Performance Report 2

Introduction

The performance I attend was Sideshow: The Musical performed by UTD Student. It was on April 16th, 2010 at the Jonsson Performance Theater at 8pm. The musical was loosely based on the real life story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton.

Music

The vocal pieces featured common themes of western music in that they featured the verse refrain texture. The song "Come see the freaks" was used as the main reprise through the whole musical. During set changes and other periods during the musical the music was played in the background and helped keep the same musical theme throughout the whole performance. The tonal qualities of each song ranged all across anger, sadness, happiness and love. Love was a major theme of the lyrics presented in the music and was an integral part of the performance as a whole. The instrumental music featured many aerophones which were particularly heavy on the brass instruments. Violet was the soprano vocal part and Daisy was the Alto vocal part. The pieces also incorporated the music culture of vaudeville which song dance numbers as opposed to solely music.

Performers

A key factor in performing was the necessity to keep the illusion of the twins being conjoined. The main characters Violet and Daisy stayed attached at the hip for the whole performance except when they were supposed to be apart for dream scenes. The freaks stayed true their character by using over the top acting to exaggerate their "freakishness". Choreography from the performers featured group dance numbers in which all characters were involved and synchronized accordingly. Another note, many of the performers who were not UTD students and were able to perform to match the level at which the school provides. With talent outside the performing arts program provided, the pool of acting and performance all matched evenly allowing no one person to outshine one another. Another aspect of the musical that enhanced the aura of a circus included the performers interacting with the audience. Opening the musical, the performers lined the auditorium, creeping from corners and repeating the lines "Come look at the freaks," which allowed for a haunting and mystical feel.

Audience

Audience involvement was widely incorporated through out the performance which kept interaction and chemistry alive throughout the performance. One performer, "Jake" would climb into the audience seats and would scowl at them as a ravenous monster, invoking a sense of fear because he is a "freak." Audience participation would change and adapt along with setting changes. As the transition from freak show to Vaudeville occurred, the audience would act and interact with the settings, from fear to enjoyment. The change from Vaudeville to the Texas Centennial would invoke the audience to tame their applauses to a more relaxed feel as the setting changed to an open fair. Emotions were openly showed as audiences would sigh, few would cry and be pulled along with the emotions of the performers. Interaction was key and made the performance come alive as everyone, performers and spectators would clash.

Time and Setting:

Performances were ongoing for two weeks and were available from Thursday to Saturday allowing for more viewings of the musical considering the theater had very limited seating. Again, centrally located at UTD, students were able to easily access a show. With limited seating, each night seemed crowded to see a performance put on by the music theater program. This location was also familiar to students and was easily accessible by other spectators (ie. family, friends outside of UTD, etc.) Lighting mainly took place on stage but was dim enough for the performers to see the audience.

In conclusion, the performance introduced UTD students to the world of vaudeville through the modern musical. It is almost a juxtaposition of the classic with the new by incorporating pre-1943 Broadway through post-1943 Broadway.

Works Cited

Side Show. By Bill Russell and Henry Krieger. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UTD Cast. Con. Winston Stone. University Theatre, Richardson. April 17 2010.

