Growing Up with a Band

         Green Day is God’s favorite band. At least, that is what their recent greatest hits album title signifies, and to me, they are still the band that predominantly impacted my decision to be in a band during high school. I am a Green Day fan who owns every studio album, live album, and documentary. I own a few Green Day books and magazines with cover stories featuring the three members of the band: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool. I can even name every track in order from a majority of their 13 albums; however, I am not special in this skill set. There are millions of fans, both young and old, that can do the same. Music fans who have grown up with and followed a band understand this sense of ownership and dedication. While I do not listen to Green Day as much as I did when I was in my teens, discovering a band to latch onto like them was vital for making the mundane moments of my teenage years fun and memorable. 

            I remember getting a 1 gigabyte iPod for my 8th grade graduation (the fact that storage amount is so small today makes me feel old) and with that gift, came the need for some fresh music, so I went to the greatest place for any type of shopping, Target. Going straight to the music section, I searched the isles for a record worth dedicating my small amount of storage towards. Recent releases from Susan Boyle, Adam Lambert, and, of course, Mac Daddy Eminem had my attention. However, I ended up being drawn to graffiti laden album artwork featuring a young couple embracing and kissing in front of an orange and red brick wall with the title 21^st Century Breakdown standing out in bright yellow.  The artwork was blunt, eye catching, and on the CD's sleeve, Green Day was written in large, boxed, white text. At that time, my only knowledge of the band were from two instances. The first from hearing their song, "Good Riddance", played during the Seinfeld finale and mistaking their song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as being written by Linkin Park. This showed I hardly had knowledge of them or other contemporary music with my listening habits consisting of 1960's psychedelic rock and 80's pop, so with $20 to spend on records, I purchased Green Day's 21^st Century Breakdown and American Idiot.

            After listening and learning the guitar from those two albums, I went onto discover the band's entire discography. Every new album I acquired made me feel as if I alone had discovered it. That somehow, Green Day was my band. Each album even had its own distinct personality. It felt like I was apart of an eclectic group of friends, which made these records great company throughout high school. The long bus rides to and from campus were fun because I had each album to accompany me while sitting three to a seat tightly gripping my 2 gig iTouch (yes, I moved up in the world of tech). At night, I would put my headphones on and fall asleep after completing AP homework with ease listening to the entirety of their 1997 record Nimrod with the song "Hitchin a Ride's" bass line stuck in my head till I would wake up hearing the band's harmonies on the art rock song "Redundant." This became my routine with me only changing albums to reflect my mood or the situation. This continued into to my first year of college when I finally bought tickets to see them in 2013 at UC Berkeley's Greek Theatre.

            As I stood in the packed Greek Theater with hundreds of other fans as the warm up song, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," finished playing on a cool Berkeley California evening, Green Day leaped into action and delivered a memorable home town concert experience that I have recollected on every week since. Going to see them was the accumulation of each moment listening to those records and standing with a diverse group of people who shared the commonality of viewing Green Day the same way I did; a band that speaks for the naïve nature of youth, and the careless fun we like to take part in at the age. That moment picking those records was the start of realizing it’s okay to be me (as stereotypical as that sounds). You may not know the members of your favorite band, or have never seen them live, but the idea that you can feel so close to a group you’ve never met just by hearing them through your ear buds or car stereo is worth recognizing. Basically, if you can, grow up with a band. 
If you've had a similar experience growing up, which band or artist did you grow up with? 

Interesting article about Record Store Day and the act of going into a record store: 
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/736-record-store-day-and-the-ambivalent-branding-of-independence/

Ramblin Man: Why Steve Martin's Stand-Up Period Was Ground Breaking

            The act of stand-up comedy is quite bizarre. Think about it. A person trying to be funny stands in front of a crowd and talks for an hour or so without any back and forth dialogue from the audience besides laughs or dead silence. The entire time this person is trying to appease a sea of people hidden in darkness while he or she tells jokes with a blinding stage light creating a seemingly impenetrable wall between the comedian and the audience. It’s a raw art form. Some comedians have taken a more traditional route with no special stage set ups or other materials to accompany them. Some crutch their act on the naked joke to get a laugh. Jerry Seinfeld, Joan Rivers, and Don Rickles come to mind as masters of this style. The other end of the comedy-performance spectrum includes performers who use music, elaborate set-design, and video during their shows. In a modern context, Bo Burnham is a great example with his marrying of music, spoken word, and traditional stand-up, but who influenced this millennial comedian? In a letter written to fans in 2010, Burnham mentioned Steve Martin as one of his major influences. Martin (i.e. the Ramblin Guy) known for films such as The Jerk and Cheaper By The Dozen had a successful stand-up career filled with goofy antics. With his wacky nature, Martin’s short career in the late 1970’s redefined what a comedian could be and inspired contemporary performers.

