Journals
![Picture](/uploads/1/5/0/3/15035312/5225008.jpg?0)
Journal 1
After reading "Understand Composing Process" pgs. 2 - 20, answer the following questions.
What is your writing process? What are some of the steps of the writing process you usually skip? What are some problems you have when writing or in the writing process.
Nick Augustine
August 30, 2012
English 2
Mrs. I
Whenever I sit down to write a paper i typically just sit down and crank it out. The ideas that I put down on paper usually are well thought out, but i always go back and re read and re think the original words that I wrote down. My mind does a good job of sorting the information that I am using during the writing process, I just need to go back and make sure that what i wrote is actually what I meant to put down.
The format that was taught to us for writing way back in middle school and elementary has been imprinted in my head and I usually don't have to write down my plans unless I am writing a very elaborate research paper. The revision process is the most important part for me because I find that sometimes I wrote something that wasn't at all what I meant to say at all.
I really do not have that many difficulties when writing papers unless I don't understand what the paper is supposed to be written about. There have been a couple of times when I did not realize that the topic that I was writing and the topic that I was supposed to be writing were slightly different, which caused me to loose some points in previous classes.
Journal 2
What do you look for when it comes to feedback either from peers or instructor? What kind of feedback do you give?
Do you take feedback seriously? Do you take feedback into consideration while redrafting?
Nick Augustine
August 30, 2012
English 2
Mrs. I
I consider myself to be a very stubborn person so anytime anyone criticizes me I expect to be given good reason as to why. Then and only when will I consider even listening to the person and most of the time i do not anyways. From any instructor i expect to hear both positive and negative feedback. You cannot properly teach anyone without telling them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Peer reviews I take much less seriously then from a teacher because as far as I'm concerned they know less then I do. I usually give more negative feedback then positive when my opinion is asked because whatever someone is doing right they usually don't need to hear about it because they already know it. It is when something is wrong when the person needs to take a second look at their work and consider revision. I feel like I am much likely to do revisions on a paper if my instructor tells me it is required rather then another student.
Journal 3
In your textbook on page 47 you find the "More Possibilities for Rhetorical Analyses" section.
Nick Augustine
Writing 2
Mrs. I
September 19, 2012
Right now I find myself gazing at a 6 Cd set entitled Listen Seventh Edition, which I must be able to correctly identift several of the tracks on the cd if I am going to be able to score a good grade on my up coming test in my music class. The contents of the album contains many different very old classical songs ranging from old church songs in latin to piano that was recorded fairly recently in history.
The message on the front cover of the cd set is a very abstract image of a person who is playing what appears to be a violen. This gives the hint that the music that is on the compact disks is mostly ground-breaking classical music (for its time). The back of the package clearly states that the set was intended for use in schools and for classrooms. It is also obviously owned by Sony who has their name on the back as well as a govenment warning designed to deter people from illegally coping and selling the work.
Inside the pamphet is several different quotes from different proffessers working all over the country at many univeristies giving the collection praise and recommending it as well. The listing of the songs is also found around the same location and gives the indication that this is a very boring cd set after reading the sames Mozart and Beethoven several times. This makes me realize that I don't want to listen to the cd's at all but I have to choice but to do so anyway if I wish to recieve a good grade on my next report card.
Journal 4
We have done an exercise on Rhetorical identity of everyday objects. Discuss from the begining to the end the results of the lesson. What were some surprises in finding a "rhetorical situation/identity to items?
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 7, 2012
Mrs. I
A rhetorical identity is how an object is identified after preforming an in depth rhetorical analysis of the media in question. There are many different specifications that must be explored before establishing a clear rhetorical identity and these include appeals, rhetorical strategies, genres, mediums, text and the visual analysis. Rhetorical strategies are the methods for relaying the details of a message through either some form of narration, analysis, description, comparison and persuasion. A visual analysis explores the rhetorical dimensions of an image much like how an art class looks at the elements of art by reviewing the arrangement, balance, contrast, emphasis, cropping, size, shape, line, color, and texture.
The appeal of an object deals with how a text tries to attract its reader’s attention, the most common approach is to invoke the power of ethos which gives the speaker credibility so the reader believes that learning something from the knowledge written and it will make them a more knowledgeable person. Other methods that are used are bringing more attention to the logic of the information, known as logos and pathos which takes advantage of the human emotions that ever viewer of the work will feel. Genres give a consumer a clear expectation of how texts are composed, classified and engaging while also classifying media into common groups. The media of an object is how it is transmitted, created and delivered to other viewers like through books or television. Texts are a human invention with the intention to communicate a message, there are many different forms of texts such as essays, stories and advertisements but this does not exclude films, songs and video games.