List from Class

1. Alternative

a. Grunge

i. Angry

ii. Apathetic

iii. Dirty performers

b. College Rock

i. 80’s version of alternative

c. Emo

i. Screamo

2. Indie

3. Classic

a. Southern Rock

b. Metal

c. British Invasion

d. Psychedelic

i. Influenced by Progressive

e. Folk

f. Hard

i. Loud

ii. Lots of distortion

4. Metal

a. Hair Metal

i. High Pitched

b. Thrash Metal

i. Fast

c. Death Metal

i. Bellowing low voices

d. Power Metal

i. Fast

ii. Fancy Themes

iii. Falsetto

e. Speed Metal

i. Techno Influence

5. Punk

a. British vs. American

b. Post Punk

c. Ska

i. Jamaican Reggae influence

d. Hardcore Punk

i. California Punk

6. Christian

a. Every other genre but with Christian themes in lyrics

7. Arena

a. Queen

b. Journey

c. Anthems

8. Progressive

a. Pink Floyd

9. Pop Rock

a. Commercialized Rock

b. Mainstream Radio Rock

10. Folk Rock

a. More about themes and lyrics

b. Tell stories

11. Rap Rock

a. Kid Rock

12. Experimental Rock

a. Instrumentals

13. Rockabilly

a. Country

b. 50’s influence

c. Psychobilly

i. Mix Rockabilly with Metal

14. Funk Rock

Rock

I have chosen Progressive Rock as my sub genre of rock. It is more artistic. In a sense creativity is derived from the use of artistic chord development and staying away from mainstream chord progression. Sample bands that can be classified as progressive are: Pink Floyd, Rush, Coheed and Cambria, Dance Gavin Dance, and And We Answer. It is is an experimental form of rock that uses jazz chords. It has been described as jazz fusion in some instances. A key characteristic of Progressive music is that is normally free form. The listener doesn't expect the music to go where it normally ends up. The music also incorporates obscure time signatures. Some songs experiment with different time signatures like duple and triple meter in the same song. The genre gets definition from the new focus from experimenting with various types of compositions instead of focusing on lyrically based progression. Most progressive songs sound different from one another because that is the goal of progressive music. It's supposed to sound different than anything else out there in the world. The atypical sound of progressive music is what drives the genre to keep creating more and more unique sounds. Progressive rock sound very different from other types of rock like screamo and alternative. Although there is not as much focus on lyrics, there are still lyrics in progressive songs but they normally do not fuel the creative spirit of the music as much as the composition of the music itself does.

That's Progressive!

Gullah People

It seems the Gullah people have a music culture that is very similar to the music culture of the ewe people we studied earlier this year. A lot of the focus of the music culture is rhythm and created by membranophones or idiophones. The dancing styles also seem similar and the videos promote the music culture as if it focus on group performances in festival style settings. The music is very tribal in nature and seems driven from old roots. Performance is driven mainly by the drums. And it seems that the drums are an integral part of all Gullah music. Dancing is key to the performers which consists of swinging arms wide and jumping around. The audiences in most performances clap along and cheer for the performers while the music is playing. It also seems most performances occur in the daytime at least that is how youtube videos portray it. The music seems like it is derived specifically out of the old ancestors from the slave trade and the repertoires of music seemed to have evaded outside influence. Most of the Gullah lyrics in their music is heavily influenced by the slave trade of the past making the lyrics historically reflective of this time period.

Shakespeare in Song

The performance I attend was the Shakespeare in Song performance by the UTD Chamber Singers. It was on March 27^th, 2010 at the Jonsson Performance Hall at 8pm. Most of the pieces were part of original Shakespearian plays sung in the style of madrigals.

Music

The music featured a polyphonic texture. At each point during the piece only one voice part would be singing the melody line. The tempo of each piece would vary depending upon the speeches that preceded the pieces. The concert was broken into speech parts and music pieces that would coincide with the plot lines of the Shakespearian plays. Accompaniment was there to support the singers in order to keep them on pitch. All the pieces were split into respective soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts. Most pieces were conjunct in nature, by using only small steps in between each note sung. Some pieces would be interrupted by speech parts which would create a feeling of urgency in the music. The tone of most of the pieces was minor in feeling and felt like they conveyed an emotion of sadness.

Performers

To match the theme of the pieces sung, the performers dressed in traditional Renaissance attire. Each scene/act would start with a speech that was transcribed from the original play. In response to the speech, the performers standing on the risers would sing along with the performers that were speaking off the right of the stage. The chorus itself would remain still on the risers, unless otherwise noted by the director, who informed performers and the chorus where to move. Interaction was restricted by speech, in which the speakers did not move around or about the stage, manipulating the space, they stood in their respectful corners, with a stand in front of them and read off the script. Tonal infliction in their speeches would illustrate whatever emotion they are to portray to the audience. Individual performers who were from the advanced voice classes had solos and stood apart from the chorus considering they are not part of the chamber production. Their solos would be separate acts and scenes taken from Shakespeare.

Audience

The Audience for the most part seemed genuinely uninterested in the performance. I say this because there were many glowing blue lights as the result of people texting on their phones. The audience was small and dispersed throughout the auditorium. Most of the audience collected in the back and it was apparent that most of the attendees were there for some sort of class requirement. It was a free open event, however most of the audience consisted of students with a few of the performers parents collecting at the front of the auditorium. After intermission, most of the audience disappeared and only a few saw the performance to its completion.

Time and Space

Because this was the final performance, most of the people who wanted to see it had already seen it. Also because it was on campus it was more accessible to UTD students as opposed to outsiders. However because it was on a Saturday evening, only people who truly wanted to attend the concert would go as opposed to others who would most likely have other plans. He familiar location of the Jonsson performance hall made the concert easy to find however it was a small auditorium. The lighting was not that dim, so most of the performers could see the audience and there was interaction between some of the performers and the audience.

