Music Album Review

I guess it was around 8^th grade when I first realized that Sean Paul, Fergie, and Chris Brown were not the only artists making “great” music. It was also about the time when I started to really listen to music and question the point of it. I began spending hours on iTunes, going from one page to another, listening to the 30-second music samples of obscure artists that I knew my friends weren’t into. There was something thrilling about having a secret band streaming from my headphones, while everyone else listened to Kelly Clarkson’s “walk away”. This was how I was introduced to my favorite artist of all time: Bright Eyes.

“I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” is the first Bright Eyes album I ever listened to, and the review I found by Chris Dahlen on Pitchfork focuses exactly on why I fell in love with it.  “ Conor Oberst sends shivers down my spine…” This is the exact reaction I receive every time I hear his music. The review immediately addresses the emotional beauty behind his lyrics, and the way in which his voice instantly becomes raw, needing only a guitar to accompany it. It specifically highlights this album as one of the best, for reasons that seem almost unexplainable. His sound is extremely mature for his age, and the lyrics reflect this sophistication. The review focuses on some of the most beautiful songs, where he addresses love, spontaneity, and even politics in a way that is honest and pure. Dahlen really caught onto the magic behind Bright Eyes and the way the lyrics defy pop culture’s typical topics of sex, women, money, and drugs.

If I were to evaluate Bright Eyes even further than the review did, I would also focus on the tone and genre of the music. The sound is pure folk, and is often compared to the music of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. This style makes it very far from what we are used to hearing in today’s music culture, yet his words allow it to remain fresh and relevant. Therefore, I feel that although the lyrics are beautiful, and the music is outstanding, the way in which Bright Eyes combines them in this album is what truly brings it to life. This, I feel, is an important feature that should be noted.

I definitely believe that the review captured the essence of Bright Eyes and why I personally fell in love with the album. However, I also know that writing about it cannot do it full justice. Every song tells a story, and the only way to fully experience it the way Chris Dahlen and I have, is to lie in your bed on a cloudy day, stare at the ceiling, and just listen. 

Review Link: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11683-im-wide-awake-its-morning-digital-ash-in-a-digital-urn/

Song on the album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZh261KZWI

Definition Proposal

For my definition paper, I would like to define the word architecture. The typical definition is the profession which involves designing buildings, spaces, interiors, and restoration. It could also refer to the style of a building and how it is viewed. The reason I have chosen this word is because since I became an architecture major in the fall, I have discovered that the standard definition known to the public is far from how I would describe it now. I have found a lot more meaning behind the word just through my own personal experiences. My purpose of this paper is to expose how architecture is more than just a style or profession. I want to fully describe it as an art form, but also how it can be a long, mentally and physically draining experience. My target audience will specifically be those considering to pursue a degree in architecture. Since the definition has changed so much for me since I arrived in the program at Penn State, I feel that it is necessary to make future people fully aware of what architecture truly is. Before getting here, I would have definitely appreciated to know the full extent that the word "architecture" entails.

Blog post 2

Oswalt initially begins his essay stating, “I am not a nerd”. However, before I go into his definition of a nerd, the meaning of Otaku should first be identified.  Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with obsessive interests, which originally, were out of the norm. Therefore, a “nerd” or “geek” was someone otaku about a specific subject. For Oswalt, his friends and him were Otaku about videogames, science fiction, and other things typically associated with the word “nerd”. However, this stereotypical idea of nerd, according to Oswalt, no longer exists. Now, everyone is Otaku about something, and therefore everyone is a geek or a nerd. This idea, that pop culture has become Otaku, is the specific exigence that Oswalt is responding to. At one point, being obsessive over a specific interest set you apart. However, around 1987 this changed and those that were Otaku about something actually became ahead of the curve. There are several reasons for this shift in ideas, but the most immediate reason has been due to the Internet. The Internet has given every individual in America the ability to become otaku about something.  All of the different websites provide specific, detailed information, which would have taken an individual weeks to uncover thirty years ago. However, this process of uncovering, according to Oswalt, was part of the joy in being Otaku about something. It was a hidden pleasure that only you and a few other people were able to discover. The problem with society now is that with the Internet and pop culture, people are missing out on the joy of having a specific interest that only they know about it. I agree that today’s society has become dependent on the Internet for fueling their interests. It has made all of pop culture and anything that ever existed completely accessible. In fact, “geekiness” has become completely normal. In a way, everyone can be considered a ‘geek” about some subject. Like Oswalt says, “It’s the method of consumption, not what’s on the plate.” Unfortunately, we have still lost the thrill of being a “geek” and the hunt for knowledge regarding a particular interest. Therefore, although being a “nerd” or “geek” about something has become increasingly common in society, the true depth and meaning behind being a nerd has been lost, thus making us all one in the same.

Supermarket pastoral is the creative form of “literature” that organic food makers have developed to accompany their food. The labels often describe where the food came from in elaborate and over-exaggerated prose. The technique is used to make the buyer, or reader essentially, feel like they have a connection to the food and thus more interested in buying it.  Pollan is discussing it because he too has become affected by the creative language and thoughts that is evokes. While he is fully aware of how silly it may seem, he still prefers organic food to the grocery industry, which simply uses prices as its language. In reality however, organic food really comes from two main distributors found in California. Therefore, the process is very similar to that of the regular food industry. The appeal of organic food lies in the literature that mentally takes the buyer to where the food they are about to eat originated. This emotional connection that they develop makes buying organic food seem like a much more interesting experience. Thus, the culture of organic food is in the story it tells more so than the actual food. It attracts the buyer with a setting and characters that make them immediately interested, just like a childhood storybook. Supermarket Pastoral is the organic food industry’s creative advertising technique in attracting the customer through an emotional experience that they cannot receive anywhere else.