Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
What do you know now that you didn't know in September?
Dear Future WISE Student,
Every step i've taken throughout the course of WISE has changed my characted. Not to be cliche but it really boosted up my self confidence. I learned how to DJ. From the very beginning, i wasn't able to speak into a microphone either on the radio or at an event. After my first even I was told how confident i actually sounded on the mic (the whole time i thought i sounded broken and scared.) Right then I just felt so much better. After that things just kind of took off. I "learned" (through practice) to speak live on the radio. My confidence then transferred to the music I'd play at dances- I was no longed nervous about people's opinions.
I learned a lot about how to simply DJ, but also about myself and my peers. DJing for them was always eventful. It is not clearer to me what certain groups expect to hear when they go to a certain event. I learned how to deal with people in the best ways possible specific to each situation. I'm now more outspoken and lively, as well as realistic. WISE brought me down to Earth, it literally made me wiser.
Every step i've taken throughout the course of WISE has changed my characted. Not to be cliche but it really boosted up my self confidence. I learned how to DJ. From the very beginning, i wasn't able to speak into a microphone either on the radio or at an event. After my first even I was told how confident i actually sounded on the mic (the whole time i thought i sounded broken and scared.) Right then I just felt so much better. After that things just kind of took off. I "learned" (through practice) to speak live on the radio. My confidence then transferred to the music I'd play at dances- I was no longed nervous about people's opinions.
I learned a lot about how to simply DJ, but also about myself and my peers. DJing for them was always eventful. It is not clearer to me what certain groups expect to hear when they go to a certain event. I learned how to deal with people in the best ways possible specific to each situation. I'm now more outspoken and lively, as well as realistic. WISE brought me down to Earth, it literally made me wiser.
Best Of Both Worlds
Yesterday I went with two friends to an all day concert called 'K-FEST'. It was a huge concert with 10,000 people put on by a radio station in the Hudson Valley. It was great. It had a lot that I aspire to be some day in it. There were actual bands that played the majority of the time, but in between sets, DJs would play and mix it up, and speak to the crowd to get the riled up. It was great.
The last act was Ludacris, and he went around one by one introducing his band, as well as his DJ and gave them all little solos to "show what they got". His DJ blew my mind. Scratchingggg! One thing I have yet to do, but still would very much like to! It was so cool! It was amazing, I hope I can be that great one day!
*In case you were wondering...
My two friends and I managed to get through a crown of 10,000 people to the very front row. I saw all the action! Setting all the different bands up, and then the DJs (and other artists) up close!
Slam Poetry!
Carrie's presentation was amazing! She had great eye contact, and movement (which was great for her specifically because she stated that movement was a huge part of slam poetry). I really liked when she talked about how in the beginning she thought that she sounded bad, this is exactly how i first felt when i had to speak into the microphone as a DJ, both on radio, and live.
Her poems blew me away, so did her confidence. She didn't have a single tremor in her voice, or "ums". It was altogether fantastic! Great job Carrie!!
Her poems blew me away, so did her confidence. She didn't have a single tremor in her voice, or "ums". It was altogether fantastic! Great job Carrie!!
Have fun, be safe and respectful.
So Mr. Holl and I DJ'd Junior Prom together a couple weekends ago. It was an interesting time. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it all that much simply because I know how the kids in my school react when they don't get to hear the song they want. I was asked by the same kid four time to "play something faster" and each time i would respond with "we don't really get to choose the type of music. if you guys are dancing too inappropriately, we can't play other music." but when he kept coming up to me over and over again i began to just cut him off before he could finish a sentence with "Go away." which went on also for about four time until Mr. Holl told him he had to walk away.
Then, about half way through, Ms. Little told us to shut the music off. She gathered the (very angry) kids around and talked to them. She told them that she had seen a boob, and a butt, and that the dancing was far too inappropriate and if they didn't stop the dance would be shut down. She told them that they wanted the kids to have fun, but be safe, and also respectful. Some of the kids continued to have fun while others thought that they were (literally) too cool for school, and decided to spend the rest of their night sitting in the lobby.
There were a couple slip ups, I accidentally played an un-edited version of 'Teach Me How To Dougie' but Mr. Holl was able to help me out a little on that with the volume levels, and to be honest I don't even think the adults noticed because they were so focused on the dancing!
A lot of kids left that night upset, which is slightly upsetting to me. Not so much because I think it was my fault, but because it makes me sad that kids my age can't have fun unless they're doing highly inappropriate things. Oh well, I guess they'll learn.
