MUSIC MAKES SENSE
Friday | December 12th
Exploring the relationship between music and design A Degree Project Book By Brittany Hand I think my Degree Project presentation went pretty well. I changed my idea at 2:30 in the morning, but I’m glad that I did it, even if the idea wasn’t 100% thought out. I just know that I would have been so pissed at myself next semester if I wasn’t happy with my subject anymore, and I knew that doing something music related would always be a good choice. My suggested feedback was that I definitely need to explore the relationship between music and design, and that I need to do something more than just branding. I think it would be okay to start with that, but then branch out and experiment some more. I should “build into something unexpected,” and experiment with video, interactivity, and expression. I really need to make sure that I challenge
myself, and even write down every song that I listen to, if it feels necessary. It was also suggested that I should listen to people critique music, watch music documentaries (like I already do), and develop a visual language through music. I need to not just make pictures of what music reminds me of; it needs to represent the music itself. So after presentations, Tessa and I went to Joe’s Pizza in Westport, I went back home to my family in Lee’s Summit, and on the way there one of my FAVORITE songs came on shuffle on my phone. “Keep it Together” by Ben Harper & Relentless7 played and I jammed out. I got to my grandma’s, told her about my presentation, and my mom came home with a picture that had just came in the mail that she got blown up on canvas. It was a picture I had taken on the inside of
St. Mark’s cathedral in Venice, Italy. After that I went to my dad’s, wrapped Christmas presents for my boyfriend, and went to Lone Jack to see him and exchange the gifts, eat some crab, drink some Boulevard Wheats, and visit with his parents. I saw the end of “ We’re the Millers” and watched all of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” I went to bed at 1am, and woke up around noon.
Saturday | December 13th After waking at noon, I spent the entire day relaxing with my boyfriend and his parents. His mom made us buttered shrimp bread for lunch, and we all watched “Big
Daddy.” Around 4:30, Kelly (my boyfriend) and I drove to AMC in Independence
to see “Horrible Bosses 2” with the free movie tickets my dad got my for my birthday in October. We stuffed our faces with popcorn and candy and Coke. The movie was pretty funny, but I think I liked the first one better. On the way to the movie, Kelly played a song that I had heard recently and knew he would like. I meant to send it to him and forgot... “Long Way Down” by Robert Delong. After that, we listened to lots of Led Zeppelin. After the movie, we stopped by CVS and Walgreen’s to find this specific contact solution he needed, and then went to the gas station to get
some Skyy vodka, cranberry juice, and a strawberry lemonade soda to go with it. On the way home I showed Kelly this song that came on shuffle yesterday on my phone that made me so happy and pumped about winter break. “Bed-Stuy (Super Cop)” by Starfucker. When we got back we drank our dranks, watched some murder/schizophrenic documentary, and I blogged about my day yesterday. Later on, I played my new favorite song by Spoon, “ Inside Out,” which has a super badass music video; and I played another song I’m currently obsessed with by Perfume Genius, called “Queen.” Later that night, Kelly and I played this hockey game on
their arcade machine and I lost two out of three games, but it was a close call.
Sunday | December 14th Today after Kelly and I woke up around noon again, we chatted with his parents for a bit and watched some of the Chiefs game. Then I went home to my dad’s in Lee’s Summit to wrap some presents, do some laundry, and blog about yesterday and today. Not much else has happened. I’m about to go back to Lone Jack now. A song came on 96.5 the Buzz that I never get tired of, Kids by MGMT. On my way to Lone Jack, I heard some music on
Homegrown Buzz by a band called Akkilles, which I really enjoyed. The songs were “Country Boy Deluxe” and “Leave Your Love.” When I got back to Lone Jack, we finished our drinks from last night and watched some episodes from season three of “Curb your Enthusiasm,” one of the funniest shows on the planet.
Monday | December 15th Today I woke up in Lone Jack and took my dog to the vet in Lee’s Summit. She’s about to be boarded up with my grandma’s dog while we spend Christmas in Houston, Texas, so I needed to make sure she was
updated on all of her shots. She got her yearly rabies shot, her 5 in 1 shot, and Comfortis (a chewable flea control pill). Sprinkle has also been limping recently, probably from the last time she tore a ligament in her leg. I also had the vet check out her eyes because she’s slowly getting cataracts. Her teeth are pretty bad, which is supposedly common in poodles, so she’s scheduled for a teeth cleaning on Friday, as well as a urine test because she’s been having a lot of accidents recently. After the vet, I went to meet my dad at Price Chopper to get some groceries. He ended up having a work call and had to leave his cart in the store for me to get so that he could go to his car and have the meeting. So I’m on my way and I thought I still had three miles until I had to get gas, so I was going to put about ten dollars in after Price Chopper. Then all of a sudden my fuel milage changes to zero and I had to drive straight to QuikTrip to put gas in my car. The first pump I get to keeps telling me to “See Cashier,” while I’m on the phone with my dad and my boyfriend calls and my dog jumps out of the car and some truckers drive by and whistle at me and it’s cold as balls outside. So I’m pretty frazzled, and try another pump, after I have to go past three different pumps that have that bullshit yellow bag on them to let you know that they’re not working. The next pump tells me the same thing: “See Cashier.” So I’m extremely annoyed because I know I have 20 bucks in my account. I get inside QT and I see those asshole trucker dudes staring me up and down and I was way too close to yelling at them to fuck off, but didn’t because how stupid is it to cause a scene in a QuikTrip. Anyway, the cashier tells me that my card was declined... this is new to me, exciting almost, because I had just recently changed my account to be a savings-debit only card, that way my card gets declined if I have overdrafted. Before, I would get charged 28 effing dollars every time a purchase would go through when I didn’t know I had gone over. Anyway, I thought I had 20 bucks and I ended up having negative four. So then I have to be a little baby and call my mom and tell her
what’s going on because my dad’s on a work call in his car across the street. I end up texting my dad, he drives over while on his call, hands me his card, lets me put ten bucks in, and then I go to Price Chopper to pick out some groceries. Meanwhile, I’m trying to get to the gym by 5:45. I didn’t make it to the gym. Later on, I get to my apartment, unload all of my stuff, and wait for my boyfriend to come over. We spent the night drinking Seagram’s 7 and 7up, watching episodes of season nine of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” So far, this break is making me seem like an alcoholic.
