys, phone, student id, etc. I was able to use my own experience to thoroughly enjoy Anthony's piece where he traces his steps with his inner thoughts accompanied by the usual college surrounding ambience. I appreciated the high quality of the clips demonstrating movement because of the use of different landscapes and ground textures to make an accurate detail of traveling around campus. A camera is an expensive object to lose and I was able to grasp the nervousness in Anthony's voice and pace. I was able to tell an immediate difference between the background noise of Eikhoff vs the Student Center and feel that the execution of capturing these areas was done very effectively.

Kyle -

I liked this clip because it illustrates the natural human activity of wasting time. I'm a serious boss when it comes to procrastinating, especially if I am equipped with the internet. The interjections of typing insinuate an assignment that desires completion. The sources of sounds somewhat confused me but also added to the meaningless information and entertainment we seek that help us avoid the task at hand. Overtones of eating and casual guitar playing also add to the emphasis of evading responsibility.

Ryan -

I loved this piece because it went with the theme of music triggering memory. Almost always when I listen to a song I am able to relate it to a past time, experience, a person or group of people or even what song would come next if I was listening to the full album or if I have previously put the track on a mixed cd. It is really odd how these small mementos are stored in my head and triggered by familiar melodies. The echoed countdown and the overtone of Pink Floyd throughout the piece puts the viewer in a past state. Also the choice of song that is demonstrated throughout the clip also tends to trigger the memory of an actual being or person when you think of 'Wish you were here.'

Rebisz & Hill

There was a close tie to which visual audio clip I enjoyed more. "Between You and Me" by Patryk Rebisz uses a stop motion effect in the setting of an already quickly paced and erratic city. The use of multiple perspectives gave the clip a more three dimensional setting. The background melodies assimilated to the mood of the clip or first-person and also the time of day. The perspectives cycle from Boy to Girl to Creep and back to Boy and the artist uses pictures in a picture to decipher location and origin and to connect the two main characters.

I also loved Gary Hill's "Around and About" because it is a familiar take to my approach for a storyboard and use of visuals for my piece. The pictures match up with the syllables and words being spoken in a calming male voice. Window panes, cinderblock walls, rotating fans, a chair and jacket are all disguised by closeup images and harsh angles that give the atmosphere of one small room setting to a stream of consciousness thought of 'disembodied ideas.' I also enjoyed the transitions, highlights, color changes and movements of the pictures across the screen. Although they were simplistic, the really added to the tempo of the piece and also gave a rhythm to the spoken word. I plan to utilize a lot of these techniques in order to deliver my sound and memory project.

Subconscious Dive

This is the finished piece of the Sound & Memory project that analyzes a psychiatrist's office and a patient's traumatic experience.

DB/BE & EBN

"AMERICA IS WAITING" 1986

DAVID BRYNE/BRIAN ENO: MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS ALBUM

America is Waiting screams 80s as a catchy, robotic sounds of compiled television/radio announcers interject to broken beats that seem to originate from broadcasted theme songs. The source sounds seem to be most likely electronically made with a few overtones of guitar thrown about. The large amount of sampling used throughout the piece is very impressive for it was not a familiar technique at the time of its production. This anciently innovative track immediately dragged me into a past time zone and also into a cultural feeling of oppression as the narrator reinstates 'America is waiting for a message of some sort or another.' The artists represented those who seek change or an answer.

"GET DOWN, GET DOWN" 1995

EMERGENCY BROADCAST NETWORK, TELECOMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

The short repetitive video clips seem to originate from broadcasted television. The violent overtones seek to instill fear in the viewer and simulate our slavery to the media. Emergency Broadcast Network made this track on the album to illustrate the control we allow television to have on our culture. The ridiculous and senseless people and programs that people waste their lives away attending to is moronic. We stay in our homes believing the scary reports on the t.v. screen instead of facing and embracing reality.

Furious Pig & Whitehead

"I DON'T LIKE YOUR FACE" - FURIOUS PIG

This 1980 A-capella number is done by a London cult sensation that put their main musical focus on developing a form of intense vocal chanting that ranges on various choreographed levels throughout the clip. It is hard to understand any actual language coming from the scit scat piece however I found an odd obsession with the emotions conveyed in broken outbursts and man-made sound effects. The non-linear narrative exemplifies the feeling of frustration one has when they find a deep disgust for a person. It is hard to explain oneself when sharing such opposition to a human being's born appearance, yet I feel that the song is not only shooting towards they aesthetics of a the shamed person but the stomach turning feeling the artists witness when they spot the disfavored body.

"EVA CAN I STAB BATS IN A CAVE" - GREGORY WHITEHEAD

A looping play on words is the narrative for this 1984 distorted audio clip. From just listening to the loop I was able to catch on the the statement being a reversal of itself. Whether read from left or from the right "Eva Can I Stab Bats in a Cave?" has the same phonetic sound. The clip chronologically gets easier to understand and each statement is separated by an exasperated, scratchy breath. Towards the end you can hear the repetition of vocal sounds as the sentence is said correctly and quickly looped backwards with a mirrored audio.