How can you be sure that you have conceived an accurate rhetorical analysis? This can only be completed after exploring the ways which the text delivers its message and examining the larger context or concerns. Consider the rhetorical situation applied in the text and ask questions regarding the speaker and audience. Think about how the author is trying to appeal to their readers and whether they are using ethos, logos or pathos. Ask about the genre and media to further your investigation of the purpose and intent of the literature presented. Critically review the details and how it has used description, narration, dialog, tones and compare them to other writing strategies. Analyze a wide range of texts including images, sounds and videos to see how elements mix to create a message. Look over the entire work to make connections and create a conclusion based on your rhetorical analysis and consider associations between people, ideas and things.
Journal 5
This journal is in response to the "Is There a There in Cyberspace?"
Answer the 3 "Questions on Meaning" and #1 under Writing Assignments
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
1. Cyberspace is a place full of locations and communities even though it doesn’t contain a single physical location. It can be visited, added to and also destroyed even though it cannot be touched or seized. There are some important principles missing including prana, which is a Hindu term for breath and spirit. The contents of cyberspace is also much less spiritual because it lacks body language, sex, death, tone of voice, clothing, beauty, weather, vegetation, violence, wildlife, architecture, music, smells, and sunlight. When cyberspace is reviewed all together we can see what is created by the human spirit and the desire to connect. Although cyberspace can easily be left and avoided we should visit it with the hope of finding unconditional love.
2. Community is a group of species that interact with each other through many different ways including speech, physical interaction and emotional interactions. The result of a community is a tight niche of creatures that begin to rely on each other for anything from resources, knowledge to love. Barlow believes that a real community contains an absence of alternatives and a sense of genuine adversity that is generally shared. Communities are the beneficiaries of unintentional investments that are willingly given by its inhabitants including spiritual, material and temporal ones whenever a life form comes to the belief that they have a home that they cannot or would choose not to leave. There is a bond of joint suffering because everyone shares the same natural conditions and an understanding of the dangers that are held within.
3. An intentional community is created when creatures willingly come together with the intent of sharing the resources of their residence and the responsibility of upholding their standard way of living. An unintentional community is created when its residences come together unknowingly or coincidentally but determine that they are going to continue to stay together once the benefits of their interactions is realized. Either way the result of these communities is interactions between the inhabitance through either physical contact, verbal or mental association.
My physical community is the campus of Uncc Charlotte and it is very beneficial for any student to live in this environment. Living on a university campus opens many doors for learning, product consumption and social interactions. It contains a diverse population of humans who are all mostly committed to the advancement of knowledge and research. When so many expanding minds are all brought into one place it allows for the creation and transfer of ideas between the people associated in the same fields of studies. The disadvantage to this kind of community is whenever you have this many people living in one dense area there is bound to be a higher crime rate. A physical community can offer much a much more fulfilling experience because physical stimulation can be achieved much easier which also allows for a more pleasurable mental stimulation. Also the room for growth and experiences is much greater in a way that cannot take place in a virtual community. Being in a physical community also grants a higher sense of security for the future when you are present within it.
Journal 6
The readings that you read that pertain to your Blog topic is what you will be discussing in this journal.
Nick Augustine
Writing 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
There are many ways that the Beetles and Tech N9ne are similar and there are also certain traits that make them different from each other. They are both established producers of music who were not afraid to step outside of the boundaries that were previously laid in place by the music industry. They both told stories that related to their lives, fame and wealth while allowing the public to peep into their persons on a more personal level. They are both trends setters that have impacted their music genre by adding a new style and flavor to their projects and which have allowed openings for similar artist to expand upon and be recognized for. Their aggressive music style has identified them to be original and has allowed their ingenuity to be seen and marveled at. The success of their careers also tends to fallow a pattern of exponential growth that has allowed them to interact with many different people from many different cultures around the world. Some of the content of their lyrics also has a similar topics glorifying drug use, especially that of hallucinogens. While the Beetles are known for their experimentation with the drug LSD, Tech frequently mentions his mind altering experiences with mushrooms.