Tuesday | December 16th Today I spent my last day with my boyfriend before he had to go way back to Springfield to start his new engineering internship. We complete opposites in that way, obviously. We took a nap and watched an episode of “Bob’s Burgers.” Once he left, I went to the gym at 6:00 for Zumba! I learned one new routine to a Britney Spears song lol. After the gym, my mom met me at my apartment and made us the best dinner: shrimp, mozzerella French bread, and Ceasar salad. We then watched an episode of season five of “Vampire Diaries,” and sat through a movie that no one should ever see called, “I Give it a Year.”
Wednesday | December 17th Today started off rough. I found out I didn’t make the 3.0 GPA that I needed, and I lost my scholarship. Now it looks like I have to move back home and commute to school. I might have to look into other schools because if I don’t get even half of that scholarship, I’m screwed. I went to the gym at 7pm for my boot camp called, The Challenge, and we did the Sally workout, which includes variations of pushups, squats, burpees, sit-ups and biceps to a four minute song. I came home from the gym and had dinner with my mom, and watched more “Vampire Diaries.”
Thursday | December 18th
Saturday | December 20th
Today I had a better day, finding out that I actually did receive half of my scholarship, and I may not have to move back home quite yet anymore. I spent most of the day cleaning, then went to the gym at 5:30 for my not-so-kickboxing class. It’s the hardest workout of them all, but there’s really no kickboxing involved at all. After that, I grabbed my dog and traveled back to Lee’s Summit and my dad and I went to have dinner at Applebee’s and finally see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. It was good, but I felt like not a whole lot really happened, and I wish I had waited to see it next year right before the last one comes out.
Today all I pretty much did was go to the gym and pack for Texas and Springfield. But at the gym, I got my final measurements and the results were: I lost a quarter of an inch off my arms, I lost 1% of body fat, but I gained two pounds. I’m gonna go ahead and assume that that’s muscle. After the gym, I went back to my apartment, took a nap, showered, ate something while watched Vampire Diaries, and took forever to pack for my Christmas/New Years trip. When I finished, I went back to my dad’s and stayed up way too late (like 5:30am) making ads for my aunt’s company and creating a ‘90s playlist, and starting a playlist of my favorite songs from 2014. This was a really good music day for me. I was reminded once again of the beautiful way that music makes me feel. Here’s my one finished playlist: http://8tracks.com/lilbritt-britt/i-promise-you-will-love-this Unfortunately it’s missing the third song, “Walking on the Sun” by Smash Mouth, because when I uploaded it some random ass song popped up and I couldn’t fix it. Here are some of my favorite artists of 2014: Bear Hands, Tycho, Perfume Genius, Glass Animals, alt-J, Spoon, Ex Cops, Majid Jordan, Phantogram, Broods, Meg Myers, Broken Bells, Slow Magic, Real Estate, Shy Boys, Foster The People, Jack White, Chet Faker, Queen, Sylvan Esso, Deorro, and more.
Friday | December 19th This morning I got up around 8:00, took my dog to the vet to get her teeth cleaned, and got my car checked out at the Firestone in Lee’s Summit. My mom and I ran some Christmas errands, including Hobby Lobby for gift boxes and a picture that I’ve been wanting to get for my grandmother in New Jersey. We also went in to the Sprint store to get a bill sorted out. We went to the dreadful Independence mall and I found some yoga pants and sport shirts for my cousin at Forever 21 for Secret Santa. We searched forever for some new tennis shoes for me, but I could not find anything that I was looking for anywhere. Once we left the mall, I found out that my dog has bladder stones again and may need surgery. I was pretty emotional, but we got her on some new canned dog food that she loves, to help dissolve the stones, and she is getting on antibiotics in the meantime, on top of the pills for her torn ligament. Poor thing. But her teeth cleaning went really well. You can’t even smell her breath! I tried to go to bed fairly early, for my final boot camp class out of right weeks was in the morning at 10:00 in Westport.
Sunday | December 21st Today my mom and I ran errands, and it went really smoothly. I was so happy. We first made a stop at the car wash to wash my car and clean it out for our trip to Texas. After that, we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and I immediately found the tennis shoes that I’ve been looking all over for. I was so stoked. Afterward, we went to Target for a few things and the nail salon for a new do. Later on, I went to my dad’s.
Monday | December 22nd This morning while my mom and my grandma went to board our dogs at the Doggy-Daycare, I ran to Hy-Vee to get a prescription and went back to my grandma’s to take a nap. When they got back, we all had lunch and packed the car for the road trip. We also spent a very long time packing the car just right. I don’t know how we got everything in there, but I’ve got a nice, spacious trunk and back seat. Our first stop was at DQ so my grandma could get her ice cream kick. I got an Oreo Blizzard. My mom grabbed some Cheetos and Gatorade at the gas station in her little flip flops. We drove for about nine hours and stopped in Dallas. I drove the first five hours while my mom did the rest. We
stayed at an awesome Holiday Inn downtown. Today’s driving consisted mostly of Jack Johnson, The xx, and Tycho.
Tuesday | December 23rd Today we headed for our final stop in Houston, TX. It took way longer than it should have, but it was nice to sleep in and get ready for the day, not feeling rushed. We left around 11:45am and got to Sugar Land around 4:30, stopping at way too many pay tolls. It was so wonderful to see our family for the first time in two years. We had an awesome tortellini and sausage soup that my aunt made, and fell asleep watching “The Polar Express” after decorating Gingerbread Cookies. I also spent a lot of time playing ping pong with my cousins. Today’s driving music consisted mostly of Broods and Broken Bells.
Monday | January 26th
RESEARCH How Soviet Hipsters Saved Rock 'N' Roll With X-Ray Records How can I visualize what music looks like to others, through design? My plan is to interview as many people as possible and use the answers to their favorite songs and the feelings they experience while listening to them, to create a visual design system.
