My Song

Song Cover Comparison

Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)

            ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record Player)’ is a single that was released by the band Dead Or Alive in 1984.  This original version of this song, speed wise, follows a, what can best be described as, moderato tempo.  This song has a pretty nice set melody and is best recognized for the particular melody followed in the chorus (or where the lyrics go ‘you spin me right round baby, right round like a record baby right round’) and the following melody after that part.  For rhythm in this particular song it stays pretty well stock, meaning the overall rhythm of the song hardly changes throughout and keeps a steady pace.  The intensity of this version varies throughout the song, most notably towards the end of the song with the singer shouts ‘I want your love’ and echoes the word love. In this particular version pitch change is most notable through the singer’s vocal work, however it was also pretty well manipulated through the use of one of the instruments (some kind of electric bass or keyboard work?) in between verses and choruses.  Tension and Release is pretty well exploited in this song as well largely through the previously mentioned instrument’s coming in right after the first chorus where the song’s pitch dips most notably (this happens around 1:13 into the song), following right after the musical build up and peak up to that first chorus.  For this version as well I found the timbre to be somewhat noisier with a more complex sound as it seems more instruments are being utilized.  I also felt as though these same layers did also give this song a deep feeling in terms of sound layering.  The layering instruments also provided some nice contrast and affinity as well, contrast with the instruments used, some being rather high pitched and moving quickly, and others being lower in pitch and keeping a nice steady beat, and affinity in terms of the song feeling as though it is moving forward steadily at a constant pace with all of the instruments pushing forward in one steady direction.

Dope - You Spin Me Round

Spin Me Round (Like A Record) is a cover of the original song done by the band Dope (it is commonly misattributed to Marilyn Mason) and was released in 1999 as a single off of their new album released that year.  This version of the song seems to have a faster speed in comparison but still seems as well to follow a moderato tempo.  However this song definitely does have a more variable speed which is quickly established with the opening guitar solo.  This version as well is a bit more intense than the original and also varies more noticeably in its intensity.  It also establishes its intensity (at least in terms of loudness) fairly early on in the opening verse when the leader singer gets into ‘all I know is that to me you look like your lots of fun…’ and he gets notably louder along with the backing instruments.  The melody of this song is vaguely similar to the original but seems to have a choppier field to it and follows along with the guitars and drums (which the original lacked) than the bass line from the original version.  Pitch change is not as noted in this particular version as with the original, rather affecting intensity (and loudness) more instead.  Just like its predecessor though this song does a good job at exploiting tension and release with similar build ups and through the use of guitar solos and backing drums.  The timbre for this version is not quite so ‘noisy’ in that there seems to be less instrumentation involved despite the raised intensity.  This version as well had a more limited feel about it with its fewer instruments (even if that limit makes the song feel as though it is right up in your face).  With contrast and affinity the songs are fairly similar although in this case the vocalist tends to stand out more and leave more of an impression and the solos do well to contrast the beats, while the whole song comes together well and flows together through its affinity (or similarity).

Final Soundscape Presentation

Quote Response for Finding Your Howl

14 Suggestions to getting Breakthrough Ideas

http://changethis.com/manifesto/49.06.14Ways/pdf/49.06.14Ways.pdf

In this article Ditkoff summarizes what he believes to be the 14 keys to getting a breakthrough Idea.  He compiled this list through analyzing what he believes to be what sparks innovation and through looking for ways to quicken the outbreak of innovative ideas.  He also breaks this process down into two approaches, the Western, "I think, therefore I am", approach and the Cartesian, "I am, therefore I think", approach.  In his case the 14 steps are as follows:
1. Follow Your Fascination (or what strikes your interests/fascinates you)
2. Immerse (yourself into an idea, becoming completely involved in it)
3. Tolerate Ambiguity (or don't be afraid to fail, rather learn from mistakes)
4. Make New Connections (see two ideas and see how they are connected and can potentially be merged)
5. Fanta Size (don't be afraid to dream or fantasize about a potential new idea)
6. Define the Right Challenge (frame the question/problem you are trying to solve in a way that accurately describes what you are trying to accomplish)
7. Listen to Your Subconscious (listen/pay attention to your dreams or random thoughts)
8. Take A Break (don't be afraid to take a break to collect thoughts when stuck or frustrated)
9. Notice and Challenge Existing Patterns and Trends (don't be afraid to challenge old patterns or ways of doing things)
10. Hang Out With Diverse Groups of People (don't be afraid to break out of your comfort area to see what other kinds of ideas might be floating around)
11. Brainstorm (feel free to 'group think')
12. Look For Happy Accidents (roll with them and see what they might bring)
13. Use Creative Thinking Techniques (look for something to jump start your creativity, ie: a movie or book)
14. Suspend Logic (be creative, think outside the box)

Personally I agree with the very first idea of following what fascinates you.  This happens to me from time to time and has been a great inspiration in my creative works and can sometimes to seen in relation.  For example, I am currently working on a piece inspired by the video game, Dead Space.