It is impossible to say whether the Beetles single handedly saved rock and roll from extinction but it is safe to say that they influenced the future of the genre by reshaping the expectations and direction of their art. If it were not for the Beetles it is very likely that rock music would not sound at all like it does now, there could be more influence from other instruments that are not typically seen today and the lyrics and messages contained in the music could easily focus on other topics if they had never introduced them as the new trends.
Tech has a very strong passion for music that he says has been with him for his entire life and has caused him to become the man that he is today. It is likely that the rebellious nature of the hip hop industry is what attracted his attention and caused his obsession. It is known that his family did not support his passion for rap and he was punished at a young age when his parents discovered that he was listening to an old school artist by the name of Bo Fly. When viewing Tech N9ne’s catalogue it is clear to see that he also has a great influence from rock music and many of his songs have a rock and roll tone such as the song “Riot Maker”. Tech shows his personality and his ideals through his explicit lyrics that he refuses to censor to reveal a greater sense of emotion and also add shock value. Plato’s definition of music is rhythm and melody accompanied by dance to reveal the barbaric nature of the soul, by this definition Tech is a musical genius because of his incredible rhyme and rhythm that inspires the urge to dance or mosh like you were attending a rave while he often explaining his barbaric ideology though his expression of life experiences including sex, violence and drugs. This addition he has contributed to the music industry has opened the way for the creation of his own record label known as Strange Music which has allowed him to more efficiently obtain his capitalistic desires.
The use of drugs in some cases can affect a person’s enthusiasm and expectations through extended exposure to its affects. While under the influence of drugs your interpretation of your surroundings are brought into question and sometimes totally altered. This is why it is possible to become unimpressed by the natural spectacle of life once your mind has had a glimpse of a more unconventional and in some ways more interesting one. I do believe that rock music can be a substitute for the euphoric feeling because it indulges your senses in the same way while also creating a curiosity that is fueled by your own emotions and excitement for change occurring in the future.
The sensuous plane for Tech N9ne’s music is the instrumentals that he records his voice over to create a finished product. It contains much of the emotion and tone of the song before it has been refined and expressed through spoken word. Just listening to a hip hop beat sets the pace and rhythm for its consumers to fallow along too. The expressive plane is only added after the vocals of the track is added and the song is given a purpose and meaning by the artist. By expressing themselves over the arrangement of the instrumental sounds it adds to the substance of the music by adding human feelings and emotions along with the raw musical energy. The last plane is the musical one, this is achieved only after the final product has been created and you can hear the interaction between the sounds of the instrumentals and the words of the speaker’s voice. This harmony can create a pleasure for the senses that can be felt after becoming engrossed in the music.
It is so difficult to express what a musical piece expresses because there can be so many different focuses of content in just one song. Often these expressions occurs so consistently back to back that only the main concept of the track is the only thing widely grasped by the public. When the words of the song are examined on a more magnified level it is very possible that several different meanings and ideas are revealed showing a more detailed concept of the theme and messages.
By violating the traditional values of rap music Tech N9ne has been able to use it to create a more dark and vulgar form of the music that no one before him has been able to create at the same level of expertise. While many hip hop artists choose to make their subject matter about money, cars and women Tech chooses to explore more dark and tormented approach preferring to discuss his personal issues dealing with his personal struggles and addressing his inner demons. Such a great response for his music has been received because of his creativity and the assumption that he is a legitimate gang banger from Kansas City telling his stories about his experiences with the use of his own words. The “capitalistic taint” has also been removed from a majority of the music distributed by Strange Music, before the founding of the company Tech released three albums with another recording company that he now does not even consider his legitimate records because he was not able to make the music the way that he would have if he was given full artistic freedom. Now everything that he releases he has done so for his own reasons and Tech is given full credibility for the finished product.
My taste in music is generally only consisting of hip hop music. It is my personal opinion that the greatest rappers ever to spit behind a microphone are Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G. and Tech N9ne. From Eminem his classics include The Way I Am, Criminal, Guess Who’s Back, Till I Collapse and Cleaning out My Closest. The greatest hits by Biggie Smalls are Big Poppa, Hypnotize, Niggas Bleed and Dead Wrong. Tech N9ne has a huge collection of released music but from what I have heard I would have to say my favorite songs are Riot Maker, Nothin, Caribou Lou, Slacker, Here Comes Teccan Nina and I’m a Playa. I used to listen to rock bands like Poppa Roach and Kill Switch Engaged for a short amount of time but I could not connect with the music the same way because it does not have the same kind of ruggedness that can be found in rap music.
