Tag Archive for 'evolving music'

Why Evolving Music Needs Obama

published
on April 29, 2008
by
Sandra
in culture, music, technology, and video
. Closed Tags: , , , .

Evolving Music is about change. Evolving Music is about Mixing and Matching the talents and visions of different people – regardless of their age, race, musical background, geographic location, beliefs, or gender. Evolving Music is about working together in the spirit of collaboration, challenging convention, embracing new technologies, promoting transparency, and participating in the free exchange of ideas.

Whether you agree with his politics or not, Barack Obama is a great example of these ideals. I think that Evolving Music could benefit greatly from his leadership. To all those who share the vision of a completely new music industry unencumbered by greedy record labels and a new musical landscape where musicians and music lovers alike have unprecedented opportunities to connect, create and discover music I say: Yes, We Can.

While other politicians inevitably get caught up in mudslinging and hate campaigns, Obama is consistent in his messages of Hope and Change. Not to mention that he handles criticism with dignity and humor (and in this case music):

I think we need someone like Obama to support this (r)evolution. He has a technology plan based on refreshing ideas like open and transparent government (imagine that!), aggressive support of broadband access, etc. The speed with which technology is emerging is mind boggling and we need someone who understands the digital age and its implications to keep encouraging the kind of collaborative and open-minded innovation taking place today. More and more, through social media and access to information online, “the people” (as trite as that phrase sounds, I feel it rings true here) really are becoming empowered and we need someone as young, hip, and savvy as Obama to lead the way down an entirely new path.

Judson Laipply's Evolution of Dance

published
on February 11, 2008
by
Sandra
in dance, music, and video
. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

While this blog is centered around evolving music and the many factors influencing that evolution – emerging technologies, the deconstruction and reconstruction of the music industry, DIY culture and user-generated content, social networking etc – there is another art form that has always been and will always be intimately associated with music. Namely, dance.

Ever since our ancestors began grunting monosyllabically and banging rocks together, they were surely waving their longish arms and clumsily bobbing along to the unorganized music in their still primitive heads. Music and dance have been so intimately related throughout history that it’s nearly impossible to separate them today.

My father (a jazz musician) used to joke that musicians can’t dance, and despite their knack for playing music most of them have no sense of rhythm on the dance floor. He, of course, liked to think he was the exception to the rule. But whether you are a musician, a dancer, both, or neither, it’s hard not to appreciate the end result when a good song is paired with a good dance.

Just as music has continued to evolve in all sorts of logical and also unexpected ways, influenced by everything from digital technologies and political climates to art and fashion, dance has done the same. As seen in the roaring twenties, when “amusement, fun and lightness were cultivated in jazz and dancing, in defiance of the horrors of World War I, which remained present in people’s minds”, music and dance often express the collective mindset of a generation or a particular demographic at a given time.

Without launching into a lengthy discourse about the history of dance and its implications, let’s take a look at one man’s recap of just the last half-century of dance. Judson Laipply, an “inspiration comedian”, put together this little bit that has become the #1 most viewed (74+ million views) and #1 top rated video on youtube:

For more on the comedian or the video, check out the official site here.