Misfire by Sarah Varney and Paul Frey

0:01      Voice, violin

0:22      Voice, drums like heart beat

0:39       Crunch, can opens, pouring beverage

0:44       Feet on gravel

0:53       Transitions into maraca

0:51        Thunder

0:55        Violin

0:56        Panting

1:07        Waves

1:25         Voice

1:30         Commercial song with full band

1:40         Voice, drums heart beat

1:58         Violin

2:09         Static

2:24         Wind chime like instruments transitioning into something reminiscent of the music in Alfred Hitchcock’s films

2:32         Violin, water drops

2:44         Slurp

2:45         Crunch, can opens, pouring beverage

2:49         Gravel

2:53         Violin

3:02         Panting

3:07         Rain wind

3:25          Slurp, burp, violin

3:48         Voice

3:55         Voice, heart beat drum, violin, commercial

4:12          Silence

I found this podcast very interesting.  It “is an experimental sound piece that blends 1940s Dr. Pepper radio ads, original violin music, and sounds of thirst and thirst-quenching.”  The transitions were designed with purpose: though uncommon in most musical pieces, many were choppy or sudden.  I believe that this decision provided the piece with more interest, as it allowed the listener to focus on each set of sounds, rather than hearing them as a singular piece.  The sounds worked together beautifully to tell the intended story.  The Dr. Pepper radio ads combined with the opening of the cans, pouring of the beverage, slurping, and burping provide an ideal image.  They allow the listener to see an individual experiencing the refreshment of a cold soda.  Beyond that, the sounds of the panting and feet running on gravel, can cause the listener to sympathize with the individual that the piece has suggested; an individual who, one can assume by that noise, has been exerting him or herself and is exhausted.  Therefore, the soda appears even more appealing and deserved.  There are several other ways to interpret the piece, but, based on the design of the sound clips, that was what I felt was the purpose for the listener to grasp.

Isabel Barbosa

The audio clip began with erie, abrupt, repetitive sounds that seemed to echo each other and enter and odd times. Then an low toned male voice entered speaking in a dark matter. The voice kept using the words black in each sentence and used different historical, factual, and dark, dimal references. “The Blackness of” would usually be used, to describe the depth of black itself.

An echoing technique would often be used and intensified to translate the deep, creepy feeling associated with black. The final editing touch to the clip had a tremendous effect: the male voice kept going, but all other sounds were cut. This stressed what the male voice was saying because the actual content of what he was saying was that “black” was at the root of everything; the core.

• 0:19 Footsteps
• 2:02 Dishes
• 3:03 Finger Snapping
• 3:18 Eating Utensils
• 4:04 Food being Fried
• 4:18 Adam biting into an onion ring
• 6:29 Waitresses talking
• 7:30 Eating Utensils clinging to plates
• 7:31 laughter
• 7:32 Costumers Talking

Reflection

I chose this audio because it incorporates exactly what I’m doing here. We are using our ears to tell us a story instead of using our eyes. The audio started off with the narrator walking through a hallway to the actually eating area and with each step the light are getting dimmer. By time he is seated he can’t see anything and that’s when hi meal begins. The experience was as if he were an actual blind person eating dinner and that’s what he found most interesting. At first he was a little antsy because it is a natural action that human body does. The eyes are working over time to see even though the mind knows that there is no way that it’s going to see anything. However, when one sense is lost, the others are heightened. The narrator heard everything clearer and things that he normally ate tasted better.  The waitress in the audio explained this perfectly,she used a carrot as an example; she said that when we see a carrot the mind tells us what its supposed to taste like and that’s why it tastes the way it does, however if you eat something blindfolded and don’t know what it is, the mind can’t take control and you must go strictly off of what your taste buds tell you.

While listening to the audio I could hear the costumers talking, the waitresses snapping and talking to let one another know where they were, plates and forks clinging, and foot steps. It just goes to show how important it is to listen and feel things. The experience must have been amazing because the narrator got to experience eating in a whole new perspective. When leaving the restaurant the narrator described the feelings of the lights as cruel and harsh. I guess it was like a reality check because the eyes were back to ruling everything.

http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/library/128-dinner-at-the-blind-cow

http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/library/137-forest-to-desert

Sounds:

• Beginning – Wind
• 0:09 – Birds Chirping
• 0:11 – Thumping
• 0:34 – Car Starting
• 0:42 – Car Beeping
• 0:45 – Angry Voice
• 0:48 Cars Passing
• 0:50 – 1:46 – Broadcast with city noises in the background,
• 1:50 – 2:00 Voice Overlap
• 2:03 Rain and Wind
• 2:14 Rushing Water
• 2:23 Heavy Wind
• 2:29 – 2:35 – Silence

Reflection:

The sound Forest to Desert Produced by Sarah Boothroyd consists of primarily environmental sound. There is a progression from beginning to the end that signifies how this piece was put together. In the beginning, there is a lot of natural sound. These sounds are much like the sounds likely to be heard in a forest including; Rain, Wind, Birds and insect noises. As the piece continues the mood from nature theme turns more into an environmental theme. This environmental theme is the foundation of the piece with use of city sound. Instead of hearing nature themed sounds there are sounds such as; Cars, Voices, Beeping and Human Movement.