Journal 7
This journal is in response to "Buying Happiness" on pg. 135 - 140
Answer:
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
1. Despite popular belief happiness cannot be bought with money. This is proven as our ideology by pointing out that in the past 20 years Canadians have added an extra 0.5 hours to their work day, and forfeited 32 million days of vacation in one year in exchange for $750 billion dollars of debt. The average person in the workforce spends 11 days a year commuting to and from work. Even with these sacrifices that are made and while our houses and televisions continue to get bigger and more extravagant there is a rise in the rates of depression within the population.
2. There are many different things that make me happy including music, friendship and accomplishment. I would have to say the thing that makes me the most happy in the world is the pleasure of sexual intercourse because it is the most natural and standard way to relieve stress among living creatures. None of these things typically require any money to obtain but because of the capitalistic society that we live in today it is very likely that it will take a little bit of spending power to makes these pleasures a reality. Music is copy written and owned by its producers and must be purchased in order to obtain it legally, friendship is truly free until your broke friends come to you asking for money, and if your running for the office of President of the United States you better be ready to drop some major cash in order to reach that accomplishment. At the beginning of time humans were like all other animals choosing mates based on natural instinct but now things have changed and it is expected for you to take your significant other on dates to woe and impress them. So in theory none of these things should require money but depending on the circumstances they do or they don’t.
3. There is no way to totally escape the temptations of consumer culture and the depressing reality of materialism unless you were to totally cut off your family and friends and move into the wilderness to live off the land. These creation of all this depression and becoming desensitized is not a coincidence at all and is a product of institutions that have been placed on purpose by the major corporations in order to create a wider group of impressionable consumers. The purpose of this is to make people more easily influenced and persuaded to purchase the newest products on the market because they are oblivious to the commonly occurring blessings that life provides and instead makes them focus on the materialistic things they are told that they need. Humans have for the most part lived in capitalistic societies for hundreds or maybe thousands of years and to change these traditions would cause a total unraveling of the social fabric.
After reading "Understand Composing Process" pgs. 2 - 20, answer the following questions.
What is your writing process? What are some of the steps of the writing process you usually skip? What are some problems you have when writing or in the writing process.
Nick Augustine
August 30, 2012
English 2
Mrs. I
Whenever I sit down to write a paper i typically just sit down and crank it out. The ideas that I put down on paper usually are well thought out, but i always go back and re read and re think the original words that I wrote down. My mind does a good job of sorting the information that I am using during the writing process, I just need to go back and make sure that what i wrote is actually what I meant to put down.
The format that was taught to us for writing way back in middle school and elementary has been imprinted in my head and I usually don't have to write down my plans unless I am writing a very elaborate research paper. The revision process is the most important part for me because I find that sometimes I wrote something that wasn't at all what I meant to say at all.
I really do not have that many difficulties when writing papers unless I don't understand what the paper is supposed to be written about. There have been a couple of times when I did not realize that the topic that I was writing and the topic that I was supposed to be writing were slightly different, which caused me to loose some points in previous classes.
Journal 2
What do you look for when it comes to feedback either from peers or instructor? What kind of feedback do you give?
Do you take feedback seriously? Do you take feedback into consideration while redrafting?
Nick Augustine
August 30, 2012
English 2
Mrs. I
I consider myself to be a very stubborn person so anytime anyone criticizes me I expect to be given good reason as to why. Then and only when will I consider even listening to the person and most of the time i do not anyways. From any instructor i expect to hear both positive and negative feedback. You cannot properly teach anyone without telling them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Peer reviews I take much less seriously then from a teacher because as far as I'm concerned they know less then I do. I usually give more negative feedback then positive when my opinion is asked because whatever someone is doing right they usually don't need to hear about it because they already know it. It is when something is wrong when the person needs to take a second look at their work and consider revision. I feel like I am much likely to do revisions on a paper if my instructor tells me it is required rather then another student.
Journal 3
In your textbook on page 47 you find the "More Possibilities for Rhetorical Analyses" section.
- Answer #1
Nick Augustine
Writing 2
Mrs. I
September 19, 2012
Right now I find myself gazing at a 6 Cd set entitled Listen Seventh Edition, which I must be able to correctly identift several of the tracks on the cd if I am going to be able to score a good grade on my up coming test in my music class. The contents of the album contains many different very old classical songs ranging from old church songs in latin to piano that was recorded fairly recently in history.