            After recently finishing Steve Martin’s autobiography, Born Standing Up, I immediately searched for one of his performances online. I found a 1979 show where he was at the peak of his career. What surprised me at first was how his performance is all over the place; however, his image was focused with a tailored white tuxedo. The suit seeming to act as a grounding mechanism for the future sporadic performance to come. He approached the stage in these clothes exhibiting a suave yet clueless nature like a baby trying to do taxes. He began by singing a song accompanied by banjo about the importance of being courteous while also being “pompous, obese, and eating cactus.” Only minutes later he jumped to making balloon animals that would curse when they would pop from his aggressive balloon handling. From there, during a bit with him discussing the importance of learning French, he suddenly danced around the stage exclaiming, “Oh no, I’ve got happy feet! Woahhhhhhh!” With all of these random bits being thrown in, I did not get it at all. In fact, I disliked it. The rapid transitions, slap-stick humor, and banjo playing confused me. I immediately turned off the video and decided to show a friend the performance later that day. After we watched the entire show, I realized that Martin’s comedy synthesizes different sources accumulating into this Frankenstein type of comedy. This gave his performances a unique quality, surprise.

            Steve Martin is not just a comedian; he is a performer who utilizes physical antics to generate laughs. The gags, dancing, banjo playing, and other oddities are channeling the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and others who used comedy and performance to create their own unique style. The stellar reaction from the audience he gets from even using his two microphones in the performance by spilling water on the ground then shocking himself repeatedly, only pretend, shows his dedication. The same goes when he scrapes the strings of his banjo on one of the microphones while giving a serious dialogue on the dangers of cat juggling in Mexico (looked it up, luckily not real) showing off his creative use of the simplest of performance tools. This ability to use the unexpected aids him when he decides to go for simply taking minutes out of the show to play an instrumental song on banjo. Whether this is to inject his love for the instrument or to make his audience feel as if they’re at a country jamboree is not the point. It continues to keep his audience on the edge, and that is what makes his comedy so special; the audience has no idea what he will do next. The flare, surprise, and chaos of his shows must have been memorable for anyone in attendance; it certainly was for me while sitting in my room at 2am laughing. 

Sources: http://thecomicscomic.com/2010/10/29/bo-burnham-lists-my-favorite-comedians-and-releases-a-confessional-video-art-is-dead/
1979 Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRocmX0pF9U&t=1813s

Who’s your favorite comedian? Let me know in the comments.

           

                       

           

Hungry For Content: Visual Artists Challenge in the Information Age

Instagram is great for visual expression. The possibilities for discovering posts that connect to our own interests are almost endless with its 800 million monthly users. Using the search tab, I can get pretty specific with lifestyle products and hobbies I enjoy. A few weeks back I found search results for a variety of different photographs, paintings, and drawings of winter scenery that overwhelmed me (I have a future dream of living in a snow covered log cabin). I scrolled the page, which quickly turned into pages worth of images I was taking in. I would stop at certain images, view the profile of the uploaded work, and after then scrolling through that artist's timeline, I’d go back and continue to scroll looking at each post in quick succession. I ended up even showing my brother a few posts with him holding the phone for 20 seconds, saying “Yeah, that looks really good,” and giving it back with both of us not giving much thought to the amount of work we had just seen. Many of these accounts had owners who probably had spent a lot of time, resources, and effort for me to only take a simple glance at their work and think, "That's cool." With this whole exercise taking only minutes, it made me consider the rate we consume content. We are always moving onto the next thing. Something that is not a revelation, but worthing thinking about. 

       The Information Age is filled with rapid innovation where new technology and media can become outdated in a short span of time. In a Nielsen study conducted in 2016, the average person devotes 10 hours a day to media consumption. That is close to 42% of a 24 hour day taken up by media consumption, and I am sure we can all relate to that statistic. My personal life is a great example of this trend. In one week, I have binged watched The Office, watching all 201 episodes, then went straight to Parks and Recreation without a break. In one day, I have viewed around 20-30 videos in rapid succession with half of my viewing devoted to just the first two to three minutes of the video. In a 45-minute car ride to and from school, I have listened and switched between 10 or so different music artists with myself getting a psychological nagging to move onto another song before the last one has ended. And, with a 5-minute period spent on Pinterest or Instagram, I don’t even know how many images I have passed without much of a glance, and that is sad. Sad for both the artist and the audience.

      Artists in different mediums have had to adapt with the growing presence of digital media to reach a target audience, and visual art is no different; however, I would argue that visual mediums such as traditional painters and artists difficulty in this transition is more prominent. With music and video dominantly used as tools of expression online, art that is strictly visual has a harder time contending with the popular use of music and film. Along with the internet being an affordable and efficient place for creatives to promote their work, being a publisher of content is also easier than it has ever been which makes competition intense. Pair this with the rate of content consumption from audiences and created is an environment where artists are trying to get the attention of anyone willing to view their work (rightfully so) but to an audience taking in information at a fast rate. I am not advocating for everyone to become an art critic or become an art history major so that you can understand that the painting's use of burgundy in the background is actually representative of the current political climate or some other elaborate meaning. I am saying we as consumers should slow down our pace of consumption but also not shy away from the realities of the Information Age. Any field, whether creative or not, has to contend with change and visual art is no different in this respect. We can only try to increase our awareness and strive for some form of moderation in a fast-paced culture. I would recommend the next time you are searching for cat art or whatever fancies you, slow down, and take in the image.
Do you agree or disagree with me? Tell me in the comments! I'd love to have a discussion. 

Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/
https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/index.html