I’m sure we’ve all watched or know about America’s Next Top Model. They search for girls to become the next model in the industry. However their standards are very high and demanding. You must be at least 5′ 7″ and if your not as skinny as a pole you will be labeled plus size and you more than likely won’t make the cut. All the girls on the show are so tall and slim. Girls of all ages watch this show and wish to be one of them. But reality is that if you don’t meet the biast qualifications, that you’ll never even have a chance to audition. I too used to be one of those girls who dreamed of becoming a model through this show. The fact of the matter is I am not, nor will I ever be anywhere close to 5′ 7″. Nor am I anywhere near a size 3. I believe that this show advertises false hope to young girls growing up. Tyra Banks tell these women that they are role models for young girls around the world and yet, how many girls really look like them? I’m not pinpointing only this show.  You can find many billboards, posters, magazines, and store fronts with pictures of thin women exposing more than a little bit. We look at them as the epitomy of “sexy” and feel that’s how we all need to be. Again, reality is that will never be. It is pictures like this that young girls and older ones look at as the stand over the toilet and force themselves to throw up every item of food they just ate. They look at these women as the standard of beauty in society because they are advertised everywhere and you can’t go anywhere or look at anything without seeing these type of women. And its sad, it really is. I’m not a bad size, I like to believe that I have a very nice body but yet and still, I find myself looking at pictures of other women who are smaller than me, or might have bigger breast than me and I just think what if. What if I was a couple of sizes smaller or what if my breast went up a cup size? This wouldn’t change my life any. I would still be me, I would still be the same person. I would merely resemble the body of the women we see in advertisement. It wouldn’t make me anymore special. However it would give me more attention for the wrong reason. We are all built differently and uniquely for the simple fact that we are all different people. People come in all shapes and sizes and different people like different things. So why do people try and mold themselves into the liking of this one image? By doing so, we are taking away the diversity of women and making ourselves just the same as everyone else. So I go on to say, embrace every aspect of yourself because who you are and what you look like is what makes you you. Its what makes you different from the other girls you see each and everyday. So embrace your uniqueness and admire yourself for not being like anyone else in the world.

—Nafisah McClendon

this is an addition to my first blog. i would actually like to hear more gospel music. i like artists such as kirk

franklin, and marymary. their music is so uplifting. i know that gospel music is not the perferred choice amoung listeners. but it is a wonderful genre of music. i think that the people who chose to listen to gospel

music are probably people who have encountered some sort of struggle that aimed them toward gaining strength through a religous source. that is how i discovered gospel music. it gave me a better understanding

of our maker, and that music revolved around this is actually good to hear. i also can see how this type of music can be considered boring, because it is, but if you search you will find the artists that sound good. there are some gospel rap artists. this type of music is expanding and growing so the the lyrics and beats are getting more “cool”.  their are also regular artists that also have gospel songs on their albums like mariah carey, keisha cole, mary j. blige, and life jennings. some of their songs are focused on a gospel tip.

i like those artists. they are good, popular artists that has made lots of music.         mehriah

i love music. if i had a talented voice i would be a singer. i love it so much. music gives me an emotional high. i can put on certain music and escape to a whole different level or mood.

i find comfort, laughter, joy, motivation, inspiration, when i listen to a select variety of music. i particulary like R&B artists especially Mary J. Blige. her music is so positive and encouraging for me. i listen to her often. other artists i enjoy is Gerald Levert, and Maxwell. these artists seem real and their voices are pleasant. their songs contain lyrics that i find meaningful. my style changes with my mood, if i’m cleaning my house or something like that, i prefer to listen to T.I. or P.diddy. i love music like i said, so i also like old school music like Michael Jackson and Prince.           Mehriah

\When I started thinking about the music topic, several bands came to mind. One of my favorite bands is called Streetlight Manifesto. Streetlight Manifesto is a ska band. They use live horns an saxophones when they perform. The reason I chose Streetlight Manifesto is because ever since I was about 6, I have been playing many different instruments. I have played guitar, drums, piano, and my favorite; saxophone. Few people have heard of this band, mostly because ska isn’t that popular of a genre. Some other bands that are considered “ska” for comparisons sake are: Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, and Mustard Plug. Streetlight Manifesto’s music is very upbeat and the horn/sax section is very prominent. Also, the lyrics are quite brilliant in my opinion. Streetlight Manifesto gets inspirations from 50’s and 60’s music, Nirvana, and look to a lot of Eastern European music to base the horn/sax parts off of. All but one of the members of Streetlight Manifesto were born in America. Tomas Kalnoky, lead singer and songwriter, originates from Czechoslovakia. I believe that he being from Eastern Europe influences a lot of their music. They just recently released their newest album; Somewhere in the Between, and have 4 or 5 other albums. This may not seem like a lot to people, but considering that you have to also account for 3 saxophones and 3 horns, it is pretty impressive. Some of my favorite songs from Streetlight Manifesto are: “Keasbey Nights”, “Kristina She Don’t Know I Exist”, “Point/Counterpoint”, A Better Place, A Better Time”, and “A Moment of Silence”. I think that Kristina She Don’t Know I Exist would happen to be my favorite of all of these. The main reason for me is the music, it is very catch and is full of saxophone and guitar solos. Also, many people can relate to the lyrics:

Not long ago in my high school days,
I watched a girl from far so away,
But every time she passed me by,
I turned my head away and quietly sighed.
And when she walked by her hair would dance,
A secret tango that only I could understand,
And when she’d ask me for the time of day,
I’d look her in the eyes and quietly say.

