Jonathan Kramer: Music Theory Application

A very interesting aspect of postmodern music theory. This will help you with your next essay.

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension


2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic


3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present



4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
Kanye West's 'Diamonds From Sierra Leona' is a prime example of high style and low style. The high style, derived from Shirley Bassey's classic 'Diamonds are Forever' (the James Bond soundtrack) and the mix of Kanye West's rapping can be considered postmodernist in line with Kramer's theory. It also makes a political statement about the blood diamonds, in this case referrring to Sierra Leone in Africa, that have a negative effect on their production.





5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity


6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values


7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody can be considered postmodern as it contains a ballad section, guitar solo, hard rock section and operatic passage. The song also contains no choruses which goes against the formal mould of a song.




8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts


9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures The self-reflexive introduction of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Kids' featured on her album Born This Way is an explicit reference to Michael Jackson's 'They Don't Care About Us'. This combination of a hip hop rock and dance-pop, as well as intertextuality, can be considered postmodern.

MJ: "All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us. We don't care what people say we know the truth. All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us. Enough is enough of this garbage."

LG: "We don't care what people say we know the turth. Enough is enough of this horseshit. I am not a freak. I was born with my free gun. Don't tell me I'm less than my freedom"



10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music


11. embraces contradictionsThis example, an official remix of Lady Gaga's single 'LoveGame' featuring Marilyn Manson contradicts the exclusivity of rock music with pop.



12. distrusts binary oppositions


13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities

14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism


15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities

16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Jonathan Donald Kramer (December 7, 1942, Hartford, Connecticut – June 3, 2004, New York City), was a U.S. composer and music theorist.

Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum.

David Bowie: Notes

Present: "The Next Day" released unannounced - album cover "Heroes" taken and white box overlayed with the album title in an Arial font 'The Next Day' on top

Alter-ego

Major Tom

The Thin White Duke
-> Self-reflexive in the song "Station to Station" and featured on the album "Station to Station"


Alladin Zane

Ziggy Stardust:
Self-referential, based on Vince Taylor and inspired by Japanese theatre Bauki (mime)
and the Spiders from Mars -> song
Rejects the idea that performer had relation to the real-life persona
Rock/glam rock music that went against 60s music
Short/catchy/aimed at the revolutionised independent young generation
Cross over appeal -> LGBT communities/young/old/different racial groups
Ambient/experimental/ballads

Moved to soul/funk/psychedelic rock/pop/electronic
Bowie 'Pin-Up' album cover with 60s fashion icon Twiggy

1974: Diamond Dogs based on the book '1984' by George Orwell e.g. Rebel Rebel
Toured in America and influenced by the soul scene and so transformed with stripped down versions/wore suits and adopted soul artist mannerisms
The album cover shows him as "half-dog grotesque" painted by Belgian artist Guy Peellaert -> controversial as it showed the "hybrid" of his genitilia on the other side of the vinyl cover

1975: Plastic Soul album
->Recorded a song with The Beatles' John Lennon called "Fame" and first artist to appear on the show "Soul Train" (began aiming at the black youth culture with RnB/funk music) - appeal to a different genre can be considered postmodernist

1976: Station to Station album
Funk genre/European sound
Inspired by the Kraftwerk (Germanic electronic band)
Album cover -> David Bowie inside the spaceship
Can't recall making the album at all -> Bowie was involved in heavy cocaine use
He was interested in conspiracy theories at this time/gave the 'Nazi' salute but in fact waving

1977-1979: The Berlin Trilogy ->
Moved to Berlin to reform after cocaine use

• Low
• Heroes
• Lodger

Worked with Brian Eno and went with Iggy Pop
Transformed to electronic pop
Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" and "Idiot" were also contributed by David Bowie
Reused these later on in own albums "Let's Dance" and "Tonight"
No such thing as "uncool" prominant
"Casuals" in the late 70s adopted Bowie's look from Low

1976/77: David Bowie survived the Punk/Post-Punk sounds
Many other artist of the time struggled to move away from punk and changing social likes and dislikes
Major Tom -> Harlequin style/started new Romance movement to reject Punk and dress up instead
Recycled Major Tom's Space Oddity

"The Next Day" -> looking back at the Berlin Trilogy

Post-Production Essay

Post production essay from SianLynes

Why are some media products described as 'Postmodern'?

