CORSAIR
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
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contents
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
E D I T O R I A L S TA F F Amber Antonopoulos···· Editor-in-Chief c o rs a i r. e d i t o r i n c h i e f @ g m a i l . c o m Muna Cosic··············Managing Editor c o rs a i r. m a n a g i n g @ g m a i l . c o m Vanessa Barajas········ Health & Lifestyle c o rs a i r. l i f e s t y l e p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Elizabeth Moss··············· News Editor c o rs a i r. n e w s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Jasmin Huynh····· Arts & Entertainment c o rs a i r. c a l e n d a r p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Henry Crumblish·········Opinion Editor c o rs a i r. o p i n i o n p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m David Yapkowitz············ Sports Editor c o rs a i r. s p o r t s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Albert Andrade········Multimedia Editor c o rs a i r. m u l t i m e d i a @ g m a i l . c o m Sam Herron··················Photo Editor David J. Hawkins·············Photo Editor c o rs a i r p h o t o e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o m Jhosef Hern······················ Illustrator c o rs a i r c a r t o o n @ g m a i l . c o m Cocoa Dixon················ Design Team Mikaela Osterlund·········· Design Team c o rs a i r. d e s i g n t e a m @ g m a i l . c o m
c o r s a i r s ta f f Rubens Almeida Jr., Paul Alvarez Jr., Trev Angone, Fabian Avellaneda, Nathan Berookhim, Crislin Christian, Tina Eady, Paulina Eriksson, Lorena Garcia, Vanessa Oliveira Gomes, Jimmy Janszen, Ludwig Jonsson, Arlene Karno, Michelle Kreel, Michael Lee, Josefin Lindstrom, Jose Lopez, Sumaya Malin, Simon Luca Manili, Reyna Mares, Lauren Narvaez, Rachel Porter, Jonathan Ramos, Alci Rengifo, Cassandra Rubio, Emilio Sedeno, Dion To, Gintare Urbutyte, Lyan Wong
Nick Kovalenko Corsair Sierra Jackson and Alexander Komarov of “And Then There Were Ten” pose during a performance of a selection of songs from “Chicago” before Saturday’s night performance of the musical theater workshop on the Santa Monica College Main Stage. Students perform a selection of classical musical theater numbers at the workshop, jointly taught by the music and theater departments.
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if you have photos, feelings or opinions on what we publish, we want to hear from you! email, tweet, or facebook us. corsair.opinionpage@gmail.com ON THE COVER: Lyrics listed from top to bottom on the cover are from songs by musical artists Bright Eyes, Public Enemy, Indeep, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Bob Marley, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Rihanna, The Beatles, and the Grateful Dead. Original photo on the cover is courtesy of Jupiter Images. Cover design is by Cocoa Dixon. CORRECTIONS: In Issue 12 of The Corsair, in the article “Coyotes on the prowl in Santa Monica,” it was incorrectly stated that Sgt. Jay Moroso of the Santa Monica Police Department said he suspected that the coyotes migrating to Santa Monica might be coming from Will Rogers Park. Moroso actually stated that they might be coming from the Santa Monica Mountains, using the park at the mountain base as a reference to indicate the proximity of the range to Santa Monica.
Letter from the Editor
I
was 5 years old, and I still remember looking out at the Palm Beach Gardens palm trees through teary eyes the first time I heard “I Will Take You Home” by the Grateful Dead. Keyboardist Brent Mydland wrote the song about protecting his daughter, a “little girl lost in a forest of dreams.” My parents took me to 10 Grateful Dead shows as a child, from around that time until frontman Jerry Garcia died. Each time I heard that song live, I would hold on to my dad and cry. I still can’t listen to Mydland’s voice sing “Just when everything gets scary, Daddy’s coming ‘round for his darlin’ again” without feeling tears sting my eyes and pangs fill my chest. What is it about music? Is it the melody? The lyrics? The beat? How does it have the ability to make people feel so deeply? Music can understand you when you’re heartbroken, uplift you when you’re down, and inspire you when you’re lost. It can forge your identity, and remind you of your true self if you lose your way. It can take you back to an exact place and time, and make you remember a
Amber Antonopoulos Editor-in-Chief
feeling and a moment. Garcia’s warm voice and the Dead’s jamming guitars bring me back to my childhood. The harmonica over the piano of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” make me feel like I’m in my blackbox high school theater, surrounding the piano with drama kids singing “I’m sure that I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place.” B o b Dylan’s distinctive warbling of his poetic lyrics “It’s alright Ma, it’s life and life only” take me to the 101 freeway, my mom commiserating with me over my sophomoric pain as she drove me down from Berkeley to move to LA to attend acting school. The guitar strums of Pearl Jam’s “Low Light”
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take me back to my fiance’s old olive green sponge-painted room when we first fell in love. Music exudes relevance. The many musical genres — from rock ‘n’ roll to musical theater, from bluegrass to dance pop, from hip-hop to jazz, and from R&B to soul — all have the ability to permeate the mindset and change the way people feel, for better or worse. Music can set people free from their feelings or leave them immersed in their thoughts. Relatable lyrics can hold profound meaning beyond the words themselves. In this special issue, we examine these aspects of music and more. We investigate the role of song in society, athletics, academics, and the arts. We delve into the psychology of music, its therapeutic uses, and its evolution with the dawn of the digital age. We look at some of the less favorable associations of music, such as hypersexualization in the industry and a glorified drug culture. We explore the universal, timeless nature of music, and its uncanny ability to transcend reality and unite people together.
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volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
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Melodies that capture the times
Songs infused with political and social conflicts have influenced generations in thought and feeling. alci rengifo
On
Staff Writer
Jun e 24, 1545, Hans Bluetl was tied to a stake in the town square of Ried, located in the Bavarian region of modern-day Austria. He was soon set alight by his Catholic captors and, according to the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, "With great courage he endured the fiery death, singing hymns of praise until he collapsed." Bluetl was part of a then emerging religious group known as the Anabaptists, or rebaptizers, who challenged both the
Pope and kings of their day. The sect composed hymns or songs in honor of their fallen comrades and sang them in secret, lest they be discovered by authorities to meet a gruesome fate. This was but one very early example of the emergence of music as expression in tumultuous times. History's long path has been documented not just by historians, but by songwriters as well. World events and social changes have produced songs and artists who defined not so much the times as what the times were going through.
"Die Moldau" Bedrich Smetana Czechoslovakia
One modern example of music as a form of nationalist devotion and later as protest is "Die Moldau" by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. "Die Moldau," or "The Moldau," is part of a longer, symphonic poem named "Ma Vlast," or "My Homeland," and celebrates the great rivers that run through Bohemia. SMC jazz professor Keith Fiddmont said he has a great affinity for this piece of music. "I love that music," he said. "That is a very good example of program music where it's inspired by an actual place where you can actually visualize the place. It's very visual. I like that."
1874
On a summer night on June 9, 1939, as Nazi hordes occupied Czechoslovakia, conductor Vaclav Talich led the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of "My Homeland" at the National Theatre in Prague. Nazi occupation officials were in the audience. When the orchestra performed "The Moldau" and came to its conclusion, Czech audience members, in defiance of the Nazis, stood up and together sang their national anthem in a sign of resistance. Composer Samuel Cohen would later find inspiration in "The Moldau" for his composition "Hatikvah," or "The Hope," later adapted as the Israeli national anthem.
"Anarchy in the U.K." Sex Pistols England
As the Flower Power of the '60s faded away, punk music roared into the scene with riffs and lyrics proclaiming a new generation of anarchic rebellion and defiance of the status quo. Few bands capture this period like England's Sex Pistols. Led by Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, the opening apocalyptic lyric, "I am an Antichrist; I am an anarchist," stuck in the popular culture as an example of the punk revolution's unabashed style. At the time, the band's manager Malcolm McLaren said it was "a call to arms to the kids who believe that rock 'n' roll was taken away from them. It's a statement of selfrule, of ultimate independence." Dismissing the hippie anthems and folk sounds of the '60s, the Sex Pistols snarled lyrics like "Don't know what I want but I know how to get it; I wanna destroy," encapsulating the mood of young people feeling alienated. So dangerous was their music seen that the band was banned across the U.K., and record stores pulled their albums. Their follow-up single "God Save the Queen" was pulled from the British charts, charting at number one in the country, with its name erased from the chart listing, leaving a blank space instead of the song title. SMC student Hannah Contreras, a major punk rock fan, said she enjoys wearing her
1975
shirt with the name of the classic punk band The Ramones. "My dad grew up with punk music, and I basically grew up with it," she said. "It's mostly about expressing yourself. It's about expressing yourself against the government. That's what attracts me to punk music. You're putting yourself out there and your thoughts." Contreras said today's music scene seems to churn out senseless product. "Music nowadays is completely different," she said. "It's like whatever kind of makes sense, let's just throw it out there. Music has changed a lot. Why can't we go back to expressing yourself, like writing a poem and singing it?" Albums like Green Day's "American Idiot" continue to carry the thread of punk rebellion and social commentary. The album expresses anger at the George W. Bush administration, the war in Iraq and the overall state of America. "I love 'American Idiot,'" Contreras said. "I went to see the Broadway version and it was so good. When [the album] came out I was little and didn't really get the political message, but on Broadway I saw the catch. It talked about 9/11 and how the government is corrupting people. I see the point. That's what I like about punk music."