Bone Music | Christopher Jobson If you asked me when the history of bootleg music began, I would have assumed it arrived with the invention of the cassette tape, something small, inexpensive and portable that was easily duplicated in any garage from deck A to deck B. In reality, widespread bootlegging dates back even
further, to the 1950s in the Soviet Union where music lovers, desperate for banned Western tunes, devised an ingenious way to print their own records. The only problem was the scarcity of vinyl. Desperate times called for desperate measures. With the aid of a special device, people started pressing banned jazz and rock n’ roll music on thick radiographs scavenged from the dumpsters of hospitals. X-rays were plentiful (not to mention cheap), and while the records could only be pressed on a single side, the music they produced using a standard turntable was passable. The recordings even had a catchy name: bone music. From an interview with author Anya von
Bremzen via NPR: “They would cut the X-ray into a crude circle with manicure scissors and use a cigarette to burn a hole. You’d have Elvis on the lungs, Duke Ellington on Aunt Masha’s brain scan— forbidden Western music captured on the interiors of Soviet citizens.” By 1958 the authorities caught on and the act of making x-ray records was made illegal. It wasn’t long before the largest distribution networks of illicit bone music were discovered and shut down.
Håkon Stensholt, a Norwegian designer, earned his master’s degree from Stockholm arts university Konstfack with a thesis exploring connections between sound and type. With his collaborator Paulo Barcelos, Stensholt created Sound meets Type to allow users to run type through various filters and customize the effect of an algorithm that translates sound into a 3-D typeface. These filters include the type’s weight, color, and elasticity of letter forms. Any sound can be used, from music to someone’s voice. The resulting typeface looks like a font in the process of exploding.
John Paul Jones was not present at those first sessions, and singer Robert Plant was yet to make his contribution to the song. “ No, no, no, no!” Jimmy Page insists, react- “ We do some rockabilly stuff, and then Robert went off somewhere and it’s just ing with a certain irritation to something John Bonham and myself and I start going that had been presented a compliment. It’s through all the ideas that I’ve got. I’ve got not that he’s modestly rejecting the praise, more, I suspect, that he feels there might be half a dozen things, but I want to try this thing out. And John Bonham absolutely an implicit criticism of Led Zeppelin’s muloves it. He loves the fact that he’s back in sical borrowings. The compliment was the the hall with this great drum sound and observation that it was a testament to Zepthis hypnotic riff. We’re just playing it over pelin’s adaptability that Page could take an and over over again. And then it gets to the Eastern-style guitar tuning brought to atpoint where we do literally a take of it, and tention by Davy Graham, and take it from I start counting it out as far as the verses the English folk scene to form the bedrock are going to be, and then I try the electric of Zeppelin’s most globe-crushingly colostrails for the overdubs and it’s exactly what sal moment, Kashmir. “The thing about I think it’s going to be. And I know this that tuning is it has absolutely nothing to thing is really majestic. Even with just the do with anybody,” Page continues. “It’s two of us and these simple overdubs.” The like the blues tunings of open D or open famous riff, Page explains, is a round – like E or open G – those tunings were there Frère Jacques, it “catches up with itself ” and everybody would use them. Keith and can be played on top of itself. It creat[Richards] did lots of things – and why ed the challenge of making sure that every not? That’s what you do. What I’m saying other element of the song was up to snuff. is that tuning was around – Bert Jansch “ The riff was so good that you had to make had used it – it was just a tuning that was sure whatever you did as the first change being used. I came up with my own origireally holds up.” The riff is so great, in fact, nal tunings as well.” We’re talking about that you can listen to a basic instrumental Kashmir a few days ahead of the 40th track of the song and not get bored, even anniversary of Physical Graffiti, which was without the orchestral colour and Plant’s No 1 in the midweek charts the day Page vocal. One of the peculiarities of Kashappeared at the Brit awards to give Royal mir is its positioning on the vinyl edition Blood, for whom he’s been effusive in his of Physical Graffiti – at the end of side praise, their prize for Britsh group. But the two, rather than at the end of side four, Sussex duo have a got a long way to go as you might expect. “Each side of vinyl before they reach Kashmir. The genesis was sequenced to showcase whatever was of the song was a riff Page had before he on there, so it wasn’t square pegs in round went to Headley Grange in Hampshire in holes. Any of the four sides could be your November 1973 for the first Physical Graffavourite side. All of them have an intensity fiti sessions. “What I had in my mind was to them, but some have got more rock roots the riff and the cascades, which is electric maybe than others. A double album was so 12-string overdubs, but also brass on the right for Zeppelin.” On CD, though, the final thing,” he says. “I had thought of the sequencing becomes more of an issue. On riff in orchestral terms, with cellos doing it, a two-disc set, though Kashmir remains at and this cascading brass, for the different the end of a side, the equally monumental colours of the orchestra. I didn’t know it In My Time of Dying moves from the end would work, but I knew it ought to theoof a vinyl side one to a mid-disc position, retically.” The earliest version of Kashmir completely unbalancing the set. was just Page and drummer John Bonham.
Jimmy Page | Kashmir
“Absolutely,” Page says. “I can see that. But I didn’t want to start reshuffling, but you’re right – it wasn’t intended to be like that. Those songs – In My Time of Dying, Kashmir – are supposed to be: That’s it. Nothing follows that. You need time to catch your breath after.”
Sunday | February 1st
SCHEDULE Surviving The Rest Of The Semester
SCHEDULE week one: research / planning week two: research / planning JAN 26
FEB 2
due: refine / confirm project question, post to blog
due: present/review initial solutions
studio: research & concepting
studio: continue to investigate solutions
homework: layout for pdf process document
homework: create project schedule
JAN 30
FEB 6
due: blog post of layout for process pdf document
due: blog post of project schedule
studio: research & concepting (potential solutions)
studio: continue suggesting/executing solutions
homework: continue suggesting solutions
homework: summary presentation of weeks 1 & 2
week three: presentations FEB 9
week four: concepting FEB 16
due: present formal summary of week 1 & 2
due: presentation with printmaking department
studio: studio work & desk crits
studio: studio work & desk crits
homework: detailed project timeline
homework: progress
FEB 13
FEB 20
due: blog post of detailed timeline
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
studio: studio work & desk crits
studio: studio work & desk crits
homework: prep for work-in-progress presentation
homework: interview people at folk alliance
HOW CAN I
SCHEDULE week five: design
week six: design MAR 2
FEB 23 due: presentation with printmaking department
due: watch printmaking presentations
studio: presentation with printmaking department
studio: studio work
homework: progress
homework: night riots
MAR 6
FEB 27 due: weekly blog post due by end of class
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
studio: studio work & desk crits
studio: prep for midterm presentations
homework: progress
homework: free show at mills 7pm
week seven: midterms
week eight: spring break
MAR 9 due: midterm presentations
Austin, Texas: Interview lots of bands!
