R.R. 11/11

Exigency means the situation to which the rhetor responds; it is that event in the world that demands she speak. Of course, exigencies--events to which persuasion/speech is an appropriate response--not only exist in the world independent of the rhetor, they are also created by the rhetor to justify her linguistic engagement. What is Bailey's stated exigence for this article, and is his article an appropriate response to it? Explain.

R.R. 11/9

For today's Reading Response I am going to ask you four questions. You must answer them all to receive credit. Further, no credit will be given to responses that deflect the question by stating that you were confused or the text was complicated. In short, you must attempt to answer each question.

1. What is the main argument (thesis) of Greene's article?
2. What, besides where it was published, makes this essay academic?
3. What, besides the profanity, makes it seem not academic?
4.  Do you find Greene's argument persuasive--why or why not?

Stuff for 11/6

Paul Lansky Notjustmoreidlechatter


Fat Boy Slim "Praise You"
Camille Yarbrough "Take Yo' Praise"
JBL LP Sessions "Balance and Rehearsal" 


Public Enemy "Fight The Power"


Danger Mouse "What More Can I Say"
The Beatles "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Jay-Z "What More Can I Say"

R.R. 11/6

Katz argues that "Sampling is a rich and complex practice, one that challenges our notions of originality, of borrowing, of craft, and even of composition itself."  While you have already explained how sampling makes you rethink your writing, you have not provided a definition for composition. Please do so now.

Just for fun, let's listen to "Stroke of Genie-us" while we write.

R.R. 11/4

This Chapter opens up a lot of definition questions:

1. Digital Sampling makes us questions the line between quotation and stealing. Especially if we think about Clyde Stubblefield and Marvin Gaye.
   
2. This chapter also asks us what is added in new iterations and if we can consider these new iterations art. Do these new iterations say something new about culture, history, and our relationship to it? Perhaps thinking about the song "Daydream" by the Wallace Collection, its re-mix by I Monster titled "Daydream in Blue," Lupe Fiasco's rap version titled "Daydreamin," and Alex Calver and J. Walker's version titled "Day Dreamz" might help us think about these questions. What
   
3. Notjustmoreidlechatter should make us consider what music really is. As might this. 

 Of course, all of these questions are important to us as writers as well who have to integrate sources within our writing to make new arguments that are clearly articulated as both argument and art. As a writer, what can digital sampling teach you about your craft?

Extra Credit Due 11/20

For this extra credit assignment you will need to create a three minute audio track in the style of either Notjustmoreidlechatter, which mixes up voices to create an audio track; "Praise You," which samples music and manipulates pieces of music to create a dance track; or "Fight The Power," the introduction to which functions as a sonic collage expressing Public Enemy's political beliefs. After you have created the piece, post it online--using Google Docs, or a similar product--and comment on this blog post both with a link to the audio file (either MP3 or OGG) and a link to an MLA Works Cited page of the samples you used.  To receive full credit on this assignment you must use at least ten samples and four audio manipulation effects.

Some things you might find useful for completing this assignment:
 Audio Editing Software such as Audacity
 A YouTube to MP3 converter
 Flac to MP3 converter

Workshop Questions

Global

·       Is there a clear theme identified?

o   Does the theme seem important for understanding the album?

o   Is the discussion of the theme interesting and important?

o   Does the author spend more time discussing the theme or the music

o   Does the piece feel 

·       Is reading this enjoyable?

o   At any point does it feel too dry, academic, or boring

o   Is the voice consistent?

§  Look at specific points where the voice falters and try some collaborative re-writes.

§  Brainstorm different ways to keep a light tone while dealing with serious topics

·       Alternatively, consider if we as music critics need to take these topics seriously just because academics do. Can we take the arguments seriously but still have fun with language/style.?

·       Alternatively, are there points where music critics need to take things more seriously?

·       What do you get from reading this?

o   Is the analysis interesting?

o   Does the reviewer tell you anything that is not obvious?

o   How does the analysis enrich your listening to the album?

Meso

·       Layout

o   Is the blog readable

o   Are images and videos laid out with a clear purpose or do they seem random?

o   Is the layout consistent

§  Paragraph breaks

§  Fonts

§  Colors

§  Image formatting

·       Do Paragraphs work together?     

o   Does each paragraph build from its preceding paragraph and establish a reason for the paragraph afterwards?

o   Might your review benefit from different section headings?

o   Does the introduction establish were the argument is heading or a major theme?

o   Are any of the paragraphs superfluous?