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Jose Lopez Corsair Brother J of the legendary hip-hop group X-Clan shares his politically conscious lyrics with the crowd alongside MC Supernatural at Zanzibar in Santa Monica on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
"Revolution" The Beatles England
"Revolution" was The Beatles' response to the rise in violent protests and street clashes that marked the period. These were the days when young students in France paralyzed their country during the May '68 protests. The Chicago Democratic Convention saw blood run the streets of the United States when police faced off with protesters. In the song, John Lennon called for a peaceful alternative to militant action when he sang, "But when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out? Don't you know it's gonna be alright?" "The thing that attracted me was not the lyrics until much later in life," Fiddmont said. "I have to admit that they were profound. They had great insights into the era in which they were living."
1968
SMC student Alexander Hymes discussed The Beatles and the impact of their music for him. "The most meaningful group is The Beatles; they are the best band of all time, in my opinion," he said. "They evolved with time and talked about war. They talked about love. They talked about peace. They started off singing stupid love songs then evolved into telling stories like 'Revolution.' 'Revolution' is the perfect example of everything." Hymes said he is disenchanted with the way music has gone in the 21st century. "The political movement in music has dissipated," he said. "You used to see this when war occurred, when things actually mattered. Today they sing about how many prostitutes, how much money or cars you have in your driveway."
"Fight the Power" Public Enemy United States
Long before Jay-Z and Kanye West, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, DJ Lord, Khari Wynn, and Professor Griff of Public Enemy were topping the charts with songs that spoke to the trials of the inner city and a system that still made the impoverished feel neglected. Public Enemy's seminal anthem "Fight the Power," composed for director Spike Lee's urban drama "Do the Right Thing," took a stark, African-American view of America and its society, dismissing Elvis as a significant icon. "We've got to pump the stuff to make us tough; from the heart, it's a start, a work of art to revolutionize," the song proclaims. "Fight the power. We've got to fight the powers that be." "It was very profound when it first came out," Fiddmont said. "It's still relevant. When you put that on, it still resonates. Hip-hop has a long tradition of people who understand their part in the continuing legacy of African-American music, and I @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
1989 appreciate that." Ninel Sarceno said she loves hip-hop that is fused with social commentary and revolutionary power. "I love their political agenda," she said of Public Enemy. "It was a lot of music that at the time was unheard of." Sarceno said she also admires more recent hip-hop artists, particularly from the underground, who continue the Public Enemy legacy like Immortal Technique, who rap about Third World struggles and American political issues. "Our basic thing should be about integrity and honesty, about approaching art honestly," Fiddmont said. "That's the great thing about music; you can't cheat off anybody. Everything is your personal expression. You have to express yourself, and bringing to it an integrity and honesty is what I try to bring to my students and a sense of history. It will be profound. You can't help but be profound."
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news
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Music industry woes in digital age The trend toward digital is changing the way we think about music.
T
tina eady Staff Writer
h e variety of music, video and pop culture content available on the Internet has left music companies and physical albums striving for survival. The trend toward digital music, which engages its audience through audiovisual, has challenged the music industry to change. “You could download the music and rip and burn to your heart’s content,” said music blogger Mark Mulligan of Music Industry Blog, who is also a seasoned media and technology analyst. "It puts the audience in control." Santa Monica College music professor Keith Fiddmont conducted an informal poll with his students, asking them who had recently purchased a CD. "Of 120 students, not one has bought a CD," he said. "Why, when they can make their own? It has killed the recording industry.” According to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a company that tracks music streams and radio airplay, the total unit number of audio and video music streamed in the United States was more than 50 billion between Dec. 31, 2012 and June 30, 2013, a 24 percent increase. This is not counting digital album sales, which make up 43 percent of all album sales, including CDs, cassettes, LPs and digital albums. “One of the pros is that we get music that was restricted before, and now we’re free to go and get it ourselves,” said SMC music major Kacey Baughan. “We’re free to make music in our own homes rather than pay out a lot of money to a studio. There’s a lot of freedom in that.” Napster began the shift away from the way music was distributed across the Internet. Rather than waiting for the release a CD, Mulligan said that the online file-sharing site may have changed the game by putting consumers in control. Napster and CD burning have made high-quality copies available to the public. But that was not the only change for the music industry. “The work has diminished because there are other methods, and a lot of it involves technology," said James Martin, chair of SMC's music department. “Digital is the future. [In] computer-driven music sent in digital form, the composer can digitize and sound like an orchestra that he doesn’t have to hire, and then he gets the whole paycheck. The composer and the employer never meet. It’s the future." According to the Institute for Policy Innovation, part of the diminishing income of music companies has to do with
Jose Lopez Corsair A collection of music showing classic records by John Coltrane, CDs by Cypress Hill, and an iPod playing an MP3 by Blink 182 is gathered on Tuesday. Digital music has become the most widespread way to enjoy music, while physical albums have become less popular.
piracy, which has caused a $12.5 billion economic loss every year in U.S. jobs, for a total of $2.7 billion in workers earnings, $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax, and $131 million in corporate income and production taxes. According to NBDS, audience behavior is diverse and complex, and the use is very fragmented. The music companies are trying to understand how to market this new technology in order to receive their revenue. Much industry attention has been given to audio-only streaming services, which allow users to listen to tracks or albums through computers or mobile devices without having to download and purchase the entire track beforehand. Services such as Spotify and Deezer have advertisement-funded, free-to-use platforms as well as monthly subscriptions without ads. According to a Wall Street Journal article, music companies have now come into different partnerships. Apple, in addition to the iTunes store, has added iTunes radio, a different business model that will pay record companies 13 cents per listen, and about 19 percent of the advertising revenue. Also, the three major record companies, Universal Music Group, Vivendi and Sony Music Entertainment are
expected to get cash advances against future royalties from Apple, according to the article. The terms for independent companies are similar, but not identical to the big three. Pandora, a popular Internet radio service that streams songs based on listener's genre preferences, pays labels slightly less than Apple, at 12 cents per listen, for their free site. According to a Billboard article, the top six music retailers, Tower Records, Best Buy, Virgin Entertainment Group, Hastings Entertainment Inc.,Trans World Entertainment Corporation, and Wherehouse Music, formed a partnership called Echo. The group will aim to implement digital media online and loyalty deals to ensure survival in an industry where consumers now prefer digital content over physical albums. In a future where conventional marketing is blurred, how the industry market should generate revenue effectively is still in question. "In this new evolution of music, my one thing about the technology is that I feel like every musician using technology for music needs to know the basics,“ Baugham said. “It just makes you a more independent musician, and it makes you respected in all aspects of music wherever you go."
