PODCAST- Outline

Beginning:

• Will start with the comedic intro (30 seconds or less) the fades into the first verse
• Introduce the band/ how it was formed/ whose in it/ some cool facts

Middle:

• Play the first verse and that slowly fades into the chorus
• Talk about the songs features 
• Recommend it

End:

• Summarize everything
• End with the third verse that fades out into the final chorus

Nina Molina, Norah Emanuela Gonsalves, Ashley Perry

Mr. Topf

English 9 pd. 4

November 29, 2012

PODCAST Script

Starts podcast with “Palm of your hand” (2:01-2:05) then “Lazy Eye” (1:35-1:40) and ends with "Brass Goggles" (3:14-3:19).

Norah: Welcome to the Parrot music critiques!
Ashley: Every week we talk about heavenly and horrendous music.
Nina:

Start with  “Palm of your hand” by Ingrid Michaelson (starting at 2:15 and fading out at 2:32)

Ashley:
Norah:
Nina:

The song "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups plays ( : - : )
Nina:
Ashley:
Norah:

The song "Brass Goggles" by Steam Powered Giraffe plays (0:07-0:049 fading into the first verse)
Norah: This jazzy steampunk song comes from the now rising comedy act sensation from San Diego the Steam Powered Giraffe. Now what's very interesting about this band is how it has been set up. There are three robots that lead their songs. Rabbit, the front-man, The Spine, the amazing three octave singer, and the newly added Hatchwork who used to be the drummer.
Nina:
Ashley:

PODCAST- Brass Goggles by Steam Powered Giraffe

Artist: Steam Powered Giraffe

Song: Brass Goggles

Genre: Steampunk

Background Information:
Steam Powered Giraffe is a band that was originally a pantomime musical group which began in 2008 in San Diego. It contains 5 members where three of them are robots and two are human. They all met after they had joined a local San Diego mime group Troupe SD. The Spine (David Bennett) and Rabbit (Christopher "Bunny" Bennett) have been robots since the beginning with Hatchworth (Sam Luke) becoming the new robot in October 2012 from his former human role. Former members included the robots Upgrade (Erin Burke) and The Jon (Jonathan Spargue). The two current humans are Michael Reed and Steve Negrete. This unique band holds many live shows that incorporate these imaginative songs andcomedy. The band has most of its songs derived from improvisational skits and street performances. Most instruments that are included in their songs are the melodica, guitar, mandolin, and the tambourine.
Their first album was available in 2008 named "Album One". For two years, no other albums were released. Currently one its most popular song "Honeybee" which was created in their second album or first single that titles "Honeybee" after a popular demand for this song that was performed int their shows (Steam Powered Giraffe). They even received an award for being "Best Comedy Live Act" on the A-list of Sand Diego ("Steam Powered Giraffe").
The song "Brass Goggles" is their second most viewed song on Youtube and was featured in their first album. It contains a variety of pitches that the band uses in their voices alternating frequently. The tune is lively and a comedic act is presented in the beginning of the music video. The instruments that are included in the song are the drums, the electric guitar, the bass, and a keyboard. The beginning of the song, Rabbit improvised a speech that was a huge success with the audience.The makeup is always done by Christopher Bennett who also does the art that sometimes appears on their CD's.


Lyrics to Brass Goggles :(Attune your ears to the grinding gears)
Come with me I'll show you how to be a metal man
When the gears are turning and the fires are burning
When the world ticks around you,
voices tocking all the time
And you live for sleep you've never slept
because you cannot sleep
Colonel Walter was shocked
when he learned from the Nile
Copper African elephants turning hostile
So he built these wonderful automaton blokes
And a very big steam powered giraffe what smokes
Now the war is passed and over
We're left to sit and wonder
What is life and what is real?
And why do living things need feeling?
(One, two, three)
Chorus:
La-Da-Da-Da-Da (x3)
La-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da
La-Da-Da-Da-Da (x2)
La-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da
How'd you like to try pumping
lead through your veins
Or have a heart so wet and cold it starts rusting
When the world ticks around you,
voices tocking all the time
You live for feelings you've never felt
because you cannot feel
And what is this leaking affecting my eye?
Does the oil that is dripping mean this is a cry?
Will I ever be something with feelings to hide?
Or am I just a boiler with nothing inside?
I want all today
Don't want to hear you say
You can't do this, you can't do that
You're not a living thing with feeling
(One, two, three)
(Chorus)
Wind me up, turn the gears (Brass goggles!)
Wind me up, turn the gears (Brass goggles!)
Wind me up, turn the gears (Brass goggles, goggles, goggles!)
Wind me up, turn the gears (Brass goggles!)
(Part 1 & 2 together)
Part 1:
I want all today
Don't want to hear you say
I love you, I love you
I love-love-love you
Part 2:
Colonel Walter was shocked when he learned from the Nile
Copper African elephants turning hostile
So he built these wonderful automaton blokes
And a very big steam powered giraffe what smokes
Wind me up, turn the gears (x4)
(Chorus)
The song talks about the creation of these automatons in their fantasy world. It also talks about how they are lost in life due to being abandoned by their creator and their desires of being human in life.

Commentary Reflection

Strengths:

• My writing flows smoothly between ideas such as the transitions used to go into the next paragraph.
• There are very few errors grammatically or  of spelling.
• The structure and organization of my writing is well presented which contributed to the smooth flow of the ideas.

Areas of Improvement:

•  The analyzing of the songs message has to be greatly improved due to most of it not making sense when related back to the tone. Many of the supporting lines from the song had to be analyzed better and had  to have more depth relating back to the main idea of each paragraph.

