Jace Clayton deftfully opens his essay on Vince Staples with a description not of the TOPICS he intends to write about—Vince Staples, noise, violence—but with a description of a SOUND, the sound (and corresponding silence) that ends Staples’ debut record.
For this week (Friday), I want you to try writing an opening to your Essay 2 that is inspired by the way Clayton opens his essay on Staples & noise. Focus on 1 sound in particular and describe it as carefully as you can in order to get your reader to “hear it” (imagine they’ve never heard this song/sound before). I suggest you listen to your song at least three times to choose your sound (like we did during the Zoom exercise). Strategies for describing your sound:
—compare this sound to something else the reader may have heard (does this beat sound like a “robot,” a “machine”? does this singing sound “angelic” or like “birds” or like “yelling”?
–consider the length of this sounds: does it go on for what seems like a long time? or is quite short? somewhere in the middle? Time it on your phone: how many seconds does it last?
–does this sound repeat throughout the song? is it repeated in an ongoing way throughout the song (like a drumbeat) or is it only repeated a couple of times (like the lyrics in a song’s refrain/chorus)?
Lastly, notice how Clayton includes his own emotional (and intellectual) experience of listening to this sound for the first time and then for a second time (“When I learned this tear…was intentional, I was shocked…”). Include a short paragraph describing your own experience listening to this sound for the first time and then re-listening to this sound a second, third, and fourth time. Write about differences you notice in your experience.
Share your new beginning to Essay 2 as a comment below.
In the song “wishing well”, by juice wrld there is a beat in the background that sounds like a piano. It gives the song a nice soft sense to it. The piano playing repeats throughout the song kind of sounding like a lullaby. At the middle of the song the piano stops playing for a little bit then the sound of clapping replaces it as the rapper pauses a little bit, as soon as he starts backs the piano comes back.
In the song “06”, the song was very different from most songs. The song was very short and the beats were different than most beats we hear in music today. The beat that I choose was the main beat at the beginning of the song, or the beat that starts off the song then later has different sounds come and surround it. It repeats over and over until it gets randomly cut off at the end of the song by a static noise , it sounds like a ring tone of someone’s phone, which later has added sounds from that person’s surroundings or place they are at. Listening to the song the first time I noticed how different the song is , but listening to the song a second,third, and fourth time I noticed the different harmony in the song and different beats that work together to make the song.
Kamille,
Great opening in your first paragraph’s description of this repeating piano sound in your song.
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
1. Beyoncé’s “Freedom” featuring Kendrick Lamar is an upbeat and motivational song. As soon as the song starts we can already tell how intense the song is going to be. There’s a particular sound that I hear constantly throughout the song and it’s like a very old piano, it’s very hard to explain because I never heard that sound before but it’s very different and reminds me of a choir. This sound starts at the beginning and continues on throughout the song, I could clearly hear it while listening to the whole song. In my opinion this sound gives the song more of a badass sound and makes the song more “powerful”.
2. When I first listened to the song “06”, I paid attention to the instruments rather than what Clayton was singing. The instrumental in this song is very unique and it caught my attention to the point where I didn’t comprehend what the artist was saying in the song . The second time I listened to the song, I made sure I paid more attention to what the artist was saying in the song rather than the instrumentals. Midway through listening to the song, I could hear this sound that wasn’t very loud but it was distinctive to me and it distracted me from listening from the rest of the song. Also, the second time I listened to the song it felt more like a sad song and the lyrics outshine everything. I actually understood what the song was actually about and I relate to it somehow.
Maram,
Good start with your opening description of Beyonce’s “Freedom”; BUT, can you describe your sound a bit more specifically? I’m confused as to how a sound can be like a piano but also a choir, so if you could explain that and also the specific parts of the song (Verse, Chorus, etc.) where the sound repeats in a bit more detail, that would all be great.
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
“Everybody” by Logic is about his own life experience dealing with racism. Soon as the song starts, it catches me off guard. Within one second of the song playing, Logic starts singing with an aggressive tone. But what catches my attention is the background music of what I believe to be a group of people humming. The humming sound repeats itself throughout the entire song. But if you deeply focus on that sound you start hearing different things. For a second I thought it was saying “huh, huh, huh”, after that I kept hearing “oh, oh, oh”. I think the humming sound in the background goes really well with the entire song and adds a soothing tone. Without this sound added to the music, it wouldn’t be “Everybody”.
When I first listened to “o6”, I was confused. The first 20 seconds into the song it was just random instruments and sounds playing. This song is only 48 seconds long compared to songs now which are at least 2-3 minutes. Usually, the lyrics don’t take that long to start but Vince started off differently. One sound that I want to focus on is the “robot” sound beat. It plays throughout the entire song. It’s hard to explain this particular sound that he used. It almost sounds like beatboxing if you combine all of the background music together. Listening to this beat makes me feel like I am at a 90s retro party.