Oh Kristina, Kristina, do you have any clue who I am? (HELL NO!)
So listen up cause I’ll tell ya once and I’ll explain myself the best that I can, whoa,
Kristina, Kristina you don’t know me so ill have to persist, (whistle)
I’m kinda shy so no wonder why,
Kristina she don’t know I exist.

From class to class, I followed her,
But I swore id leave her undisturbed,
And if she’d ever stopped and turned around,
I’d get so nervous that I’d stare at the ground.
And then one day in photography,
I found a contact print that I could not believe,
and there she was staring back at me.
So I took her home so quietly.

Oh Kristina, Kristina, do you have any clue who I am? (HELL NO!)
So listen up cause I’ll tell ya once
and I’ll explain myself the best that I can,
Kristina, Kristina you don’t know me so I’ll have to persist, [whistle]
I’m kinda shy so no wonder why,
Kristina she don’t know I exist.

1.17.98 has been a day that I’ve come to hate,
As I walked into the video store,
There she stood as my jaw fell to the floor.
Tapping her toe, and waiting in line,
With a movie and another guy,
Why did I bother, Why did I care,
About this girl named Kristina Behr?

Kristina, Kristina, you’ll never get to know who I am (YOUR LOSS!)
This is goodbye so please don’t cry and ill let you down as softly as I can,
Kristina, Kristina, another name to cross off my list.
Another life, it could’ve been nice, but Kristina she won’t know what she missed.

I think that there are a lot of people that can relate to this song, as well as many of their other songs. I think that people should give a listen to Streetlight Manifesto and I think that many will like them.

Point Counterpoint:

Kristina She Don’t Know I exist:

http://dmig.imeem.com/music/9Z1nygSm/catch_22_kristina_she_dont_know_i_exist/

_Ihor

i am a fan of every kind of music. i have recently in the past few years gotten into country music and so has many other people.  Country used to be looked at as hillblly music that only southern people listened to.  Now, even in Detroit, people are catching the country fever.  WHen that station106.7 switched channels, they had a competition where people went to the radio stations website and voted for what kind of music station they wanted the channel to be.  In the end, country prevailed and the new station began playing country music all the time.  The station has since been very successful, along with the other city’s country station 99.5.  THey both have found success in Detroit.  One fun event channel 99.5 hosts every year is the Detroit Country Hoedown.  It is the country’s largest free concert, which sasys a lot about the increased popularity in country music.  When big country music stars come to town, like TIm McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban or Toby Keith, tickets are usually sold out or very expensive if found.  I went and saw Rascal Flatts two years ago at DTE Music theatre and it was a blast.  My mom and friends…without me…went and saw Kenny CHesney last year.  Country music is something that many of my friends and I have in common, even my with my mom and sister too.  It’s fun that we can all go to the concerts together and listen to it in the car too.  It’s the one kind of music that we aren’t too picky about and that we’ll all actually agree on.  Even with growing popularity, some will still never get into the country music hype….they are missing out!

–kristen mannino 

Music is a big part of my life. I usually listen to a lot of different types of music. The type of music that I listen to usually depends on the mood I’m in. I would have to say that my favorite kind of music is hip hop. The definition of hip hop is: Hip hop music is a genre of music typically consisting of a rhythmic style of speaking called rap over backing beats performed on a turntable by a DJ. Hip hop music makes me calm myself when I’m stressed out. It makes me not think about what I’m stressed about. Another thing that hip hop music allows me to do is to get pumped up for something. Like before I go out for the night, I love turning on the radio and dancing around while I’m getting ready. Also, before an event, like baton, I like to put on hip hop so I’m not thinking about being stressed out about the event, I’m just getting pumped up to do my best. One of my favorite Hip hop artists is Jordan sparks. I know she is new to the music world, but I feel that she really stepped up her game and got into the industry fast. Her song tattoo is one of my favorites and makes me think about how I feel about relationships.

