[king_buzzo]

Hello, well uhh, I need to do this one essay next year, 4000 words, it will take me about a year to finish it. Its an essay which my whole diploma depends on and i think i'm going to do it in music. i'm doing like 6 different subjects and i need to pick one so i think i really want to do it in music.

it has to be about an artist, or a band, composer, whatever and i need to take like 1,2 or 3 pieces and analyze them in the essay and just talk about features and stuff.

My problem is I dont really know what to pick for it; the deadline for handing in a proposal is in less than 2 weeks and I'm unsure about the pieces I want to pick, and the artist.

I could pick a band and then analyze a few songs or an album, telling how they are related and how they inspired other bands as well; or i can get something more formal like a classical or a jazz composer and talk about one or two of their pieces and analyze their sheet music and features and everything.

I could also compare 2 pieces of music by different people and say how they compare/relate to each other.

If I'm doing some band i would probably want to go for something groundbreaking, the first music of its kind type of band and describe that but i think that with a single composer i could do much more if i took some sheet music and focused more on the theoretical and musical (as a subject) features of it.

^im pretty sure that paragraph just said exactly the same thing as the paragraph above it.

Any help?

[This Is Not Here]

To be honest, writing about your favourite bands isn't going to teach you anything new about music, which surely is what you want to come away with from this task. You've got a year to play around with, which IS a long time, why not plunge yourself in the deep end with an area of musical composition you're not familiar with, by the time you've disected and compared several peices in this genre, you'll be as good as an expert!- which I think is alot cooler than writing about something you already know.

[king_buzzo]

Thanks, but yeah, i have a year but i need to get a topic and hand my topic proposal in like in 2 weeks. Yeah, i agree that writing about my favourites won't really teach me anything.

If i really get stuck i could do something on my favourite album and why i like it so much but i'd rather do something better and learn about the pieces.

Any suggestions for some songs/pieces? I was thinking of exploring jazz a little and using the essay to teach myself some jazz stuff, i think the people who would mark the essay would think thats a pretty good topic all around. So i could get like a jazz artist or a few songs...

[fugazifan]

i think you could probably write a more interesting essay if its comparative and not just stating, this band/album is awesome, and this is why
1.
2,
3,
4.


comparing things usually seems more interesting

[Rob Instigator]

a year? shit boy, wait till you get to junior and senior level courses in college. They expect you to drop a 25 page thesis on two paintings from 1650 in 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[king_buzzo]

Yes, I could but i could look at 1 or 2 songs by one band or whatever, and just describe its features and other things, which doesnt sound interesting but it is quite okay.

ahhhh just tell me some interesting songs i could look at......

[king_buzzo]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

a year? shit boy, wait till you get to junior and senior level courses in college. They expect you to drop a 25 page thesis on two paintings from 1650 in 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck but, this isnt even for a grade or anything, yes, it does get me some extra points (like 1 or something) for my final grade but its complete bullshit because it wont even count it would only just determine if i get the gay little certificate that they give out.

[Rob Instigator]

ahhh, if that is the case, do it about bands or musicians you LOVE

use it a s alabor of love, and if it is well written enough, sen dit in to a music blog or publication! Music nerds lik I love to read shit like that! hell, if it is worthy, I can publish it on -FUPPETS-

[king_buzzo]

haha awesome blog!!

yeah i thought about it, it would be more interesting to do something i love.

but also, something that i dont know and that i'll maybe grow to like while writing the thing might be even more interesting

[blunderbuss]

How about starting with a band you love (I'm thinking MBV), and then move on to artists who took their aesthetic as a starting point and then went elsewhere with it (I'm thinking stuff like Rafael Toral and Fennesz).

Another thing that comes to mind, and I don't really know why, is Terry Riley.

[king_buzzo]

Yeah, thats also something i didnt say in my first post, that would also be fun, i'm not really allowed to write about cerain genres, but i can write about albums from a band which influenced other bands


also, another really messy thing is that i need primary sources and evidence , like interviews and such as my research and i need to get some of that before i need to get the proposal in in 2 weeks and it might be a bit tricky finding stuff


phew i feel like i always ask around about my homework on this forum

[Rob Instigator]

you need to start feeding your teacher some inches man, and make her large o'gasms provide you with straight A's

[blunderbuss]

La Monte Young / Theater of Eternal Music:

John Cale went on to Velvet Underground, huge influence on all music thereafter.

Tony Conrad, influence on Jim O'Rourke and lots of more academic post-rock (e.g. Tortoise)

Rhys Chatham began musical career as piano tuner for La Monte Young, took what he learned there to guitar-based minimalism, influenced too many NY guitar bands to mention.

etc, etc.

[pbradley]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

a year? shit boy, wait till you get to junior and senior level courses in college. They expect you to drop a 25 page thesis on two paintings from 1650 in 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 weeks is a while. I had a 20 page final paper on Plato which was three weeks. I wrote it in one and a half.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by This Is Not Here

To be honest, writing about your favourite bands isn't going to teach you anything new about music, which surely is what you want to come away with from this task. You've got a year to play around with, which IS a long time, why not plunge yourself in the deep end with an area of musical composition you're not familiar with, by the time you've disected and compared several peices in this genre, you'll be as good as an expert!- which I think is alot cooler than writing about something you already know.

people like you disgusted me when i was at school

[king_buzzo]

^haha

bump. I need a bloody topic for next week.

I was thinking i could pick one of these:

Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner
or
Daydream Nation
or
Revolver
or
Television's Marquee Moon

but I dont know which to pick, do you maybe have any other suggestions for 1) miles davis: i only have bitches brew and i might do something on that
2) something classical: a really good piece, well it would also be baroque or rennaisance but just so its a pretty good piece which stands out.

please helpppppp

[greedrex]

like somebody said earlier, serial muzak is something nice to explore; you know from Reich to Riley. Just sayin'

[king_buzzo]

Originally Posted by greedrex

like somebody said earlier, serial muzak is something nice to explore; you know from Reich to Riley. Just sayin'

i dont understand......

[greedrex]

Steve Reich
and
Terry Riley

are two modern composers whose music is really worth exploring/studying.

My suggestion to be more precise is "Different trains" by Steve Reich.
Read this up.

Originally Posted by greedrex

like somebody said earlier, serial muzak is something nice to explore; you know from Reich to Riley. Just sayin'

How about the history of tv music workshops in Europe? A lot of the composers involved were more or less known to other, and certain developments in electronic music happened in those places.