Peer Review is often a dreaded assignment for students in a first year composition class because it asks them to read the work of other students and then pretend as if they have the skills and expertise to tell them how to improve it. This put-on is a problem because most students don't know how to improve their peers' work, question their own authority as reviewers, or don't think the work is worth saving in the first place. Underlying all of these problems is that the onus for peer review lies with the reviewer.
In this class, the onus for conversation is on the student whose work is being reviewed, not the persons doing the reviewing. It is up to this student to guide feedback, ask follow-up questions, and listen to the opinions that will help her with her work. When it comes to making this time useful, it behooves the student whose work is being reviewed to focus questions not simply on how the work could be improved but rather on how the reviewers experienced her work. Reviewers may not be experts on revision, but they can deftly discuss their own engagement with another person's work. When reviewers experience does not mesh with the author's goals, this is a good time for her to ask for clarification, suggestions, clarifications, and discuss possible solutions.
Of course, reviewers are encouraged to help guide the conversation if they have something that needs saying or believe they have a way to really help the writer reach her goals. However, the main architect of the reviewing process should be the person being reviewed.
For this Peer Review Session you will be broken up in to groups of four. You will choose one person whose work will be reviewed, then you will read her work and discuss it for ten full minutes (I will be keeping time, so do not stop discussing that person's work until I say so.) During this time the person reviewed may ask questions, the reviewers may offer advice, the person being reviewed may draft solutions to problems or brainstorm ideas, the reviewers may help invent solutions and ideas; really, the groups can engage in whatever collaborative work seems productive as long as they stay on task. After ten minutes I will call time, and someone else in the group will have their work reviewed (do not switch persons until I call time.)
Below are some potentially helpful questions for the student being reviewed to ask. You do not need to stick to this list, but it is worth consulting if the conversation becomes stagnant:
- Legibility
- Is the site easy to physically read?
- Is the site easy to navigate?
- Is the background distracting?
- Is is easy for you to summarize the brand in a few sentences?
- Can you clearly articulate why someone would want to read the blog?
- Can you clearly articulate the brand's personality?
- Purpose
- What makes this blog unique?
- Is it unique? Could it be more so if changed?
- Why would someone want to read this blog?
- Would they? Could it be more worthwhile if changed?
- Is the blog's scope appropriate--small enough to be meaningful but large enough to provide support for all the upcoming assignments?
- What makes the blog stand out?
- Does it? Could it stand out more if changed?
- What is interesting about the perspective and voice used?
- Are the perspective and voice worthwhile? Could they be more so if changed?
- Emotional Response
- How does the blog make you feel?
- How do you think of yourself when reading the blog?
- What kind of people do you think would actually read this blog?
- What might I do to target the kind of readers I really want?
- Consistency
- Are the colors consistent with the brand?
- Does the visual style match the tone of the language and the goals of the blog?
- Do I use keywords to demonstrate my overall focus?
- Do I overuse keywords?
- Do all of the elements work together cohesively--or are some elements working against each other?
Someone asked that I post on the blog the "rules for writing about music" that we derived from our daily readings. I was going to compile everyone's answers, but I decided to simply type out what I had written when I read the piece. Keep in mind that these aren't really rules; they are just some principles to keep in mind. Think of them as a list of "best practices"
Here is the List of
rules that I came up with from the readings
1. Move
beyond approval and disapproval
2.
Know your purpose
3. Avoid
silly metaphors
4. Avoid
Romantic Descriptions
5. Avoid
biographical determinism
6. Avoid
mere description
7. Take
a position as regards the music
8. Don’t
force songs into genres
9. Make
your writing art
10. Don’t
eclipse the artists by talking about your own life
11. Let
language come close to music as language
12. Let
language be art
13. Describe
the impact of the music
14. Be
bold
15. Empathize
16. Communicate
the heart of the music
17. Do
it for love or not at all
18. Do
the work
19. Write
every day
20. Write
early
21. Don’t merely close read lyrics
Now that we have re familiarized ourselves with the list, and listened to this Mitski track a few times, let's write a review of the track attempting to use all of the best practices.
21. Don’t merely close read lyrics
Now that we have re familiarized ourselves with the list, and listened to this Mitski track a few times, let's write a review of the track attempting to use all of the best practices.
