Personal Profile
Email - Amy Robinson
I am currently in my second year of studies at QUT, undertaking the "Bachelor of Creative Industries" (interdisciplinary) degree, with submajors in Digital Media and Public Relations. I have taken this suject, "New Media Technologies" as a core unit of my digital media submajor.
I find the Internet to be a fascinating thing, and sometimes find it is hard to imagine life without it. I am able to keep in touch with all of my friends via email, I know what's going on in the world via online news services, I can share my pictures so that my friends can view them via a sharing network and I frequently go to the QUT website for any information regarding my studies.
References for second assignment
Lovejoy, M. (2004) Digital Currents: Art in the electronic age, New York: Routledge. ISBN 041530780
Rush, M. (1999) New media in late 20th-century art, New York: Thames & Hudson.
Popper, F. (1993) Art of the electronic age, New York: Thames and Hudson.
Ascott, R. (2000) Art, Technology, Consciousness, UK: Intellect Books. ISBN 1841500410
Timms, P. (2004) What's wrong with contemporary art? Sydney: University of New South Wales. ISBN 0868404071
Annotative Bibliography.
Topic: I will be analysing the way in which various new media technologies created in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have either shaped or significantly altered new and old musical genres. I will be investigating how these changes have affected both individual musicians and traditional musical cultures, and the consequences of these impacts will be considered.
Below are a list of the references to be used:
1. Middleton, R., Buckley, D., Walser, R., Laing, D., and Manuel, P. (2001) Pop: Implications of Technology, in Sadie, S., and Tyrrell, J., (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, London: Macmillan.
Pop: Implications of Technology provides a detailed analysis of the widespread changes which have impacted on popular music through the advent of new media technologies. These technologies encompass various developments, which are discussed by the authors chronologically, from the introduction of recorded sound in 1877, to sampling in the 1990s. The chapter effectively covers the span of musical developments that have occurred through this time, by being broken up into four sub-categories. Each category serves to give a knowledgeable insight into the most significant transformations experienced by the pop industry, such as the structure and style of bands, the persona of the solo pop artist, the increased prominence of the producer and the changed structure of entertainment and the way it is consumed.
2. Theberge, P. (1997) Any Sound You Can Imagine: Making Music/Consuming Technology, London: University Press of New England. ISBN 0819553077
In the book, Any Sound You Can Imagine, Paul Theberge highlights the drastic technological changes which have taken place in the second half of the twentieth century, and takes an in-depth approach into determining the myriad of effects which these changes have had on the music industry. Dissected into three parts, the book focuses on the reinvention of old musical instruments into new, electronic instruments, such as the drum and organ; and the invention of completely new sound systems, such as the synthesiser. Theberge compares and contrasts the old and new instruments, and raises some valid questions concerning an evident depersonalisation of musical technique, as electronic instruments become increasingly popularised.
Theberge aligns the discussion of the functional changes brought on by new media technologies with an analysis of the real-life implications being felt by the musicians themselves. Theberge examines how electronic instruments have revolutionised relationships between the musician and their music, and how the lines have become increasingly blurred between those who produce, and those who consume music. This discussion is placed into a wider social and historical context, whereby the contemporary state of music today is critically analysed in comparison to historical perspectives of traditional musical styles.
3. Greene, P., and Porcello, T. (ed.) (2005) Wired for Sound, Middleton: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819565172
This book is primarily focused on sound engineering technologies, and evaluates how this advancement has impacted upon musical forms across the world, for better or for worse. Greene and Porcello have chosen to combine essays from selected countries around the world, which together provide a unique global perspective of the consequences of infiltrating Western culture into non-Western countries, via technological advancements. The benefits, such as global musical synergies, and local empowerment, are juxtaposed with the negative consequences, such as issues of homogenisation, and the imposition of Western beliefs on what were once unique and primitive cultures. The book articulates how different cultures have dealt with these issues, and the editors have included case studies to demonstrate this, such as an insight into contemporary Indigenous music in Australia. These issues are discussed in a wider context relative to political, social, cultural and aesthetic implications.
4. Russ, M. (1996) “Using Synthesis,�? in Sound Synthesis and Sampling, Oxford: Focal Press. ISBN 0240514297
This chapter by Martin Russ essentially deals with the use of synthesis in music making. The author details the various ways in which the user is able to interact with a synthesiser in order to produce the sounds they are trying to achieve. The chapter includes a comprehensive description and analysis of all of the techniques involved, and discusses the resulting sounds which are then made possible. Russ provides a fundamental consideration of the clear distinctions between music making before and after the introduction of sound synthesis, outlining how it has revolutionised music making today, providing endless possibilities which have resulted in marked change among a wide range of musical genres.
