more talking - 6a

Check the article HERE.

All video used in this blog stolen from the Walt Disney doc "How Walt Disney Films are Made"

happiest little town on earth - 6b

all work and no play makes jack a dull boy - 5b

Salvador Dali's Eye - 5a

 

"The Eye" by Salvador Dali, original framing

Re-framing of "the Eye"

 The reason I was most drawn to the original image is due to the fact that I've been a fan of Salvador Dali since I was in the first grade. His bizarre, other-worldly paintings have always appealed to my fascination with the bizarre and the surreal, and he is by far my favorite artists. This image, The Eye, is one of his more inherently spooky pieces of work, in my opinion. For the re-framing, I chose to focus on the most prominent object in the painting, which is the titular eye. The difference between the two images is vast, and it becomes abundantly clear why Dali chose to set the object the way he did in the original painting.

If you take a look at Dali's other works, it isn't uncommon for his paintings to be absolutely bursting with activity, which makes The Eye somewhat peculiar in its sense of desolation. There is no question as to the subject of the painting, however. Dali uses the lines running along the bottom of the image to lead the viewer directly towards the floating mass in the background of the image. Since the lines also start to draw closer to one another as they disappear into the horizon, the lines are also a clever way of creating depth within the image.

Also, in utilizing the idea of rule of thirds, the audience’s eyes would theoretically already be drawn directly to the floating eye based on its positioning alone. Even if the eye were placed elsewhere, and without the lines, however, it would be difficult for the object to go unnoticed. Dali’s use of space ensures this. We are presented with a barren setting, with only a few mountains peppering the background. This complete absence of visual components elsewhere makes the floating eye, strange enough in its own right, completely striking as the most prominent object within the frame.
Dali no doubt chose to use this complete poverty of other objects in the frame to create a much more striking contrast between the “normal” surroundings and the “abnormal” object occupying these surroundings.

for your critiquing... my song.

hey there, little red riding hood

I’m a big fan of psychobilly music, which is kind of the bastard son of rockabilly and punk. One of the major tenants of psychobilly is paying homage to one’s roots, and often that manifests itself in cover songs. One of my absolute favorite songs by a band called The Meteors is actually a cover of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs’ song Little Red Riding Hood. The lyrical content of the two songs is the same. At no point do The Meteors alter the actual lyrics. The song is a slightly more sinister, sexual take on the Little Red Riding hood story. It’s sung from the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective as he tries to convince Red that he can be trusted and that she should stray from the path and walk with him through the woods. Both songs utilize the lyrics in the same way--playing up the innuendo and suggestiveness of it all. It is my opinion, however, that The Meteors version is much more effective in relating this suggestive, sexual message with its vastly different musical quality.

As the name might portend, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs are a slightly more gimmicky rock and roll act than The Meteors. The overall intensity is lessened greatly by the almost comical approach the band has to the song. The intensity is broken in parts by the wolf-like noises the lead singer makes, and the breaks in the song where he chooses to speak instead of sing. The sound is slightly dated, mostly due to the tambourine present that gives the entire song a sort of 60s vibe. The speed is fairly similar to the cover The Meteors did, as is the overall timbre and organization. As with the intensity, however, the rhythm varies to a large degree, with Sam the Sham creating a slightly more upbeat sound. This is due largely to the instrumentation and lack of intensity.

The Meteors, on the other hand, create a much darker, more intense version of Little Red Riding Hood. The song is driven by heavy, electric guitar that drives the entire song. The vocals of the lead singer, P. Paul French, varies greatly from Sam the Sham. He hits the higher pitch that Sam the Sham does, but for the most part, his voice stays at a low, guttural growl, making him sound more like the Big Bad Wolf in the song. The instrumentation adds to the dark intensity of the song. The electric guitar, double bass and drums are simple but compliment each other well, without the tambourine or anything else to distract from the song. The overall rhythm is far less upbeat and is instead dark and seductive, with the lead singer’s vocals sounding evil enough to believe that he might be the Big Bad Wolf he’s singing about.

Just because The Meteors are one of my favorite bands doesn’t automatically make them win out in this scenario, but, I do happen to enjoy their version of Little Red Riding Hood a lot more. The original song is a fun, almost campy kind of novelty song, but what P. Paul French’s vocals do for characterizing the Big Bad Wolf is helped so much by the driving guitar and heavy rhythm brought on by the drums and bass. What results is a much darker, more interesting song than the original and one of my all-time favorite songs.

an apathetic soundscape

Note: I have no clue why the divshare player is acting so wonky. There's no image, but you can hear the soundscape if you let it play.

the two I critiqued are Shannon McAdoo's and Haley Posey's.