Then, about half way through, Ms. Little told us to shut the music off. She gathered the (very angry) kids around and talked to them. She told them that she had seen a boob, and a butt, and that the dancing was far too inappropriate and if they didn't stop the dance would be shut down. She told them that they wanted the kids to have fun, but be safe, and also respectful. Some of the kids continued to have fun while others thought that they were (literally) too cool for school, and decided to spend the rest of their night sitting in the lobby.
There were a couple slip ups, I accidentally played an un-edited version of 'Teach Me How To Dougie' but Mr. Holl was able to help me out a little on that with the volume levels, and to be honest I don't even think the adults noticed because they were so focused on the dancing!
A lot of kids left that night upset, which is slightly upsetting to me. Not so much because I think it was my fault, but because it makes me sad that kids my age can't have fun unless they're doing highly inappropriate things. Oh well, I guess they'll learn.
Monday, May 16, 2011
My Current Obsession
'After Midnight VIC Live Mix' - Pretty Lights
Like the original, LOVE this remix.
Words Hold The Weight We Give Them
I was recently put into an uncomfortable position at a high school lacrosse game where two of my friends decided that it would be funny to make a sign with what many would consider to be "inappropriate" words on it. I had nothing to do with it, nor did I support it, but I still couldn't help but feel it was ridiculous how offended people get just because of simple words.
I do realize that when a word is used to insult an individual, it can hurt, but when they are used simply to add emphasis, what's the big deal?
This drives me insane in music. I have come to terms with the fact that I can't say certain words in certain situations, such as in class, those same words are also going to be edited out of everything I hear on TV, radio, or songs at school dances. I just don't understand it.
It is clearly generational. I have put a lot of thought into this. When my generation was growing up, reaching maturity, we were told that 'the F word' was the worst word you could say. We couldn't say "shit" "ass" "hell" "bitch" and the list continues. Because of this, we wanted to say them more! So we did. We said them so much, that they lost any and all weight that they held in the beginning to make them offensive.
So now, to my generation, these are just words. Perfectly acceptable for a casual conversation. Not to sound like a uprising, rebelling teenager, but an adult telling me that I can't "swear" means absolutely nothing to me. The word "swear" or "curse" in of itself is an outdated concept. So why, could somebody please tell me, if we, the youth of America, the ones that adults are attempting to shield from this language, are going to hear, use, and EMBRACE, these words anyway, why can't they be in our music?
Kids are going to learn these words anyway, so why not let them embrace them? It causes no harm. By exposing younger children to these words, it makes it so that they are just like any other word, just like "gross" "ugly" "fat", words that yes, can cause harm, but are perfectly fine when used anytime but to be offend to a specific person. By letting kids learn these words, we are numbing them from the pain we create by adding such a heavy weight to words.
Unedited music is a right that every artist should have. To have their music, their creation, heard as they envisioned it. And I believe that it is every individual's right to hear that music as it was envisioned. The day we stop defining specific words as a "swear", is the day "swears" will cease to exist.
I do realize that when a word is used to insult an individual, it can hurt, but when they are used simply to add emphasis, what's the big deal?
This drives me insane in music. I have come to terms with the fact that I can't say certain words in certain situations, such as in class, those same words are also going to be edited out of everything I hear on TV, radio, or songs at school dances. I just don't understand it.
It is clearly generational. I have put a lot of thought into this. When my generation was growing up, reaching maturity, we were told that 'the F word' was the worst word you could say. We couldn't say "shit" "ass" "hell" "bitch" and the list continues. Because of this, we wanted to say them more! So we did. We said them so much, that they lost any and all weight that they held in the beginning to make them offensive.
So now, to my generation, these are just words. Perfectly acceptable for a casual conversation. Not to sound like a uprising, rebelling teenager, but an adult telling me that I can't "swear" means absolutely nothing to me. The word "swear" or "curse" in of itself is an outdated concept. So why, could somebody please tell me, if we, the youth of America, the ones that adults are attempting to shield from this language, are going to hear, use, and EMBRACE, these words anyway, why can't they be in our music?
Kids are going to learn these words anyway, so why not let them embrace them? It causes no harm. By exposing younger children to these words, it makes it so that they are just like any other word, just like "gross" "ugly" "fat", words that yes, can cause harm, but are perfectly fine when used anytime but to be offend to a specific person. By letting kids learn these words, we are numbing them from the pain we create by adding such a heavy weight to words.
Unedited music is a right that every artist should have. To have their music, their creation, heard as they envisioned it. And I believe that it is every individual's right to hear that music as it was envisioned. The day we stop defining specific words as a "swear", is the day "swears" will cease to exist.
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