Moments that Changed Rock History

For me, one event changed the face of rock n' roll forever. It was the Monterey Pop Festival, held at the fair grounds in Monterey California in 1967. It was the first widely promoted and heavily attended rock festival in history, and it paved the way for many other large festivals like Woodstock. It kick started the famous "Summer of Love" bringing the counter culture of hippies and rock n roll to the public spotlight. The Monterey Pop festival was the stage for the first major American performances for Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding. Without the success of the festival, it is very probable that the more famous Woodstock festival would have never taken place. Perhaps the most famous moment of the festival occurred when Jimi Hendrix ended his show with a cover of Wild Thing, where he placed his guitar on the ground, knelt before it, soaked it in lighter fluid and set it aflame, before smashing it onstage. This performance single handedly launched Hendrix's career in America. The festival was also a kind of changing of the guard for British music in America. The Who's performance helped them grow in popularity and take over the crown of lead British group in America from the Beatles.

Talking About Drugs

There are many different viewpoints on drugs, and people can argue for hours about them, but one thing that can be agreed on is that drugs pose a huge presence in college. It is hard to go anywhere without seeing some kind of drug use and abuse. From my experience, the drugs used by the most people in college are alcohol and tobacco. To a lesser extent marijuana is also used, but not in the numbers as either of the two. Alcohol is by far the most accepted drug in my social circle. Tobacco is seen as a bad habit to some and a necessary evil to others and marijuana divides into ardent supporters and detractors. Caffeine is also used by almost everyone I know, but it isn't viewed as a drug by anyone I talk to. Anything "harder" than those drugs is taboo to most of the people I talk to. It is surprising how easy it is to get drugs in college. Someone can get anything from Ritalin to LSD fairly easily and cheaply. To me, drugs seem like a way for people here to escape the stress of college. They work all week and then on the weekend inebriate themselves with their drug of choice to help forget the week. It is hard to tell if this is helping or hurting them.

Music List 4

Best songs to study to:
Mare Mortis - The Appleseed Cast
Arc Lamps, Signal Flares, A Shower of White - Thursday
When Water Comes to Life - Cloud Cult
Water Curses - Animal Collective
Welcome Ghosts - Explosions in the Sky

All these songs are just instrumentals, without lyrics, so they help to give some ambient noise in the background without being too involving to distract me, perfect for studying to.

Senior Interview

For my interview a senior project, I interviewed my roommate’s older brother, a psychology major graduating in the spring, and his girlfriend, an English major also graduating this spring. One thing that I found interesting in both interviews is that both of them changed their majors at least once since they started going to San Jose State. Daniel, my roommate’s brother, was originally biology major before he decided to change and Christina was chemistry major, then a psyche major and finally decided on English. Something that they said took a while to get used to in college was the freedom from parents or other adults telling them when to do things. For the first time in the lives they had complete control of their lives and what they did with it, and the first semester of freshman year was hard to pass because they didn’t do any homework and just had fun. The biggest advice they had for me as a freshman was that it is important to get good study habits going early and to not skip classes, so that you don’t fall behind right off the bat and have to play catch up.

Scholarly Journal Article Summary

For my scholarly journal to summarize, I chose an article from the June issue of the Journal of Popular Music Studies. The article was entitled "A Complete Loser: Masculinity and it's Discontents in Elvis Constello's My Aim is True and The Year's Model." I chose this article because I am a fan of Elvis Costello and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about him that what I have learned just from listening to his music.
The article began with a quote from Costello, where he states that he knows only two motivation points for writing his songs: revenge and guilt. Costello's music was described as a shot against femininity in the '70's. However, the write of the article suggests that Costello wasn't a chauvinist, and instead challenged what masculinity meant and creating his own new persona. Costello was the first artist to self-examine his own preoccupation with masculinity, which confused listeners in the beginning into thinking Costello was a one-trick pony who only wrote about getting revenge against ex loves. However, his songs were the first in rock where the man was admitting total defeat at the hands of a woman, and they were without self-pity or macho revenge.

MUSE Workshop

For my first MUSE workshop, I went to a workshop called "Making Learning Styles Work For You." In this workshop, the instructor taught us about the different learning styles, and how we can find what our learning style is and how to use it to our advantage. There are 3 major learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn through seeing. These learners need to see the teacher's body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They should use visual aids like diagrams, have a clear view of the teacher in class, and visualize information in their head to help memorize it. Auditory learners learn through listening. They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. They should read the text aloud while reading, create mnemonics to help memorize, and use a tape recorder during lectures to listen to later. Kinesthetic learners learn through doing. Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach. They should take frequent breaks while studying, exercise while studying, and use bright colors to highlight material.
In the workshop, I learned that I was a visual learner, and since then I have been employing the study tips that the teacher gave out, like visualizing whatever I am studying in my mind, and it seems to be helping.

Study Tip #3

If you begin studying before you think you need to, you can go at a more relaxed pace, increasing the possibility that you’ll retain what you learn. Because the stress can make it more difficult to remember certain facts, avoiding the stress of cramming can help you learn more efficiently. If you do most of your studying in the same place, you not only reduce the risk of losing important papers, but you can condition yourself to be more ready for learning when you sit down there. Be sure to pick a place that’s quiet, distraction-free, and clutter-free.