Digital Music Trends 62% of Internet users use licensed digital music services 32% of Internet users use unlicensed digital music services Most popular digital video service 800 million active global users 9 out of 10 of the most viewed videos are music-related
Internet radio services gaining popularity
Streaming music services gaining popularity
Most popular Internet radio service 66 million active listeners 8% of U.S. Internet radio listeners
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Source: International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s 2013 digital music report
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opinion
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
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Sex sells, not talent Sounding good isn’t as profitable as looking good in the music industry
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Fabian Avellaneda Staff Writer
ith her tongue waving to the world, wearing barely anything, a lithe figure strutted onto the stage. A barrage of stuffed teddy bears followed behind and pranced around. The crowd's bewilderment soon turned to shock once artist Robin Thicke joined the bizarre choreography as she twerked on him, provocatively touching herself with a foam finger. The next day, she was the most talked about person in the world. Immediately following Miley Cyrus' raunchy and blatantly shocking performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, she got exactly what she wanted — people talking about her. In show business, when people are talking, sales are soaring. However, what artists like Cyrus gain in publicity, they definitely lose in dignity. Artists are giving in to a shameless, greed-driven, and hypersexualized industry that has no problem letting them make fools of themselves on national television. If Cyrus and other artists like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears are any indication, sex sells in the music industry. In 2009, a study by psychology professor Dawn R. Hobbs at the State University of New York found that 92 percent of the 174 songs that made it into the Billboard Top 10 that year contained sexual content. Society's view of women as sexual beings has changed dramatically in the last few decades. We have shifted from viewing women as these conservative figures under a dome of domesticity to somewhat blatant objects of desire and conquest. Within the world of music, it is sad and offensive to see how the proliferation of this hypersexualized image of females has translated to risque music videos where women are clearly objectified, dancing around half-naked for the male artist. Song lyrics unapologetically use derogatory terms that portray women with this sense of self-subordination. Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," arguably one of the most overplayed songs of the summer, subtly hints at themes of rape while speaking of these women who
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"know they want it." Nowhere is the objectification of women more prevalent than in the realm of rap music. "Rap has always been feminine; what it has not been is pro-woman," according to a 2012 report in the Journal of Popular Culture. Some may argue that the overt sexualization of women is just a byproduct, a natural result of an already changing culture in the United States, and one that has shifted toward a more sexualized view over the last few decades. However, male musicians are rarely sexualized as strongly or as frequently as female artists are. According to research conducted in 2012 by the Journal of Gender Studies, around the 1990s, when female musicians rose in popularity, so did their rates of sexualization. By the new millennium, female musicians were hypersexualized more than ever on the covers of Rolling Stone. So we know that some male artists use females as sexual objects in their music, but what about females? When I view artists like Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, or Rihanna, there is a part of me that likes that they are so confident with their sexuality. Then you realize that it is just a ploy to sell records — a simulation, and a creation of the music industry itself. Still, for every Katy Perry, there is an Adele. Upand-comer Ariana Grande has been noted for her Mariah Carey-esque vocals and has even been deemed the "anti-Miley Cyrus." There are talented female artists who do not radiate this hypersexuality, but there does not seem to be a stop to this cycle of over-sexualized females in the music industry, a cycle that's been running for years. However, no matter how many records they sell, or how much money they make, their sales tactics end up resembling a cry for attention, and sets feminine progress back years by returning to this sexist depiction. What about the effect that the way these women portray themselves have on younger fans? Aside from the negative effects on self esteem and body image, female artists' overt sexualization is sending the wrong message that looks and sex appeal are more
important than raw talent. Sure, women can have amazing voices and still show off their bodies, but when the facade of sexual prowess on the outside outshines the talent, which is the case for most female artists, then it just reinforces the music industry's trend of selling sex for money. The days where artists were the talk of town due to their vocal talents, and not because of half-naked, raunchy performances, seem to be a thing of the past because sex sells, not talent.
Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair
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opinion
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Amber Antonopoulos Corsair Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, lead guitarist Mike McCready, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and drummer Matt Cameron play for a sold-out crowd at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on Saturday. Formed in 1990, Pearl Jam is known for a guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll sound and never playing the same set list twice.
Long live
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Rock ‘n’ roll has influenced music for decades and continues to stay relevant in contemporary genres
T
h e feeling is still there — the life, the energy, the adrenaline. I can still hear that first riff of the lead guitar, and the sound of the first power chord piercing through the air, as it rests itself on the ears of every rockaholic. The sheer excitement of joining thousands of fans screaming, jumping and cheering on their favorite bands at a concert still resides within me. The intense vocals and powerfully sung lyrics of the greatest genre in the world are forever embedded into my brain to remind me of one thing. Rock 'n' roll will never die. Growing up in a generation built on the superpowers of hip-hop, rap and pop, it can be rendered unusual for anyone born in the '90s to proclaim rock 'n' roll as their favorite genre. With new waves of artists, songs, and even new genres being born, the emphasis on rock and its effect on music has been all but erased. Lyrics expressing the desire to break through glass ceilings and making more of oneself with thoughtful and intelligent wording have been replaced with simple-minded aspirations of who can make the most money or own the most cars. Ballads, once used to romance the eyes of people's affections, are now tainted with proclamations of who has the most "bitches and hoes." Music industry's downward spiral is further escalated with the embracing of electronic dance music, also known as EDM. No longer is a musician required to pick up an instrument and dedicate years of practice to try to attain stardom. No longer is a vocalist able to utilize his or her gift of vocal intensity in order to amaze consumers. All it takes these days is some imagination and the ability to press a few buttons and then flip a few switches to mix different beats and sounds into one. People are correct in classifying this music as art, but
Jonathan Ramos Staff Writer the standards for art have severely diminished with a lack of originality. Old-time groups such as Motown's Temptations, and rock legends like The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd took audiences by storm with their undeniable talent, while rock bands like Bon Jovi and Pearl Jam continue to light up arenas around the world. Whether it was the poetic genius of John Lennon, or the guitar mastery of Jimi Hendrix, these musicians took it upon themselves to create masterpieces from their hard work and practice. Rock bands no longer carry the same bone-chilling sound of their predecessors. The guitar solo is nearly nonexistent in songs of the new generation, constantly being substituted for vocal bridges or an extension of lyrical value. The immediate gratification factor of society no longer allows a band to perform a 30-second solo, as it makes consumers impatient with the brief absence of lyrics. Artists and bands no longer garner the incentive to sell a million records due to the ever-advancing digital music sources online, including iTunes, the ringleader in the downfall of rock music. "Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album, and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it," said Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi in a 2011 interview with the London-based Sunday Times Magazine. The true form of rock 'n' roll may have reached its peak, but it remains alive and well, and lies within most hip hop songs, indie rock bands and pop hits around the world today. Dubstep, a form of EDM, constantly samples rock artists in order to provide depth to its own sound. Songs such as Johnny Cash's "Ain't No Grave" and
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AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" have been modified into a form of EDM. Hip-hop and rap artists are also known to mix rock into their music. P. Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You" samples the main instrumental of Police's "Every Step You Take." More recent songs include the Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake collaboration "Holy Grail," which samples former rock band Nirvana's smash hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Classic rock bands such as Queen are said to have laid the foundations for modern day bands such as fun. Lead singer Nate Ruess joined Queen for a version of their hit “Somebody to Love” during the 2013 iHeart Radio Music Festival. Case in point, rock has been changed, modified, manipulated, and downright copied, but the essence of it can never be remade. Rock was not just the music or the lyrics within a song. It was a way of life. It was going to the nearest music store and purchasing the latest album of favorite rock bands. It was going to an Aerosmith concert and taking your shirt off and waving it in the air as you cheered on your band. It was picking up a guitar and holding a chord until blisters grew on your fingers. It was slamming down on a drum until every member of the neighborhood was telling you to keep it down. It was about singing until your vocal chords rasped. It was about creating lyrics in a complex and engaging way, no matter what the material. It does not matter how far music evolves, or how low it may sink, the elements of rock music will continue to reside in all other music genres. Rock 'n' roll may not be what it once was, but the impact that it had on music and its evolution will forever live on within the core of all that is music. As AC/DC would put it, "For those about to rock, we salute you."