In conclusion, the Shakespeare in Song Performance at the Jonsson Performance Hall by the UTD Chamber Singers, turned out to be a performance of madrigal music for a small audience that consisted of mostly students.

Works Cited

Shakespeare in Song. Dir. Director Kathryn Evans. Perf. UTD Chamber Singers. University of Texas at Dallas, Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson, 27 Mar. 2010.

Blog 10

Probably one of the most recognizable pieces in opera, this particular version was performed at the Real Teatre in Madrid. The music uses a strong timbre that makes the music more intense. The conjunct notes as the singer moves up and down the scale with his singing helps guide the music along and the ornamentation provided by the singer makes the performance unique to him. This is an aria so it is a solo performance by the character of Figaro which as a result brings all the focus to only Figaro. Even though there is a lot going on on stage, the viewer tends to only focus on Figaro because that is where the music is coming from. The quick tempo of this aria parallels the vibrato used by Figaro when singing. The orchestral music is very strong. The strings guide most of music along as it bounces along the beat. The whole orchestra provides the background for each accented note. This would be considered a cabaletta aria. The set is all black and white which which creates a contrast in the opera that isn't normally seen in operas. The set was designed with added symbolism as opposed to the stage normally just serving as an area for performance.

Avatar music

I did not get a chance to see the movie, however I did listen to the soundtrack online. My perception of the music is hindered from not viewing it with the accompanying visuals that are an integral part of the music culture because the movie is made for a movie. However upon listening to the just the soundtrack and having a vague idea of what the movie is about, I can tell that the composer went for a tribal feeling of the music. What i mean by that, is most of the music is fast paced and has heavy drumming for the feeling of tribal roots and being set in a forest. When listening to the music it seems that a key instrument incorporated was a wood block which seems to enhance the setting of of a forest type area. However because this is an alien race, and the movie is set in the future, one can hear electronic instruments used to enhance this feeling. It seems as if the ethnomusicologist translated the music culture of Native Americans to the big screen and digitally remastered for the futuristic alien feeling. Most of the songs feel fast as if someone/something is running most of the music is really upbeat and tends to be over the top and goes for an epic feeling. The view vocals that are dispersed through the soundtrack seem over dramatic just to further emphasize the feeling of foreign alien lands.

Insomnia

Introduction

The particular music culture chosen for this report is the music culture surrounding Insomnia night club in Dallas, TX. The after-hours rave club opens its doors at 4am and closes at 8am every weekend. The music culture surrounding this club consists of the PLUR lifestyle, light shows, and hardstyle techno beats. What makes the club specific in culture as opposed to other areas is its exclusiveness in the Dallas area. It is the only after-hours rave club in the area meaning all the attendees of the shows by major DJs will attend the after-party that is thrown at Insomnia.

Methodology

In order to conduct research I sought out two methods. First, I interviewed some friends who frequent the club and asked them for their thoughts on what they though the music-culture of Insomnia consisted of. This was a good source of information to know what to expect when attending the club. The second source of research was actually going to Insomnia. I did not attend an actual “Insomnia Event” but I instead went to the club on a regular night. Other sources I used were websites devoted to the lightshows to examine the material aspects of the music culture.

Ideas about the Music

I conducted two interviews one male and one female. The first interview with a male conceded that a major aspect of the music culture was the drug use. “Imagine seeing the world through virgin eyes, everything is more beautiful and you have an appreciation for the simple things in life. Naturally music is the same way, you don’t just listen to the music you feel it and it controls you.” His interview created a subdivision in the music culture. There is the “straight” Insomnia music culture and the music culture when one is “rolling”, that is to do ecstasy. This division made interviewing very eye opening because it became a point of view that I had never experienced. The summary of the female interview was concluded by her statement, “When you get there you will see lights waving around like crazy, people stomping and looking ridiculous, everyone drinking water, and everyone being loving and nice.” Upon questioning the reasons for being “loving” and “nice” she said, “It is all about the PLUR lifestyle.” I discovered that this is a major driving force behind the ideas about the music culture of not just Insomnia but techno music in general. PLUR, an acronym standing for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, brings the techno community together. Insomnia, being the techno/rave club that it is relies heavily on the PLUR lifestyle to bring people together to enjoy themselves at the club. I experienced the PLUR lifestyle firsthand when I attended Insomnia. Everyone was in a state of euphoria and people were loving and happy with each other. I was embraced with hugs and other various forms of general positive disposition. The PLUR lifestyle translates to the ideas about the music in that the music played at Insomnia is “happy” music. People are not going to listen to the music at Insomnia and feel sad or depressed they will instead be overjoyed by the positive emotions being set forth by the atmosphere.

