Analog vs. Digital: the fight for sound

We see in the recording industry today that there are two mediums which are used to capture sound. The first is a form known as analog recording which is praised for its warm and “lifelike” sound. The second and newest form is known as digital recording which started about 20 years ago. Digital has many advantages over analog, but is said by many to be “lifeless” sounding with a very harsh tone that is unpleasing to the listener. You can see examples of each of these forms in everyday life -- for example, analog media would be in the form of cassette tapes or vinyl records while digitally reproduced music would be seen as standard compact disc (CDs) or any song in an .mp3 format. Over the years analog has started to become obsolete in the recording industry as the digital age sweeps the nation. But there are those who fight the digital revolution in an attempt to preserve this sacred analog sound. I believe that both analog and digital have their flaws, but to me each method has earned a spot at the table in the recording industry today. My paper will show both sides of this argument by giving the pros and cons to each method, followed by some biased opinions towards a particular method over the other, and concluding with reasons why I feel both methods are important in the recording field today.

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Misogyny in hip-hop music and videos

Although the portrayal of women in hip-hop have shown several positive female role models, the negative portray of women influence many young men, women and female rappers by showing the only way to be a successful rapper is to degrade and flaunt women. Hip-hop culture is frequently condemned for its misogynistic exploitation of women; however misogyny is also seen in many other genres of music such as Rock N Roll and pop. Hip-hop is also used in examining gender stereotypes. It brings to surface the issues that face many young people, such as discrimination, peer relations, and self-worth, which can be considered in order to bring about change in the misogynistic aspects of hip-hop culture. Record companies also encourage the use of provocative, edgy lyrics to maximize a rappers appeal and success, they also reject or limit the promotion of rap artist who use socially conscious lyrics. Many women argue that they use rap videos as a way to gain exposure and become financially secure. This controversial topic has caught the attention of many women who have had enough of the repeatedly disrespect of women in hip-hop. Essence Magazine created a domain where not just the hip-hop community can give their insight but also regular people who are affected by these representations. I believe the misrepresentation in hip-hop can either get worst or better. Rappers should realize that what they do in music videos and what they say in their music really has a affect on younger people, therefore they should become more conscious of how they present their music to the public.

Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

How important is food? Well , seeing as it keeps people alive I would have to say that it is pretty important. Not being able to afford food to keep you and your families is alive is not just a small issue. Do you qualify for food stamps? Have you tried applying? Would you be interested in applying? If not what’s holding you back? There are people all over the world that are applying, receiving, and abusing food stamps that they are given. Friends of mine receive food stamps and they say that they are given more money than they could possibly know what to do with. They often offer my mother their link cards to go shopping for dinner. Although it is a generous offer, it is not right. There are many difficult steps to receive food stamps, and if caught passing your link card around, you could be dealing with criminal prosecution, or losing your food stamps altogether. Not only are people passing around their link cards, they are also buying things with absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. People are going from eating to live, to living to eat. There need to be cut backs, limitations, and certain boundaries as to what people can do with their food stamps. Not only are people going about the wrong way using their food stamps, but some people are being denied food stamps because of the amounts of money they receive from their jobs. As college students, we all know that by the time you receive your pay check, pay car insurance, rent, and the phone bill, there is not enough money left over to go and buy yourself groceries for the week. Shouldn’t people who are working to support themselves and their families be able to have access to the benefits that other people get? If we all quit our jobs, and just decided we didn’t want to work anymore, where would they get money for food stamps? The qualifications should change, and so should the limitations of what people should be able to do with them.

http://dss.sd.gov/foodstamps/fraud/

Food Stamps: Something must be done

Food is very important in today’s society more than it ever has. When you go to a restaurant the portions of food you receive keeps getting bigger and bigger, unless it is that’s just me. This then can lead to obesity which is a major problem to many Americans. Food stamps are being too widely used in today’s society. It seems like the restrictions keep getting lower and lower, or it could be that so many Americans are using food stamps. A word that I wasn’t familiar with until I did some research on the subject of food stamps, was that a common word for people using food stamps are called “Hipsters”. The word Hipster refers to someone who uses food stamps to buy organic more nutrition food rather than junk food. The opposite of a hipster is someone who misuses the program to buy junk food, such as, soda, chips, candy etc. One statistic that is very shocking to me is, “Between the ages of 20 and 65, slightly over half which is about 50.8 of all Americans will, at some point, receive food stamps in one way or another” (Likelihood of using Food Stamps during the adult years, Mark Rank). At some point something if going to have to change with food stamps. If this statistic is accurate then, about half of us in on food stamps, and the other half is paying taxes into the others pockets. This then could result in more individuals in the program of food stamps.

