Blog Posts – Page 9 – The Arts in New York City (CSI, 2016)

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan recently earned a Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry and iconic song lyrics. He is an icon of his time period because he was one of the first musicians to introduce the genre folk rock. Folk music was typically performed using acoustic instruments. Bob Dylan is one of kind because he combines the electric guitar with classic folk instruments such as a harmonica. He emerged when America was split between wanting to go into the Vietnam War and not wanting to go to war. His music appealed to a liberal and young adult audience because of his lyrics and style of singing. His voice was not soft and delicate like other artists. He sang as if he was having a conversation with the audience and telling them about the message in his lyrics. This style appealed to a young adult and liberal audience because it was different from classic folk music and because the messages were blunt. His music is iconic and timeless because the messages in his songs could be applied to America in 2016. Anti-war and civil rights are relevant topics in the news, but Bob Dylan has been singing about them since the 1960s.

My family, immediate and extended, enjoys listening to a wide range of genres and artists. I grew up going to family parties and listening to folk rock singers such as Bob Dylan. In class we listened to “Blowing in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A Changin.’” Both songs felt very familiar, but before class I never knew they were Bob Dylan’s songs. “Blowing in the Wind” stood out to me because the questions he asks are very relevant to society in 2016. “How many roads must a man walk down/Before you call him a man?” implies that a person’s self-worth is measured by the significance of their actions or experiences. “Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly/Before they’re forever banned?” refers to war and violence (especially the Vietnam War). “Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head/And pretend that he just doesn’t see?” is the most important lyric in my opinion because it represents the indifferent Americans who let the issues of violence, racism, and injustice continue. The lyric “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind/The answer is blowin’ in the wind” is significant because the answers seem simple, but no one takes action.

Matt Griffin Bob Dylan Blog

Bob Dylan

Last class my classmates and I talked about, and listened to some songs written by Bob Dylan and I found them very interesting. The first song we listened to was called Blowing in the Wind. The main idea of the song was obviously all the tragic things going on overseas during the Vietnam War. The thing I was trying to figure out during the song was what he meant was “blowing in the wind”. Finally, it came to me that what he meant was probably the=at dust was blowing in the wind, playing on the popular phrase that all we are at the end of the day is dust in the wind. In other words, what he meant was that if the war continues many more people are going to die, and become dust in the wind. The strange thing about this song is apparently when it first came out it was popular, but not with Bob Dylan, with other singers. Apparently some people did not consider Bob Dylan a great artist because he did not embody what many people believed a classy singer to look like. Instead they got straight arrow squeaky clean singers to sing this song on shows like the Ed Sullivan Show. Another Dylan song we listened to was Hard rains are gunna’ fall. This song warns that if people don’t start to make peace then we could be in for nuclear war and possibly the end of times. This song fit right into what people were thinking around this time. Many schools would participate in Bomb drills just in case the United States had a bomb dropped on us. Kids would practice hiding under their desks, obviously the adults knowing that would not save them. Instead this was more of comfort thing, if these kids had to die at least let them go out thinking they would survive. Finally, the thing that strikes me the most about Bob Dylan is different from what other people might say. Although many people probably can’t see his impact in modern music I disagree. The way Dylan “sings” his songs, isn’t singing at all instead the songs are almost talked. This gave the song more of an edge, but also contributed to people really not accepting Dylan’s style. All this being said I believe, as hard as it may be to believe, that Bob Dylan influenced many rappers today. Not only did he talk his music, but he also wrote songs about social issues like many rappers do today.

Don Giovanni Matt Griffin Blog

Don Giovanni Blog

Last week my classmates and I took a trip to the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center to see Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The experience was interesting to say the least. The thing that struck me when I first arrived at the Met were the people dressed up so nicely. Although I did expect people to be dresses half-way decent, I did not expect to see people in suites and other clothing items that are deemed fancy. Another thing that stood out to me at the Met was the red carpeted stairs, they seemed so elegant and almost felt out of place in New York City. We think of New York as such a rough and tumble, hardnosed town that something as simple as stairs help to transport us to a more elegant time. The show started pretty much how I expected with the rape of Anna and the killing of her father by Don Giovanni. The way the show progressed was a surprise to me, I didn’t believe that all the people Don Giovanni wronged would meet and try to collectively bring him down. The scene that confused me the most in the opera was when Leporello disguised himself as Don Giovanni, and vice versa. I know this may sound stupid, but the entire time it was bugging me how nobody noticed that the two had just switched clothes. Also their voices are completely different. I found the translators on the seats very helpful, but at some points kind of awkward. Since the opera is sung in Italian and I read it translated into English the lyrics sometimes don’t seem to match up sometimes. What I mean is the words in Italian sound good together, but in English they don’t rhyme. Here in America in modern times we are so used to hearing songs with lyrics that rhyme that any deviation from this just doesn’t make any sense. One last thing that stuck me a bit about this opera was the emphasis put on the singing in the opera. Although obviously a main part of the show is the singing, it isn’t necessarily the only proponent of the show. There is also a component of the show that entails the singers act too. Not only did I find the acting rather subpar, but I also felt the writing wasn’t very good. Again this is probably the fact this opera was written over 215 years ago and tastes were different then.