Music List #3

1) Still Fly - The Devil Wears Prada
I can't understand anything they are saying, because the singer screams ever lyric. Also, there is no rhythm, the drums are muted, and there is no bass whatsoever.
2) Dance dance - Fall Out Boy
The lyrics really have no meaning, and the music is something a 4 year old could play.
3) Fix Your Face - Dillinger Escape Plane
Again I have no idea what the singer is screaming about, and it sounds like the drummer is just hitting his cymbal over and over again.
4) High and Dry - Radiohead
I love every single song by Radiohead except this one. For some reason it just grates on me and I have to skip it every single time.
5) Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals
It might not be a horrible song, but I've heard it way to many times at weddings.

Talking About Sex

I think the biggest sexual pressure that freshman face when entering college is the pressure to fit in with everyone else, even if it means going beyond what you are comfortable with. As people try to fit in and find new friends in a strange environment, they can feel the pressure to engage in sexual activities that they aren't ready or comfortable with. The biggest form of pressure freshmen feel is peer pressure. If all of your friends are sexually active and broadcast that they are, someone can feel pressured to start having sex.
I've never Googled someone before or after a date and I don't plan on it. The internet is a scary place, where a lot of the stuff is either false or very confusing. I would much rather find out about the person by actually meeting them than by reading things online.
Advice I would have for someone who will be entering college next year would be this:
1.) The decision to have sex should be your own. It shouldn't be influenced by pressure from outside people or by drugs/alcohol.
2.) Your partner should also be comfortable with the decision and feel no pressure.
3.) You should trust and respect your partner.
4.) Know your partner, and if they have any STDs

The most important thing is communication with your partner. That way both of you know know where the other stands and if you are both comfortable. Remember that not everyone is doing it, and that there is no rush to jump into any sexual relationship.

Music List #2

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles
Time to Pretend - MGMT
Cigarettes and Alcohol - Oasis
Soma - The Strokes
The Drugs Don't Work - The Verve

My favorite song out of these is probably Time to Pretend by MGMT, but not because of its references to either sex or drugs, but just because its an awesome song.

study tip #2

A good way to study for tests is to use the M.U.R.D.E.R. acronym. The "M" stand for mood, "U" stands for understanding, "R" is recall, "D" is digest, "E" for expand and "R" is for review. Mark what you don’t understand and recall the information that you do. Go back and look over the information not understood in an effort to digest it. If you don’t understand, even after using separate sources, begin to ask questions in an effort to understand. Review the material that you do understand and use the strategies that helped you to learn this material to understand new material.

Music Memories #1

From a very early age, my parents had a huge influence on what music I listened to. At 5 years old, I was rocking out to Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Smiths, etc; bands that none of my other classmates had heard of. As I grew, the base of music my parents started me on greatly influenced what I listened to on my own. At 10 years old I was obsessed with Dave Matthews band and the Beach Boys, something rather unusual for someone my age. I don't know if I related to the lyrics all that much, but since I started taking guitar and piano lessons at an early age, music with complicated structes and layered instruments really appealed to me. My taste in music hasn't really changed, but as I have grown I've been exposed to more music, allowing me to broaden the range of styles I listen to.

Google This

When I googled myself, I was surprised at how many people shared my name. My name came up with 32,000 results, and I couldn't find one that was actually me through the first 10 pages. I guess this can be both a good thing and a bad thing. I don't have a big internet footprint, so an employer who searches for me wont find anything bad. However, someone searching my name could also mistake someone else for me. I don't really understand today's obsession with being easily accessible. Putting your name out on the internet for everyone to see, while allowing for more networking and the like, also puts you at risk for identity theft and other unwanted things from people you don't know at all.

Study Tip 1

A study tip that I learned from the peer mentor in my humanities class advises that you always keep a notecard and pen by your side as you read. That way, you can write down any ideas or questions you have while reading, and it also allows you to write down thoughts that might distract you while reading (eg "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow"), allowing you to focus on the reading.

Top 10 Songs

1.) Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys. Really nothing needs to be said about this song, it just oozes good vibrations.
2.) Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana. This song alone defined the 90's. Kurt's growling lyrics, harsh guitar, everything about the song screams angst and defiance.
3.) (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones. One of the greatest guitar riffs of all time, mixed with Jagger's voice of the middle class.
4.) My Generation - The Who. The way Daltry stutters each verse, Townshend's infectious power chords, this is the first true punk rock song.
5.) The End - The Doors. A creepy display of Morrison's lyrical genius and disturbed mind, sung over Mansarek and Densmoore's psychadelic organ-guitar combination.
6.) A Day in the Life - The Beatles. Lennon read the headlines in a paper and crafted a song out of them. Such a simple idea, yet so brilliant.
7.) Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd. The emotion Waters' puts into this song, the feelings of alienation and frusteration are so palpable you cannot help but feel what he is feeling.
8.) Baba O'Reily - The Who. Just one of the great masterpieces of rock and roll. Come on, who doesn't yell "Teenage Wasteland" at the top of their lungs when they hear this?
9.) House of the Rising Sun - The Animals. A great song from one of the most under-appreciated rock bands of all time.
10.) All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix. A display of Jimi's true musical genius, this song shows why he is the greatest guiatarist of all time.

Introduction

My name is Richard, and before coming to San Jose State I lived in the beautiful city of Berekley. I was born in Saskatchewan, Canada and moved to the United States when I was eight. My parents showed me the wonder and importance of music at an early age, and I grew up listening to anything from Talking Heads to the Who and Bob Marley.
I decided to come to San Jose State because it was close enough to home to come do my laundry every once in a while, and it was far enough to have the full "college experience." I wanted to be in this specific class because I love music, and I want to be in any class that can help further my appreciation and understanding of music.