Mehreen,
Fabulous work with your description of the background humming in “Everybody” and how your hearing of this sound changes over the course of repeated listens.
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
In the beginning of the song “Where Is The Love” by the Black Eyed Peas, the song is upbeat and happy. If you really listen to the lyrics, they’re more serious than they are happy. This song is trying to relay the message that there is still hate in this world when it comes to skin color. “But if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate, and to discriminate only generates hate”.
I would relate the sound of this song to yelling but not in an aggressive way. They are trying to get the point across that there should be more love in this world so they sound passionate when they are singing. The sound is in the beginning and the end of the song but the sound starts to calm down more in the middle (the chorus).
When I first listened to this song, I was still young and didn’t understand the true meaning behind it because i would just pay attention to the beat. Now that I chose this song for Essay 2 and after listening to it several times, all the lyrics make sense now. The tone of their voices and the lyrics wok together in way that represents passion.
Great work with this opening for your Essay 2, Alexandria.
Can you try to describe in a bit more detail some of the sounds—aside from the aggressive vocals—that lend this song an “upbeat and happy” feel to it?
Thanks
In the song “Sound of the police” by KRS One, the singer described himself as he was dealing with police brutality. There was a drumbeat sound in the background that continued throughout the song. This sound makes entire song more interesting. The first line of song was “Woop-woop! That’s the sound of the police, woop-woop! That’s the sound of the beast”. Then middle and last line was also the same which shows the structure of the song. The song started and ended with same line.
When I first listened to the song “o6”, the background sound and instruments caught my attention. Second and third time when I listened, I understood what the singer was saying and I also understood the different tones of song that make whole song more interesting.
Jasleen,
In this rewritten opening to your Essay 2, I’m wanting you to focus as much as you can on sounds rather than lyrics. (I realize sung lyrics are very important sounds to consider in your song–but I want you to go beyond the words in getting your reader to imagine what the sounded environment of your song is like.)
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
The song “No Role Modelz” by J. Cole this song is emotional, the song is really nice. If you really listen to the lyrics they’re more happy. I think this song is just as important for young people today as it was back then. Just one listen to this song will change your mind. This song every beat touching my heart.
At the point when I previously tuned in to the tune “06”, I focused on the instruments instead of what Clayton was singing. The instrumental in this melody is extremely special and it grabbed my eye to where I didn’t fathom what the craftsman was stating in the tune . The second time I tuned in to the tune, I ensured I gave more consideration to what the craftsman was stating in the melody as opposed to the instrumentals. Tuning in to the melody the first occasion when I saw how extraordinary the tune is , yet tuning in to the tune a second,third, and fourth time I saw the diverse agreement in the tune and various beats that cooperate to make the tune
Lubna,
I take from your opening paragraph a small bit of your own general impressions of this song, but I want you to go further in describing the specific details of the sounds you hear. Please try that again.
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
Everytime I listen to Kendrick Lamar’s song “DNA,” I feel illuminated by it’s intense beat. The beat is very strong and gives me an alpha type vibe from the rappers bars. The different types of beats in this song are unique, and the beat drops are very vigorous. In a good way, the aggressive bars perfectly accomplice the beat. I could feel that the lyrics are filled with passion. This song is great when you need an intense song for something hard.
When I listened to the song “06”, I noticed the sound of all different instruments are very attractive. The variety of tones makes the song more interesting for me. Now that I hear it several times, I started understanding all the meaning from the lyrics.
Nahid,
Good start with your description of the “beat drops” in “DNA,” but I want you to go further. What in particular makes these “beat drops” sound so “vigorous” to you? What do they sound like? Thunder? Bombs going off? You can try comparing them to other sounds if you’re having a hard time describing them in their own right using adjectives or otherwise (deep, loud, forceful, low, screeching, etc.).
In your second paragraph, I’m wanting you to continue you focusing on your emotional and intellectual experience of your own song—just use Clayton’s writing on Staples as a model for your own writing about your own song.
Thanks.
1)The song “Let’s Go” by Khalid starts of with clapping noise which they also added a little beat on the background which is like a soft smooth and brings you in a happy mood. Somewhere in the song he also adds drum beats but not like loud ones, like a soft drum beat and you can also hear a piano also which like brings the whole song together. The whole song makes you happy, in the song he talks about that you should let your worries go. The whole song in general is a good song if you want to be in a good happy mood.
2) The song “06” has so many instrumental beats. You hear robot beat, I also hear drum beats as well. The instrumental beats caught my attention because it like their all in sync and it goes really good together. Like would you expect robot type noises and drum beats be in the same song without messing up the rhythm. The whole song I mostly listened to the sounds and beats and later on when I started listening to the lyrics, Vince talks about he is proud to be black. He also says,” another f**in monkey in the zoo”. Im wondering who is he talking about here?