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opinion
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
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We make music; it doesn’t make us Music has an integral part in society and is a reflection of societal mentalities
T
he songs are not telling us what to do. Instead, they are mirrors into what's cooking inside our membranes as a society. The argument over whether music is a bad influence on society should refocus on whether society is a bad influence on music. The infamous credit card through the posterior swipe in Nelly's "Tip Drill" or the recent uproar over Miley Cyrus' decadent "twerk" performance at the MTV Video Music Awards are not cases of artists simply conjuring up wild, bacchic imagery out of nowhere. Like the protest music of the 1960s, what dominates the airwaves today is simply the aural embodiment of who we are at the moment. It is no surprise that conservative groups in particular, and kings of dysentery like Rush Limbaugh flip out at moments like Cyrus' grind at the award show. They will immediately point fingers at the artists as if the artists are wizards creating stews of depravity for us, empty, stupid vessels. Even as the world economy is still wobbling, we are still drunk on the capitalist, consumerist ethos that has been the norm everywhere since the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in the late 1980s. Culturally, we do not admire radicals or rebels, Che Guevara has been replaced by Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. It makes sense that this spirit has deeply infiltrated the music being produced. In a society that worships materialism and product placement, where people camp out for the sake of buying a cellphone and stampede like cattle on Black Friday, it makes sense that we would reach the point where artists swipe credit cards on other human beings. This is why you have a stark contrast between artists from a few decades back like Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, who made music about social struggle and the importance of history, and someone like Jay-Z who has produced mass anthems of little depth, celebrating the image of power, wealth and privilege. In September 2012, Jay-Z even lambasted Occupy Wall Street, telling the New York Times Magazine, “I’m not going to a park and picnic. I have no idea what to do. I don’t know what the fight is about. What do we want; do you know? Because when you just say that ‘the one percent is that,’ that’s not true. This is free enterprise. This is what America is built on.” While waiting to go onstage in downtown Santa Monica, J Brave, a member of the underground hip-hop group Luminaries reflected on the influence of the current economic culture on contemporary music. "Capitalism is like a virus," he said. "It's a plague that has taken over the world. It has infiltrated hip-hop. It's corporate entities that fund war. They benefit from the weapons and bombs in the same way some people are benefiting from a certain kind of hip-hop." In 1947, German cultural critic and sociologist Siegfried Kracauer published
Alci Rengifo Staff Writer his seminal work "From Caligari To Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film." Kracauer argued that German expressionist films from the 1920s and 1930s, which included horror classics such as "Nosferatu" and "M," provided a look into the mental state of German society as it marched steadily toward fascism. The films of the era were either dark, violent and disturbing like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," where the images were distorted and all public officials are corrupt, or ultra-nationalist like Fritz Lang's "Die Nibelungen," which glorified Aryan myths and expressed a society seeking solace in its cultural symbols, a mood Hitler would fully take advantage of. The films of the era did not drive people towards Nazism; they merely displayed a society ripe for it. This is how music works in our time as well. Consider "Alabama Song" by Kurt Weil and Bertolt Brecht, later made famous when The Doors covered it for their debut album in 1967. The lyrics are a dark, almost suicidal cadence that state, "Show us the way to the next whiskey bar. Oh, don't ask why, for if we don't find the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die. Show us the way to the next little dollar. Oh, don't ask why." Modern hip-hop and pop are our own modern cabaret. If they glorify suicide, drug use, murder, and even rape in some cases, it is because such is the terrain we inhabit. Mass shootings, people going insane, and live broadcast suicides are being projected on a daily basis on the news and YouTube. While we should not shut our eyes to the world around us, we are not fighting these days for any answers or alternatives. When mass shootings occur, the debate rages around gun control, not why people are flipping out. How could we not expect songwriters to tap into the zeitgeist? Lady Gaga did not make us; we made Lady Gaga. Like few artists, she captures the artistic, social age we live in. Her style is a blender of all the hair, clothing and makeup fashions that are popular, and her lyrics are drones that sound like diary entries and not profound reflections. The sound of the music is an electronic sheen appropriate for an era where digital is replacing everything. This does not mean it's not fun to listen to it, but it is difficult to claim these artists are setting the course for society. One of the great classic examples of the debate over the influence on society is that of Elvis Presley. When Elvis raided that brand-new device known as television in American homes in 1956, his hipswiveling, curled lip crooning shocked parents everywhere. Thus the debate erupted over whether rock 'n' roll would make the kiddies into animalistic hooligans. On the Ed Sullivan show, they only filmed Elvis from the waist up lest any teenage girls become inflamed by his swiveling. But rock 'n' roll was simply the final, sparked match for a post-World War II society living in a culture of strict conservatism and defined social norms,
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as best depicted in Sam Mendes' film "Revolutionary Road." The Beat poets and Jack Kerouac would also emerge in this period with books and words of defiance and rebellion, sexual adventurism and hedonistic lifestyles. But
they were made by their times, not the times by them. If we want the music to change, we should first change our surroundings. If we are not ready for that, then change the dial or just enjoy the beat.
Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair
At CSU Channel Islands working side-by-side with professors, industry experts and professionals is an opportunity for every student. They bring theory into practice. They learn how problems can be solved. These are more than field trips or internships to put on resumes. These are the lessons on which to build careers. Christen Huff -’12 BS Nursing Registered Nurse II, Same Day Surgery, Community Memorial Hospital; Gabriel Guillen -’11 BS Nursing Community Health Education & Faith Community Nurse Network Supervisor CHAMP ® Program Coordinator, Dignity Health – St. John’s Hospitals
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CSU Channel Islands - We Start As Students Santa Monica City College - The Corsair Insertions: November 13, 20, 27; December 4, 2013
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8
Photostory
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
MUS
TO O
EAR Jimmy Janszen Corsair Director Ian Brekke (left) performs with the Santa Monica College jazz vocal ensemble while they sing a song entitled “I Hear Music” by Burton Lane and Frank Loesser at The Broad Stage on Saturday.
“We are drawing lots of very good music students.” - James Martin
By Fabian Avellaneda When the Santa Monica College music department moved to the Performing Arts Center in 2008, the main campus remained the home of only a few classes dedicated to music. “I’m sure the main campus feels a little devoid of music,” said James Martin, chair of the music department. “Over here at the Performing Arts Center, we’re busy all the time.” While the college may not have a songwriting class or courses dedicated to every instrument, Martin said he believes music is alive and well at SMC, seeing as the Performing Arts Center is a part of Santa Monica College. SMC has clubs such as the
Arlene Karno Corsair Keith Fiddmont, SMC jazz band conductor, in-demand alto saxophonist and pianist, began teaching at Santa Monica College in the ‘90s.
Arlene Karno Corsair Music major and gospel singer Larae Ransom rehearses on Saturday for a Jeremy Fox arrangement of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” for the jazz vocal ensemble concert.
Ian Brekke conducts the Santa Monica College jazz vocal ensemble concert at the Performing Arts Center on N has a master’s degree in jazz studies from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Lo private vocal and piano instructor in Los Angeles.
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photostory
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
9
SIC
OUR
RS Jimmy Janszen Corsair The Santa Monica College jazz band performs at The Broad Stage on Sunday, Nov. 17. The band performed songs from composers such as Vernon Duke, Ned Washington and Mulgrew Miller.
Chamber Music Club and the Music Industry Club. KCRW, the privately funded radio station that has live performances from artists like Lorde on its airwaves, is based on the main campus as a community service from the college. The music department was not immune to the budget cuts that sliced into funds at SMC. Casualties of the fiscal onslaught included certain music classes and cuts to professors’ paychecks. “Cutbacks hurt us too, just like it hit every department,” Martin said. “The cutbacks were evenly distributed among all the departments at SMC. Our budget was reduced by 10 percent, and if that’s happened for three or four years, then yes, that’s
a lot of cutbacks. But it could have been a lot worse.” Even with the trouble caused by budget cuts, Martin has not lost sight of the importance of music in a college setting. A study done this year by Trends in Cognitive Science found that music can serve as a powerful medicine. Patients who listened to music showed lower rates of anxiety, an emotion that is common in a college environment. For SMC students who share a passion and love of music, the college offers musical scholarships and concert programs. One of these scholarships is known as the Applied Scholarship, which students have to audition for.
Arlene Karno Corsair Nov. 19 while Andreas Treponis plays the piano. Brekke, who ong Beach, also works as a commissioned music arranger and
If a student receives the applied scholarship, they are given four semesters of private lessons through classes at the college, all paid for by the department. “We are drawing lots of very good music students,” Martin said. When asked what he hopes for music at SMC in the next few years, Martin said he wants to develop quality students who are able to transfer to a well-known four-year university where they are prepared to face a world that is waiting. “I want everyone to realize how big a part music plays in their lives, because it most certainly does,” Martin said.
“I want everyone to realize how big a part music plays in their lives.” - James Martin
Jimmy Janszen Corsair Santa Monica College music professor Kevin O’Neal dances with one of his students during his jazz class in the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center on Monday, Nov. 18.
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10 Sports
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Colosseum to courtside Pump up the volume Athletes and musicians go hand in hand.
Athletes use music to focus.