Activities Involving Music

The activities of the music culture can be defined by two words: light shows. What exactly is a light show? From my point of view at the club, a light show is the rapid movement of LED lights or glow sticks in rhythm with the club music. Most of the light shows I viewed were conducted in close proximity to the viewers face. I believe the ultimate goal of the light show was to take the viewer out of the club and into the music. I asked someone at the club what a light show was and the response I received was, “A light show can be magical, you are completely focused on the lights and the motion, it is beautiful and completely mesmerizing if done by the right person. The lights are beautiful and when in sync with a good song it is truly mind blowing and it often causes euphoria among the person receiving it.” When receiving a light show, I did not feel this, but I believe that was due to my lack of drug intake. I do understand where that person was coming from however. When receiving a light show, the rest of the world is blinded out by these very bright lights. They become the only thing your eyes can focus on and as a result you lose your sense of sight. This naturally leads to the heightening of one’s sense of hearing, but the only thing one can hear is the techno music being played by the DJ. Finally, over time, you lose track of your surroundings and you feel as if the only thing in the world is the song you are listening to. It is a major hit with the club scene. This video captures the essence of a what a light show is:

The next major activity of the Insomnia music culture is the dancing. There are 2 styles of dancing at this club. You either stomp, or you shuffle. Describing the shuffle through words is very difficult. It becomes one of those things where you just have to see it to truly grasp its concept, and the only way to actually appreciate the dancing styles is to attempt them at the club. First was the stomp. It is a basic dance that is pretty much straightforward. You stomp your feet on the beat and basically jump in the air on beat. When your foot hits the ground, it should be the same time as a downbeat in the song playing. It is a simple dance and it is very popular in the club. The other style of dance present at insomnia is the shuffle. The shuffle is a very interesting dance but when performed correctly it is amazing. You start off with your left foot vertical and your right foot perpendicular horizontally to your left foot. On beat, you pivot your left foot to the right and bend your right knee to pick up your leg. On the down beat you pivot your left foot back to a vertical stance and bring your right foot back down. You keep doing this as you shuffle along the floor on beat. These two styles of dance along with light shows make up most of the activities of Insomnia’s night club. This video better explains what the hardstyle shuffle really is:

Repertoires of the Music

The repertoires of music at Insomnia focus on one particular style of music, and that is hardstyle. Hardstyle is a style of techno music characterized by a four to the floor beat (That is one where there is a constant kick on every beat.) with an inverted kick half a step after each regular kick. The tempo normally ranges from 140 to 160 beats per minute (http://www.realhardstyle.com/what-is-hardstyle-music). Because of the heavy tempo, stomping and shuffling to the music is normally very intense and tiring. To truly grasp the concept of the beat of hardstyle music, one could watch this video:

Material Culture of Music

I observed three things that make up the material culture of the club. The first of these things are drugs. There is extensive drug use at Insomnia and it is a heavy influence in the Insomnia music culture. It affects the dancing, the light shows, the PLUR lifestyle, how people feel about the music, the activities of the music, and what people want to hear at the club. The next material object is the clothing. Most of the clothing selected for the club seems like it selected based upon how it will appear in black light. The main dance floor is one big black light and as a result people aim for outfits that accentuate this feature. Finally the lights selected for the light shows are a major part of the material culture because of the heavy influence light shows have on the perception of the music culture.

In conclusion, Insomnia presents a music culture that has heavy influence from the activities and material surrounding the music than the music itself. It features shuffling, and light shows, peace, love, unity, respect, and stomping. Specifically for Dallas, it is the only place you can experience all of this on a major scale at 4am on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Works Cited

Insomnia-Perf DJ Raydar, DJ Shaolin, Insomnia Dallas, Dallas, 7 Mar. 2010.

"What Is Hardstyle Music? | REALHARDSTYLE." Real Hardstyle and Hardcore Radio, Music, Mp3, Download, Liveset, Forum, Community Visit Site. Realhardstyle.com. Web. 09 Mar. 2010. .

