Voice Post – Marcus Troy

Marcus troy is an African American male in his mid thirties who resides in NYC. He Blogs about everything he is passionate about which ranges from brand experience to fashion to footwear to traveling to gadgets, music and people. He uses his blog as a personal diary to help focus his ideas and aspirations as well as use it as a platform to connect with people. People, are a huge topic for Marcus Troy because he believes the trendsetters, the forward thinkers the visionaries are all spawning from the idea of people and they help create the world around them. He describes his blog as being a connection to the “new, fresh and dope.” I will be looking at two posts; one is very general and the other is from his music section of his blog. The general post is short and to the point and reads as follows:

My Thoughts: A Few Tips

September 13^th­­­­­­­

A few tips I try to live by:

1. Build your name first
2. Get paid to be you
3. Give more than you take
4. Get inspired, never copy
5. Give yourself a chance to win

            This post although very short, says a lot about Marcus Troy as a blogger and writer. His diction and choice of words seems so few but so many. I imagine that he thought about this post for a while and choose his words carefully. Another interesting point regarding his phrasing and figure of speech is his 4^th point. “Get inspired, never copy” he combined two points into one but it feels so natural almost as if you could picture him saying these exact words to you in person. And lastly how short the paragraph and post is in general… He wanted to be too the point and have the reader think more and read less with this approach which I think is a very good tactic to have as a writer and blogger. This brings us to the 2^nd post, which is from his music section.

            The second post tells us about Tay Walkers Debut ‘Karma’ video. Marcus Troy uses his dictation again with the first sentence. He reminds you that he talks like he is from the streets, saying “ Hailing from Inglewood, California,” which tells you a lot about where Marcus Might be from. He also points references to the video and song like D’Angelo, which tells you he has great knowledge about musical history especially in the RnB realm.  Marcus Troy goes on to talk about the details of the video and the album as he raps up the post with the actual video for you to watch. If I had to describe Marcus Troy’s as a blogger, as an artist, as a person he would be “clean lines.” Everything form his logo to how he talks, dresses and presents himself is with “clean lines.” He is surely a blogger with a lot to say and knows how to say it in a way that you really believe you are listening to him speak when you read his blog.

             

Blog Links:

1. http://marcustroy.com/category/my-thoughts/

2. http://marcustroy.com/music-the-internets-tay-walker-debuts-karma-video-taywalker/

Profile Blogger - Nick Guarino - TSIS Blog

For my profile blog post I have found and choose blog writer, Nick Guarino. Nick Guarino is the owner and main contributor to his blog Thissongissick, which he started back in 2010. Since starting the blog out of his dorm room at Boulder Colorado his fan base has grown to millions of music enthusiasts  all over the world including over 110 different countries every single month. Since starting the blog Nick claims he and the blog have grown a lot, but his original purpose for starting the blog has stayed the same. He has always wanted to just make it easier for you to “discover sick new music that you've never heard before.” In high school he would make mix Cd's for my friends to show them all the new music he was discovering.

            Nicks connection to music is he blogs about the newest music trends and music coming out all over the world. Because his blog has grown so big, Thissongissick.com now works with musicians and record labels from all over the world to showcase a variety of the freshest electronic, hip-hop, indie, and alternative music to a global following.

            The blogs typical post range from 200-700 words and are blogged multiple times a day. This tone of the blog is very casual almost as if it was your dorm roommate was showing you some new music. Their layout is super simple and easy to maneuver. Two specific blog post that I choose to look at were his most two recent, the “RL Grime Unloads third annual Halloween mix full of unreleased music (free download)” and the “ [TSIS Premiere] Ookay Releases Powerful Trap Single “Egg Drop Soup”” Both post are similar in the sense that they both have a short description about the song and sound cloud link to the song itself. They both have custom artwork for the post and the RL Grime even has the entire mix individually written out (song specific).

            With Nick’s Uniform look, great content and overall knowledge and power within the music industry he and his blog will surely continue to post high quality post and attract a higher fan base.