studio: studio work & desk crits
TV On The Radio: Saturday, Mar 21
homework: progress
MAR 13 due: weekly blog post due by end of class studio: studio work & desk crits homework: prep for work-in-progress presentation
USE DESIGN
SCHEDULE week nine: design
week ten: design MAR 30
MAR 23 due: significant progress
due: work day
studio: studio work
studio: visual design and begin presentation
homework: progress
homework: The Preatures at recordBar
MAR 27
APR 3
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
studio: Martin Venezky review progress presentations
studio: studio work & desk crits
homework: progress
homework: 1st draft formal presentation prep
week eleven: documentation week twelve: documentation APR 6
APR 13
due: 1st draft formal presentation
due: 2nd draft formal presentation
studio: studio work
studio: studio work
homework: Milky Chance at The Midland
homework: progress
APR 10
APR 17
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
due: weekly blog post due by end of class
studio: studio work & desk crits
studio: studio work & desk crits / dp prep of final pres
homework: prep for 2nd draft formal presentation
homework: Record Store Day at Mills
TO ENHANCE THE
SCHEDULE week thirteen: presentation
week fourteen: senior show prep APR 27
APR 20 due: degree project prep of final presentation
due: degree project 100% show ready
studio: studio work / dp final presentation ready
studio: senior show prep
homework: Middle of the Map fest Wed & Thur
homework:
MAY 1
APR 24 due: weekly blog post due by end of class
due:
studio: final pres of dp & process pds course files
studio: deal with loose ends for show prep
homework: Brand New & Middle of the Map fest
homework:
week fifteen: senior show
week sixteen: finals / senior show MAY 11
MAY 4 due:
due: finals due
studio: senior show prep
studio:
homework: senior show opening to industry guests
homework:
MAY 15
MAY 8 due:
due: senior show closing reception with family & friends
studio: senior show prep
studio:
homework: opening reception, open to the public
homework:
MUSIC EXPERIENCE?
Friday | February 13th
FEEDBACK Degree Project: Music Makes Sense Wow. That was short. Asking what music tastes like? Is that still a thing? Incorporating a radio show with it? What is the final outcome? What’s the artifact? I think the idea of people describing what their music is to them feels like the research phase Talking about those reactions is going to force people to think about music that way. Gather content right now! Think about what you want to do post-graduation Literally recording someones voice and connecting it with their reactions (imagery) How can design get your message across? Don’t think that a film needs to be a full on hour or something. 15-20 minutes is fine! Find a nice in between for how posters are made- not too many styles, but make sure it’s enough. Find a way to incorporate the
radio show. The study of synesthesia is interesting. This could just become an interactive experience of finding the tastes and smells and other things with other people. Putting that info into a poster makes it untrue to the rest of the world. Chris talks about a game where people pick jellybeans out of a bag and then act out the flavor. maybe the decision making is left to other people. Maybe provide the smells and tastes of what people think music relates to and submerge an audience into these, like allow people to listen to shy boys and then sniff a halfsmoked cigarette. Make sure you show the range of how people experience music. Some people like their hands to be held and given options. Others like to establish something on their own. Have a variety of songs, so people can utilize memories for some and are on the spot for others.
Friday | March 13th
why visual communication is important
Visual communication is extremely important. It has everything to do with my project and everyone else’s because it’s the most significant way to get people’s attention. My research is important, the music is important, and the people are important; but if what I’m doing does not look visually appealing, then everything else will be difficult to understand. Visuals is what brings people places and gets them to stay there. There are a million websites that I have come across that I exit out of in two seconds because I know I don’t have the patience to sort through the ridiculousness that is their unorganized, chaotic home page. I also personally want my designs to communicate visually in a positive
pretty embarrassed otherwise, but I know that it will only help me later. There’s a good chance that what I am trying to say isn’t making sense to other people the way that it does in my head, but as long as it looks decent and makes sense to other people in that regard, then I will end up feeling more confident in the long run that I can get my point across the way that I had wanted to. Why should we, as designers, bother to address the things we’re addressing? Because if we don’t do it, no one else will! Seriously, no one understand this stuff better than we do, and we’re the ones who make people understand things just by looking at them. Why aren’t they better
left to computer scientists, literary scholars, educators, business administrators, activists, or nightclub owners? Computer scientists are extremely smart, but their brains work in different ways. I would hope that all of these people can try, or hire designers to help them with their jobs. Nightclub owners need designers to make their business visually interesting; that’s going to be the first thing that gets people to come there. Activists need signage and other campaign material to catch the viewers’ eye. Educators need their classrooms and websites to be clear and concise and interesting to look at, because those are the places where people spend a lot of their time.
“Ed Sheeran’s music tastes like Chianti wine, because the anticipation of it is just as good as the real thing.”
Saturday | March 21st
INTERVIEWS What Does Your Favorite Music Taste Like?
“ It’s that pure essence of devotion, and that’s what speaks to me. It’s a kind of transcendence state, it’s meditation, it’s bliss.”
For me, music takes me back to India and my time there. It’s the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feelings, the essence. It’s that pure essence of devotion, and that’s what speaks to me. It’s unique to India; the incenses, and the streets. You’re experiencing all these different things going on at once. There’s music in the background, there’s people chanting. The streets are just like organized chaos, all going on at one time; and then somewhere in there you’ll hear people, you’ll hear the drumming start up, and you’ll hear the chanting and the mantras, and it just stirs this energy that awakens you somewhere deep in your soul. It’s just
this awakening, and for me that’s yoga. It’s the process of awakening, and through Kirtans and Bhajans it’s a way to wake that inner essence of ourselves. Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion. So for me, when I’m singing and when I’m doing Kirtans it takes me there. It’s kind of a transcendence state, it’s meditation, it’s bliss. Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, rather than the hope of divine reward or the fear of divine punishment. It is a means
toward a state of spiritual liberation or enlightenment through the “realisation”, or the attainment of “oneness” with God. Bhakti yoga is often considered by Hindus to be the easiest way for ordinary people to attain such a spiritually liberated state, because although it is a form of yoga, its practice is not as rigorous as most other yogic schools, and it is possible to practice bhakti yoga without needing to become a full-time yogi. The Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana and the Puranas are important scriptures that expound the philosophy of bhakti yoga. Hindu movements in which bhakti yoga is the main practice are called bhakti movements.
