For this assignment (worth 3.5 stars), I had to create a mashup of songs that told a story.
This song, entitled “The Only One Night Stand We’re Having Is From Ikea” (in typical Fall Out Boy fashion), tells the story of Ami‘s most common daydream: falling in love and settling down with one of her one night stands. Though she could never abandon her commitment-free life, she likes to imagine running away with some of the men she finds herself waking up withĀ on Saturday mornings. This song is what plays in her head when she has these daydreams. I used Garageband to mix all of the songs.
I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Getting You Off- Fall Out Boy
The song starts out with a typical day. Migraine is layered with the songs about daily routine to signify the repetitiveness. But then, in Born to Do, right when she “walks in with cut offs,” the migraine cuts off, leading into a lovely haze. This leads into the third verse of Shut it Down, which I feel carries a significant interpretation of a one night stand:
TL:DR- Drake expresses the conflicting feelings of falling in love with someone in a temporary situation. This situation transgresses as the night goes on, with the songs getting more and more blatantly sexual. “Sleepyhead” signifies falling asleep. “Wake Me Up” plays as “Bourgeois” builds, giving a rising feeling to represent the moment when everything is perfect as the sun rises. Then, tragedy hits as the romance ends abruptly: she leaves before the lights come on. She won’t stay in touch. He drives to Chicago to try and forget about her, but ends up romantically returning to the West Coast (Folami’s dream home) to be with her. It is implied that they get married because they end sitting in a honeymoon (thanks, Fall Out Boy).
Many artists sing songs about similar things or that each tell similar stories. Find an artist like this and choose five of their songs that you can make into one story. Using Audacity or another audio edting software, edit five or more songs by one artist into a new story! Use at least 5 songs and make the new song at least 5 minutes long. I recommend not uploading it to SoundCloud as it will likely be taken down due to copyright infringement, but you can still put it up on your blog and Twitter. Have fun with it!
Story Behind the Story
This assignment was difficult to say the least. I worked with so many different artists trying to find ones where five of their songs would flow perfectly together…I gave up on that dream shortly after. Eventually, I just focused on the new story aspect of the assignment. I had some friends and roommates throwing out different artists to use and finally I settled on Ed Sheeran (which I have no become unhealthily obsessed with). I found 5 of his songs that I liked and they actually created a nice story plot.
Sequence:
“Sing”: this was the flirty stage of the relationship, not quite dating but developing feelings
“Thinking out loud”: Where they finally fall in love and it’s perfection
“Donāt”: Where the girl cheats of poor Ed and he is just a little touchy about itĀ
“Give me Love”:Ā He is in the mourning stage
“Lego House”:Ā He has moved on and can appreciate love nowĀ
The most challenging part was finding which parts of the song I wanted to use or which parts sounded decent with one another. I ended up cutting and deleting each song numerous times. I even had a friend,Ā Sepehr Sobhani, work with me and give me advice on what to do. Although at times I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what he was talking about.
I did have to slow down the song a little bit in order for it to be posted on Soundcloud but once I got it to download as an MP3 in my post, I realized I didn’t need to slow it down. However, I kind of preferred the altered version, so I just kept it that way. Below I have just the MP3 insert, the embedded Soundcloud, and then also Sepehr’s version of the assignment, just for fun.
Work Itself
Narrate the process
I had to listen to each song at least 10 times before I could figure out what parts sounded best. It was a very frustrating process. I wanted it to sound like one fluid song and it was heartbreaking when I realized I don’t have that kind of skill level.
I tried to match each individual song piece with the tone of the story line. I think figuring out what I wanted the story to be first was a really big help. It made it easier to determine which song went where and how each one was going to fit with the next.
I decided to do the Greatest Hits Storytelling audio assignment and used the band NEEDTOBREATHE.
For this mashup, I started out with a slower song and then the mashup builds into and ends with a fast paced song. I used Audacity to create the mashup and used the fade in and out effects to make the transitions sound somewhat decent. It didn’t take as long as I thought it was going to just because of all the practice I’ve had with Audacity this week.