Link to Blog: http://thissongissick.com/blog/

Sat·u·ra·tion

            Over saturation, a word that seems to be popping up with more and more frequency in music blogs these days. And over saturation is a phrase that, to a degree, accurately describes today’s popular music universe. It maybe that I feel this way because I’m a Music Industry major in at university that happens located in the music capital of the world. With the amount of information on the Internet, coupled with the democratization of music production, for a music major and lover like myself it seems harder and harder to find quality music. I often find myself having to dig deeper and deeper to find quality music. From this can we conclude that technology has made the quality of music go down? I beg to differ.

            Today’s technologies have allowed musicians to be more creative than ever, with new technologies helping them explore and access new types of music and sounds from around the globe. By exploring new music and with an increased ability to record in unique studio environment, environment and culture has been allowed to become a growing creative force behind music. These new way of recording music are allowing anyone to be a musician. There is more music created than ever, which is leading to a high level of saturation in almost every genre and market. The number of individuals and labels fighting for, “seven seconds of a viewers attention,” is greater than ever before. This leaves it to music heads, like myself, having to sort thru millions of people who now can call themselves recording artists. Rapper J. Cole in a recent interview put his opinions on the subject in a very relate able way. He said, “Today’s music age is like keeping up with the ‘rat race.’” It is so tough these days to poke through the music online, with everyone now being able to record and release music himself or herself. The same goes for DJ’s. With some basic technology and a little practice everyone can DJ. But this isn’t the first time in history we’ve seen this happen.

            When recorded music was making it’s transition from analogue tape to digital people started to utilize the “abuse” in the tape machines. If you pushed the machines harder than they were supposed to go you would get “tape saturation” which was a natural warmth to the overall sound of the music. Music makers from the 60’s to now took the abuse of the recording tape machines and turned it into something good. Technology led to saturation in technique. But it is without argument it made the music better.

            Yes the Internet is over saturated with bad music. And plenty of people are claiming to be musicians, DJ’s, and producers, or whatever else they want to label themselves. But the fact of the matter is one can waste time complaining about the huge volume of low quality music, which in my opinion is a waste of their breathe. Or they can instead look at it as the tape abuse of today’s age. The over saturation is just going to continue to push creative boundaries and real artists will find a way to use the saturation to their advantage. The struggle to rise to the top, to be heard, is what makes great art. Necessity is the father of invention. And we need better music now than ever.

Ke$ha V.S Dr. Luke - The "he said, she said" story of todays popular music

            Artists and producers often have challenging relationships in and outside the recording studio. A good producer can make or break a song. A mega producer can make or break an artist. And sometimes, a mega producer and mega artist can try to make or break each other. Such are the fates of super producer, and former Saturday night live guitarist, Dr. Luke and his artist Kesha Rose Sebert. Earlier this week Kesha filed a staggering lawsuit against her producer and vise versa.

            According to CNN Kesha claims Dr. Luke has abused her for years. The website states, “Kesha's civil complaint filed in Los Angeles claims that Dr. Luke sexually, physically and verbally abused her over the 10 years since he signed her as an 18-year-old artist.” (CNN.com). Hours later, Dr. Luke and his attorneys filed a suit in New York on claims of defamation and extortion. CNN writes, “[These] ‘outrageous and untrue statements’ to extort him into releasing her from her recording contract with his label.” (CNN.com)

            Some eyebrows have been raised over the fact that Kesha for sometime has been battling to get out of a none to favorable record deal that she signed as an eighteen year old. However on the other side of the argument lies Dr. Luke who by other artists, on many occasions, has been accused of being incredibly controlling. This situation isn’t untypical. Kesha has asked in the suit that she be let go of her contract, as well as be paid for “damages.” According to details within the lawsuit Kesha claims that she, “ lived in a prison of his abuse,” as well as accusations that Dr. Luke gave her a "date rape drug" to allow him to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. He also allegedly used constant verbal insults -- such as calling her "a fat f--king refrigerator" -- "to make her feel completely worthless and maintain complete control over her life." Like most pop stars Kesha’s debut album sold a million plus copies. But she claims that did not stop the abuse. As much of the public knows Kesha developed an easting disorder, bulimia nervosa, which almost killed her. She sought serious therapeutic and medical help. She claims that this was due in large part to Dr. Luke’s verbal abuse about her weight. Mark Geragos, Kesha's lawyer said the lawsuit is a chance for Kesha to take back control of her life. He says," [It] ‘is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for 10 years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse, and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke.’ "