Hello. This is KC AIR, you’re listening to Music Makes Sense. My name is Brittany Hand, and this is my second time recording this show. I actually did this last week and somehow everything that I recorded disappeared. So! Round two… Today I will be playing some of my top songs from 2014. I figured I would start with this because if I wait too long it’s going to be far too down 2015 to the point that this list shouldn’t consist of 2014 anymore. So I’m going to start with Perfume Genius. There’s an article that was published on February 3rd in Vice Magazine that said, “ If Cat Power and Liza Minnelli’s gay dad gave birth to an emotional, pale sex god, he would probably look and sound like Perfume Genius, a.k.a Mike Hadreas.” So, I had originally heard his song, “Queen,” on 96.5 The Buzz one Friday when they were playing their mail songs. I had Shazzamed the song in my car and ended up losing it because I got a new phone and I couldn’t find the song for the longest time, and then I finally came across it one day and I’m pretty sure it made the rest of my year.
Queen | Perfume Genius That was “Queen” by Perfume Genius, from his album “Too Bright.” When Mike Hadreas (had-dree-iss) was asked how he came up with the idea for that song, he said: “I was mad—walking around guarded and self-conscious, internalizing things people said to me. I felt bad and embarrassed at myself for still carrying around stuff from when I was a kid. There are times on tour when I’m in a gas station and I have my nails done and I’m in a dress or whatever, and people are kind of backing up out of fear. Now, I’m like, “Fuck you—back up! I want some Nerds. Let me through.” If you’re gonna be scared, do that, ‘cause if anything I’m gonna be even more gay later and even worse and more disgusting and scary than you ever thought.” It was pretty hard for me to narrow down my top songs, so I’m going to play a few in a row now to get going. This is Toes by Glass Animals. probably should have mentioned to put
Toes | Glass Animals So I probably should have mentioned to put your headphones on, especially with that last song because it sounds so much better, but that was “A Place Like This” by Majid (Mashjeed) Jordan. They’re a Canadian duo made up of Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman, and they’re actually signed to OVO Sound, which is a record label co-founded by Drake. I really don’t remember exactly how I came across them, there’s a chance it was from one of my Pandora stations, but I think they have a really awesome sound. That second song
was “Every Other Freckle” by alt-J from their album, “This Is All Yours,” which I’m sure many of you have heard, I know The Buzz plays it a lot, but I just couldn’t refrain from adding it to my list. And the first song again was Toes by Glass Animals from their album ZABA. I saw them over the summer at Czar Bar, which I’m pretty sure is sadly closed now, but they played an amazing little show. I would definitely see them again any chance I get, like I would see alt-J. I’ve seen alt-J three times now and the 2nd show was definitely the best one by far whenever they played at The Midland a couple years ago and recorded their “An American Wave” documentary.
When I first heard them, I could seriously tell that they were going to make a huge impact. I had never heard anything like their music before, and I don’t doubt that The Buzz is a big reason why they’re where they are today. But anyway, I felt that Glass Animals was the closest thing that I could find recently that had a similar sound in a way to alt-J. They’re still very different, but I think they can definitely be considered under the same realm of music. So the next song that I want to play is by the band, Spoon. I believe it’s been about 4 years since they’ve made any new music, and I am currently obsessed with their newest album, and I’m also very
excited to say that they will be coming to The Midland on May 18th. So here’s their song, “Inside Out,” from the album, “They Want My Soul.”
Inside Out | Spoon That was “Inside Out,” by Spoon. I love that song so much. If you haven’t seen the music video, I highly suggest it. It’s pretty cool, and looks to me just how the song sounds. Speaking of what music looks like, I should probably talk about the meaning behind the name of my show! Music Makes Sense is a project that I’m currently working on for my Degree Project class,
where I am asking bands to describe to me what they think their music would taste like if it had a taste, what it smells like, and how it feels, and based off of those answers I plan on making a short documentary to kind of show what that music looks like. So you have all 5 senses, with sound obviously being the most important one, because that’s what music is all about. But my goal is to make people get an even greater experience out of listening to music. Music Makes Sense is about getting people to expand their minds, use all of their senses, and enjoy music in every way that they possibly can. So the next song that I want to play is by Tycho. If you haven’t listened to Tycho,
you’re seriously missing out. Their music is described as ambient and psychedelic, and I personally think that if their music had a smell it would be that of tanning oil and sunscreen, it would feel like the wind on your face when you’re in the lake with your wet face sticking out of the water, and it would taste like a margarita. Now that’s probably because they’ve been a huge summer band for me for the past 2 years, but they work for any occasion. Tycho is actually a really good band to listen to whenever you’re doing homework because they don’t have any lyrics in their songs. So anyway, here’s my favorite song off of their newest album, “Awake.”
Montana | Tycho That last song was “Fire Escape,” by Foster The People, from their album “Supermodel,” and before that, “Had To Hear” by Real Estate, from the album, “Atlas,” which I played a lot on my trip to Colorado last year. So “Fire Escape” may be the slowest song that Foster The People has ever written, but I really like it a lot. I was actually slightly disappointed with this album, to be honest. I don’t hate it, and I own it on vinyl, but it’s nothing compared to their first album, “Torches.” I have played that album countless times and it is definitely one of my favorites. I saw Foster The People over the summer and I wish I had seen them a couple year ago when they played with The Shins. Also I would just really love to see The Shins. But I did get to see Broken Bells, which features James Mercer of The Shins, and DJ Danger Mouse, who by the way made this badass mashup called, “The Grey Album,” which uses an a cappella version of Jay-Z’s, “The Black Album” and is coupled with samples from The Beatles’ LP, “The White Album.” But anyway, back to Broken Bells, their selftitled album is also one of my favorites. I played that album a lot in high school, but from their new album, “After the Disco,” this is “Holding On for Life.” That was “ Holding On for Life,” by Broken Bells.