Blog 8

Problems I encountered in my research:

Taking notes

This was difficult considering the music culture took place in a club. Most of my research I'm citingfrom memory. The atmosphere was dark and as a result I was not able to see what I was writing. Also I enjoyed the music so much that I didn't want to stop and take notes.

Conducting Interviews

Interviews were very hard to conduct at the actual club for many reasons. First of all the music was ridiculously loud. In the sense that I'm surprised that people who frequent the club are not at least partially deaf. Another reason interviews were difficult was that club attendees were into the music so much that it was almost impossible to get them to focus on anything else. To conduct interviews I decided to interview some friends that I know frequent the club often. Light shows that were going on also distracted interviewees leading to unsuccessful inquisitions.

The actual information of the music culture was not too difficult to obtain aside from the previously mentioned points. Most of the activities associated with the music culture were straightforward and easy to observe. The music repertoire has a very definite genre. The material culture involves drugs and lights. The ideas about the music culture center around a certain "PLUR" lifestyle. The information was all laid out from one visit to Insomnia.

Insomnia Dallas Blog 7.

This music culture contained within this club is an interesting one. It is one of the few after-hours clubs in the Dallas and it features Hardstyle and electronic music all night, and by all night I mean the very very early hours of the morning. The club opens at 4 am and closes at 8am. As a result of the hours, the club itself creates an interesting environment. The hardstyle music featured in this club relates to a certain dance called the Melbourne shuffle but is also referred to as stomping. Here is a video featuring the shuffle as well as another popular dance style called jumpstyle:

The the constant bouncing to the beat by all club attendees creates a very upbeat atmosphere even for such a late hour in the night. The whole club bounces.

Another popular feature of the club are light shows. These are created by either LED finger lights or glowsticks that are swung as poi. Here is an example of a typical light show:

The major thing that creates a unique culture for insomnia as opposed to other rave clubs in the area is that it is an after-hours club. The late night atmosphere attracts only the most dedicated fans of techno. Also because it is based in Dallas, it serves as the after-party club for all the major Djs that come to Dallas.

Noh Theater

Key elements of Japanese Noh theater seem to be the following:

Emotion: Each piece has some sore of motive attached to each melody and very specific moods for specific sounds and movements.

Vocal Chanting: As seen in this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUTG6N0KFj4 , one can hear the chanting in the background. This is closely related to shomyo, which is Buddhist chanting.

Instrumentation: There is a musical ensemble that accompanies the Noh performance called the Hayashi. It consists of four instruments: the nohkan and three small drums. Of the small drums, the ko-tsuzumi is the most important because its pitch can be changed throughout the performance.

Nohkan: The bamboo flute used in Noh theater plays nonpulsatile melodies to contrast the pulse of the drums and movement of the Noh actors.

Drumming patterns: as seen in the video earlier, the drums are played in multiple patterns. each drum playing a different one. The drums are still nonpulsatile though.

Symbolism: Eveything in Noh theater is standardized to the point that every sound, instrument, movement, element, has some sort of symbolic meaning.

Hindustani music

From listening to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIM6eQthg_E it is clear that there is heavy inflluence in hHindustani music from vocal ornamentation. It sounds like there could also be a drone featured in this song which is also a classic feature of Hindustani music. The string instruments also play a large role in creating classic Hindustani sound. By listening to this piece you can hear the raga, which is the ascent and descent in pitches in Indian classical music. Its like a scale. The tabla in this piece creates the rhythm for the piece and allows the traditional Hindustani elements to come forth in the song. This style of Hindustani music is called tarana which creates a good mood and typically features strong vocal ornamentation.

Googoosh

The performance I chose to blog about it is this one, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lspH0xvULoY. The song is typical of the traditional Middle Eastern style with heavy emphasis on chordophones and long drawn out vocals with lots of ornamentation by use of vibrato. This music has an influence from western pop music because pop music at the time this was produced in Iran was unheard of, especially by female singers. The progression of the song deviates greatly from typical instrumental music of the Middle East. Inclusion of female vocals before Umm Kulthum and Googoosh was unheard of. Based on the timeframe, I think another heavy influence on this music is from Umm Kulthum, who has been one of the most influential singers in the Arab Music world. Their solo styles are very simillar and it seems like these two female singers have created the path for more female Middle Eastern singers to breakthrough. Googoosh is an Iranian pop idol and as a result this song is a huge hit. Googoosh's solo singing with heavy ornamentation is the definitive style of the Middle Eastern pop music movement. Both Kulthum and Googosh have redefined the world of Middle Eastern music.