The sound of effort. Vocals feel like they were recorded strongly by somebody weak. Not weak as a person, but actively going through a moment of weakness. It's a fun mix of dissonant and consonant harmonies. The song starts in something feels dreary but then Mitski introduces the fuzzy blown out horns and makes this song feel fun and light hearted which pretty much stretches out into the rest of the song. We also get a really nice electronic few throughout with the book ending, loud, and repeated bass and some of the instruments going through "glitches", being sampled and repeated. Though, with some of the early heavy effects on the vocals, catching the whole lyric landscape is difficult. The drums are nice and metallic which matches the feel of the song which is then greatly contrasted by the keyboard tones mostly lit in the background. I guess you could say most of the instrumentation in the song is illuminated by this buzzy or fuzzy song layered on top, with the vocals being he only thing that really clearly sticking out above the instrumentation. Though it feels mostly calm Happy by Mitski also has its energetic moments. A banger
ReplyDeleteMitski's "Happy" begins with a creepy static intro and then proceeds to have a melodious and joyful sound despite the contrasting lyrics of an unenjoyable escapade thats over just as quickly as it begins. The music is layered with sounds of percussion, guitars and fades with the sounds of a saxophone and ends with shuddering. The song is bold no doubt. It's one that I like the the more I listen to it and start to appreciate how major the use of instruments are. To me the instruments and beat over shadow her singing but both are needed to allow the song to sound complete.
ReplyDeleteFirst Impressions. The beginning of the song has a repetitive beat and I wasn't sure of the purpose at first. Throughout the song, a train is continually mentioned and I started to imagine the background beat as a train rumbling. The title of the song strikes me as what she hoped to feel but didn't. "Happy" is what she imagines but not how she ends up. The train beat returns alone and strong at the end. In the last few seconds, it seems as though it turns crazy and unorganized which represents her feelings and the roughness of the repeated idea of the train. The vocals change notes throughout the song but they don't change volume, the instrumentation is what changes its volume as it becomes more melodic.
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ReplyDeleteManaging to have a siren voice over a such confusing array of noises is something of a wonder. Mitski manages to overpower the noise that she has chosen to accompany her with her demanding voice. The track begins with an altered version of her and when the song finally begins to develop, so does her style. She speaks of what it is like when her love leaves. She says when her love leaves he takes her heart, she has no more use for it. She puts her emotion and thought directly into the song; she manages to have imagery of what her home is like, and in a since an image of herself, something that needs to be cleaned or put back together.
DeleteThe droning beat in the beginning sounds similar to when one is underwater or drowning. This could represent to when one has depression and happy visits her and the droning beat is covered by a more jazzy beat. Later the jazzy beat is skipping similar to a broken record. Or at least it seems to me that the droning beat and jazzy represent what it means to live with depression, from the small bursts of happiness to the sudden episode that drowns out the happiness. The lyrics also go along with the idea of depression or heartbreak. I actually like the illusions to the mental health of a person through the back music and drones.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the song - the static noise - starts out almost like a solo. When the voice comes in, it almost sounds like a prayer, begging for the happiness. The vocalist, Mitski, has a wavering tone in this part, as if crying. Then with the addition of the voice and piano, the new trio for the first verse of "Happy" sounds eerie. At the same time, though, there is some contrast in the lyrics. The instruments in the background make the verse sound like its supposed to be depressing and empty, yet the lyrics are "happy", about happiness coming to the vocalist. When the first verse ends, an upbeat, almost pop-like rhythm overtakes the static, yet it is still there in the background, almost looming. The contrast between the lyrics and the background music come back in this part. The upbeat sound is put underneath depressing lyrics about happiness leaving the vocalist. The electric guitar solo that is used in the transitions is really helpful to the meaning of the piece because it comes up in each different phase of the lyrics that switch from happy to depressed to happy. The song follows an ABA pattern, in the sense of emotion and also lyrics, starting and ending with the prayerlike vocals and static, and with the center louder.
ReplyDeleteEven though the song's title is "Happy" the song does not start off or have a very happy sound. The source of happiness is the singer's boyfriend leaving and she is happy that he will be gone. The song has a very abrasive beat that follows the theme of the song because the lyrics are sad. Mitski is annoyed by her boyfriend or whoever it is because she has to clean after them. She also says "to take this heart i will make no more use of it" so she may still love him but is happy that he is gone because of the trouble that he caused her. A get very mixed emotions from this Mitski seems happy and sad that who ever this is, is leaving.
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ReplyDeleteListening to Mitski's "Happy", one thing to came to mind forgettable. i personally have no problem with indie alternative that this falls under. The lyrics are very generic and they do not stand out. This genre of strange indie often try to deep or almost speak in metaphors, which now have completely over run by one hit bands. "Happy" is a track that blends into the rest of the genre. It is the type of song you come across while digging deep in your old music and keep on looking. The vocals are okay but they are don't go anywhere, they are repetitive and . The rhythm and the beats itself are very strange and are very off putting in the sense that it was abrasive. They were harsh saxophone notes and almost hurt.
ReplyDeleteThere's a sick pleasure that comes from hearing a beautiful voice over a jarring harmony. The constant drumbeat is a very John Adams-esque race against the clock, as she seems to be referencing her romance. The song paces forward, Tenor saxophone flaring, and she remains. I honestly haven't heard much like this, it's genre bending. The borderline distasteful sounding sawtooth Saxophone, the strange omnipresent drum machine, and that beautiful, near-engineered sounding voice. There is no passion in her voice to begin, like an angsty teen at a poetry reading. she flashes her range and clear tone in waves, the overall flow seems very "underground". I am a fan of this, it has the right amount of grit.