            For me as a young entrepreneur within the music industry I feel torn about the subject. By no means is abuse, sexual or otherwise, condonable in a business environment or in society. Especially when a young female artist entrusts an older man with much of her life. Yet, these suits have som much to do with money and creative control it is hard not to be skeptical. These accusations could shatter the image of one of my favorite producers. Kesha would exist without Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke has had an insanely impressive, twenty-seven Number One Billboard hits. Some of his big songs include: “Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," "Teenage Dream," "California Gurls," "E.T", "Last Friday Night," "Part of Me," "Wide Awake", and "The One That Got Away," Rihanna's "Where Have You Been?," Britney's "Hold it Against Me" and "Circus," Ke$ha's "Tik Tok," "Die Young", "We R Who We R," and "Blow," Flo Rida's "Good Feeling" "Right Round," Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.," Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" and so many more” (AAMinc). A man of his creative stature may very well be a control freak. He may as well be a criminal if what Kesha claims is true. Other Dr. Luke artists have come to the defense of his character. Hopefully Kesha gets out of her deal and Dr. Luke can find it within himself to apologize to her. Or else this could put a terrible scar on the face of popular music.

Social Bookmarking Soulmate

I came across my social booking soul mate early last week while doing research for our latest paper assignment. Thomas Brett is a percussionist, ethnomusicologist, composer, and writer who has started his own, highly successful, blog, brettworks.com. The blog entries are multimedia thought pieces, or meditations, on performance. Brett also has many insights about what he describes as the ever-shrinking attention span of the general public. These pieces of music incorporate improvisations on his personal ideas, music, and sounds. Most of his posts are quite short, usually around 250-500 word submissions, and engage interesting topics of analysis surrounding the place of music in our popular culture. His blog, which turned out to be both an exceptional work and rich resource, led me to many other interesting sites and publications on the same subjects. Some of these blogs include: beingmusicalbeinghuman.com, disquiet.com, generationbass.com, halfsharpmusic.wordpress.com, and sonicwarfare.com.

            However, his blog brettworks.com is a unique place, unlike any music website I have ever encountered. It is an incredibly insightful blend of his various thoughts, feelings, and observations. It can be explored easily, both for in depth research or aimless curiosity. He uses videos, quick and witty analysis, and short notes notes to illustrate interesting points. Brettworks.com is a place where the musical roots of today’s popular culture connect with other ideas. It is a place of growth; new concepts and insights.

Lawsuits, Bitterness and Hardship - Stories of Band Breakups

            When I was in the sixth grade I was in my first real band. We had six guys: drums, guitar, bass, trumpet/trombone player, pianist, and singer. Our first practice lasted a total twenty minutes. We spent fifteen minutes rehearsing covers and five minutes attempting to write original material. We ended up just jamming for an hour. Then decided being in a band was tough, so we went skateboarding. We clearly were on the path to major success. We only lasted as a band for 3 months. We played two live shows and rehearsed only two times a week. We were in 6^th grade. Drugs and alcohol weren’t the problem. Success hadn’t gone to our heads. In fact we didn’t have any success. The run was over as soon as it had begun.

            Earlier this week news came out that the huge EDM super group Krewella, which is made up of sisters, Jahan Yousaf, Yasmine Yousaf and Kris Trindl, had broke up. And the breakup was getting messy. They have been a band since June 8, 2010. The reason why this date is definite is because all three members bear matching "6-8-10" tattoos commemorating the date. Since becoming a band they’ve sold millions of records and toured the world playing in front of millions of people. Unfortunately on Tuesday, Kris Trindl filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against the sisters for being kicked out of the EDM group “unfairly,” according to Billboard Magazine, next day, October 1^st, the Yousaf sisters responded to the suit and its allegations.