http://www.salon.com/life/pinched/2010/03/15/hipsters_food_stamps_pinched

Do It Yourself, Keep Your Money And Your Music

No matter how good of a musician you are, to support yourself as one. My paper speaks to people who have a strong belief in the power of music and are sickened by the direction it's moving in. Major labels pick and choose what music is heard by the masses-not according to any dimention of musical quality, but by its ability to maximize profit. The worst part is that bands are forced to give in and conform any sincere expression or intent within their music if they hope to be successful. In recent years though, the internet has made recording, advertising, publishing, and distributing music independently a process, attainable by anyone. Once a band gets signed by a major label, they have all of those things taken care, but the amount of effort it takes to get discovered by one equals the amount of effort it takes to promote yourself independently in my opinion. Though major labels may make it possible for an artist music to be heard by a larger population, the music being heard is not a reflection of their identity, but simply a reflection of patterns the labels believe will maximize profit. If an artist approaches the independent method, there will be more work up front, but it's very easy to expose a large population to their music, and the music is the music that the artist intended to be heard. Though an album published through a major label will probably sell more copies, the artist will receive less of the resulting income and the reason the extra sales come from extra advertising, which in the end, is often paid for by the artist. If you want to see more sales from an independent release, you simply have to pay more for advertising. I'm not going to deny the fact that major labels are the best bet for making it big. I simply want to make it clear that the independent system is becoming more successful and as it grows, the major labels will lose power. My main concern is that people who care about music refuse to buy into the system of music for the sake of business and promote music for the sake of music.

If you want to get an idea of independent record labels go here

An Artform Unlike Most

Should MMA Specifically the UFC be viewed as morally wrong, I don’t think so, I mean it’s really not that bad. What I’m trying to do in my paper is shed some light on Mixed Martial arts along with the UFC and let people know that it’s really not as bad as it sounds. To many people it may seem like it is just two people in a octagon trying to beat the other one up but it Is much more than that. Mixed Martial Arts is something that holds many forms of fighting all into one and the amount of time that these people have to put into learning all of these is tremendous. These days you can’t know just walk in there throwing fists like in boxing and expect to be successful you must learn takedowns, takedown defense, submission holds, leg kicks, the list goes on, and basically you have to be a well rounded fighter to make it into the UFC . People may get the idea that it is really dangerous but there are plenty of rules and regulations put into place to protect the fighters from any life threatening long term injuries. Also the refs that are in there with them are highly trained, most of them were actually fighters at one point in time so they know what is going on. I don’t believe something that someone puts so much heart and determination into should be viewed as morally wrong especially when we are the ones who want to see it. We ask to see this kind of stuff and they are the people who deliver it for us. They are paid to do this and they are only doing their job, only doing what we want to see. You see no fighter steps into the octagon by accident they are aware of all the possibilities and we can’t strip them the right of doing what they love. I am not the only one who would see this as being morally acceptable the utilitarian under the greatest happiness principle states that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. By happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure. So basically what this is saying is an action is right if a greater amount of people find happiness and pleasure in it than a group of people who are unpleased by it. Therefore Mixed Martial Arts would be morally acceptable because a larger amount of people find pleasure and happiness within it.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.Rules

The Media and Kids

It was interesting researching on my topic about kids being affected by the media today. I found some interesting thoughts from authors of articles about child behavior. The media does play a big role in the life of Americans and especially in the youth around the country. It was a good topic for me to write on because I have a good amount of experience with young kids. I’ve had experience with all kinds of kids from summer day camps to YMCA hockey teams. You can tell the difference in the behaviors of kids when they start to get older and what influences them more, and you start to see familiar things in their attitudes from when you were growing up. It’s a topic that I care about since I work with kids all the time and also do a good amount of paying attention to the media. The way TV, music, games, etc, have changed is very interesting in the way that it has affected kids. It’s kind of weird hearing a 12-year-old quoting a show like “Family Guy”, which is filled with crude humor and adult content. That’s just one difference that the media has changed in the youth in the recent years. My paper hopefully has some good insight to how kids are affected by the media and hopefully gives a good idea on what’s wrong with it. Researching this topic definitely was a helpful way for me to back-up my argument and was beneficial in helping me express my thoughts.

http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/index.aspx