I definitely would suggest checking out that music video, as well. It features the actress, Kate Mara, dressed up in a pink spacesuit, which would have been a killer Halloween costume, but oh, well. So it looks like I’ve got about ten minutes left. There were many, many more bands on my 2014 list, including The Preatures, Broods, Milky Chance, TV On The Radio, Jack White, and lots more, but I’ll get a chance to play them onnnn another time. So my name’s Brittany. I hope you enjoyed my very first radio show. I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions about some cool topics for the show. You can email me at bhand@ kcai.edu or send me a message on facebook. This is “Bad Friend” by Bear Hands on KC AIR. Thanks for listening!
Bad Friend | Bear Hands Hey, guys. This is KCAIR, and you are listening to Music Makes Sense. My name is Brittany, and today I’m going to be talking about some seriously awesome upcoming shows. Now normally I wouldn’t want to play more than one song by the same artist in one show, but this time I think it’s important for you to get a good idea of what these artists sound like before you spend all of your money, like I have, to go see as many of them as possible. So I started working on this show a few weeks back, but I’ve been crazy busy with school and some of the bands on this list have already come and gone, but I want to play a few of them anyway. So I first want to start with TV on the Radio. I did not get to see them, but they were here at The Midland on March 21st, and I’m sure that they were nothing short of amazing. But one thing that I love about this band is that they really know how to make a song last. There are two songs in particular that I listened to over and over again in high school and listening to them now they are still incredible, and I will play those for you in just a minute. But I read this interview published on December 3rd in “The Stranger,” which is an
alternative newspaper in Seattle, and the article’s titled “TV on the Radio’s New Album Was Not Made in Your Mom’s Garage,” which is very true, and they talk about how there’s so much involved in what they do, and how they had the luxury of digging around for hours without being rushed at all, and having the ability to let things flow. Apparently they wrote about 50 songs for the record, and then pieced everything together from there, which can’t really be done in a big, expensive studio, or when banging out in a garage. They write on computers and drum machines to get ideas down, and they needed an environment that’s conducive to that, so they recorded in one of their members, Dave Sitek’s (sih-tek) home studio in LA. They said, “His place gave the ability to create and move around that way. There are so few of those big recording studios left, and this is a reason why. The world changes.” So from their newest album, “Seeds,” this is “Careful You.”
Careful You | TV on the Radio That was “Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio from their 2006 album, “Return to Cookie Mountain,” and before that was “Will Do” from their 2011 album, “Nine Types of Light.” TV on the Radio’s music never loses anything after many listens, and when asked how they do that, drummer Jalil (ja-leel) Bunton stated, “It’s all an attempt. I don’t know how successful we are at achieving that, but my musical agenda is definitely to make things that last. When I was a kid, a lot of what I listened to was from 30 or 40 years before my time—albums that have everlasting relevance to the human condition. I’m always listening to Howlin’ Wolf. It’s always going to make sense. It sounds like an era in blues, but it has an emotive quality that’s so sincere. In general, I think if music is sincere, it will always have a place. There’s always going to be some kid between the ages of 14 and 17 who falls in love with classic rock.
I love Jimi, the Stones, the Dead. It doesn’t matter if the music world turns into just bleeps and bloops, somebody at that age is going to be like, “I just found the Talking Heads, oh my God, they’re incredible!” So hopefully, we can leave something that remains relevant like that, but I’m not arrogant enough to say we’ve achieved it.” So last Monday I went to the recordBar to see this band from Sydney called, The Preatures, and this really great band that I had never heard of before called, The Bots opened up for them. They have a very punk sound, but at the same time kind of psychedelic, and they just looked like they were having so
much fun, and I actually had the privilege to meet them afterwards and ask them some questions for my degree project. So I’ll play that interview after this surf-rocky song from their album, “Pink Palms.” This is “All of Them (Wide Awake).”
All of Them (Wide Awake) | The Bots So The Bots and TV On The Radio actually have something in common, which is that they’ve both worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Anaiah and Mikaiah of The Bots produced their Pink Palms album with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s guitarist, Nick Zinner and Justin Warfield from She Wants
Revenge. And Dave Sitek who I mentioned earlier from TV On The Radio has not only worked with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but also bands like Foals and Little Dragon, and has produced jazz-influenced remixes of songs by Beck and Nine Inch Nails. He even played bass for Jane’s Addiction one year. This guy is talented to say the least, he’s also a photographer and painter. But back to The Bots, here is what they think their music would taste like if it had a taste, what it would smell like and how it feels. So after The Bots played, The Preatures went on, and they were absolutely amazing. The lead singer, Izzy, was wearing the coolest looking red and black
coat, and she did a cartwheel out of nowhere and poured a bottle of water on her head towards the end and she just danced all over the place. She has such a great voice and this crazy sort of screech in her voice sort of how Janis Joplin had. It was so much fun and impossible not to dance, so from their 2014 album, “Blue Planet Eyes,” here’s “Is This How You Feel?”
Is This How You Feel? | The Preatures So that was one of my favorite songs from last year that I didn’t end up playing on my last show, but I’m glad that I waited to talk about them until after I saw them live. So
after they played, this band who’s also from Sydney went on called, Bloods. Normally The Preatures headlined, but they had to get an early start in the morning so Bloods played while they did a meet and greet after their set. These three have the cutest little names, MC, Dirk, and Sweetie, and their music is considered to be Garage Pop. So from their 2013 EP, “Golden Fang,” this is “Back to You.” So now I finally need to get to some shows that you actually can go to. So this Tuesday, April 7th, Milky Chance will be at The Midland at 8pm and that morning they’ll also be playing at The Tank Room for Kegs & Eggs, and doors open at 6am. And they will also be
here for Buzz Beachball on July 25th at Sporting Park. These guys were also on my list for best music of 2014, so from their album, “Sadnecessary,” this is “Stunner.”