I really enjoy NEEDTOBREATHE’s music because their lyrics aren’t words that just so happen to rhyme and sound good together, they write about real things. These five songs are about making a difference in the world. They talk about darkness and light and redemption and hope. It’s great stuff so if you don’t listen to them I highly recommend you do so!!
Here are another three-and-a-half stars worth of Audio Assignments for ya, friends! This one in particular was the “Greatest Hits Storytelling Assignment”, in which we were to choose 5 songs from an artist’s album that we thought told the story ofĀ their lives and constituted their greatest hits.
I have recently been gushing over Ella Henderson’s debut album “Chapter One”. I had become ridiculosulyĀ obsessed with her song “Ghost”, which I’m sure you’ve all heard on all the Top 40 radio stations and Spotify playlists out there, and a few weeks ago I gave her entire album a listen, which needless to say was the BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE [free streaming platforms are a godsend for music-obsessed nuts like me :)]. In listening to the ebbs and flows of her album, all sorts of sentiments surfaced, and in listening closely (like my mediocrely musically trained ear tends to do), I heard this storyline throughout about a young girl (… perhaps her? Maybe not?) who had experienced her first love (the hardcore kind where you fall hard and fast and wonderfully), which resulted in bittersweet endings of heartbreak, self-discovery, vulnerability, and feminine empowerment.
So I of course took to Garage Band, as this week has been calling me to do, and pieced together the pieces of six of her songs that, in my opinion, best captured that story. I tried to trim the clips as nicely as possible and piece them together so that the integrity of the song itself was upheld, but I’m sure you will hear a few hiccups and awkward pauses, because I know I do. However, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out! And when I gave it a final listen-to, I realized that the story within Ella’s songs directly correlate to the story of Cat’s life! … How cool isĀ that?!Ā
For instance,Ā “Rockets” brought me to the exact moment I pictured for Cat and Beau’s post-prom party. A jubilant almost-end-of-senior-year celebration took place at the pier near the Jersey shore among them and a few of their closest friends. Trading in tuxes and gowns for sweaters and sundresses, they could practically taste summer in the air as they went on the Tilt-O-Whirl and indulged in fried Twinkies (specificallyĀ in that order so as to avoid any disastrous happenings, lol …). When the evening finally faded into night, there was suddenly a spontaneous fireworks show, which Cat and Co. liked to believe was planned just for them. If we didn’t have to worry about anachronismsĀ Ā and how Cat & Beau were kids decades before Ella was even born, I could totally picture this song being the background music as this picturesque, movie-esque scene played out in my overly imaginative mind.
Hit me like a crash of thunder.
Yeah, you knock me off my feet.
So promiseĀ that you’ll never leave; leave … yeah.
And this must be a spell I’m under,
So if I’m dreaming let me sleep
‘Cause I don’t ever want to break free, no …
Three, two, one; got me launchin’ into the stars … let’s go!
ForĀ the first time ever, Cat snuck a glimpse at Beau (just like he’d been secretly doing all those years) right as he was gazing up in awe, his beautiful features illuminated by the burning glow.
And no, nobody knows but you
How to make me come alive
And no, my heart explodes
Kaboom, like rockets in the sky
Like rockets, can’t stop us
Our love is hotter than flames
We’re shooting over this place, yeah
AndĀ that very moment, everything changed. Maybe Beau somehow knew, maybe he didn’t, but as they slow- danced in tune to the carousel’s theme, these unspoken lyrics filled in the words that they couldn’t quite say.
And when Iām losing all my energy
Youāre like my only working remedy
And when I struggle to breathe
Its ācause your hard work but youāre good for me
And when I start to feel Iāve had enough
And my head is feeling kind of rough
And even thinking is tough
When youāre hard work but youāre good for me
But all of a sudden Cat blinked, and reality took the place of their summer of bliss. Beau was packing up for reasons he couldn’t even tell her leaving her with nothing but no closure, some treasured Polaroids, and his cream-coloredĀ woolen sweater still sweet with his scent. As she watched him drive away, these were the lyrics she heard like I did.