Why are some media products considered postmodern from SianLynes

Ziggy Stardust

With his next venture, Bowie, in the words of biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture".^[2] Dressed in a striking costume, his hair dyed red, Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the Spiders from Mars

Hunky Dory: Postmodernist

The style of the album cover was influenced by a Marlene Dietrich (a German-American actress and singer) photo book that Bowie took with him to the photo shoot. This is clear evidence of pastiche, imitating the look of Dietrich to formulate his album cover.

David Bowie: Postmodernism

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- Born David Robert Jones, January 18th 1947
- Changed his name to 'David Bowie' in the 1960s to avoid confusion with the musician Davy Jones from The Monkees
- He was a struggling artist during the 1960s and experimented with other art forms such as acting, mime, painting and playwrighting.
- July 1969 saw the release of the song 'Space Oddity' which coincided with the moon landing and was his breakthrough
- His album which followed was not a commercial success at the time and his career appeared to be in decline
- In 1972 he made a 'comeback' with his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust

ALBUM LISTINGS:
- David Bowie (1967) - baroque pop/music hall/folk rock
- Space Oddity (1969) - folk rock/psychedelic folk
- The Man Who Sold the World (1970) - rock
- Hunky Dory (1971) - folk rock/glam rock/art rock
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) - rock/glam rock

- Aladdin Sane (1973) - rock/glam rock - Pin Ups (1973) - glam rock/proto punk - Diamond Dogs (1974) - rock/glam rock - Young Americans (1975) - soul/funk/rock - Station to Station (1976) - rock/funk/blue eyed-soul - Low (1977) art rock/experimental rock - Heroes" (1977) - art rock/experimental rock/ambient - Lodger (1979) - art rock/experimental rock/world music

- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980) - post-punk/art rock
- Let's Dance (1983) rock/pop rock/dance rock
- Tonight (1984) rock/pop rock
- Never Let Me Down (1987) - rock/pop rock
- Black Tie White Noise (1993) - rock/soul/electronic
- The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) - rock
- Outside (1995) - industrial rock/experimental rock
- Earthling (1997) - indsutrial rock/dance rock
- 'Hours...' (1999) - alternative rock/art rock/experimental rock
- Heathen (2002) - alternative rock/art rock/experimental rock
- Reality (2003) - rock
- The Next Day (2013) - rock

GENRE: COMMENTS
The continual mixture and experimentation of genres by Bowie could be considered post modern. This challenges conventional assumption of generic released music album and their artists that album are a continuation of the other. By not sticking to one genre, arguably Bowie creates a unique and innovative sound for each. Bowie is also heavily influenced by the works around him.

THE BERLIN ERA
He moved to Switzerland in 1976 and took up pursuits outside his musical career such as painting, even with the creation of post-modernist pieces of work. Trilogy of albums 'Low', 'Heroes' and 'Lodger' known as the Berlin Era. This coincided with his prolific interest in Germanic art, visiting galleries in Geneva and Berlin whilst on tour. By 1976 he moved to West Berlin after his growing interest in the music scene to revitalise his career. The album 'Low' was heavily influenced by the Krau trock sound of Kraftwerk and Neu! with the album taking an abstract, minimalist approach to music. Lodger then returned to the drum and bass sounds of previous albums with a loose ambient nature, due to the critical reception of Low.