The message on the front cover of the cd set is a very abstract image of a person who is playing what appears to be a violen. This gives the hint that the music that is on the compact disks is mostly ground-breaking classical music (for its time). The back of the package clearly states that the set was intended for use in schools and for classrooms. It is also obviously owned by Sony who has their name on the back as well as a govenment warning designed to deter people from illegally coping and selling the work.
Inside the pamphet is several different quotes from different proffessers working all over the country at many univeristies giving the collection praise and recommending it as well. The listing of the songs is also found around the same location and gives the indication that this is a very boring cd set after reading the sames Mozart and Beethoven several times. This makes me realize that I don't want to listen to the cd's at all but I have to choice but to do so anyway if I wish to recieve a good grade on my next report card.
Journal 4
We have done an exercise on Rhetorical identity of everyday objects. Discuss from the begining to the end the results of the lesson. What were some surprises in finding a "rhetorical situation/identity to items?
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 7, 2012
Mrs. I
A rhetorical identity is how an object is identified after preforming an in depth rhetorical analysis of the media in question. There are many different specifications that must be explored before establishing a clear rhetorical identity and these include appeals, rhetorical strategies, genres, mediums, text and the visual analysis. Rhetorical strategies are the methods for relaying the details of a message through either some form of narration, analysis, description, comparison and persuasion. A visual analysis explores the rhetorical dimensions of an image much like how an art class looks at the elements of art by reviewing the arrangement, balance, contrast, emphasis, cropping, size, shape, line, color, and texture.
The appeal of an object deals with how a text tries to attract its reader’s attention, the most common approach is to invoke the power of ethos which gives the speaker credibility so the reader believes that learning something from the knowledge written and it will make them a more knowledgeable person. Other methods that are used are bringing more attention to the logic of the information, known as logos and pathos which takes advantage of the human emotions that ever viewer of the work will feel. Genres give a consumer a clear expectation of how texts are composed, classified and engaging while also classifying media into common groups. The media of an object is how it is transmitted, created and delivered to other viewers like through books or television. Texts are a human invention with the intention to communicate a message, there are many different forms of texts such as essays, stories and advertisements but this does not exclude films, songs and video games.
How can you be sure that you have conceived an accurate rhetorical analysis? This can only be completed after exploring the ways which the text delivers its message and examining the larger context or concerns. Consider the rhetorical situation applied in the text and ask questions regarding the speaker and audience. Think about how the author is trying to appeal to their readers and whether they are using ethos, logos or pathos. Ask about the genre and media to further your investigation of the purpose and intent of the literature presented. Critically review the details and how it has used description, narration, dialog, tones and compare them to other writing strategies. Analyze a wide range of texts including images, sounds and videos to see how elements mix to create a message. Look over the entire work to make connections and create a conclusion based on your rhetorical analysis and consider associations between people, ideas and things.
Journal 5
This journal is in response to the "Is There a There in Cyberspace?"
Answer the 3 "Questions on Meaning" and #1 under Writing Assignments
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
1. Cyberspace is a place full of locations and communities even though it doesn’t contain a single physical location. It can be visited, added to and also destroyed even though it cannot be touched or seized. There are some important principles missing including prana, which is a Hindu term for breath and spirit. The contents of cyberspace is also much less spiritual because it lacks body language, sex, death, tone of voice, clothing, beauty, weather, vegetation, violence, wildlife, architecture, music, smells, and sunlight. When cyberspace is reviewed all together we can see what is created by the human spirit and the desire to connect. Although cyberspace can easily be left and avoided we should visit it with the hope of finding unconditional love.
2. Community is a group of species that interact with each other through many different ways including speech, physical interaction and emotional interactions. The result of a community is a tight niche of creatures that begin to rely on each other for anything from resources, knowledge to love. Barlow believes that a real community contains an absence of alternatives and a sense of genuine adversity that is generally shared. Communities are the beneficiaries of unintentional investments that are willingly given by its inhabitants including spiritual, material and temporal ones whenever a life form comes to the belief that they have a home that they cannot or would choose not to leave. There is a bond of joint suffering because everyone shares the same natural conditions and an understanding of the dangers that are held within.