And I would fight my strength to untape my mouth
When I used to be afraid of the words
But with you Iāve learnt just to let it out
Now my heart is ready to burst
Cause I, I feel like Iām ready for love
And I, wanna be your everything and more
And I know every day I say it
But I just want you to be sure
That I am yours
As time carried on, so did Cat, continuing her father’s business while spending her evenings at Giorgio’s immersed in song and otherwise in book as not only a lifestyle but an excuse to repress her feelings. AndĀ though she’d never admit it to us,Ā the lyrics below make it clearĀ that a part of Cat’s heart was, and still is,Ā missing.
Just close your eyes
Hide away from the monster in disguise
Now youāve learnt to love
There aināt nothing Iām afraid of, now
Donāt say that this is what it feels like … [to give your heart away].
Though she has emerged stronger than ever through yet another loss (see below), I am interested to see what would happen should Beau ever return. Would she take him back? Did they technically both lead each other on?!Ā I’d like to think that Cat is too strong-willed (and stubborn) to take him back (plus that’d make a much more noir-y story), but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see, hmm?
No you canāt fake love
Love aināt a game you play
You played me from the start
It starts to end today
Today Iāve had enough
Enough to give you up
Iām up and out this place
A place where you canāt get me
For this assignment I took five of my favorite Blake Shelton Songs and mixed them together to become one song. Once I figured out and got the hang of how Audacity worked it was wasn’t that hard. The hard part came when it was matching up the various parts of each song. Some of the transitions are better then others, but I picked these five songs because they all have to do with choosing the person you love, being with them, and doing anything you could for that person. I tried to match up the songs in area of introduction, verses, chorus, verse, and ending. I also decided to begin and end with the same song to create a more cohesive song in my opinion. The five songs I picked were: Who are you when I’m not looking, Mine would be you, God gave me you, Honey bee, and Doin’ what she likes.
Also a side note, I did not upload this to SoundCloud because the assignment page said it might be taken down for copyright reasons. So I put it on my blog for you to hear and hopefully enjoy!
This assignment was the most time consuming one so far, but I am impressed on how it turned out! I used Florida Georgia Line as the artist to tell the story. Since, I already had their songs on iTunes, I just used Audacity to record it.
Process:
I picked the songs I wanted to use
Take it Out on Me
Stay
What are you Drinking About
People Back Home
Dirt
Dayum Baby Dayum
Tip it Back
I listened to each one and tried to pick out times that would flow well into each other
this took a good few hours, but it worked out well
I recorded the songs into Audacity and made copies of them, so I wouldn’t have to record them again after I trimmed them
I then trimmed them to the section I needed, and moved the other tracks to go after.
One thing, which I don’t know how to prevent, is the rhythm changes, other than that I was impressed!
For my first audio assignment, i went with the “Greatest Hits Storytelling”. My memory of the Smiths assignment i did came to me and i was automatically excited.Ā With this assignment, we need to collect a minimum of 5 songs from a band that tell a story. A little intro to my decision, one of my favorite bands growing up was Green Day. I never understood why, but their 90s stuff really got me. Since i’ve already played with 80s alternative music, i figured i should spice it up with something different. Green Day’s songs have so many different stories and ideas that it was hard for me to be set on a solid story, but i finally figured it out. So i’m going to talk about the story i created and how the songs come in to play.