Digital Technology and Creativity Essay

Digital technology and creativity from SianLynes

Production and Post-Production

Post production from hammonda

AS Post-Production:

Software used to create magazine:

Adobe Photoshop CS5

Tools used:

Gradient map tool – to insert American flag into title

Paint bucket tool - fill out the backgrounds to make them all the same colour

Lasso tool - to select the artist in my image and remove the background

Refine edge tool – made the edge smoother and softened the look of the edge so it looked natural against my background

Selective colour tool – Made the red and blue tones more prominent

Levels tool – create more defined shadows

Brightness & Contrast tool – enhance my image and make it stand out

Saturation tool – Increased the look of the colours

Burn tool – Around make-up areas such as eyes to darken them

Eraser tool – erase loose hairs around my artist

Red eye tool – To remove red eye to give a natural look

Line tool – inserted lines on all pages e.g. dividers between coverlines, dividers on the contents and for a striped effect on the DPS

Shadow  and outer glow effect – applied to different parts of my text to add variety and stop it from appearing too 2Dimensional

Software Pros/Cons:

·         I did not know the functions over every tool and effect so had to experiment a lot and figure out which would suit best

·         The software was fast and worked effectively and could handle a lot of data from the images etc.

·         I could undo mistakes easily and redo things I had deleted without having to start all over again

·         Best software available on the market used by industry so it was the best option to create my magazine

·         I could create a variety of effects and make my product look really individual

My strengths and weaknesses:

·         I had previous experience in Adobe Photoshop so I could use my previous knowledge to my advantage

·         Had not cut out an artist professionally from a background before so I research tutorials to enable me to gain experience

·         I did not know the function of every tool so it proved difficult trying to select the appropriate one for a specific purpose

A2 Post-Production

Software used to create ancillary tasks:

Adobe Photoshop CS6

Software used to create music video:

Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0

Tools Used

Photoshop:

· (Most of the same at AS)
·  Darken layer tool - applied to my sketches I inserted from scanner to remove white areas
·  Circular text tool - allowed me to shape text around the CD holder area
·  Magic Eraser tool - deleted the white area of my sketches on the outside to keep the solid fill on the inside
·  Scale tool - decrease inserted images in proportion

Adobe Premiere Elements
·  Fade out tool
·  Straight cut tool
·  Brightness and Contrast overlay
·  Saturation decreased overlay
·  Black and white overlay

Software Pros/Cons:

·  I was more knowledgeable in Photoshop so it was quicker for me to use

·  I could save them as a PSD and return to it later

·  Premiere Elements I had not used before so I was quite slow to get into the hang of using the tools and where they were placed

·  Premiere Elements allowed me to cut to the beat of the music

·  I could replay my clips in slower time to get my lip syncing on the spot

·  Software took a while to load and slowed down with the more HD footage I inserted

·  I could upload my music video direct to Youtube

My strengths and weaknesses:

·  I did not use Premiere Elements before so was quite slow in editing footage at first

·  My preliminary task allowed me to get an idea of where the controls were for basic use

·  I already had knowledge of Photoshop from my foundation portfolio

Progression from AS to A2:

·  I used the option of multi-media to my advantage by scanning in my sketches to my text at A2 and could manipulate the image whereas at AS I was reliant on my photography for the outcome of my magazine predominantly

·  My magazine draft at AS was extremely basic and not as much time spent

·  My preliminary for my music video and ancillary tasks was to a higher standard than my AS as I utilised my skills in the software more effectively and worked quicker

·  Did not use Premiere Elements at all before my A2 production work and now I feel confident to work to a professional standard

·  Became more confident with the experimentation of colours, at AS I stuck to a strict three key colour code whereas at A2 in both tasks I contrasted colour in my ancillary task and then used black and white also in my music video - I would not have been able to achieve this at AS without it looking disjunctive

·  In terms of Photoshop I was more detailed in the use of these tools, for example using the burn tool to accentuate bold lines of my sketches.

