As I’ve continued my search for primary sources for the final project, I stumbled on a gem, in the form of a a series of questions asked by Congressman Jared Polis to DEA administrator Michele Leonhart. During this exchange Polis questions her on health effects marijuana has relative to fellow schedule 1 drugs. After watching this exchange I was in awe. An administrator for the DEA, an organization that has a multi billion dollar war on drugs, cannot factually argue for the policies her organization has created. Her responses reek of uncertainty, and leads me to become scared for our future; that people such as her, hold positions of power that can sway how society operates. Due to time constraints and other obligations, the assignment I originally wanted to complete seemed out of reach. Since this is the first time I’ve had solid access to the Internet since Wednesday afternoon, I’ve decided to use some ingenuity and complete this assignment (albeit late).

The assignment I’m tackling is the, context assignment. For this, they ask to use the audio from one movie, and add it to the picture and ambience sounds of another. I thought this could prove successful in portraying how I felt watching the Polis/Leonhart exchange. Since I don’t have the programs necessary to rip a video from youtube and download an mp3 (iPad problems), I’ve located the Benny Hill theme on soundcloud. This is expected to be played over the audio of the interview found on the youtube video. Thus portraying my sentiments of Leonhart coming across as uninformed and making the war on drugs seem like an inevitable joke. The Benny Hill theme does an excellent job, of making something that happened in Congress, come across as a joke.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFgrB2Wmh5s&w=420&h=315]

After my initial assessment of the project and testing different songs in my own mind, and through the sampler, I realized the true purpose of combining two very seemingly different musical styles. Even when just examining the final product on the surface, I found that beyond the style produced there was a real historical statement being made. Music, while defined mainly by geographical and ethnic boundaries, is universally a collective human enterprise. While the songs I chose were only produced a few years apart from each other, the same project could be executed with Johnny Cash and Bach, Tom Jones and Wu-Tang, or even Bruce Springsteen and Philip Glass. Again, on the surface a musical and stylistic statement is being made, but when examined under a microscope a true human argument is posed to challenge how geographical and ethnic boundaries separate how we classify human expression.

This same process could be applied to any number of comparative analyses. The surest method of learning about two perceived ideological opponents is to first combine them and catalog their similarities. For instance, when the process is applied to political competitors, such as in the recent Presidential Race, you could compare the rhetoric of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in speeches and analyze just how similar on paper they may appear. While many will surely object to and immediately refute any minute possibility of their political enemy sharing ideals, you must first observe the situation from a birds-eye view, operate beyond your own bias. That is what this process truly achieves in teaching the observer, to drop your guard and construct an honest argument around the truth.

Although in the past I have often used this style and process to achieve what I wanted musically, I have found a deeper meaning in applying the method to all aspects of my life. Similarities lie in the most unexpected places, and the differences that once set people and ideas apart will ultimately bring them together.

I’m going to try to tackle the Imitate some weather audio assignment. In this task, by using only my voice and things around the house, I’m going to imitate some kind of weather.

Tin pans, my shutters, and me going SSSOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH should make this project really challenging but fun! I have a Macbook and the Garage Band application that I’ve used for audio files before, so hopefully I can do this project without much headaches.

Image Source: DS106 website

Which audio assignment will you be doing.
I decided to pick a song by popular artist Jay Z and “Chipmunk it” like Alvin and Chipmunks would do it. Song name is “99 Problems” and Jay Z performed it during Obama presidential election rally.

What hardware and software will you be using.
For mixing I used Virtual DJ Home 7 and my laptop.

A statement about how this approach to storytelling might be used to make an historical argument.
Chipmunked audio can be used as an interesting and unusual approach to make a historical argument. While working on this project I came to realization that chipmunking has a potential to have two different effects on the final outcome – positive or negative. By this, I mean if the original product is presented by respectable person and in the serious manner, the chipmunked version will turn it to funny and unimportant. In a case of any US president speeches no matter how important or urgent is the message, urgency and importance will disappear in the chipmunked version.

On the other hand, there are cases when performer uses inappropriate expressions such as explicit lyrics, unethical views or even incite hatred and violence. Products of this nature cannot be presented to certain audiences such as young adults. Using chipmunk effect will put a positive spin on this inappropriate product and, at the same time, will be able to historically preserve this artifact without destroying it. Perfect example is Jay Z and most of his songs that are filled with bad language and messages. After applying chipmunk effect the song became much “friendlier”. I would not even be surprised if one day Hollywood would use it in one of their funny kids cartoons.

To summarize, chipmunking effect on the audio product provides an interesting and unique opportunity where we can twist the message and at the same time make a historical arguments. Similar methods are used in politics and other areas of life where people want to emphasize certain messages that are convenient to them, and make extra effort to veil others that are undesirable.