Arabic Music

I know we are starting the chapter on Middle Eastern music soon and I just thought i would share some songs with you. I am Arab-American so a lot of my family that still lives in the Middle East tends to share this kind of music with me. I focus more on the popular music like Amr Diab. This guy is pretty big over there as in pretty much everyone knows his music. It's not something I listen to everyday but I do enjoy his music. Also i enjoy Algerian Rai music. It is a youthful upbeat type of music as opposed to more traditional middle easter music. Rai is more of a fusion of French and Arab cultures. I used to listen to this rai song by 1 2 3 Soleil all the time growing up, its called Abdel Kader. One member of the group, Rachid Taha is another one of my favorites. As you can see in this song "Ya Rayah" there is heavy influence by chordophones in Middle Eastern and Arabic music. I do not normally listen to the traditional Middle Eastern music but I have heard of Umm Kulthum and her music is really good. It is very apparent that she has made a huge difference as you can see here between these two songs. The original "Enta Omry" by Umm Kulthum and then as remixed by Wyclef Jean for his intro in a song he released last year, "Hollywood Meets Bollywood". Well I just thought I would share this with you guys. Thanks for reading.

mo

Concert.

I cannot recall the specific song title I will discuss in this blog post but i do remember that it was at a point in the performance when the entire mood of the concert shifted. It sounded almost like a smooth jazz piece, there was a bass, like a string bass, a drum set, a piano, and a violin. It was definitely a homophonic texture to the piece; the melody was carried out by the violin. The music was upbeat, yet had a very calming factor to it. It was like being in a Starbucks. The audience seemed to enjoy the shift in tone of the piece because you could see everyone sit up in their seats to get a closer look at what was being played. This was the penultimate song before intermission. So the audience was kind of anxious for a break, however the shift in mood from this one song helped carry over the audience's attention until intermission. During the song, the conference center was almost packed, so there was a good vibe going on. But most people left after intermission, and that kind of killed the mood of the concert. You could tell in the audience that everyone was there for student requirements. There was a huge difference in the feel of the audience before and after intermission. The performers were really into the music. You could tell from the bobbing of their heads and smooth jazz feel that they really enjoyed what they were doing. The soloists played on cue, and were very talented. Their passion for their music was evident through their performance. I'm glad I attended this concert. That one piece stuck in my head, and I really wish I could recall its title. Thanks for reading.

mo

Musical Ethnography

I have chosen to explore the Dallas rave scene. Although I am a huge fan of techno music and I feel somewhat apart of the techno culture, I have to actually attend any live techno events or go to any rave clubs in the area. I plan on attending an event at the Insomnia night club in downtown Dallas. It is an after hours night club which opens at 4am and closes at 8am. I believe that certain styles of techno are more particular to certain area which makes this a perfect way to explore the techno influence in Dallas specifically. I do know that drugs are a huge part of the rave culture however I can assure you I will not be trying such a thing. I will observe other people in the audience and comment on how they view the performance after being under the influence. Another huge part of the culture the light shows. I find these light shows fascinating and I think it will positively change my perception of the techno culture in Dallas. A major aspect of this project will be the audience in this culture because of the influence the crowd has over the DJ at clubs. Good DJs can tell when the audience is not "feeling" the music and the DJ will then proceed to switch up the tracks. As a result of this the audience becomes a major influence in this culture and I cannot wait to try and be a part of this experience.

Techno

The music culture that has influenced me the most has definitely been techno. All of my friends associate this culture with me. However, I would like to clarify that I am only interested in the musical aspects of this culture and not the illicit activities that coincide with listening to techno music. Why has this culture been influential? I don't have a clear answer, but over the years my music library has narrowed down to pretty much all techno. Its the only kind of music I listen to that i can just listen to for no reason. So what is techno? Well, it is hard to describe but sub-genres of this culture range from a calm Trance music (as exampled here by deadmau5) all the way up to hardstyle beats (as referenced here by SMF). I started listening to Basshunter and his music is what first introduced me to this culture. From his music I began to research other types of techno and see what I liked best. I ended up listening to David Guetta, Daft Punk, and The Bloody Beetroots. I think maybe the biggest influence techno has made is that it has changed the way I approach things. For example, with The Bloody Beetroots song, I listen to it in the morning to get me pumped up and ready for the day. With the first link, deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse), it has a calming effect on me to where when I want to focus on something, I'll put the song on and it will help me concentrate. Listen to techno all day every day.