Trev Angone Staff Writer
Jonathan Ramos Staff Writer
In
the days of ancient watching games. They want to be out Rome, some there playing in front of the fans.” gladiators, though The awe and allure of a life of glamour talented, might not can be very enticing to young athletes. have dreamed of Taylor McDaniel, a linebacker on the a life spent fighting to the death. Some SMC football team, has his perspective undoubtedly heard the sound of the on why that may be the case. blaring Colosseum horns, and could only “I think athletes want to be musicians hope to serenade the masses in another because we see that musicians get the girls life. with the music,” he says. For every one of those envious gladiators, Having learned to play the ukulele there had to be a matching musician high on YouTube, McDaniel often plays on in the stands that could only dream of the campus in front of various crowds of glory garnered every time they stepped adoring ladies. into the arena. But at least the horn player Some athletes have begun to make the did not have to worry about making it out crossover into the music world such as of the Colosseum alive. Singleton, who has a very profound So began the universal appreciation and appreciation for music and how it can respect between athletes and musicians. enhance his attitude toward basketball. But what is it that keeps this seemingly He has had a hand in finished products spiritual bond going so strong? Why is this that a few of his teammates are actually shared admiration so potent? listening to. “Music does a certain thing to our minds “I ghost write," Singleton says. "I write and bodies that helps us go ahead and music. I work for a couple artists in LA, my push and grind through the obstacles best friend; he’s an up-and-coming artist. holding us back," said Santa Monica He’s becoming very popular now, Casey College men's basketball forward Joseff Veggies. We used to play for Inglewood Singleton. "Athletes usually come from [High School] together, also Niko G4 and poverty; a lot of musicians come from Odd Future. I grew up out here in the poverty, so I guess we all feel like we come gym and in the studio. I’ve always liked from the same background.” both.” Take professional boxer Floyd “Money” Joining Singleton as a crossover athlete Mayweather and rap mogul 50 Cent. and artist is incoming football freshman Though their friendship is currently on defensive end Marlin Minks. He not only the rocks over money allegedly owed to has experience as a singer, but he is also a 50 Cent, at one time the hip-hop star poet and budding actor. was directly involved in Mayweather's pre-fight training regimen and was “Just listening to even asked to pick up the instrumentals Mayweather following his of a song, it calms release from jail in 2012. Helping a buddy with you down. You just his livelihood and being entrusted to return a friend close your eyes and home from prison are think about yourself usually jobs reserved for on the field making the most trusted friends and family members. But plays, and it can for Mayweather, all it took happen.” was someone he respected as much as 50 Cent. — SMC defensive Hip-hop icon Jay-Z just last year started his own end Marlin Minks sports management agency. Before he could even find office space, he had superstar athletes “Football takes up all your time, and you such as Robinson Cano and Victor Cruz can’t really do anything on the side, but a waiting at his door to sign on the dotted lot of people have a story to tell, including line. What do all three of these superstars me,” Minks says. “Poetry and singing is have in common? They all grew up in the something I do on the side, but I really projects. want to be an actor. Ever since I was little, Luckily for Jay-Z, Cano became a free that’s what I’ve wanted to be. College agent after the close of the 2013 season, football is just to get me through a fourwhich means Jay-Z’s new agency should year university.” expect to see millions of dollars from Being an artist, Minks knows exactly Cano’s new contract alone. what type of music can get him into that Although the shared childhood perfect state of mind before a game. experience could possibly be applied to “Just listening to the instrumentals of a some friendships on that level, Adam song, it calms you down," he says. "You Griffin, a point guard on the SMC men's just close your eyes and think about basketball team, believes it could stem yourself on the field making plays, and it from curiosity of the other's profession. can happen. It’s cool.” “Athletes want to be musicians because For some like McDaniel, music goes athletes want to chill sometimes," Griffin deeper than just preparing you for big says. "Musicians get to chill and party a games. lot. When athletes see that, they’re like, “Music makes you feel like you can beat 'Damn, we’re working hard and want to anyone, but you need music to bring it out chill but just can’t all the time.' Musicians of you," McDaniel says. "Music gives you want to be athletes especially when they’re answers in a way to who you are." for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •
Rachel Porter Corsair Santa Monica College student Manny Gonzalez listens to rap music to help him push through his workout on Wednesday at the SMC Fitness Center.
The pressure can be daunting. With fans cheering and booing, and the opposing team walking on the court, easy distractions can deter any athlete preparing for battle. But while sitting on the bench with pressure in the air, athletes often turn to one thing to keep them calm — music. Valerie Carillo, a former Santa Monica College volleyball player, listens to music as an isolation method in order to separate herself from the crowd before a game. "It kind of blocks out the audience because sometimes the audience distracts you, so when you have the music, it kind of gets you focused," she says. While music and sports may each be on separate scales when it comes to the talent required to succeed in either one, for many, there is a correlation found when the two are combined. Carillo says music was always a way to calm herself and block her surroundings in order to focus on the tasks at hand. Her favorite genre is hip-hop, and she prefers upbeat songs to fuel her momentum before a workout and bring the rest of her team together. "I feel like it actually bonds a team together as well," she says. "If you have the same genre of music that you all like, you can goof around and it's like team bonding." For all of its benefits in mental preparation, Carillo would rather not listen to her favorite tunes while in the weight room. "Music makes me dance, and I feel like I would want to dance, and I would want to focus [in the weight room]," she says. SMC student Michael Thompson echoes Carillo's feelings toward music for preparation. He says music would help "get the juices flowing" before a game. His favorite type of music is R&B, including artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and R. Kelly. His favorite songs to listen to before a game were R. Kelly's "This is What I Feel," and the collaboration of Eminem and Nate Dogg, "'Till I Collapse." "Those were it," Thompson says. "Those would put me in the right state of mind right before a game." As a member of SMC's track and field team, Brandon Scorza uses music as a way to relax himself during a warmup, but does not listen to it during an actual workout. "It gets you in the zone," he says. "You zone out from everything else, and you're @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
more or less focused on what it is you're trying to get accomplished." Scorza says he enjoys '90s hip-hop the most. Reggae artist Bob Marley and hiphop group The Fugees are some of his favorite artists. However, he feels the content present in hip-hop of the '90s no longer exists in today's era. "I don't really care for the new era of music because it's not really talking about much," Scorza says. He believes that it is the older artists of hip-hop that really help him focus during some of his workouts. Along with Scorza, fellow track and field member Deante Wilborn utilizes the different tempos of music depending on what activity he is doing and the mood he is in. During a weightlifting session, Wilborn listens to more upbeat music to provide himself motivation and intensity. During cardio workouts, he prefers a much softer tempo. But no matter what the activity, music itself serves one purpose for him. "It works out big-time for me," Wilborn says. "It helps me block out surroundings like the stands and the cheerleaders and just gets my mind straight to the game." Gifford Lindheim, head coach of SMC's football team, praises music and its effect on an athlete's mindset. "Music creates emotion," he says. "Athletes use certain music to get them into a particular mindset before games." On his own team, Lindheim says he notices that the majority of his players listen to rap during workouts, but he maintains that everyone responds differently to different music. While his players may find peace within music during preparation, Lindheim uses different methods to stabilize his own mindset. "For me personally, I like to calm my mind by isolating," he says. "I do some breathing and focus on my breath. I like to be completely present in the moment so that I can make good decisions, not emotional ones." But for those in need of that extra wind toward the finish line, sometimes all it may take is a pair of earbuds and a play button to block away any distractions. "It gets me pumped up and motivated," Carillo says. "I feel I get excited more. It kind of gives you that extra drive and push."
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Sports 11
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Billboard’s
TOP 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Super Bowl Halftime Shows
2005 Paul McCartney “Drive My Car” “Get Back” “Live and Let Die” “Hey Jude”
1996 Diana Ross
Medley of “Stop in the Name of Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ on,” “Baby Love,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “Chain Reaction,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “I Will Survive,” “Take Me Higher”
2012 Madonna
Scott Bixler Corsair Santa Monica College cheerleaders rally the crowd during the Corsair football game against Glendale College at Corsair Stadium on Saturday.