Story
With Green Day’s earlier songs, they really focused on growing up and becoming an adult. I mean, all bands have that stage, right? The first song that i chose was “Welcome To Paradise.” In this song, Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer) goes on about him leaving his home. He’s grown up and moved out. But life isn’t what he thought it would be. Yeah, you’ve left your house and you have this new freedom but where will that take you? He describes all the problems with his house, referring it to garbage and so on. So the story starts out with that. Now that he’s left him home, what is he to do? That’s why i picked “Longview” as my second song. In this song, and the segment that i chose, he describes himself just as moping around. He has no idea what he’s doing with his life and is stuck at home. He lacks something in his life. Those two songs really painted the picture of growing up. I then decided to shift to the idea of a relationship. That’s basically what the rest of Green Day’s songs are. A good song to set this up is “She.” It’s all about him arguing with a girl. Their relationship is obviously in a rut and god knows what’s going to happen next. Well, like most relationships, it ends. That is, until you find the “right one”. So for the next song, i chose “When I come Around”. This one of their most popular songs. In this song, Billie Joe Armstrong talks about him reflecting on what just happened with his girlfriend. I wanted to connect this song with “She” so i matched the up part where he says “I heard you crying loud” to tie it in with the beginning of the song “She” where he says Ā “She, she screams in silence.” Hopefully i haven’t lost you yet on this whole story. Finally, the relationship has to end, right? I chose, what i think, is the best song to finish this off. “Good Riddance”. You’ve heard this song millions of times and you can relate to it in so many ways. This obviously ties in with the story because it’s when he’s bitter about a relationship and finally letting go. So, all in all, that’s the story. Just to do a quick recap so you actually know where i was going with this: He moves out. Now he’s clueless as what to do. He’s in a relationship that’s in a rut. They take a break and he re-evaluate it. The relationship is over. Believe it or not, it took me a while to find 5 songs that fit into a story, but i did it!
Process
The way i made this audio wasn’t very difficult. With my past audio assignments, i was familiar with how to mash-up songs. The one part i forgot how to do was converted the mp3’s to AIFF files so i could open them in Audacity. After that, i cut and mixed the songs into one file. If you’re stuck on this part, check out my past assignment here for all the details! NOW! what you’ve all been waiting for. The actual audio! Tell me if you can catch the story or not.
For my greatest hits, I did my best to mash together songs about love and loss by Tegan and Sara. I chose themĀ because a lot of their songsĀ haveĀ similar sounds so they would be easier to put together. As well as the fact that I already hadĀ numerous amounts of thereĀ songs downloaded.Ā It does not sound quite the way I want it too but I believe it gets the point across. While I am getting better with audacity, it is a tricky little devil. So I think it will take me a bit more time to learn all the ins and outs.
For my first audio assignment, I really wanted to experiment with Audacity and also include music. Looking through the DS106 Audio Assignment Bank I found an interesting and fun assignment called Greatest Hits Storytelling (3 stars) in which you tell a story using an artists’s greatest hits. I immediately knew which artist’s music I wanted to use… Beyonce. I believe Beyonce is a queen at singing and performing, and has had multiple number one hits throughout the decade. My Greatest Hits Story tells the tale from falling in love, to falling out of love, to recovery and empowerment.
Creating the Medley
Creating the story was a difficult task. At the beginning of the week, I made sure to download Audacity as well as the plug-in so that I can export my files as MP3’s. The first step in this assignment was figuring out which songs I wanted to use to tell the story. I used YouTube to find the seven songs I wanted to use for my story and used ListenToYouTube to download the music files in MP3 format. Then came the tricky part. There were certain parts (and lyrics) of the songs that I wanted to include so that the story had more clarity. Using Audacity, I trimmed, split, and moved the tracks around to form my five-minute greatest hits medley. After I was finished, I exported the file as an MP3. Instead of uploading the track to SoundCloud (which the assignment mentioned you should not do) I uploaded the file to a third-party server and embedded the audio on this blog post. Enjoy the Beyonce Greatest Hits Story below:
The medley includes the following seven songs:
– At Last
– Countdown
– Crazy in Love
– Love on Top
– Broken Hearted Girl
– Single Ladies
– Run the World (Girls)
I went into this assignment thinking it would be super easy. I was so wrong. Ā This is an easy concept but it was hard to pull off and make it sound like I wanted. My original theme of just a love song kinda turned as I started working on this project. Ā I chose the wonderful […]