We woke up this morning to the lawsuit Kris filed against us.  As you all know, there are two sides to every story. We ask our fans to please be patient and not come to any conclusions until we are able to respond to the lawsuit with the truth. Our team has advised that we don’t get into any specifics until we can properly respond to the false claims made—most importantly being that we did not kick Kris out of Krewella, he resigned. We’re having a really difficult time today. As we write this letter to you, we are in the studio working on the second album. Please hang in there with us, the truth will eventually come out. Thank you for being so supportive, we love you guys. – (Billboard Magazine)

Trindl, according to widespread sources, was kicked out of the band for alcohol abuse. However, he has previously checked himself in rehab for alcohol abuse. After he emerged clean, the sisters and fellow band members claimed that he was depressed. It seemed is mood was weighing down the group. Whether, this is true or not, or if Trindl in fact continued his sobriety remains to be seen. The fact remains, he is no longer with the band.

            Band breakups, often followed by lawsuits, are not a new thing. The majority of bands go through breakups. Or at least they take breaks. My sixth grade band was not bucking the trend. Rolling Stone magazine has published articles covering the biggest band breakups of all time. The names are infamous. Guns and Roses, The Everly Brothers, The Pixies, The Clash, Rage Against the Machine, and Oasis, are just a few mega groups that had mega meltdowns. Like Krewella, many bands break up due to alcohol or drug related issues. Sometimes break ups start over creative and monetary control. Big bands lead to big egos. So why is it so hard to stay a band? Why was it so hard even in sixth grade, when we didn’t have to face adult issues? Why couldn’t we hold it together? It seems the only answer is a delicate balance. A balance that remains a mystery to many including me. But in Krewella’s case, did they kick out a band member going through the challenges of trying to better himself? Or did they do what was right for the creative health of the group? The Yousaf sisters or Trindl? Can you pick a side? If it is too difficult, you could always give up and go skateboarding. Unless of course, you want to be in a mega band. 

Drum Machines and Popular Music

             Drum machines are one of the biggest contributors to the popular music of today. But when you get down to the heart and guts of a drum machine what you have is not an instrument but a computer. Drum machines are made of pads or buttons whose sensors trigger prerecorded or captured musical samples. In the early stages of drum machines, by which I mean pre-digital, the sensors triggered tape loops.

            Harry Chamberlin made the first modern day drum machines circa 1947 in California. He figured out a way to build a machine based on tape loops. This machine was called the Chamberlin Rhythmate. It had fourteen different tape loops of various samples that could be manipulated by both pitch and speed. It had an input for a microphone or guitar, so you could even record and make you own loops of what you were playing. But the most important aspect of this machine was that it had tape loops of real instruments that were recorded and could be recalled at any time.

            This brought on a whole new way of creating music. It even brought new genres like electronic music. Some other big drum machines where the Roland TR-808 which made a lot of early hip-hop records. The next step in drum machine technology was the use of sampling. The Linn LM-1 drum was the first machine to use digital sampling instead of actual tape loops. The Linn LM-1 drum sound was a distinct part of 1980’s pop music. Artists like Devo and The Human Leagues, even Prince’s all time great album Purple Rain, used this machine. Then in 1982 the Linn LM-1 drum evolved into the LinnDrum. The LinnDrum was a cheaper more technology advanced drum machine that can be most famously heard in Giorgio Moroders’s Scarface film soundtrack and the Cars Heartbeat City album. However, a major issue with drum machines such as the LinnDrumm and LM, is that they started to put session drummers out of work. Many session drummers would end up buying drum machines and then programming their own drum sounds into their machine. This was due to the fact that the industry had become accustomed too, even demanding, a drum machine produced sound. Various other drum machines gained prevalence throughout the next 10 years; the Roland TR-808 and 909, the Oberheim DMX, the E-mu Drumulator, and the Yamaha RX11.           

            Drum machines allow for thousands of samples to be pulled up and utilized during production. Any sound can be found at any time. This ability eventually led to drum programming and sequencing. Programmed drum beats are at the heart of all pop music today, most notably seen within EDM. People in today’s musical world even like to blend the real playing of drums with effected samples. This mix can probably be found in almost every song on the radio today. Music is inherently wed to technology; as one goes so does the other. Thanks to sampling and drum machines new genres of music have been created and can be enjoyed by people around the globe.