3. An intentional community is created when creatures willingly come together with the intent of sharing the resources of their residence and the responsibility of upholding their standard way of living. An unintentional community is created when its residences come together unknowingly or coincidentally but determine that they are going to continue to stay together once the benefits of their interactions is realized. Either way the result of these communities is interactions between the inhabitance through either physical contact, verbal or mental association.
My physical community is the campus of Uncc Charlotte and it is very beneficial for any student to live in this environment. Living on a university campus opens many doors for learning, product consumption and social interactions. It contains a diverse population of humans who are all mostly committed to the advancement of knowledge and research. When so many expanding minds are all brought into one place it allows for the creation and transfer of ideas between the people associated in the same fields of studies. The disadvantage to this kind of community is whenever you have this many people living in one dense area there is bound to be a higher crime rate. A physical community can offer much a much more fulfilling experience because physical stimulation can be achieved much easier which also allows for a more pleasurable mental stimulation. Also the room for growth and experiences is much greater in a way that cannot take place in a virtual community. Being in a physical community also grants a higher sense of security for the future when you are present within it.
Journal 6
The readings that you read that pertain to your Blog topic is what you will be discussing in this journal.
- How do the requested readings relate to your topic? Some of the readings have questions, further discussion and suggestions after them. Discuss at least one for each reading.
Nick Augustine
Writing 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
There are many ways that the Beetles and Tech N9ne are similar and there are also certain traits that make them different from each other. They are both established producers of music who were not afraid to step outside of the boundaries that were previously laid in place by the music industry. They both told stories that related to their lives, fame and wealth while allowing the public to peep into their persons on a more personal level. They are both trends setters that have impacted their music genre by adding a new style and flavor to their projects and which have allowed openings for similar artist to expand upon and be recognized for. Their aggressive music style has identified them to be original and has allowed their ingenuity to be seen and marveled at. The success of their careers also tends to fallow a pattern of exponential growth that has allowed them to interact with many different people from many different cultures around the world. Some of the content of their lyrics also has a similar topics glorifying drug use, especially that of hallucinogens. While the Beetles are known for their experimentation with the drug LSD, Tech frequently mentions his mind altering experiences with mushrooms.
It is impossible to say whether the Beetles single handedly saved rock and roll from extinction but it is safe to say that they influenced the future of the genre by reshaping the expectations and direction of their art. If it were not for the Beetles it is very likely that rock music would not sound at all like it does now, there could be more influence from other instruments that are not typically seen today and the lyrics and messages contained in the music could easily focus on other topics if they had never introduced them as the new trends.
Tech has a very strong passion for music that he says has been with him for his entire life and has caused him to become the man that he is today. It is likely that the rebellious nature of the hip hop industry is what attracted his attention and caused his obsession. It is known that his family did not support his passion for rap and he was punished at a young age when his parents discovered that he was listening to an old school artist by the name of Bo Fly. When viewing Tech N9ne’s catalogue it is clear to see that he also has a great influence from rock music and many of his songs have a rock and roll tone such as the song “Riot Maker”. Tech shows his personality and his ideals through his explicit lyrics that he refuses to censor to reveal a greater sense of emotion and also add shock value. Plato’s definition of music is rhythm and melody accompanied by dance to reveal the barbaric nature of the soul, by this definition Tech is a musical genius because of his incredible rhyme and rhythm that inspires the urge to dance or mosh like you were attending a rave while he often explaining his barbaric ideology though his expression of life experiences including sex, violence and drugs. This addition he has contributed to the music industry has opened the way for the creation of his own record label known as Strange Music which has allowed him to more efficiently obtain his capitalistic desires.
The use of drugs in some cases can affect a person’s enthusiasm and expectations through extended exposure to its affects. While under the influence of drugs your interpretation of your surroundings are brought into question and sometimes totally altered. This is why it is possible to become unimpressed by the natural spectacle of life once your mind has had a glimpse of a more unconventional and in some ways more interesting one. I do believe that rock music can be a substitute for the euphoric feeling because it indulges your senses in the same way while also creating a curiosity that is fueled by your own emotions and excitement for change occurring in the future.
The sensuous plane for Tech N9ne’s music is the instrumentals that he records his voice over to create a finished product. It contains much of the emotion and tone of the song before it has been refined and expressed through spoken word. Just listening to a hip hop beat sets the pace and rhythm for its consumers to fallow along too. The expressive plane is only added after the vocals of the track is added and the song is given a purpose and meaning by the artist. By expressing themselves over the arrangement of the instrumental sounds it adds to the substance of the music by adding human feelings and emotions along with the raw musical energy. The last plane is the musical one, this is achieved only after the final product has been created and you can hear the interaction between the sounds of the instrumentals and the words of the speaker’s voice. This harmony can create a pleasure for the senses that can be felt after becoming engrossed in the music.
