Last week Jaden Smith gave a virtual reality performance over Facebook live featuring his quarantine inspired song Cabin Fever. At the end of July Billie Eilish released an incredibly high quality animated music video for her song my future. Musical artists around the world are working to connect with listeners despite the prohibitions on large gatherings like concerts. Research a currently active musician or band that you enjoy or find interesting. Consider the ways they used technology before the global pandemic and compare them to the ways they have used technology during the COVID-19 crisis.
1. How has your chosen artist/s shared their music during this time? Have they participated in livestream events or digital concerts? If so try to listen to one of these performances and consider Paceys ideas about how technology feels. Also consider these musical activities in light of McLuhan and Adorno/Eislers ideas about aural/visual experience. Be sure to cite any sources you draw on.
2. Think about the unexpected development of sound recording technology. Compare this to the development of video communication over the Internet. Has this technology been recently utilized in unprecedented ways by your chosen artist/s? Are there other technologies they have used in innovative ways to meets the demand of this historical moment? Cite at least 1 article from Unit 3.
3. Has the rapid development of communication technologies in the last 6 months inspired your chosen artist/s or other musicians you are aware of to be creative in new ways? How has music made in this time period shaped or been shaped by communication technologies? Can you imagine other new possibilities for making music right now? Compare these observations with the interaction between sound recording and music described by the sources in Unit 4.
This assignment is much more open-ended than your previous work in this class. Feel free to be creative in how you address the above questions.
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