Don Giovanni

After class this past week we all went to see the play Don Giovanni at the Met Opera House in New York City. Going into it I had expected a three hour event where I would sit down and go to sleep until it was over. But rather, I stayed awake for the whole thing and actually enjoyed.

This was the first opera I have ever been to so I wasn’t sure what to expect. From all I had heard about it before, I always expected it to just be the performers outdoing each other with their singing; singing that holds on to each long note and even “breaks glass cups” like on TV. But rather, it seemed more like a play to me, which I think allowed me to enjoy it more. It wasn’t as “painful” because it didn’t feel like the performance stopped for one solo act and then continued. Rather the performers still sang but it was in a fashion that allowed the performance to still keep moving without slowing down to much. As a result it made the story line easier to follow, and for me easier to watch. I think if it was more drawn out I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it, but due to the play like feel it allowed me to follow along much better.

What caught me by surprise about the play was it’s ability to “translate” across to the audience. What I mean by this is two things. One being that the whole play was done in Italian, and even though I wasn’t able to translate what they were saying, the fact that me (who only speaks English) was able to tell when a joke was made just based off of actions, and sound (and a little bit from the text translator) was quite amazing; the fact that a performance like Don Giovanni can cross language barriers. What also amazed me was the fact that given the type of world that we live in when it comes to domestic violence and assault it also surprised me that a performance like Don Giovanni (which is all about woman getting raped) is so openly accepted by people even today. I would think that the type of things we look down on today would prevent people from going to see performances like this, but the crowd size at the show we went to proved quite the contrary.

Overall, I am glad to say that I very much enjoyed the show more than I thought I would and I definitely would recommend it to anybody who had never seen the opera before, or had and was looking for another show to see. It was time that I learned a lot from and will never forget.

Bob Dylan’s Songs

This past week in class we talked about the recent achievement of Bob Dylan, winning a Nobel Peace Prize, and also listened to some of his music that got him that award. I myself have never listened to more than 30 seconds of his music so this was a first time for me and there were some interesting connections that I made. One was that his music almost reminded me of some music, such as country music, today. I could see a somewhat close comparison in the way the songs are sung and the lyrics are made. It makes me think that probably many musicians today do draw their inspiration and ideas from music from years ago, just like Bob Dylan’s. His music was something that inspired millions and started actual movements. Both him and the music he sang had that impact on the world.

Another interesting note that I made was when when listening and watching him perform you also see something different between the way he performed and the way that performers perform today. His music was all natural and genuine. No back up singers, no auto tune, no added background sounds; just Bob Dylan, his guitar and a microphone in a sound room. This to me showed the natural and real side to him. This, I believe, is why he had such a profound impact on the world. He created a celebrity status to himself but kept no other-worldly barrier between him and his followers. Also when you watch him it looks like it comes natural, and he is performing something that he really enjoys and believes the words he saying. Sometimes when I watch and listen to music of today the singers either look nerved, unnatural and like they are just saying words and not meaning them. They are forcing words out of there mouth to make a song, but when Bob Dylan sang he made it flow so easily due to the meaning the words had to him.

When comparing music from today to music of years past I think Bob Dylan is a great comparison due to the impact he had. He had millions of fans, started rally’s, and even some may say stopped wars. He was the true definition of a change agent. Wherever he went his words were valued so much and they had such impact. That’s why when you compare modern music to music’s past he is a perfect comparison due to the “gold standard” that he set not only in the world but also in the music industry.

Don Giovanni

The experience overall of the opera wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought that I would be asleep most of the time, wake up three and a half hours later, and be on my way home. But instead, I was pleasantly surprised that I stayed awake through the whole opera and actually enjoyed seeing the actors and listening to their super-human voices. Part of the reason why it was so entertaining is because I can’t imagine how much practice and hard work it must have taken to get to the level of singing that the actors are at. Not only do they have to sing and memorize lines in a different language, but to hold that voice for three hours is astounding. These people have more talent than I could ever dream of having.