As the piece progresses more, the environmental sounds of the city soon become a background for a radio broadcast in which the focus is on voice. There are voices in the broadcast louder than others and there is a lot of voice overlap. The broadcast represents the technology of the past and towards the end of the piece there are sounds of technology from the present with all the advanced sound effects. The basis if this piece is to show the nature vs. city and the technology in the past vs. the technology in the present through sound.

Olivia Iacono

Misfire by Sarah Varney & Paul Frey

http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/library/127-misfire

List of sounds and their placement in the piece:

–        0:26 pounding on microphone followed by repetitive “WAKE UP”

–        0:45 sound of opening can leads to drinking sounds leads to running

–        1:30 all other sounds fade out except music

–        1:40 repetition of beginning “WAKE UP”

–        2:13 water drops begin in the right headphone

–        2:25 mysterious noises as well as intensified music

–        2:50 music begins to quiet down which then leads to sounds of waves

–        3:50 “Let’s start” and then followed by another opening of a can

This piece began with the voice of an older man that automatically drew attention to the listener because it was something that is not heard on a regular basis.  When the pounding of the microphone started, I thought of my heart pounding and automatically began to become more aware of what I was listening to.  This, along with the man saying “wake up,” helped me to concentrate on the audio.  As the podcast progressed, the transitions from one sound to another were very interesting and kept me alert.  As one sound entered into the right headphone, it would then leave from the left, somehow giving your ears a way to concentrate, similar to how we read. Also, the violin music that was constant throughout the piece helped to tie it together as a whole.

I found the authors’ choice of sounds to be very compelling.  By using the sound of thumping, it immediately made me, as the listener, become “awake.” Also, as the tempo of the sounds picked up, my interest in the piece increased.  Once the soda can was opened and the drinking was completed, the authors chose to first use energizing noises, and then followed that by including relaxing noises, which made me believe that by drinking soda you can get both be rejuvenated and at ease.  Toward the middle of the piece, the music intensified and the noises became mysterious. I thought the placement of this intensity was important because it was toward the point where a listener can begin to lose focus.  By keeping the violin music as a consistent tie between sections, I believe that the piece was put together very well and kept the interest of the listener.

http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/library/127-misfire

Misfire sounds by Sarah Varney & Paul Frey

• Violin- :55, 1:53, 2:00, 2:30, 2:53m, 3:28
• Voice 1- :01
• Heartbeats- :22, 1:39, 3:50
• Voice 2 (Wake up)- :22, 1:53, 3:50
• Can opening-:40
• Running-:44, 2:50
• Thunder- :50, 3:09
• Dog breathing-:55, 3:00
• Radio Commercial- 1:26
• Human Breathing- 2:05
• Piano-2:20
• Water dropping-2:30
• Drinking/Sipping-2:46, 3:26
• Music-3:54
• Voice 3 (Lets Start)- 3:49

Reflection

Misfire is a podcast that combines multiple sounds such as a 1940’s Dr.Pepper radio ad, original violin music, and sounds of  thirst-quenching. This podcast has a very creepy feeling to it. The old radio ads playing and the out of tune violin in the background really made me feel like I was listening to a horror movie. At times it was very random, but I think there was a story behind it. After the first Dr.Pepper ad, the sound of a heartbeat came in along with a voice saying ‘Wake up”.  Then the sound of a can opening came in and four seconds later the sound of someone running in thunder. As I listened to it, I felt that the Dr.Pepper drink was being advertised as a energy drink. In today’s society we have T.V. commercials showing people tired and when they have a energy drink, they are all of a sudden “up”.  In my mind while I was listening to this, I was picturing a person sleeping with a normal heart rate and a older person telling him to wake up. When the person sleeping wakes up he has a can of Dr.Pepper which makes him energized and makes him energized to run. I also felt that the sound of thunder symbolized energy because it was extremely loud. At the end, with the sound of water dropping and the normal  heartbeat sounds coming back in was a symbol for the person coming back down to earth.

I feel that the piece was put together very well. Even though I still do not understand some of the sounds that were put in the piece. I still think that the sounds told the story it wanted to tell. The sounds that are confusing were the musical instruments. To me these sounds did not fit in with all the others that were in this podcast. The only thing that I can think of ,was that the music was put in to give the feeling of discomfort. When the violin comes in I kind of got annoyed, because it is not your typical beautiful violin piece. Although, I believe that the creators of this piece accomplished what they wanted to do which was to tell a story about the high and lows of someones life and trying to advertise that Dr.Pepper can make you more energetic.

cat_roomtone_mule cat_interview_mule cat_environment_mule cat_naturalsound_mule cam_interview_mule cam_roomtone_mule cam_naturalsound_mule cam_environment_muleby Katherine Fias and Cameron

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