Last week, despite the fact that I am juggling way too many personal art projects right now, I decided to push the envelope a bit more. I asked people on Twitter and friends on Facebook to send me requests for songs to cover. I mentioned that I would try to do this once a week. I received about ten requests that spanned genres. There was everything from Notorious B.I.G to Nirvana. I need a better way of keeping track of requests, but this week I just chose one and ran with it.
I started this project because I feel that The Daily Shoot is forcing me to push my skills in photography and as a result I am looking at the world differently. I was hoping to have something similar to music. I don’t think I will be able to create anything fantastic, but it is in the process of attempting to create these covers that I hope to learn and push myself musically. I played it a bit safe this week, choosing to go with a genre and bad I know and love. I chose the song Of Course by Jane’s Addiction.
Singing and recording is not easy at my house. There are only selected times when I am alone or have the space to let it rip. I would have liked some more time to take a few cracks at it, but that is not the point. I simply want to stretch my musical chops and see if any of these covers lure anybody else to look at a song more closely for collaboration. With the addition of the #ds106 peeps anything is possible.
That chimpanzee by the way is my daughter asking to be picked up in the middle of my take. She was not being tortured. Well, unless you considering my screeching trying to hit some Perry Ferrel notes. Week one. All requests from last week will be removed and I am open to some new ideas…What would you like to hear?
I haven’t talked much about my time in Africa on this blog, but just yesterday a friend and former Peace Corps volunteer asked if I could share some pictures, so I dug a few out, finally posted them on Flickr and added some short descriptions. You can watch the slideshow here or go to the Flickr set for a closer look at the stories behind the pics. In case you weren’t aware I began my teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mozambique from 1999-2001. I hope to tell my story in a much more comprehensive manner in my book, but I wanted to start the process by simply sharing some photos and re-entering the past. I look forward to exploring thise years using other digital story telling tools. For now, take a look, enjoy. Leave comments on what you would like to know more about:
Last week a friend sent me this link to a video of the late night breakdown by one of the pioneers of blogging Justin Hall. I had never heard of him, and still no little about his story. The clip has haunted me for a few days, as I have watched it several times, but it wasn’t until tonight that I heard my remix. Throughout this week, I have also been obsessed with the latest single form the new Iron and Wine album Kiss Each Other Clean. I had mentioned before that the song makes me feel like flying. I strummed it on the guitar today and felt very empowered, but back to tonight- I was listening to one and thinking about the other, cant remember which was which, when I realized that they mirror each other well. There is a sense of hope and desperation in both pieces of art, and I wanted to capture that juxtaposition. I felt a sudden sense of urgency to get this project done. I hope to re-do in a few days, with perhaps me singing the song instead of the recorded track, but will see how that turns out, or if I run out of energy.
It is this dialectical relationship and tension between hope and desperation I find so fascinating. This relationship is seen in everything we do: art, work, the web itself…
Whenever I speak with people about openness and sharing, I feel the need to preface my philosophy by saying, “Well not everyone will feel comfortable sharing as much as I do.” It is almost as if I am doing something wrong, and to be honest I am not sure if sharing my every thought on the Internet is the best idea. I too struggle with my own demons, and I am not so naive to think that I am impervious to a break down, much like this, at any time.
That’s the thing about all of this; we don’t really know where we are headed. Those who say they do, the experts, publish article after article presenting research to prove which ever side suits their argument best. Each of us needs to take inventory of our privacy and intimacy and weigh it against openness and community. Is what you consider to be private more or less valuable to you on the inside or on your sleeve? There is not right or wrong answer. All I know is that I have had some amazing experiences over the years by being open and having faith in the goodness of people and trusting in the power of creativity. I have written about the Heart of the Internet, Trust and Community,and Peaking Out From The Edges; I have spoken about Life as an Open Book; others have written about stalking me, or shared stories about my work at conferences. Even after all of this, the connections seem to be becoming more complex and sophisticated. After four years of living online, I am still surprised on an almost daily basis by the generosity of the human spirit and our need to be creative collectivity.
For every paranoid news story about the Internet that forces parents and teachers to cry privacy, I feel the need to populate the web with a story like this one- I recently discovered a great site called SoundCloud, which is a great portfolio for my music. I use the word portfolio, but my music is not anything that can be classified as professional, but it is mine and it makes me happy. Each song, like my photos, my films, my blog posts is an illustration of my journey. I am not concerned with value judgments like good or bad. Like I tell my students, learning is not about success or failure, it is about growth and change. Learning is at the heart of evolution. I suppose we could grow and learn and evolve in privacy and in isolation, but where is the fun in that. We could be scared or insecure to share any aspect of our creativity for fear of being judged, but I choose bravery instead.
Sorry. Back to the story, I have begun to upload my small catalog of recorded music. Why? Because experience has taught me that if you share yourself with honesty and passion and love, the universe will send back echoes and reflections that remind you that you are not a single lonely self, but a pixel in the larger picture of humanity. I don’t write too many original songs. I am not good at it, and I find it extremely difficult. I can take a decent photograph; I am getting better at turning a word or two, but when it comes to music- I am weighed down with doubt. I know what music does to my soul, and I know that my singing is awkward and insecure. I can hear the doubt and tension. I play with apprehension, which ironically is the opposite of what music should do.
Sorry. Back to the story, I upload music anyway. I guess in a way I want to set an example. If I ask my student to express themselves online, I cannot with a clear conscious not do the same. It takes a lot of guts to allow the world into your heart and by singing online, I am able to assuage my fear.
No words could express how amazing it feels when something that you put into the world so tenderly could sound like this:
and Leslie took it and made it her own. I am not sure what this means. I am not sure I know. I am not sure if I can articulate it. I am not sure you need it explained, but there is magic in what has happened here. There is beauty in these acts. There is love. There is community. This sharing and connection and creation brings me joy, and honestly that is all I have ever wanted. Please take these songs, the photos, the films, the text, the pieces of me and make them a part of you. We are echoes and refections posing as individuals.
Update: (This was written a few days after original post)
Of course this story didn’t end there. Once Keri Lee got wind of the project she added her own brand of loveliness.
I am currently sitting in a class of middle school ESL students who are working very diligently and quietly. (Forgot my iPod or we would have some tunes.) I occasionally get up and sweep the room to see if they are on task or need any help. They are doing exactly what I asked, so I sit and type a few words into this post, send out a tweet here and there, and go back to see how they are doing.
Am I distracted? Are they not getting my full attention? Or is this what the new classroom looks like? I am there if they need me, I have prepared them for a task, and they are doing it.
We are in the middle of a very basic grammar overhaul, and I wanted to come up with some interesting, media rich activities that will help them understand the basic parts of speech as well as arm them with media manipulation skills. I think this is called technology integration. Here is what they are doing:
Downloading video clips from youtube and making sure they are iMovie compatible using Handbrake
Editing clip down to 45secs and removing sound
Describing what they see using a thesaurus to find interesting adjectives
Adding the adjectives as text
Adding voice over to describer the scene (Will most likely do this in Garageband for easier audio controls. Sorry iMovie 09)
Adding a simple score they create for the background.
Creating a short intro explaining what an adjective is and does.
Having some great discussions about grammar and language as they work. For example, “Yeah but… quickly? Is that describing the dog or the way it is running? So is that an adjective? Right on. You got it. That is an Adverb!” Sorry, gotta run and see if all is okay….any feedback and on what do differently or things to add? Bringing the spirit of #ds106, web 2.0 and media remix culture to 6th grade ESL!