Stunner | Milky Chance That was “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance and before that was their song, “Flash Junked Mind.” So one big event coming up here very soon is Middle of the Map Fest on April 22nd through the 25th, and if you go to middleofthemapfest.com, claim a band and make a poster before April 8th, you get a free ticket to the first night with OK Go, The Republic Tigers, and White Arrows, which sounds like
a pretty good deal to me. And if you get the most votes on your poster you win two 4-day Middle of the Map music passes, a poster, two t-shirts, two Boulevardia single day tickets, and two tickets to see Spoon at The Midland on May 18th. I have yet to claim a band and make a poster, but I’m thinking that I should. So I need to start wrapping up. On my next show I will continue playing more of the artists coming to Middle of the Map, and other great bands that will be here this year. Now, I’m not the biggest OK Go fan, but I’m thinking I’m into this song because it kind of sounds like M83. So from their new album, “ Hungry Ghosts,” this is “The Writing’s on the Wall.” Thanks for listening!
The Writing’s On the Wall | OK Go Hey, guys. This is Brittany Hand, and you are listening to Music Makes Sense on KC AIR. Today I am going to continue playing some artists that were here for Middle of the Map Fest a few weeks ago, and some others that came through KC the last couple of weeks. So this show is going to be a little bit longer than usual because it’s technically my last one, due to my graduation that is happening next week, but I plan on finding a way to continue my show anyway because I have had way too much fun with this. So going back to my last
show, I mentioned Milky Chance coming to The Midland and Kegs & Eggs at The Tank Room, and I talked about the Design2Beat Middle of the Map poster contest. I actually did end up seeing Milky Chance at Kegs & Eggs, and I would say it was worth the wait, even though I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning when they didn’t even play until almost 9 o’clock. But they really do sound beautiful live, and I had the privilege of talking to one of the members, Philipp Dausch, afterwards. Meanwhile I was in the final stages of my degree project for school, so of course my first thought was to ask him about that. So, if you were wondering what Milky Chance
thinks their music tastes like, it’s cinnamon. And I thought that was an interesting answer because at the time I had actually been putting cinnamon on almost everything, and it’s something that you can’t really have too much of. It’s good for you, and it adds the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. So I would say that that’s a pretty fitting answer. Now I’ve been trying not to repeat bands on my show, but since I just talked about how amazing Milky Chance is and didn’t get the chance to before, I figured I could play one of the acoustic songs from their set at The Tank Room. So from their 2014 album, “Sadnecessary,” this is “Fairytale.”
Fairytale | Milky Chance That was “Fairytale” by Milky Chance, and they are from Germany, by the way, which I hadn’t realized until I saw them. But after that show when I was on my way home with some friends, we turned on The Buzz and they played one of the live songs from the venue that we were just at! I thought that was so cool, and a really nice way to end the whole experience: driving in the car with some friends on a nice, cool morning with the windows down, and all of us half asleep, singing the song together. So that was April 7th, and just two weeks
later Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest was finally here, and I had forgotten that I had signed up to volunteer for it months ago, so I was really excited when I received an email asking what days I could work. I ended up selling merchandise at Uptown Theatre during The Noise FM and The Republic Tigers, and my shift ended just in time for me to see Ok Go, and I feel terrible because on my last show I mentioned that I wasn’t the biggest fan of their’s but HOLY CRAP that was one of the best bands I have ever seen live. I was into it before they even started. They had this transparent screen playing clips from different movies and tv shows of people saying Ok and Go over and over again, and when they came on there was this trippy recording of their heads in a bunch of patterns on that screen in front of them mouthing the words to the song while they played it. And I was not expecting this it all. It was a really cool experience, and I understand now why someone mentioned to me that it was their third time seeing them live just this year. You should definitely check out some of their live performances because there is no way that my explaining this is going to do it enough justice. But at one point the lead singer, Damian Kulash, came into the crowd and did an acoustic set, and they kept having confetti blow everywhere, and after every few songs they did Q & A’s with us. I have just never experienced anything like that, and then at the end of their show the four of them came out in white jumpsuits and did a synchronized dance. Not to mention their suits glowed with different colored patterns under a blacklight. It was probably the most entertaining concert I have ever seen. This is the band who made the treadmill music video, by the way, and that’s kind of all that I knew about them up until that show. So again, definitely check out some of their performances, and go see them live if you ever get the chance. Now going back to the Design2Beat contest, I did end up making a poster for a band that I saw at the Crossroads during last month’s First Friday. Their music literally pulled me in to the place that they were playing. I followed
it from across the street and ended up hearing some of the best local music I have ever seen live. I’ve seen some really good bands lately. So without further ado, this is “Televangelist” by Spirit Is The Spirit. That was “Televangelist” by the Lawrence, Kansas native band, Spirit Is The Spirit; and I’d like to give a special thanks to those guys for sending me that mp3 because it has not been released anywhere yet besides SoundCloud, as well as our awesome local radio stations, 90.9 The Bridge and KKFI 90.1. And I believe that Kansas City’s music man, concert Chris Haghirian, was the first to play that song on The Bridge’s Eight One Sixty. You should definitely check out The Bridge if you haven’t already, and listen to Eight One Sixty on Tuesday nights at 6pm. Chris talks about local music, plays local music, and even has local bands come on the show for interviews. And if you miss his show live, you can find it on The Bridge’s website. But back to Spirit Is The Spirit, these guys played Middle of the Map on April 25th, and they have a pretty outstanding bio: “They consist of six strapping young men bound by ambitions of auditory exploration. They’re armed with rollicking imagination, the nearly psychic foresight of their muse and protector Commander Coby, and aspirations to play the first concert in outer space. Spirit is the Spirit embraces the tension between their love of lush, pastoral arrangements, tender-hearted sing-along hooks, and an insatiable urge to build walls of soaring, gorgeous noise. Having grown up in an era when “alternative” was mainstream and conventional rock music was being picked apart and reworked in every conceivable direction, the band draws equally from the past century’s forebears of popular music and today’s lack of consensus about what’s acceptable from a rock band. Rooted in a dynamic rhythmic texture, Spirit is the Spirit’s reverb-ed out mid western folk pop incorporates unique elements that collectively construct an easy to digest, yet
highly intelligent structure of soundscapes, harmonies and rhythms.” Whoever wrote that bio deserves an award. That was an intricate description. I really should probably start talking a little bit less now and play some more music, so from Montreal, Canada, this is “Stay With Us,” by Seoul.