It is so difficult to express what a musical piece expresses because there can be so many different focuses of content in just one song. Often these expressions occurs so consistently back to back that only the main concept of the track is the only thing widely grasped by the public. When the words of the song are examined on a more magnified level it is very possible that several different meanings and ideas are revealed showing a more detailed concept of the theme and messages.
By violating the traditional values of rap music Tech N9ne has been able to use it to create a more dark and vulgar form of the music that no one before him has been able to create at the same level of expertise. While many hip hop artists choose to make their subject matter about money, cars and women Tech chooses to explore more dark and tormented approach preferring to discuss his personal issues dealing with his personal struggles and addressing his inner demons. Such a great response for his music has been received because of his creativity and the assumption that he is a legitimate gang banger from Kansas City telling his stories about his experiences with the use of his own words. The “capitalistic taint” has also been removed from a majority of the music distributed by Strange Music, before the founding of the company Tech released three albums with another recording company that he now does not even consider his legitimate records because he was not able to make the music the way that he would have if he was given full artistic freedom. Now everything that he releases he has done so for his own reasons and Tech is given full credibility for the finished product.
My taste in music is generally only consisting of hip hop music. It is my personal opinion that the greatest rappers ever to spit behind a microphone are Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G. and Tech N9ne. From Eminem his classics include The Way I Am, Criminal, Guess Who’s Back, Till I Collapse and Cleaning out My Closest. The greatest hits by Biggie Smalls are Big Poppa, Hypnotize, Niggas Bleed and Dead Wrong. Tech N9ne has a huge collection of released music but from what I have heard I would have to say my favorite songs are Riot Maker, Nothin, Caribou Lou, Slacker, Here Comes Teccan Nina and I’m a Playa. I used to listen to rock bands like Poppa Roach and Kill Switch Engaged for a short amount of time but I could not connect with the music the same way because it does not have the same kind of ruggedness that can be found in rap music.
Journal 7
This journal is in response to "Buying Happiness" on pg. 135 - 140
Answer:
- "Structure and Content" #1,
- "Further Discussion" #1 &
- "Suggestions for Writing" #1.
Nick Augustine
English 2
November 8, 2012
Mrs. I
1. Despite popular belief happiness cannot be bought with money. This is proven as our ideology by pointing out that in the past 20 years Canadians have added an extra 0.5 hours to their work day, and forfeited 32 million days of vacation in one year in exchange for $750 billion dollars of debt. The average person in the workforce spends 11 days a year commuting to and from work. Even with these sacrifices that are made and while our houses and televisions continue to get bigger and more extravagant there is a rise in the rates of depression within the population.
2. There are many different things that make me happy including music, friendship and accomplishment. I would have to say the thing that makes me the most happy in the world is the pleasure of sexual intercourse because it is the most natural and standard way to relieve stress among living creatures. None of these things typically require any money to obtain but because of the capitalistic society that we live in today it is very likely that it will take a little bit of spending power to makes these pleasures a reality. Music is copy written and owned by its producers and must be purchased in order to obtain it legally, friendship is truly free until your broke friends come to you asking for money, and if your running for the office of President of the United States you better be ready to drop some major cash in order to reach that accomplishment. At the beginning of time humans were like all other animals choosing mates based on natural instinct but now things have changed and it is expected for you to take your significant other on dates to woe and impress them. So in theory none of these things should require money but depending on the circumstances they do or they don’t.
3. There is no way to totally escape the temptations of consumer culture and the depressing reality of materialism unless you were to totally cut off your family and friends and move into the wilderness to live off the land. These creation of all this depression and becoming desensitized is not a coincidence at all and is a product of institutions that have been placed on purpose by the major corporations in order to create a wider group of impressionable consumers. The purpose of this is to make people more easily influenced and persuaded to purchase the newest products on the market because they are oblivious to the commonly occurring blessings that life provides and instead makes them focus on the materialistic things they are told that they need. Humans have for the most part lived in capitalistic societies for hundreds or maybe thousands of years and to change these traditions would cause a total unraveling of the social fabric.