Mario Project Sound-Cameron Sheldon

Cameron Sheldon
Period 5

Here is the link for the loop of the mario project. my object was the banana made out of essays with "F's" on them.

http://soundcloud.com/cameron-sheldon/game-over-long

Sunday Music Discovery 5/4/12

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 5/4/12

            For this week’s music discovery, I will be discussing the British alternative rock band called Coldplay. Coldplay consists of four members: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion. The band signed with the record label Parlophone in 1999 and a year later they achieved international fame with the release of their single, “Yellow”. Yellow is my favorite Coldplay song because the lyrics are so beautiful. After that, they release their debut album “Parachutes”, which included Yellow on it. It reached the number one spot on the UK album music charts. In 2005, the band released an album called “X&Y”, my favorite album. This album consists of songs like “Fix You”, “Talk”, and “Speed of Sound”. In 2011, the band released their fifth studio and most recent album named “Mylo Xyloto”. This album is a good listen but not their best. However, the album does contain some very good good songs like “Paradise”.

Cameron Sheldon

Mario Banana Construction

Cameron Sheldon

Mario Banana Construction

I have started to work on my banana for our Mario soundscape. I have all the materials for the banana and what I have done is this: I have printed out all of the essays that will form the banana. Also, with rubber bands and staples I have secured them all to look like a banana. This week I will spray paint the essays yellow so that they will come together to look like a banana. 

Music App Beat

Music App Beat

^ Click ^

Cameron Sheldon
Music Appreciation, Period 5
3/3/12

Sunday Music Discovery 4/1/12

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 4/1/12

            For this week’s music discovery, I will be discussing the successful rapper Marshall Bruce Mathers III, who is also known as Eminem. Eminem was born in 1972, in Detroit, Michigan. He is the best selling artist of the 2000s, and Rollingstone Magazine called him the “King of Hip Hop”. Eminem success has totaled to 90 million albums sold worldwide.

            Eminem had a relatively rough childhood. He didn’t do well in school, in fact he dropped out of school when he was 17, his family was constantly on the move and he had to struggle with his uncle’s suicide in 1991. After struggling to find popularity on the streets of Detroit, Mathers found his voice by creating three enormously popular albums named The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show. Eminem was awarded Grammys for all three albums. Before all of that though, Slim Shady (an alter ego of Marshall Mathers) released a mildly successful album called Infinite and struggled with drug and alcohol abuse which led to a failed suicide attempt. By then, Eminem’s music was starting to decline in quality in my opinion, of course. I believe Shady’s best work is on those first four albums.

            In the year 2002, Eminem starred in a very successful movie called 8 Mile. The movie describes the life of an average white rapper growing up in Detroit trying to make a career in rap music. The movie is not a biography of Eminem’s life, contrary to popular belief, but it’s considered to be semi-autobiographical. One of Slim’s most popular songs, Lose Yourself, is featured in this movie.

            Eminem is my favorite rapper because of his sudden rise to fame after dealing with family and internal troubles. All though I disapprove of some of his explicit and women-degrading lyrics, I respect Eminem for his artistic ability and unique style. Some of my favorite songs of his are Lose Yourself, The Real Slim Shady, and Without Me.

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 3/25/12

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 3/25/12

            For this week’s music discovery I will be discussing the one of the most famous songs in the world written by John Lennon, “Imagine”. This song is one of the most well written songs of all time. The song ranks third on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Its simple message and soothing melody make it one of my favorite songs ever. The message of the song is exactly what John Lennon thought about the world: “that we are all one country, one world, one people.” The song was written in 1971 one morning with his wife watching close by. Lennon said it was as good as anything he had written with the Beatles.

            Lennon wrote this song not knowing that it would be relevant 50 years later and will most likely endure the test of time for eternity. Imagine is used to as background music in countless videos around the Internet. The song speaks a message that can’t be expressed any other way. The song carries us through times of grief. In 2006, President Jimmy Carter said "in many countries around the world—my wife and I have visited about 125 countries—you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems." Other artists have covered the song over 100 times. Additionally, the song’s lyrics are so perfect. Lennon promotes peace, no hunger, and a brotherhood of man. This is the reason the song is immortal; the lyrics will still be relevant until the end of time.

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 3/18/12

Cameron Sheldon

Sunday Music Discovery 3/18/12

            For this week’s Music Discovery I will be discussing the highly successful guitar manufacturer Fender and the musical equipment they have made. Fender specializes in making high-quality guitars and they are known for making the famous “Stratocaster” or simply the “Strat”. The company also pioneered the Precision Bass that is known to appear in rock, jazz, funk, Motown, and country music. Clarence Leonidas Fender in 1946 founded the company in Fullerton, California.

            Fender struggled with finding its identity early in its career. They made all sorts of instruments as well as amplifiers. In 1965, Fender sold itself to the Columbia Broadcasting System for $13 million. Although this was a financially satisfying deal, it led to the slight decline of the quality of their guitars because of the “cost cutting” CBS. During the time that Fender belonged to CBS, an unusual guitar design emerged called the Fender Starcaster. Though recent use by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood has made this guitar popular, it, along with all the other guitars that appeared during the CBS-era, were very much less popular.

            Then, in 1985, the employees of Fender rebought the company. Out came the Squier brand. Squier is basically a cheap way to sell guitars. The guitars they make are smaller copies of mostly Fender guitars.

            There are countless musicians who use Fender guitars and that is the main reason that they are still in business today. Some notable people who matter to me who use the Stratocaster guitar are the following:

Jeff Beck

Eric Clapton

The Edge

George Harrison

Jimi Hendrix

John Mayer

Pete Townshend

And Stevie Ray Vaughn.

            I personally own and play a Fender Stratocaster with a sunburst finish. I love playing it because it is easy to play and many of my idols have used it in the past.

Cameron Sheldon