5. Prendergast, M. (2000) “House, Techno and Twenty-First Century Ambience,�? in The Ambient Century, London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 0747542139
This chapter discusses how musical genres have continued to expand, divide, recombine and mutate since the introduction of electronic music, resulting in what has been termed ‘Ambient Music.’ The chapter provides a detailed description of the vast array of modern genres and sub-genres which have evolved out of the major genres of house and techno music. Prendergast describes how these emergent sub-genres have been socially aligned with youth cultures and technologies, such as the mobile phone, personal computers and the Internet.
Throughout the chapter, Prendergast also describes an apparent shift in the construction of music, where the most important consideration is no longer music itself, but rather the crucial ingredients which form the overall experience. Prendergast accompanies his description of the sub-genres born from house and techno with numerous examples of corresponding artists. Through listing these artists and describing their music in such detail, Prendergast justifies his argument by effectively demonstrating how significant and evident the changes brought by electronic music can be seen in what people choose to listen to today.
6. Young, R. (ed.) (2002) Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music, London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-6450-5
This book is divided into four sections, containing a series of essays which combine to describe a world where music has become partly or wholly mechanised. Throughout the essays, there are constant comparisons between the music known today and the music that once was, drawing on the positive and somewhat negative implications of the changes that can be seen. The authors propose some thought provoking theories, such as questions of whether humans are even necessary to make music nowadays. The book conveys how sound has and will never be the same, and reflects on the music that once was.
7. Emmerson, S. (ed.) (2000) “Cultural Noise,�? in Music, Electronic Media and Culture, London: Ashgate Publishing Limited. ISBN 0754601099
Music, Electronic Media and Culture is a book about the new world of immense public exposure to musical products of technology seen everywhere today. The book is divided into three parts, and part two is called “Cultural Noise,�? which consists of three chapters. The first chapter provides an account of the transformation of old music into the new. It investigates newly arisen issues of musical legitimacy in music, and the moral and legal boundaries which constitute as determinants in the outcomes of these issues. The second chapter, titled “Crossing Cultural Boundaries through Technologies,�? features case studies of eastern and western traditions, examining the basis for intercultural interaction, and the problems and opportunities caused by technology. The third chapter, “Cacophony,�? provides a unique insight into what noise is, and how it has proliferated to symbolise a world of sound which is forever expanding and accelerating.
8. Weintraub, A. and Yung, B. (2005) Musical and Cultural Rights, Trends and Prospects, retrieved August 11 from http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/musicrights/position_paper.html
This reading deals with an extensive consideration of how the rapid global expanse of new media technologies and economic developments has come into conflict with the cultural rights of groups and individuals. The authors provide an insight into how these changes can be difficult to come to terms with, particularly for some cultures that had previously been able to keep their musical traditions inward and sacred, before globalisation. Yung and Weintraub describe how the increasingly apparent pressure for change and expansion within musical traditions from individuals and groups can negatively affect the relevant communities. In doing so, the authors assert that when cultural rights are compromised, it could be destructive for the overall wellbeing of a community.
To justify some of the examples and claims which Yung and Weintraub have suggested in the reading, they have included two case studies at the end of the article. These case studies analyse the turbulent problems which have arisen in Tibetan and South American communities in regards to their musical traditions. The authors describe the notion of music being spiritual and emotional nourishment for these cultures, and how therefore a loss of music can equal a loss of shared identity itself.
9. Appleton, J. (1989) 21st-Century Musical Instruments: Hardware and Software, New York: Institute for Studies in American Music Conservatory of Music. ISBN 0914678329
This book provides a thorough account of a period, after the turn of the twentieth century, when the electronic revolution significantly changed the musical world. The book is essentially about the time when the invention of musical instruments proliferated immensely. Appleton is not so concerned with how computers are or have been used to make musical instruments, but rather the actual development of these instruments, and the artistic, financial and educational history of their creation. The book discusses the original need for instruments which are now commonly seen today, and mentions the failed instruments which never took off. 21st Century Instruments: Hardware and Software is crucial in gaining an understanding of how certain instruments managed to carve their way into musical genres today. It starts from the very beginning of their introduction, and so it can be understood why some electronic instruments were believed to be an improvement on their real and traditional counterparts.
Amy robinson 20:31, 11 Aug 2005 (EST)