Music Distributions New Age

            First it was Radiohead and their fans. Then it was Jay Z and Samsung. Then his wife Beyonce’s “no marketing” album dropped. Now we have U2 and Apple. Since the early 2000s, when Napster started an avalanche that has made album sales almost frivolous, the music industry has sought new avenues for music distribution and sales. These avenues have come in many forms including streaming services. And don’t be mistaken; the four above mentioned alternative sale strategies are not the only attempts of their kind. But because of their popularity and scope I have chosen to focus on these for the purposes of this post.

            Last week U2 teamed up with Apple again (last time it was for the launch of their own iPod in 2004) to help with the distribution of their new album Songs of Innocence. Though precise figures are still unknown it is estimated Apple paid U2 close to100 million dollars to give away their album for “free” to the 500 million plus iTunes users worldwide. Rather than being met with applause from hordes of adoring fans, many have expressed outrage over the fact that U2’s latest musical offering music was automatically added to their iTunes accounts. Many feel U2 was paid to essentially “spam” 500 million people.

            Looking at the recent past there seems to be no right or wrong way to give away music. The public seems to be more outraged that U2 deprived them of the ability to choose than anything. Something any layperson could point out is an essential aspect of successful commerce. In late 2007, Radiohead let their fans decide how much they wanted to pay for their album. They distributed the album from their website and let the fans input any amount above one cent. According to the online music publication Pitchfork, it was an extremely successful release. The band made close to 3 million dollars and shipped close to 1.75 million CDs. However, BitTorrent downloads (free pirated MP3s) greatly exceeded CDs sold. In 2013 Samsung paid an estimated 20 million dollars to make Jay-Z’s Magna Carta… album available to Samsung users before it was released to the public. Then Jay’s wife and perhaps the most prominent female artist of her generation, Beyonce, didn’t do any marketing and just randomly dropped her album. The surprise hype seemed to positively affect sales. Both albums sold well according to current standards. But none of these artists received as much negative press as U2 for “selling out.”

            With technology constantly changing and new ways of distribution of music being utilized almost daily it is hard to guess what interesting sales methods will come next. It is in part exciting that we don’t know. Someone reading this could be the musical entrepreneur that creates the next big thing. The only certainty is that music will continue to be made and that now more than ever power lies with consumers. We can choose to purchase music and or not. We can choose to support the likes of U2 when they go to Apple for indirect sales or sponsorship. Jay-Z had his payday from Samsung. Why was it different? Maybe it’s because Samsung made the album available instead of automatically forcing people to download the album? Choice always seems to be a necessary ingredient. 

            I do believe however that musical acts will continue to choose and seek deals similar to U2’s in the continued quest for profitability. This presents a problem though. If people aren’t paying for the end product, someone must be loosing money. It also remains to be seen how the public will react to their favorite artists making art under corporate sponsorship. The simple answer is people should start buying music again. That is the only way the public can be the true sponsors of the music they love. I guess it all comes down to a choice. We can choose our greed or theirs.

Billboard top 100 Songwriters List – The Artists Behind The Artists.

Some of you might have figured this out already, but not all of today’s top popular music artists write their own songs. Truth be told, the majority of Top 40 pop and country hits are actually, almost always, written by a select few. This fraternity, many of whom you may not have heard of or known in this specific capacity, is made up of the best songwriters in the world. They are responsible for hit after hit after hit. Just this past week, as routinely released on an annual basis, Billboard Magazine released its “Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Songwriters list.” Some of these names you might recognize because they are also artists themselves. Three of the top ten are artists, Ryan Tedder who is the lead singer for One Republic, Pharrell Williams, and Calvin Harris all made the list this year. Some of you might not know but Tedder, Pharrell, and Calvin Harris have “ghost written,” co-written, or are responsible for songs released by Ellie Goulding (Burn), Beyonce (XO), Rita Ora (I Will Never Let You Down), and Ed Sheeran (Sing), just to name a few. The rest of the individuals on the list, are strictly songwriters. And it brings us to the number one songwriter of this year. How many of you have heard of Max Martin? Though his name may ring a bell, it certainly doesn’t set of paparazzi flashbulbs or blow up Google searches. Yet, Martin is perhaps the music industry’s most prolific creative mind.