Cheer squad brings change
New head coach Jessie Moorehead has big plans for Santa Monica College’s cheer program. David Yapkowitz Staff Writer You may have heard it blaring through the speakers across Corsair Stadium this fall as the football team scored another touchdown. All great colleges and universities have a memorable fight song, and now Santa Monica College will finally join the ranks. Jessie Moorehead, head coach of SMC’s cheer squad, was the innovator behind the creation of the song. “It seems to be catching wind, and everybody seems to be loving it,” Moorehead said. “It’s that something special that I think every school needs — a fight song, a dynamic, a tradition.” A greater connection between students, parents and faculty is what Moorehead had in mind when designing the song. The song features SMC cheers along with uptempo bits from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” soundtrack, appropriately chosen for the Corsairs. “The best part for me was being on the sidelines and hearing the football players say, ‘Man, let’s get that song played again,’” Moorehead said. “It made a difference. It was something special. It’s those little things along the way that, as a coach, you’ve just got to trust your gut that you’re going to make a difference.” Designing a fight song is not the only thing that Moorehead is hoping to bring to the cheer program. In her first year as head coach at SMC, she said she has big plans for the cheer squad, and has taken over running the SMC athletics website. Moorehead arrived from Glendale Community College after they shut down their cheer program this past year due to budget cuts. She was hired late in the summer, reducing the time she usually has to prepare her team for the upcoming season. “I love the school; I love the department,” she said. “Everything has been a blessing. I
genuinely feel like I was meant to be here.” One major event that Moorehead is preparing the team for is the All-Star Cheer and Dance Competition, which will be held on March 2 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. and televised on ESPN. With football season over and basketball season just barely getting underway, practice sessions have turned into preparation for the upcoming competition. It will be a daunting challenge for SMC to be competing against bigger, four-year university teams that have been together for much longer, but the squad is feeling up to the task. “Our main goal is to get out to Florida, compete against these amazing teams that have programs that have been established for many years, and try to make finals,” Moorehead said. “If we can walk doing that, then we know we’ve done what we needed to do.” Preparing and devising routines for the competition is something that Moorehead said she and her team are looking forward to. “I think the skills and the planning for any sport starts from the very beginning,” she said. “You do drills and perfect skills, and once you get there, you go into competition.” One of the aspects that goes into formulating a routine is choosing the right type of music. “In previous years, I had input from the students, and that way, they felt connected with the routine,” Moorehead said. “It was something they wanted to hear.” With SMC being in such close proximity to the beach, one of the things Moorehead has looked to incorporate is beach-themed music. “We just take whatever songs we want, and we can mix them up together and make it all work,” said SMC freshman and cheer squad member Alyssa Laing. “Our routine music is usually a mash-up of
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different songs.” Sometimes the music follows a particular theme in which all the songs used in a routine contain a common element, and songs come from a wide range of musical genres. “It ranges from hip-hop music to country music to all sorts of things,” said Laing. Laing, who has been involved with cheerleading since her freshman year in high school and is in her first semester with SMC’s team, was not able to participate this year due to a torn meniscus suffered during tumbling. However, she was able to make a speedy recovery in time to try out for the team, and has been thrilled with the direction the program is going. “The competition we’re going to in Florida is a really big deal,” said Laing. “We’ve finished our bid tape, and we’re working on our routine now.” A big part of what Moorehead is hoping to accomplish is to transform SMC’s team into the top-performing cheer program in the area and to attract potential recruits such as Laing. “Kids are going to want to travel distances to be here,” said Moorehead. “When I was at my previous college, I had kids traveling distances to be part of my program.” Adding to the allure of the program is the beachside front that Moorehead described as “an ideal location,” as well as SMC’s friendly and welcoming environment. “I’m excited for the program and excited to be a part of the school,” said Moorehead. “I’m finally at a location where I feel like I belong.” Although still early, the effect that Moorehead has had on the program is already becoming noticeable. “It’s been a blast; it was awesome getting to go out there and perform and just hear all the people say how the program is growing so much,” said Laing. “It’s really an honor to be here with them.”
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“Vogue,” “Music,” “Party Rock Anthem”/”Sexy And I Know It,” with LMFAO “Gimme Luvin,’” with M.I.A & Nicki Minaj “Like a Prayer” with CeeLo Green
2006 The Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” “Rough Justice” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
2001 Aerosmith & ‘N Sync “Bye, Bye, Bye” “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” “It’s Gonna Be Me” “Walk This Way” Performed by
Aerosmith and ‘N Sync with Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears and Nelly
2009 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” “Born to Run” “Working on a Dream” “Glory Days”
1993 Michael Jackson
“Jam” “Billie Jean” “Black or White” “We Are the World” “Heal the World”
2002 U2
“Beautiful Day” “Where the Streets Have No Name”
2004
Janet Jackson & Justin Timberlake “All for You” “Rythm Nation” “Rock Your Body”
2007 Prince
“1999” “Let’s Go Crazy” “Proud Mary” “All Along the Watchtower” “Purple Rain”
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12 health + Lifestyle
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Simon Luca Manili Corsair Records of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Frank Sinatra’s “For the Sophisticated” stand in contrast next to an iPhone playing 2Pac Shakur’s “All Eyez on Me” in the Santa Monica College library on Monday. The way we consume music has changed throughout the years from LPs to CDs to most recently, the conversion of the digital era of music.
Endless love
Are timeless forms of music pure genius, or tweaked and changed from past inspirational tunes?
M
usic is a universal language that is able to break cultural, social and racial barriers. Certain musical pieces can also traverse through time, retaining the emotional resonance from the day they were first released. Timeless songs, from “Hey Jude” by The Beatles to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, have etched themselves in the halls of music history. But what are the special aspects of these songs that allow them to stand the test of time? “The two keys to writing a good song are a beautiful and singable melody and a bass line,” says William Trabold, a music history professor at Santa Monica College. “If those two components are equally as beautiful, what goes on between to fill out those parts of the chords is irrelevant. You’ve got to have yourself a beautiful melody, a beautiful bass line — you’ve got yourself a timeless hit song.” So, are lyrics a secondary factor when it comes to creating a good song? “I would say yes, and I would say no,” says Trabold. “It depends on how the composer works.” Trabold recalls the now-legendary story of how Paul McCartney was inspired to write the iconic Beatles song “Yesterday.” “McCartney heard the song in a dream and got up immediately and wrote the tune down as quickly as he could,” Trabold says. “It was at least another two years before he could come up with a lyric to go with the tune. In fact, it was a joke among The Beatles that the first line of that song was ‘Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs.’” Rolling Stone reports that “Yesterday” has been
lyan Wong Staff Writer covered 2,500 times — including by music legends like Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and even Daffy Duck making it the most-recorded song in history. There are many talented composers and songwriters who are able to create appealing melodies and bass lines.
“The two keys to writing a good song are a beautiful and singable melody and a bass line. If those two components are equally as beautiful, what goes on between to fill out those parts of the chords is irrelevant.” - William Trabold SMC Music History Professor
Trabold feels that to make a song successful and stand apart, artists need to instill a personal link to their songs like Belgian composer Jacques Brell, who wrote songs that were inspired by events he had experienced in life, he says. “Everything was about what he saw and experienced in life, and many times, the pain that he had experienced, not anger, the pain that he had experienced in his own life was always a thread going throughout his songs,” Trabold says. He also says that the majority of pop songwriters
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compose songs about themselves, and for themselves. This point is evident in the success of singersongwriters like Taylor Swift, who are able to create songs that not only draw inspiration from their personal life, but are also relatable to listeners on an emotional and individual level. According to a Huffington Post article, a YouTube video created by an Australian band, called The Axis of Awesome, demonstrates that the majority of pop songs use the same four chords. Is derivative music a bad thing and should it be discouraged? “There is no great benefit to a composer’s career to deviate from forms and structures which, we have learnt over the centuries, really make a successful composition,” Trabold says. The vast majority of all Broadway theater and popular songs are written in the AABA form, which consists of a tune, a repetition of a tune, a contrasting tune to express a secondary emotion, and then the tune repeated at the end, Trabold explains. “Success breeds success, and as all musicians, we build on the work of those in the past, and the only way we build on that work is to use the things of the past,” he says. “They were doing that in the Renaissance, even as new as the music sounded to everybody’s ear in the early portions of the 20th century. It was a practice that was already present.” Although new ideas, harmonies and sounds are all created, Trabold says, each is always going to have a historical background and a previous influence from which it came. “We all build upon the music of what comes in the past; otherwise there would be no connection,” he says. “Everybody builds on their own source. New sounds are created, no question about that.”
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Health + Lifestyle 13
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Group therapy
Although many may find moments of happiness through friends, many more may find comfort and familiarity through music.