I also definitely agree with the fantasizing idea.  Being able to day dream or fantasize about an idea can give you a whole complete picture of an idea you have in your mind, what the end result might be, and what possible ways you can go about to make that idea a reality.

Just to mix it up though I don't completely agree with the total immersion idea.  While it is good to jump into a project and allow yourself to become immersed at times it is sometimes better to take a step back and take a good look at your work to see what might be improved upon or tweaked, or how you might be able to do things differently.

What New Idea Fascinates You?
Right now I'm kind of on a Last Man Standing kick having just discovered the series and have been drawn in by the great looking artwork and unique, immersive story line.
What New Possibility Has Captured Your Attention?
Some new artwork featuring a theme cross between the games Dead Space and Shattered Horizon
 In What Ways Can You Honor This Inspiration Today?
 By getting started on this project today and working on bringing this image to reality.  Preferably in poster form so I can hang it in my room.

Find Your Howl

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/51.01.YourHowl

The first post of this story tells the tale of a wolf named Mumon.  Mumon is part of a generation of offspring derived from the last 14 surviving red wolves to be found  in the 1970's.  Bread in captivity and released into the wild these wolves quickly discovered that had lost one key ability.  The ability to howl.  Without it the wolves became frightened and no alpha male could be chosen to lead, so Mumon sets off on a journey to find his howl.  As Mumon journey's through the woods he is guided by and encouraged by the other animals of the wild to find his inner howl and embrace his true nature as a wolf.  Eventually, Mumon sets off on a long journey, running for miles, and has a vision that he walks into a fire surrounded by drumming tribesmen and lets lose a howl, right after which he awakens to discover he is actually on a rock and is howling for his fellow wolves.

Inspiration on Demand?

Who influences me?  So many ways I feel I can answer this question, so many aspects of my life I could take a look at for inspiration, but who really inspires me?  At least creatively that is.  Well really to me a number of different people do but I suppose that list can indeed be narrowed down to three cases in particular.

                To start off with, the most influential graphic designer for me would be Daniel Luvisi, of whom I am a huge fan of his artistic style.  From his homage’s to some of my favorite pieces of media, namely Aliens  and his portrait of Boba Fett, to the very recent creation of his soon-to-be-released graphic novel series, Last Man Standing. 

  This series holds a lot of promise and I am already very impressed with the character development and unique artistic stylings of the characters.  In this case I would like to put some focus on his latest of projects, the Last Man Standing series of which so far only a prologue to the three graphic novels has been released, Killbook of a Bounty Hunter.  To put this project in a little perspective and to give one an idea of the potential held by this series, when the series was first revealed and went public at Comic Con 2010 it immediately sold out within two hours of its unveiling and the rights for a movie were quickly purchased by Paramount pictures shortly after the unveiling.  In any case I feel that Daniel has been very successful in his artwork and does a masterful job at taking these characters and ideas in his head and ‘putting them down on paper’ (you know, via computer) and making them come to life, complete with a whole unique plot and story line to match.  In terms of the binary terms we have learned he has certainly done a pretty good job at utilizing them in his work.  Noticeably he has taken advantage of his character creation in terms of Contrast and Affinity, from the fairly harmless ‘Bonnie’ to the psychotic ‘Matyr’ and the mysterious and seemingly awe-inspiring main character, ‘Gabriel’.
Some examples of what I mean in terms of character contrast:

He also does a lot of Objective and Subjective work in his art as well, leaving much of each character’s personality and mindset up to the readers to decide, mainly focusing on laying down each one’s back-story.  In his own way too, Daniel manages a nice job through inspiring Didactic and Active information gathering in his readers and viewers.  While providing some back stories for his characters, viewers are again left to their own devices in finding each character’s motives and finding the whole path that lead them to the confrontations and organizations they are in presently.  I personally feel that these phrases in particular apply to nearly all of the given characters but from what I have read about them thus far they particularly apply to the characters known as Bonnie and Clyde, Abaddon, and Dante for whom very little backstory is provided and much is left up to viewers imaginations.  All in all I am very impressed with what this artist has done, with him having worked solo on the artwork and backing story, creating this world for himself, something I think would be awesome to be able to do someday.

The Begining

I suppose you can officially consider this to be my first time post for this blog.  There will more to come and and more thoughts to be added :P