            Max Martin is now tied with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for most number one Billboard charting songs of all time. Max Martin, unbeknownst to throngs of screaming fans, has defined popular music from the 90’s till now. His accomplishments are too many to name. He wrote all the music, lyrics, and melodies for all of Brittney Spears’s hits. He was responsible for both NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys’ chart toppers. His most recent work has been a vehicle for the likes of Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. The reason I bring up Britney, NSYNC, and the Backstreet boys, though admittedly far past their pop primes, is because their songs and business models mark the start of an era. It was the beginning of an age when music stars transcended musicianship. It was the first time songwriting, behind the scenes, for an artist or band really came into existence. Don’t get me wrong; there have always been famous musicians who didn’t write their own stuff. Take Elton John for example. He has never written a lyric in his life, but he writes all his music and melodies. His partner Bernie Taupin, who you’ve all probably never heard of, has written the lyrics and concepts to every famous Elton John song ever. Musical history is rife with songwriting teams. But the 90s marked the beginning of an era where labels would build artists from the ground up. A strong voice, look, talent, and cultural background replaced songwriting talent as the major selling points of musical acts. Songwriting could be outsourced, very successfully I might add. In fact, it was a goldmine. And Max Martin might be the largest prize.

             If you have a couple of minutes, Google some of the people on the list and see what songs they’ve written. You might be very surprised. Google the credits to one of your favorite songs and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the names below came up as a co-writer.  In my opinion, despite their distinct lack of notoriety, these people are the true artists. There is nobility in their “ghost” like dedication to a beloved craft. They might not have the look or the voice we know. But they are the ones creating the songs that we all love. And also maybe hate. 

Hello World - The Meaning Behind The Title Of This Blog

             For most of my childhood I was surrounded by music. At age three I started going to music school and fighting off the other kids to make sure I had the rainbow colored guitar strap. Mind you; none of us three to five year olds were really playing these instruments. We were in fact having playtime with instruments while our parents enjoyed an hour or so socializing with their contemporaries.

            Ever since that guitar strap I was always making sure that the things I wanted in my life were the cool and hip things that everyone yearned for. As I grew older I continued to go to music schools and in sixth grade I started to take the guitar a little more seriously than I had previously. But being the serious, hardcore, “know it all,” rocker that most middle school boys are, I turned my head to anything that did not have huge guitar parts and awesome solos. Approaching high school I quickly learned that my friends didn’t have the same appreciation for that kind of music I was listening to and I wondered why. As I journeyed through the first two years of high school I quickly realized that 60’s, 70’s and 80’s rock wasn’t all that “cool” anymore. As a musician and music lover the music of the past, that music still spoke to me more than anything, but all my friends were listening to pop music. And in middle school and high school, artistry was often trumped by social relationships. This point is something I will refer back to. Led Zepplin and Clapton were not as cool as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and NSYNC. These pop stars were the new rock stars of the day and I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was the times just changing? But I’ve come to realize it was a huge combination of things. So huge were the forces at play in the music industry and internet age that it would take me to studying music at the collegiate level to fully appreciate the changing environment that I was hoping to be a part of. Technology was bringing forth new ways to distribute music. Technology was creating new types of instruments that could be played with computer keyboards. And, like most industries, there was a new generation of talent ready to fuse new and evolving elements together. All these new technological advances, people, and sounds were the stepping-stones for what popular music is today.

            As I will continue to post in this blog I will address topics such as: who are the major influencers in modern day popular music, what new technology has done for creating popular music, how technology has changed the way we make, hear and distribute music etc.

            Everyone wants that thing. Everyone wants to have discovered a feeling, a product or sound that will affect the masses. Popular music can make us feel cool because of our deep personal relationship to sound coupled with our recognition of similarity in taste with others.  Everyone wants to have the Rainbow Guitar strap. It’s something that no matter how hard you try to avoid or scoff at it’s going to find it’s way to your ears and get stuck in your head. Just like anything, popular music will always be changing but it’s always going to be that rainbow colored guitar strap that everyone wants a piece of.