F
michelle Kreel Staff Writer
or Christy Damron, a former Santa Monica College student, it is not easy for her to see her father, a grown man, cry. "One moment he'll be hanging out on the couch, very normal," Damron said. "The next he'll be crying and going ballistic. Bipolar can be terrifying." Many people associate mental disorders with homeless people, drug addicts, or people with rough backgrounds. But mental disorders are a lot closer to home than most people think. One in five American adults 18 or older has suffered from a mental illness in the past year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Those figures amount to the equivalent of six people in a class of 30, 6,000 students at SMC and 45.6 million people across the United States. SMC has seen severe cases of mental illness play out on campus with suicides, shootings, shooting scares, and bomb threats. Many students have asked why these people did not receive help because if they had, then maybe such incidents would not have occurred. "Fear is a very real thing," said Dave Christy, an SMC psychology student. "People suffering from a disorder feel reluctant to get help otherwise it becomes more real to them. They don't want something to be wrong with them." James Childers, an SMC student, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He has not allowed himself to become drowned by his disorder, but has instead become proactive with a goal to inspire others who are going through similar struggles. Childers found community and began
producing documentaries to show how music festivals help those with bipolar disorder. His documentary, Project Art, is about a man on a journey to find healing for his mental health disorder through workshops at transformational music festivals. "Music festivals create a sense of community," Christy said. "People are gathered together with a common interest — a love for the same kind of music. The community aspect of festivals reinforces certain values, and experiences are reminisced when people find a connection with the songs." Damron said her father has found comfort in music, which acts as a soothing tool when he feels like he is about to enter a manic phase. "He will listen to music that is associated with a good memory to put him in a comfortable state of mind," she said. Christy said that he feels music can have both a positive and negative effect. Most people use music to relax and find a sense of calmness. But music can be used to pump a person up for the gym, become energized and express anger. "When people are really depressed, they will play music that makes them sadder and can impede that feeling," he said. "If the music is used beneficially, it can help a person process and work through the experience." Elena Mannes wrote in an excerpt titled "The Power of Music" that Daniel Bernard Roumain, a young cross-genre violinist, thought one reason music is so powerful is due to sounds actually penetrating our bodies. "You know when someone says that a piece of music 'touched me' or 'moved me,' it's very literal," Roumain said in the excerpt. "The sound of my voice enters your ear canal and it's moving your
Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair
eardrum. That's a very intimate act. I am very literally touching you, and when you speak to me, you are literally touching me. And then we extend that principle to the sound of a violin." Christy, however, did not entirely agree with Roumain's statement. "Music is more metaphysical than physical," he said. "It carries such powerful emotions that allow us to trick ourselves into an emotion or take us back to a memory, which then lets the real emotion carry over." He explained that sound penetrates our brain, causing certain neurons to fire and create a path. The more we listen to things we like, the stronger those neurons fire and the more distinct that path becomes. Childers said music is more effective for him than art or exercise. While many agree that music plays a major role in people's emotions, and serves
as a favorable outlet for many, it is not the most effective outlet, Christy said. "Developing relationships and finding community is more powerful than music," he said. People will often listen to music because it takes away the feeling of being alone. The songs people connect to can show that other people are going through something similar and provide a sense of security. Essentially we are creating relationships with the music we listen to, Christy said. Whether people are listening to music to feel a connection with the lyrics in a song, or for the soothing instrumental aspects, it is evident that music does play a large role in people's emotions and can help some overcome certain struggles with their mental disorders. "A diagnosis is not a life or death sentence," Christy said. "You are not alone."
Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll Drug culture has long since been a part of the music scene. ... and in the 2008 Top 100 Billboard list, 30% of the songs contained drug or alcohol references.
Did you know? Drug references in song lyrics are increasing
Drugs and alcohol are portrayed positively more often than negatively.
In the 1988 Top 100 Billboard list, 12% of the songs contained drug or alcohol references...
Did you know?
The most commonly mentioned alcohol brands in Billboard’s most popular songs from 2009- 2011 were:
Source: A 2012 study by researchers from Lewis and Clark College and Stanford University
Marijuana is mentioned most often.
y ske i h ’s W c niel a gna o D C k y Jac ness n e a l H ui Teq a n o odk V Patr e os y Go e r G
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Alcohol references across genres of the 720 Billboard hits surveyed from 2009-2011: Other
25.6
%
Pop
Rap Hip-Hop 7% R&B
37.
%
14.9
21.8% Country
Source: A 2013 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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14 Health + Lifestyle
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Emilio Sedeno Corsair Santa Monica College student Noel Saugy says music “helps me concentrate and is good motivation.” Noel was out by the fountain working on his computer on Tuesday on the main campus of Santa Monica College.
Studying to the beat of music
Some students might have better concentration by turning up the volume of their favorite tunes on their MP3 players.
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ith an extensive amount of distractions each day, people often drift into the world of music, which helps block out all unwanted background noise, and allows a little peace and quiet for the mind. But not everyone knows about the positive and negative effects of music on our concentration. Multiple research papers have been written regarding music’s effects on cognitive performance. One of the papers titled “Can Preference for Background Music Mediate the Irrelevant Sound Effects?” written by Dr. Nick Perham and Joanne Vizard from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, U.K., discusses the effects and preferences of music when completing various cognitive tasks. “When hearing a piece of music that is liked, arousal is raised and performance increases compared to listening to a piece of music that is less liked,” according to the paper about music preference matters during concentration. They also mention that people have a misconception of what they should listen to if they want to increase their concentration levels. "Listening to background music prior to task performance increases cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, through the mechanisms of increasing arousal and positive mood,” states the research paper. Many students choose to play music while studying instead of placing their headphones aside, believing their concentration is improving. However, based on Perham and Vizard’s study, such misunderstanding could actually cause the opposite effect. Adriana Furnham and Anna Bradley, from the department of psychology at the University College London explain that enjoyment of background music depends not only on the music genres or preferences, but also on the personal characteristics, which as a result can negatively impact some people. In their research paper, “Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and
GIntare Urbutyte Staff Writer Extroverts,” Furnham and Bradley show that, when performing in silence, both extroverts and introverts have similar performance results. However, when background music is introduced, extroverts perform much better than their introvert counterparts. “While there was no difference in the scores of extroverts, introverts’ performances were, as predicted, significantly poorer in the presence than in the absence of music," Furnham and Bradley state in their paper. The results of extroverts were very similar under both silent and music conditions, and had little to no impact on their achievement, according to the study. “Introverts were also less able to complete the reading comprehension as successfully in the presence of music," explain Furnham and Bradley. "It appears that some mental processes, for example those of attention and recall, are more affected by the presence of a distraction than others." As a result, students who are more introverted might actually hurt their concentration by playing background music if they are not used to such study practices. In another research paper titled “The impact of Music on Childhood and Adolescent Achievement,” Derby E. Southgate and Vincent J. Roscigno from Ohio State University mention the famous “Mozart Effect” during which students, after listening to Mozart’s music, perform better on their exams. “College students who listen to Mozart prior to taking a pencil and paper test of abstract spatial reasoning perform better than their counterparts who do not listen to Mozart,” explain Southgate and Roscigno. Many studies have been done to replicate the “Mozart Effect,” but failed and did not manage to further support the hypothesis, according to the Wilson Center of Humanities and Arts, and when the effect occurs, it is attributed to psychological arousal and mood generated by the music testing conditions. Perham and Vizard draw a conclusion that the arousal and thus cognitive performance increases due to the amount of likeness one has for a certain genre of music. While music for studying might not always give
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positive results, Furnham and Bradley say that in a work environment, under certain conditions, music can improve the levels of performance. They also note that workers prefer music that is instrumental, rather than vocal during work hours. "Playing music whilst carrying out a repetitive task can raise performance levels, particularly when this music is played just after the arousal level has peaked," according to Furnham and Bradley. The few studies discussed state that students should listen to music before studying, avoid vocals, and listen to music while studying only if they like the music. However, some SMC students have a different view on studying with music. Rebeca Montenego, 20, and Cesar Martinez, 19, say they could not study if they did not have their favorite metal bands playing through their head phones. “I concentrate more when I listen to music,” Montenego says. “It is really relaxing," Martinez says. "It helps me study.” Both mention they like metal due to its deep lyrics, which does not seem to distract them while studying. While Martinez and Montenego prefer metal, a SMC communications major from China, Shengying Zhang, 19, listens to classical music when studying. “It is kind of relaxing, and when I draw it is inspiring,” says Zhang, who listens to pop rock such as Maroon 5 in her free time. SMC student Chad Bennett listens to background music while performing some tasks. “It really depends on what I am doing," Bennett says. "If I am answering questions for some assignment or writing an outline or something, then I will listen to music. If I am writing a paper or studying for a test, then I think I’d need more silence.” While some students prefer listening to music while studying, communications major Diana P. Thomas says she does not always find it particularly helpful. "For the most part, I get distracted," she says. "It depends on what I'm listening to. Usually, if I am studying, I will listen to classical background music, so it kind of does help me in certain subjects, but for the most part I try not to." /thecorsairnews •
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art + entertainment 15
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Sounds of cinema
The film soundtrack and its impact on music culture have evolved over the decades while maintaining its essential purpose to capture the film’s essence in a melody.