I was actually entertained by the plot. Even though the plot was about a man who raped thousands of women, I still enjoyed it. I was also surprised that some parts actually made me laugh. It’s very impressive that even in an opera in a foreign language, actors still were able to make the audience laugh. My favorite part of the play was when the ghost of the Commendatore came at the very end to send Don Giovanni to Hell. It was entertaining to finally see justice be brought to this man after hours of watching him escape people.

So after the first Act Gil and I decided that we would move down to lower levels. At first, we didn’t want to risk it because we didn’t want to be kicked out of the theater. So at first we attempted to move down to the orchestra seats because we were very greedy to get the best possible view of the show. We made our decision to move down relatively late in intermission so we were rushing to get a seat. Sadly, we accidentally went to a section that exclusively had suit seats only and there was a man who stopped us and asked for our seat numbers and since we didn’t know what to say we had to move up. So we moved up to the second row of seats and we sat down in two seats that had nobody in them. Another minuet of wandering around and we wouldn’t have been able to see the second act because we would have been locked out. These seats had head rests and more leg room so the performance was a lot more enjoyable.

I’m looking forward to watching a Bronx Tale with the class.

Blog #7

Before the last seminar class, I’ve never really listened to Bob Dylan. I may have heard his songs somewhere before but I’ve never taken the time to listen specifically to him. Many millennials today have this stigma towards music that our parents listened to. Today, millennials tend to opt for more contemporary music because it’s perceived as the “cool” thing to listen to. However, many young people today gloss over musicians such as Bob Dylan simply because his music isn’t as modern as Fetty Wap or Kayne West. Music today is meant to be catchy, upbeat, and auto tuned. Music today can fall in the trap of simply being made to be put on the radio. Some musicians today are looked at as “sellouts” because either they don’t write their own songs, or their songs all sound similar just to be made popular. Take Katy Perry for example. She has people write songs for her simply because her producers want her to sing songs that will inevitably be made popular and be put on the radio.

Recently I’ve been getting more and more into older music. This past year I’ve been listening to more bands like Neil Young, The Who, Pink Floyd. I think Pink Floyd’s critique of the music industry in the song “Welcome to the Machine” summarizes this idea that some music isn’t genuine. Repetitive, catchy music, sometimes takes priority over more creative and risky songs in the music industry.

That’s what I think is my favorite part of older music, it’s more genuine. Bob Dylan seems more enjoyable to listen to when all he has is his voice and an acoustic guitar. There’s something more enjoyable about listening to his songs because they all have some kind of deeper meaning. For example, I found the song “The Times They Are A-Changin” so much more enjoyable because there was a clear meaning and impact. The reason why I loved it was because it, at one time in history, changed people’s thoughts. In the line, “There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’ It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls for the times they are a-changin’,” Bob Dylan inserts his views on the Vietnam War. It’s so interesting that music can be used for something other than entertainment. This song challenges the old thought that the Vietnam War was a just war, and tells listeners that isn’t the case anymore. I also thoroughly enjoyed the song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” and I’m glad it was the last song played in the class. The fear of a nuclear fallout was a prominent thought of the time and I think it’s very interesting to hear these in a song. Songs can also be looked at as windows into history and a prime example is that song.

Blog 7

This week in class, we listened to Bob Dylan. I have heard his name before, but have never listened to him since I’m not really into his type of music. It was interesting to me that he won the Nobel Prize for literature, not for music. However, towards the end of class and after having heard some of his songs, it’s evident why.

One thing I liked about his music is that whatever there is to hear, it’s right there for you. There’s nothing extraordinarily spectacular about his lyrics or his voice, but you can tell him apart from others and his message was there loud and clear. His singing doesn’t appear to be singing, but rather him speaking into the microphone at times. That was another thing I liked about his music. He makes a few subtle changes from what we now consider to be “the norm”, and what everyone else is doing, but he’s special for that. His performances were simple, just him and 2 other instruments, opposed to singer now a days, who use their voices and a million other effects/instruments/featurings. I liked the more toned down effects, and more focus on the lyrics and voice of the singer. The lesser the amount of editing and distracting effects/unnecessary sounds, the better you can hear and understand what the singer is trying to convey.

I think it’s true that Bob Dylan is sui generis, meaning he’s his own genre, and one of a kind. Although he falls into the category of folk music, he is clearly his own category within. He’s different from people of his time, before, and after as well. Being that many of his songs were anti-war and pro-civil rights, many of them stirred up controversy and got him into some trouble.