The extent to which I have improved drafts/took on board advice:

At AS I took on board advice but probably did not use it to my advantage. For example, in my draft of my magazine advice was given about aligning columns and photos etc. more professionally. I then used grids and automatic grid reference tools to ensure that each component of my magazine was lined up. Although I did not change it much in terms of appearance.

At A2 I certainly took advice on board more seriously. For example, from my preliminary music video it was made evident that the lip syncing was not as accurate as it could have been. Therefore when I was constructing my final music video I ensured that my lip syncing was as accurate as possible, slowing down the video rather than guessing whereabouts the introduction of words would come in.

When I produced my first draft on my music video I received feedback such as that certain shots were not effective. This was evident in a shot of my artist not lip syncing well enough. Therefore I replaced it in post-production with a cutaway to a shot of the telephone to ensure that the quality of my music video was not compromised. This progression of working on advice and improving draft has lead me to be more considerate to my production work and ensuring the best quality outcome.

For my ancillary tasks at A2 I also was more detailed in improving my products. For example, for my draft I used the term "Sophomore album" but it was evident from my feedback that this was not relevant to my UK target market and caused confusion. Therefore I removed it but this left me with an area of negative space on my album advert. From this I improvised and inserted a banner line with my album title across it to fill the space but also draw attention to this area. Therefore from improving my product here I also improved finer details such as the banner that I did not previously consider. I also changed my sketch to a refined version as I felt my draft version was lacking in realistic features. I also improved my version by tweaking positions of my placed images into more central areas. I felt in post-production and in terms of improving my product I was also more aware of my audience and what the most effective choices would be.

KEY MEDIA CONCEPTS

AS MAGAZINE

• At the stage of post-production for my AS production work I developed basic skills in effects and techniques. For example, I increased the saturation of my photographs to enhance the star image of my artist and make her stand out from the page. This brightened look produced a connotation of 'pop' and beauty to my audience; attracting them to the cover of my magazine.
• I applied a gradient map beneath my heading on my double page spread with an image of an American flag. I did this so that my audience will be able to have previous cognitive knowledge of Americanisms etc. and apply this context to my artist. This was also applied to attract my audience as it is a fashionable culture.
• During post-production I also used the burn tool and applied this to the photograph of my artist, especially on the front cover, around key make-up areas such as mascara. This enhanced her look and made her appear more aesthetically pleasing which would appeal to my audience as it complies with Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory and would hopefully draw in a wider audience.

A2 DIGIPAK AND ALBUM ADVERT

• At A2 my skills in Photoshop were more advanced in the post-production stages than at AS level. For example, I was able to the darken layer application on my in-scanned image of my drawing. This removed any negative white areas from the paper and leave the outline of my sketch. By using additional scanning technology I was able to represent my artist using a hyperreal perception and communicate a 'doll like' look of my artist. Therefore this would appeal to my audience as it would represent my artist in a fun but aesthetically pleasing way.
• At A2 I think my skills in post-production allowed me to communicate information in a more interesting and vibrant way that I don't think was as prominant in my AS level work. For example, I was able to use the invert effect on my text of my album title on my album advert so that my text appeared light on my dark pink banner. Therefore simple text was communicated on a larger area, especially with the use of the banner, so it drew the attention of my audience more.

A2 MUSIC VIDEO

• At post-production for my music video my skills were certainly more developed than AS as it was the first time I put my skills in Adobe Premiere Elements into action. I decided to use effects such as a black fade out at the end of my music video to connote to my audience that the text they were viewing has finished. This also concluded this amplification narrative I had incorporated, which had no specific ending as I did not use a conventional narrative.
• In post-production I also experimented with a wider variety of cuts to communicate information to my audience. For example, I used a cut away of a close-up of my artist dialling the telephone at the beginning of my video. This indicated to my audience that it would be a significant feature of mise-en-scene throughout the video. This is a generic convention to cut away to objects that are relevant to the narrative of the music video, other wise the audience may get confused with the random incorporation of a telephone if it was not continued throughout.

DIKW Theory