Stay With Us | Seoul That was “Crawling After You” by a band from Oxford, Mississippi called Bass Drum of Death from their self-titled 2013 album, and before that was “Commerce, TX” from Ben Kweller’s 2002 album, “Sha Sha.” Ben Kweller is from Austin, Texas, and I cannot get enough of him lately. That song sounds so much like Weezer to me, which makes sense because he apparently likes to cover their songs fairly often. And speaking of the early two-thousands, Death Cab for Cutie was here on April 23rd. I didn’t go to the show, and I’ve never seen them live, though I saw The Postal Service a few years ago, but I heard that the show was incredible, and that Ben Gibbard made everyone’s dreams come true. So if you’re ready for a little reminiscing, here is “Cath…” by Death Cab for Cutie.
Cath... | Death Cab for Cutie That was “I Will Possess Your Heart,” from Death Cab’s 2008 album, “Narrow Stairs,” and before that “You Are A Tourist,” from their album, “Codes and Keys,” which feels way older than 2011. So they were here at The Midland, meanwhile Middle of the Map Fest is going on, and then the next day Brand New came here. I was introduced to Brand New in 8th grade, and I have loved them ever since. I actually really got into them again the last couple years, and I almost fainted when I heard that they were coming here. I set an alarm to to buy pre-sale tickets as soon as I could and waited for what felt like forever for them to finally get here, though forever probably includes me waiting since I was 14. So
from their very first album, “Your Favorite Weapon,” this is “Failure By Design.”
Failure By Design | Brand New That was “Sowing Season” from Brand New’s 2006 album, “The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me,” and before that was “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t,” from their 2003 album, “Deja Entendu.” I tried to pick my favorite songs from their oldest albums, but it was super hard to make those decisions. And honestly Brand New was slightly disappointing in concert. I think the problem was that I wanted to hear them play every song they have ever written, and that obviously just wasn’t going to happen. But really though they didn’t even play “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows,” and that’s just sad. But the next night I volunteered again for Middle of the Map at Ernie Biggs Piano Bar, and all I really had to do was make sure that the green room was picked up, and I got to stand backstage and watch bands like Maps for Travelers, and Josh (burr-won-gurr) Band, and at the end of the night I saw this hilarious Japanese action comic punk band called PeelanderZ. Please look up that band because you have to see what they look like. They were holding up these signs that read STEAK and they just kept yelling, “Medium rare!” Anyway, I figured, “umm, yeah I’ll volunteer for that.” I had an awesome time, and I’m definitely doing it again next year. I also watched and met this indie rock/pop band from Omaha, Nebraska called Lot Walks, and they were all super sweet. I told the lead vocalist, Jaiden, about my show and how I would love to play some of their music sometime, and she suggested that I play her favorite song. So from their 2013 EP, “Tourist,” this is “Cold Heart.”
Cold Heart | Lot Walks That was “Cold Heart,” by Lot Walks; and now I’ve got to play some Me Like Bees for
you guys. I’ve heard the name of this band thrown around a lot and I never ended up giving them a listen, so I’m really glad I got to see them at Middle of the Map, because they blew me away. Tell me this guy doesn’t sound like Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse. This is “Ra Ra Etc.”
Ra Ra Etc. | Me Like Bees That was “Naked Trees,” by Me Like Bees from their 2013 album, “The Ides.” That band is from Joplin, Missouri, and their short description on Facebook reads: “Me Like Bees: Four narcissistic friends run an Indie Rock band where their juvenile
behavior brings situations from uncomfortable to hysterically horrible.” And speaking of narcissism, The Kooks were here for Afentra’s Prom last week. Apparently their newest album, “Listen” has been getting some pretty bad reviews. One article posted in August on popstache.com stated: “ If The Kooks aspired to be a retro-rock band like Tame Impala, these musical nods may seem flattering, but instead all these flourishes just add up to wannabe rockstar fantasies. The band writes from the perspective of the most clichéd rockstar: the dissatisfied narcissist who’s equally interested in the next skirt and the path to spiritual enlightenment.”
I think that sounds a bit harsh, but then again I haven’t listened to the album yet. I won’t say that I don’t like that “Bad Habit” song. It’s super catchy, but maybe that’s the problem. I actually don’t like the beginning of the song, or most of it really, but that chorus is a little too good. But instead of playing a somewhat decent song that’s overplayed on the radio, I’m going to play another oldie for all of your nostalgic pleasures. So, this is “Naive.”
Naive | The Kooks That was “Ooh La” by The Kooks from their 2006 album, “Inside In / Inside Out,” and yes, I am feeling nostalgic. So here’s a
song that I had never heard before until just a few days ago instead. This is “Favored” by La Guerre. That was “Tame One,” by Your Friend from her 2014 album, “Jekyll/Hyde,” and before that was “Favored” by La Guerre from her new album, “Sapphires.” La Guerre comprises Katlyn Conroy, a singer/songwriter from Lawrence, Kansas; and Your Friend, also from Lawrence, comprises Taryn Miller, who describes herself as a problem child. Now there’s this band from the UK that was here on Wednesday at recordBar called Wolf Alice. I have been obsessed with them lately, so I’d love for them to conclude my final show. I hope you
guys have enjoyed it; I know that I loved putting it together. I presented my final degree project a few weeks ago, which included clips from my interviews with people about what they think their favorite music tastes, smells, and feel like, and I got some really positive feedback. So If you’re interested in seeing the final video, I’m going to be posting it on Facebook with a link to Vimeo. I also ended up creating an app where you can search for music using your senses and feelings as keywords, instead of just separated genres, so I will post that on there as well. My degree project has been quite the rollercoaster, but I am really happy with how it turned out, and tonight
the public can check it out at our senior show from 5-8 in the Irving Building at the Kansas City Art Institute. Now it’s time for some Wolf Alice. This is “We’re Not the Same,” on KC AIR. Thanks for listening!
We’re Not the Same | Wolf Alice
Friday | April 24th
THE APP ...I Survived
THE TIME HAS COME THAT I AM FINALLY DONE. I’VE REACHED THE END OF THE SEMESTER. OF COLLEGE. OF SCHOOL. I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT IT’s REALLY HERE. GOODBYE FOREVER. -b.hand