In
A l f r e d Hitchcock's classic 1960 film "Psycho" is a scene where Janet Leigh, the film's female lead, steps into the shower of a low-rent hotel room. As she bathes, a shadowy figure steps inside, opens the shower curtain and repeatedly slashes Leigh with a butcher knife. While the violence of the scene is eerie and visceral, what has truly helped retain this moment in the minds of film viewers are the screeching violins that crescendo as Leigh meets her gruesome fate. The "Psycho" score was composed by Bernard Herrmann, a film composer who also wrote the music for classic cinema such as "Citizen Kane," "Vertigo" and "Taxi Driver." "Psycho" is just one example of how important music is to make a film not only work but stay in the memory. John Williams, world famous film composer known for his music for "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park," would later reference the "Psycho" score with his scratchy but fearful strings in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." "Movies are made to tell stories, and the score of a movie is a fundamental part of storytelling that manages to provoke
Alci Rengifo Staff Writer emotion by applying to the sense of hearing," said Santa Monica College student and filmmaker Ronja Jansz, who has just completed her first major short film "Annabel Lee" as part of a short film directing class at SMC. Music for a film can either be gargantuan or small, with a mood expressed in just one note. Recently in the entertainment journal FirstShowing, Darren Aronofsky, director of "Black Swan," announced he would team up again with composer Clint Mansell for the upcoming movie "Noah." "He's able to boil down the thematic of a film into a melody into two or three notes," Aronofsky said in the journal. "He captures the whole essence of a film in two or three notes." The film soundtrack has evolved since the days of "Psycho." It has branched out into every facet of modern music from top 40 hits to new age. Many soundtracks have made the Billboard charts and become bestseller hits. Soundtracks have a unique way of capturing the spirit of the times. In the 1960s, soundtracks for films such as "The Graduate" and "Bonnie & Clyde" became Billboard bestsellers thanks to artists like Simon & Garfunkel, whose "Mrs. Robinson" became a defining song in a decade of youthful energy and change.
s
In the 1970s, "Star Wars" inaugurated the era of the big, popular blockbuster score, which other composers have tried to imitate, such as David Arnold in his score for the 1996 sci-fi smash "Independence Day" and Michael Giacchino, whose recent scores for 2009's "Star Trek" and this year's "Star Trek into Darkness" continue the sound of a big, symphonic space opera. In the 1980s and 1990s, soundtracks went through a change as modern pop music evolved through the introduction of electronic compositions. The "Top Gun" soundtrack song “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin became just
In the 1980s and 1990s, soundtracks went through a change as modern pop music evolved through the introduction of electronic compositions.
as popular as the Tom Cruise-starring action flick about fighter pilots and their love lives, becoming a number-one smash hit on the Billboard charts. Well into the 1990s, soundtracks helped create some of the defining songs of the decade, ranging from Elton John's "The Circle of Life" for Disney's "The Lion King" to "My Heart Will Go On" from James Cameron's record-breaker “Titanic.” Composed by James Horner, “Titanic's” soundtrack earned him the Oscar and became the top selling single of 1998, as recorded by Billboard. Hip-hop also became a soundtrack force when the genre started topping the Billboard charts in the 1980s and 1990s with artists like Public Enemy and Coolio producing songs like "Fight the Power" for "Do the Right Thing" and "Gangsta's Paradise" for "Dangerous Minds." With the emergence of iTunes, soundtracks have not been as charttopping. This month's Billboard numbers have not had a soundtrack in the top 10. But instrumental scores are still garnering attention. This year for example, the atmospheric, electronic score by Stephen Price for Alfonso Cuaron's space thriller "Gravity" became a bestselling soundtrack on Amazon's chart designated for the soundtrack genre.
- Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight? - The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to
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arts + entertainment 16
volume 106 issue 13 • november 27, 2013 • santa monica college
Reyna Mares Staff Writer
Rachel Porter Corsair Young festival-goers dance until dawn on Monday, June 24 at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nev. EDC is one of the biggest dance music festivals in the world. The threeday festival drew 320,000 revelers. More than 150 artists played on a variety of stages.
Come together Music festivals today are an essential part of American music culture, continuing to bring people together.
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Reyna Mares Staff Writer
ith winter around the corner, social media is already buzzing with countless announcements of spring and summer music festivals to come in 2014. Music festivals have become so popular in the last century that what once was a counterculture movement, music festivals are now evolved into more mainstream, inclusive events. A study by Nature Reviews Neuroscience shows that listening to music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function. Both an art form and a pastime, music has a way of affecting a person’s mood and bringing people together. “You’re bound to have an unforgettable time at a festival that has good vibes, friendly people, and most importantly great music because that’s what it’s all about — the music,” says Santa Monica College student Alex Vargas. More than 100,000 people attend the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., which was first held in 1999. According to the Los Angeles Times, the multi-stage, three-day event attracts so many festival-goers because of its diverse range of musical performances. From mainstream to indie to hip-hop, artists across all genres are featured at the festival. “I went to Coachella last year, not because I knew every single band performing, but because of the wild, anythingcan-happen kind of atmosphere that I heard so much about,” Vargas says. “I met so many people from different parts of the world that I probably would have never gotten the chance to meet had I not gone to the festival.” But Coachella is only one of the many music festivals in the country. In 1991, Lollapalooza began in Chicago as a farewell tour for the band Jane’s Addiction. It has reached such success in the U.S. that it debuted its first overseas festival in South America, states the festival’s official website. Lollapalooza features mostly alternative rock with a variety of other genres such as hip-hop and heavy-metal bands. Bonnaroo started in 2002 in Manchester, Tenn. as an ecofriendly festival with a focus on folk rock and top 40 hits. The festival promotes sustainability and eco-awareness, and has evolved into a large-scale event. Bonnaroo offers attendees an entertainment village with an arcade, comedy club, theater, beer festival, and silent disco.
The history of music festivals in the U.S. goes back more than five decades. According to Billboard, one of the first music festivals in the 20th century was the Newport Jazz Festival, which began in 1954, and is still ongoing. Hosted in Rhode Island, America’s first annual jazz festival brought to the stage performances from Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong, with more than 11,000 attendees each year. Monterey, Calif. is home to the first-ever rock festival, Monterey International Pop Festival, held only once in 1967. As stated on the festival’s official website, the threeday festival was said to have been the first extensively promoted and heavily-attended rock festival. The Who, the Mamas and the Papas, Otis Redding, and the Grateful Dead were only a few of the renowned artists to have performed at the festival. However, according to Rolling Stone, the title of the most famous music festival in history was earned by Woodstock, a counterculture, hippie movement held on a dairy farm in 1969 that lasted three days and attracted 500,000 attendees and artists like Janis Joplin, Santana, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, who had his career’s most iconic performance at the festival. Woodstock is listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock ‘n’ roll. “I’ve never been to a music festival, and I would love to go,” says SMC dance major Gloria Modesto. “Although
Rachel Porter Corsair Thousands of music lovers gathered on Sunday, June 23, at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nev.
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some people get too crazy there, I’d still go because of all the popular artists and how every year is so different, so you never know what to expect. Regardless of the environment and the people, music festivals would be nothing without good, quality music.” In addition to their popularity in American music culture, music festivals are also widespread in Europe. Some of today’s most famous musicians have taken their turn performing at festivals in Europe. Isle of Wight Festival, held in England since 1968, is famous for having a lineup that mixes new up-and-coming acts with legendary artists such as Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, The Doors, and Coldplay. The festival brings almost 600,000 people to the small island each year, according to What Festival, a website that outlines the 700 yearly music festivals that take place in Great Britain each year. A study by Artists including Nature Reviews Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Neuroscience David Bowie, proves that and Jay-Z have listening performed at the English Glastonbury to music Festival, which is stimulates best known for its contemporary music, more parts of but also for dance, the brain than comedy, theater, circus, cabaret and other arts. any other human The festival started as a function. small event in 1970, and today it sells out several thousands of tickets in a few hours, as reported by the festival’s official website. With an increase in the span and size of festivals, they have gone from being solely about the music to serving as a weekend-long experience of partying, camping out under the stars, appreciating one-of-a-kind artwork, and taking part in the vast selection of attractions on the festival grounds. Along with these changes comes the increase in ticket costs. According to The Independent, Woodstock and the first Isle of Wight Festival were free to attend because of the unprecedented amount of people who showed up demanding entrance. Today, the price range for music festival tickets ranges from $100 to more than $300.
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