Die With Your Boots On

A potential final draft of the final project.

Comments are always welcomed. :)

Let's Try This Again. [Final Project Draft]

A complete departure from my previous draft.

Also: rough. Rough, rough, rough.

I attended a family reunion/Easter party this past weekend, and saw an opportunity to record some of my family members. What you're listening to is a selection of clips from the dinner table (and dinner preparations), pieced together with my young cousin's description of our late grandfather.

I intend to interview my mother and father in order to get more perspectives on my grandfather and our family. I believe that, through their interviews and through my narrative, this piece will finally begin to take shape.

I believe that, ultimately, I would like to focus on the "secrecy" of my grandfather's death. He didn't tell his family members that he was suffering from bone marrow cancer until it was too late, and not many of his grandchildren were made aware that he passed away in his son's home. I'm curious what happened there.

Final Project Draft

Warning: as usual, this is a very rough draft. I still have plenty of interviews to hold.

In a sense, this is an audio portrait of my mother's family. I intend to center the piece around the death of my maternal grandmother, as she is the one credited with "keeping the family together." When she died, members of her extended family began distancing themselves from one another.

I would like to include a few stories about the family spending time together, or, ideally, stories about my grandmother and her relationship with her children, nieces, and nephews.

It Just Sucks Not Smoking

Honestly, I'd love to have another go at this piece. I never got a chance to have a one-on-one interview with the young man (referred to here as "Travis"), and I'd like to include his side of the story in a future draft. Also, some of the cuts are still a bit rough for my taste.

Audio Portrait [Rough/Short Draft]

This is a very rough draft of my Audio Portrait assignment. In this piece, a young woman talks about her boyfriend's choice to stop smoking marijuana, and how she finds the drug too difficult to give up herself.

This will be much longer in the end, but I currently have forty-five minutes' worth of material to sift through. This is merely a sample. The cuts and levels are all pretty rough, as well.

Gridlocked [Final Final?]

The final rendition of the Sonic Haiku assignment. Perhaps.

Gridlocked: Eastbound [Final Draft]

This is the final draft of my Sonic Haiku. Two highways are depicted: I-94E (panned right) and I-94W (panned left). The traffic on the I-94E is stopped, while the traffic on I-94W is flowing steadily.

Gridlocked; Glaring Contemptuously at Westward Cars [Work in Progress]

This is a very rough version of my Sonic Haiku.

I commute to the university, and it is a surprisingly large part of who I am—I'm beginning to realize how much time I spend in my vehicle. So, you might be able to imagine how irritated I get when I'm forced to spend more time driving than I'm accustomed to. This audio clip is taken from an 8:00AM gridlock on I-94.

If I run with this idea, I would like it to have a progression (as we discussed in class, these pieces should have beginnings, middles, and ends). A car horn would be a nice touch. Perhaps putting myself into the piece (mumbling at the traffic) would be an interesting approach.

I'd also be interested in recording a snowball fight for a Sonic Haiku, but I've been unable to find a willing group of people. I'm still toying with the idea.

The Instruments in My Room (Low Fidelity Forever!) [Final Draft]

This is the final draft of the "List" assignment.

Two Rough Drafts: Short List

Idea #1: The Instruments in My Room

NOTE: The small group discussion led me to believe that this was the stronger of the two ideas.



This is an incredibly rough demo. If I choose to go with this idea, I intend to record every instrument in my room. The instruments will play when summoned—for instance, when I say the word "banjo," you will hear a banjo in the background. This draft does not include all the instruments in my room, but lies out a simple chord progression and ideas for a vocal melody. I will have to experiment with fitting the instruments together, as I would like the song to sound cohesive.

The vocal takes are admittedly terrible (but quirky and kind of amusing). I was just feeling out notes. I'll polish everything later.

- - - -

Idea #2: My Favorite Song Titles



This recording is pretty rough—there's a massive pop early on. I'm simply posting this to illustrate my idea. Also, I either have to add to the piece or experiment with my pacing, as this is rather short.

Anyway.

I'm interested in fitting my favorite song titles together to create a short story or poem. I may not use this "poem," but here's an example of how I plan to piece the titles together. Naturally, at the end of the piece, I would reveal that the poem/story is comprised of my favorite song titles.

There are maybe ten or twelve dark messages on a highway.

I feel like going home—
I can see it, but I can't feel it.

Your house?
Fine for now;
on my way.

Keep the car running across the sea,
adrift and at peace.
Fire it up, and your bird can sing.

"There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve" (A.C. Newman)
"Dark Messages" (Air)
"On a Highway" (Animal Collective)
"I Feel Like Going Home" (Yo La Tengo)
"I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)" (My Bloody Valentine)
"Your House" (Jimmy Eat World)
"Fine For Now" (Grizzly Bear)
"On My Way" (The American Analog Set)
"Keep the Car Running" (Arcade Fire)
"Across the Sea" (Weezer)
"Adrift and At Peace" (Nine Inch Nails)
"Fire It Up" (Modest Mouse)
"And Your Bird Can Sing" (The Beatles)

On the Road [Final Draft]

This is the final draft of the On the Road assignment.

On the Road: Draft 2 [Work in Progress]

In this version, I (very) roughly lay out an idea that illustrates the dizziness I feel on the bus. The sentences bleed together to create a confusing, nearly unintelligible vocal mess—or, at least, that's how it will sound in the final draft. I wish to remove the vocal effects when I describe vomiting in the snow, as I think it will portray how relieving it is to feel fresh air.

I intend to record the narrative again, as I'm dissatisfied with the vocal delivery. I would retain much, if not all, of the story, but my initial reading was surely a rough one. The bus recording also leaves something to be desired. Who knows? I may end up recording everything again. This is why drafts exist. ;)

I'm also going to record a bit of the outdoor environment at the bus stops, so that each location has a presence.

Anyway, thanks for your comments, everyone! The best is yet to come.

On the Road [Work in Progress]

A rough draft of the On the Road assignment.

Stories and Jokes [Unedited]

Ryan, a former repossession agent, recalls an encounter with a woman whose belongings he attempted to reclaim:

Matt tells a joke about a magic act:

Rusty tells a classic bar joke:

Forest tells a joke about love:

A Turntable Drowning Pahl [Rough Sample]

This recording was captured with the Zoom H2 Portable Audio Recorder.