One song we listened to was “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are still battling American involvement in military conflict. Is sad to see how a song written not so recently discusses a problem we are still facing. We still have people constantly dying in warfare and people are fighting for this country all the time. “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” was also an interesting song to me because he sang about the nuclear threat. Although these songs were written many years ago, they are scarily still relevant to us.

Finally, I can see why Bob Dylan is such an icon, and there is no doubt in my mind that he deserved that Nobel Prize, but I personally wouldn’t listen to his music again since it isn’t my style.

Blog #7

This week after class we went to the Metropolitan Opera House to see Don Giovanni. To my surprise, I found Don Giovanni to be more interesting than I anticipated. The opera is written by child prodigy, Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte was the librettist. Although the opera still felt somewhat long, those 3 hours went by quicker than I thought they would. I still don’t know if going to an opera is something I would do again on my own leisure, but I have to give all of the actors props. Boy, do they have amazing voices. Their voices filled all of Lincoln Center and they were able to sing and act simultaneously. I also really enjoyed the orchestra. This was my first time having seen a live orchestra and it was so amazing to watch. It was so interesting to see the orchestra playing throughout the entire opera and hearing the music to highlight certain notes being sung. For example, as Leporello was describing all the different women from his little book of names that his master has seduced, the music changed with each description, really adding to the effect of him describing all the many types.

Don Giovanni is an opera about a young man who has sex and pulls in every woman he sees. He discriminated no one, and everyone should get a sample of the amazing man he apparently is. This is because there are numerous women, but just one of him to go around. Most of the men he meets rightly don’t like him, and he even has a large set of women with whom he isn’t on good terms. I didn’t originally like that the opera was going to be sung in Italian because I thought it would be impossible to understand, but the screens on the chairs certainly helped.

Leporellos character was one I was somewhat intrigued by. He’s the first person we meet and his first remarks have to do with how much his master doesn’t appreciate him. Throughout the opera, he continues making subtle remarks about, or making fun of Don Giovanni. If he hated his job so much and so strongly disliked Don Giovanni, he would have quit or at least not helped him accomplish all his mischief. I think him and Dona Elvira are somewhat similar because they both seem to have that little faith in Don Giovanni becoming a better person, which he clearly doesn’t.

I liked the first half much better than the second. Maybe it was because it was getting so late, but I enjoyed the more livelihood of the first half. There was more movement, less arias, and more little jokes here and there. Regardless, I’m grateful for having been able to experience such a moment, and it was definitely a new experience.

Don Giovanni

This past Thursday the whole class attended a performance of Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. In the beginning of the night I was not happy about attending the opera because the next day I had a chemistry lab final, but the opera did turn out to be enjoyable. The plot of the opera was extremely interesting and complex. Don Giovanni enjoys women whether they are willing or not then moves on. He rationalizes his actions by claiming that if he settled on one woman it would be a disservice to every other woman in the world because he would be depriving them of him. Don Giovanni’s past catches up with him when Donna Elvira catches up with him and vows to make him pay for abandoning her after making her fall for him. This is all after Don Giovanni kills the father of a woman that he had been attempting to sexually assault, Donna Anna, in a duel. Donna Elvira ends up helping Donna Anna and her fiance Don Ottavio expose Don Giovanni before he can corrupt the engaged to marry Donna Zerlina.

As I watched the opera I became extremely involved within the story and began looking under the surface for deeper meanings within the plot. Leporello is extremely loyal to Don Giovanni even though he acknowledges the error in Don Giovanni’s ways. Leporello begs him more than once to change his ways yet it is to no avail. I think that this in addition to Leporello’s side remarks mean that Leporello secretly wants to be Don Giovanni. In Shakespearean times there was no social mobility. Leporello could be twice the ladies’ man that Don Giovanni is but due to his standing as a servant will never allow this to occur. Another thing that I thought about near the end of the opera was the manner in which Don Giovanni was punished. Don Giovanni was very literally was dragged down to hell. Don Giovanni spent his entire existence doing whatever he wanted with virtually no consequences. The basis of many different religions is that actions have consequences, so Don Giovanni was basically spent a lifetime spitting in their faces. The death of Don Giovanni not only serves as a message to others not to follow Don Giovanni’s path, but is extremely violent and painful as if years of punishments were saved up and released into one painful, agonizing moment.

While watching, I understood why it is still an extremely popular opera. A peice of art or literature survives hundreds of years because it has a specific quality. Art or literature that can apply to any time period survives for many years because people can relate to it. Don Giovanni could be updated to take place in modern times and still make complete sense.