INTERVIEW- Imagine Dragons

Perry Ashley, Personal Interview, November 25, 2012

INTERVIEW- Cryoshell

Martinez Diego, Personal Interview, November 25, 2012

INTERVIEW- Kings Of Convenience

Park Yoohwa, Personal Interview, November 25, 2012

INTERVIEW- Erika Severyns

Lauwen Ilse, Personal Interview, November 25, 2012

INTERVIEW: OK Go

Echevarria Stephanie, Personal Interview, November 25, 2012

ONLINE- Silent Sundays

http://www.unsigned.com/silentsundays
Silent Sundays, Midnight Wanderer, Unsigned, First Beat Media Inc, n.p, November 19, 2012

ONLINE- Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant, Tiny Little Robots, Indie Rock Cafe, IRC, 2010, November 19, 2012

ONLINE- Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys, Lighting Crying, Last FM, CBS Interactive Music Group, July 4, 2012, November 19, 2012

ONLINE- Steam Powered Giraffe

Steam Powered Giraffe, Honeybee, Tumblr, David Carp, 2012, November 19, 2012

ONLINE- Kings Of Leon

Kings Of Leon, The End, Yahoo, Yahoo, 2008, November 22, 2012

Podcast Answers

Arctic Monkeys

o What album did you listen to? Why?

-I listened to the album “Humbugs” by Arctic Monkeys because in the past I had heard of this band being good and I wanted to see what the professionals had to say about them. 

o Was the podcast entertaining? Why or why not?

-The podcast was entertaining due to the way they describe the elements of the song and the tone of voice they use when stating their opinions. There is also a casual feel about the way they discuss and how they compare the album with other artists.

o Did you agree with their opinions? Why or why not?

-I cannot agree or disagree with their opinions due to not really knowing the band and what kind of music they make. However, what they did state seems to do the album justice since most of the replies are agreeing with them. 

o What did they do in the podcast that was effective or that you liked?

-The tone that they used when discussing really makes you feel like you are able to join in and take sides. They way that they incorporated some of the song tracks in the podcast flowed along with what the speaker was saying. There were no rough cuts and everything went on smoothly. You could clearly hear their voice and their persuasive diction really made the podcast entertaining. 

o How did the podcast begin and end?

-The podcast started with a song from the album to give the viewer a taste of what they are going to discuss about and ends with their final opinions of the album where the audience can decide what to do. 

Paragraph Analysis "That's Life" by Frank Sinastra

“That’s Life”- Frank Sinatra

That's life, that's what people say. 

You're riding high in April, 

Shot down in May. 

But I know I'm gonna change their tune, 

When I'm right back on top in June. 

That's life, funny as it seems. 

Some people get their kicks, 

Steppin' on dreams

But I just can't let it get me down, 

Cause this big old world keeps spinnin' around. 

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, 

A poet, a pawn and a king. 

I've been up and down and over and out 

But I know one thing: 

Each time I find myself flat on my face, 

I pick myself up and get back in the race. 

That's life, I can't deny it, 

I thought of quitting, 

But my heart just won't buy it. 

Cause if I didn't think it was worth a try, 

I'd have to roll myself up in a big ball and die.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The song, “That’s life” by Frank Sinatra is a song in which he is critical, almost farcical about life. He talks about wanting to give up, and of quitting life. However, he always “picks himself back up and gets back in the race” (Sinatra line 36). He states that even if others trample [his] dreams, he will always get back up and fly.
One part of the song that conveys this message is not giving up on your dreams. Frank Sinatra had gone through criticism in his life having “some people get their kicks stomping on [dreams]” (9-10). This is a metaphor for people taking advantage of him and giving him a hard time. However, he realizes that “this fine old world keeps spinning around” (12-13). Life can be hard and bring you down, but it keeps on going and you will find a way to get back up.
Throughout the song, there are literary devices, mainly metaphors, which make it really evocative. It also has a cheerful, optimistic attitude that is consistent with its meaning. The vocabulary used in this song is simple but very well organized, and it clearly conveys the message.

TERRIBLE MUSIC- Hot Problems

look at me and tell me the truth
what do you do
when people don't know what we go through
they see my blonde hair, blue eyes and class
but they don't know i have a really big heart

please, don't get me wrong
i know that i am hot 
but textbook perfection really takes a lot
when guys call my phone 
and girls call me names
but like miley said
i can't be tamed
[chorus]
hot girls we have problems too
we're just like you
except we're hot
the world needs to open their eyes
and realize
we're not perfect and sometimes we lie!

i got the look
i got the butt
but those things don't make me a slut
boys call me stuck up
girls say I'm conceited
on behalf of all hot girls
those comments aren't needed

just cuz I'm pretty
i have to be dumb
i don't care about wits
i just wanna have fun
( From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/double-take-lyrics/hot-problems-lyrics.html )
people start rumors
and say things about me

funny thing is: 
i didn't go to the party
[chorus x 2]
hot girls we have problems too
we're just like you
except we're hot
the world needs to open their eyes
and realise
we're not perfect and sometimes we lie!

ha!

why oh why 
can't you see
you all are
just like me
we make mistakes and get in trouble
now you know our hot girls' trouble

hot girls we have problems too
we're just like you
except we're hot
the world needs to open their eyes
and realize
we're not perfect and sometimes we lie!
[chorus x 2]
hot girls we have problems too
we're just like you
except we're hot
the world needs to open their eyes
and realize
we're not perfect and sometimes we lie!

just kidding~
we're perfect

This song is a terrible song. There are many reasons that make this song a terrible song:

1. The lyrics are terrible! They don't have any deep meaning to them and don't really relate to anyone. They are not well thought and are not true about a lot of areas in life. They are not inspirational or are enjoyable to listen to.
2. The instrumentation is all techno their voices are tweaked with; they are not natural.
3. Music is supposed to be made because you love it and it is your passion. This seems to be a joke, which insults the art of music.