Another kind of music that I like is country. I don’t like a whole lot of country, but sometimes I’m in the mood for it. I like to listen to country when I’m kind of in a down mood. Country usually makes me think about what’s going on in my life. This usually has to do with what the song is talking about. Also, I like to listen to country when I’m trying to go to sleep. My favorite group is the Rascal Flats. The song titled “My Wish” was our class song my senior year.  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music – 109k

Lynnette Leimback

No matter what type of music we listen to, I’m almost positive that everyone has heard of T-Pain. Almost everyone has heard his voice. So how does this man come to the scene out of nowhere in 2005 and become one of the most popular musicians of all time. The vocoder is an instrument which alters the voice to make a synthesizing affect. Now T-Pain doesn’t exactly use this. The instrument he uses for the change in his voice is the auto-tune effect (ATE). Some people may say he is using this to enhance his voice, but I will explain how he changed the music industry with this effect and also how the auto-tune effect is not enhancing his voice, but rather it is just a new twist which attracts listeners more. There are many T-Pain songs where he doesn’t use this auto-tune effect (ATE). His voice on those songs sound as good as his voice with the ATE. He is one of the most sought after R&B singers to be requested to feature on hip-hop/rap/R&B songs and remixes. Another reason why he is a revolution is because many other singers have tried it but has not had success as much as T-Pain. Even the originator of this sound, Cher, didn’t have as much an impact as Mr. Teddy-Pain. Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and many others have also tried this recently, however, still not producing as big of an impact. The two facts that T-Pain is much as popular without the ATE and that other musicians have not had a greater success with this technology proves that T-Pain’s career is not solely dependent upon the ATE. If it was, then almost everyone could and would have used this method to send their record sales through the roof. Lastly, T-Pain is also known for his ability to feature and produce a variety of songs. Some label T-Pain with his own genre: PopRap. T-Pain’s success can be shown with his single “Buy You A Drank” reaching number one on the U.S. Hot 100 Chart. Also his effect on other artists’ music is shown through Flo-Rida’s single “Low” and Chris Brown’s single “Kiss Kiss” both reaching number one on the U.S. Hot 100. It has only been 3 years since he has been gaining this much success. He still has a lot more years left to leave a lasting mark on the music industry.Here’s some links to some of his music video’s if you have not heard his voice yet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hvEsCUj0xQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6rURKhZmA&feature=userhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy-nqyfR_w4&feature=usermOE wADUD 

What does great music have? Most would say a cool beat, great lyrics and all the stuff most of the modern day music has. I believe it is something totally different. It has something in it that causes emotion, feelings, and a sense that it means something. Music does not need lyrics to get that. Music over time can gain or lose that emotional pull towards it.

In the 1970’s a lot of songs had those pulls to it by having lyrics about controversial topic. For example the song by someone that goes something like “War, What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” That has the emotional pull towards it because it was a song that we still here sometimes today and it still relates to current day events that are proceeding in the exact same context as in the 1970’s. It was about the Vietnam War, and that has many similarities to the modern day war in Iraq.

In the 1980’s a new craze was starting to happen that certainly changed all of our lives today. Computer and video game technology was evolving. Back in the 1980’s the video games were not nearly as complex as they are today but would we remember Mario the same today if they had not had a Genius compose the music for it. Everyone today, or almost everyone today would be able to recognize the theme song from it. Throughout the game the music changed depending on the situation causing emotions. The game would be all happy beeps and bops until you get to the dungeon levels and the music gets a creepy feeling to it. Even today they use the same principles in games today. The normal game play will have relaxing music and when the game starts to get intense the music will change to fit what is going on in the game. No music compared to that of the old Nintendo video games though, they were amazing to do what they did with only 8 different sounds that they could make.

A similar thing occurs in movies. Movies that are considered classics later in time all had great music that had a sense of power behind it. Like Star Wars, it had some of my favorite music on it. Every time I hear the opening song that goes along with the credits I get goose bumps. That is a sign of a song with powerful meaning and thoughts behind it. The music from movies does not normally have lyrics but it doesn’t mater because just the mood of the sounds it creates can give emotions.

Thomas Wakerley

Music is one of my many inspirations in life. I’ve been dancing since I was 6 years old so I’ve had a love for music ever since I was young. I listen to music every single day, whether I’m doing homework on my laptop or working out in the training center, there is always music around me. Music can allow you to feel so many different emotions. You can feel happy, sad, reminiscent, proud, or a number of many other emotions while listening to music. However it depends on the type of music you are listening to. My favorite type of music to listen to is R & B and Rap. I usually listen to Rap when I’m in a aggressive mood or when I’m about to go out and do something such as go out and dance. Rap music gets me pumped; the beat and words in the song help to keep me at a higher level than does R & B. I listen to R & B when I’m in more of a laid back mood. This type of music is good for when you want to go to sleep or just relax your mind. Within these genres of music there are so many different artists with different styles making the range of R & B and Rap very wide. You have your hardcore artists like Tupac, 50 Cent, The Game, and Eminem, then you have you more reserved rappers like Common, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. All of them are considered Rap, however their music varies so much from one another that you would think you were listening to a whole different genre of music. In R & B, you have artists like Musiq Soulchild, Ciara, groups like Jagged Edge and New Edition. These artists also have a wide variety of sounds within the R & B genre. Regardless of the genre, the message that the song is trying to get across is what makes the song a hit. My choices in music vary with my moods. Music can calm me, it can fulfill me, and it can uplift me like nothing else can.

 —Nafisah McClendon