ReplyDeleteHappy by Mitski starts out with a woman singing softly. It sounds like she is singng into a fan and has that robotic sound to her, with a static-like sound louder than herself in the background. This sound gives the listener a feeling of awareness and anxiety despite the calming nature of the woman's voice. After the intro, when the saxophone came in, the aura of the song started picking up and it became cheerful and gave the listener a good feeling. The song has a repetitive nature and finishes, again, with the "rumbling" of the static.
ReplyDelete"Happy" sounds like it tells an emotional story that starts off very sad and broken, but progressively gets stronger. The instruments seems to indicate different influences entering her life, with the song ending with the most musical pieces than at any time before. She gave everything to her love to keep him, but he still ran off. The song shows her progression with a new heartless, cold outlook. It seems as if she is less sad, but what are the ups of life without setting yourself up for the lows.
ReplyDeleteThis song has conflict. This conflict lies between the singer and the band. You immediately hear a constant buzzing and rumble in the song and it isn't particularly pleasant. But while that's happening, Mitski is singing about such a happy place. She's longing for a man and she gets what she wants. The music reminds me of distractions that are encountered. But the good moments like her being laid down by the man, are good things happening through all the busy conflicts that surround us. Life may be crazy and weird and not pleasant, but sometimes things come along that make us... well "Happy".
ReplyDeleteWow. What an interesting song. The song starts off rather eerie with the introduction of this repetitive beating with a sort of whispering singsongy voice. The beat quickly picks up with the introduction of the chorus. With the beat picking up, the song becomes even more happy, like the name of the track suggests, when a horn is introduced into the mix. Despite being confused at the beginning of the song, at this point in the track I found it extremely easy to sway to the beat and enjoy. The lyrics do not particularly stand out in this song and therefore allow listeners to feel their own way about the meaning of the song and just enjoy. Meanwhile, the song wraps up by eliminating all instruments just as quickly as they had been introduced and leaving listeners with just the sound of the repetitive beating.
ReplyDeleteMitski's song "Happy" is tells a journey of joy, and the cycle joy takes. Mitski tells this story through a complicated relationship between lyrics and instrumentation. The song starts with a jagged static beat with lyrics describing a figure "happy" coming to visit. As the song progresses, the static stops and a smooth beat comes in with a touch of harsh brass. This smooth and relieving beat is present while this figure is present. The chorus discusses the entrance and the exit of the happiness she is having. When the song ends, the jagged static returns, symbolizing the absence of happiness.
ReplyDeletelistening to it the first time i thought "wow this song would go well with my blog." it is perfectly trippy and thought provoking at the same time. during the first few plays of the song i was so focused on trying to obscure the crazy, poltergeist-esque scratching in the background to listen to the lyrics i, obviously, stopped taking note and importance of the scratchy background. the lyrics are haunting yet have a happy bass line to it but the main focus i noticed in the song is that the creepy background has significance to the haunting lyrics. "so if you're going to take the train, so i can hear it rumble, one last rumble" is the hook of the chorus and the creepy background music, i believe, is the train rumbling one last time for her. **totally not finished have a ton more i can say on that
ReplyDeleteMitski's song starts off with a deep, repetitive drum line that gives you a feeling as if some intense rock song is about to play. Then her vocals come in and it's quite haunting. What she is singing about makes it even more creepy. For such positive lyrics the song starts not so positive. Everything seems to fall into place after the incessant drums and vocals come together. At first it seems as if Mitski is trying to turn you away from the song. When I first listened to it I thought the song was just some edgy pop song, and I was not a huge fan. After listening to it a couple times through I appreciate it more, but I think the long build up takes away from the actual beauty this song has. If you listen to the first part and then the second part you would probably think it was two different songs. All the loud instruments, takes away from her singing. Also the creepy effect she puts on her voice at the very beginning definitely takes away from the beauty that this song actually has in store.
ReplyDeleteThe distorted and industrial sounds that create the introduction to Mitski's "Happy" set the tone for the rest of the song, which is similarly dark and industrial sounding (though the distortion doesn't reappear until the end of the song). This tone is complimented by the lyrics, which to my understanding are focused on being abandoned by a loved one, referred to in the song as "happy", the feeling of security and happiness that that the "happy" provided while they were present, and the bleak emptiness that follows after the abandonment. Interestingly, the song begins where it ended, on heavily distorted and indistinct industrial sounds, though faster, more disorganized and more rushed, mirroring the fact that the speaker's life is slightly worse off after being left.
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ReplyDeleteMitski's song Happy describes happiness as a state of ecstasy. Instead of seeing happiness as being contempt, she describes it as being a high point. The beginning and end of the song has a drum that rumbles like a train. Her song is about how happiness comes and goes. Her song is about how is leaves people and makes them feel empty when it leaves.
ReplyDeleteThe first half the song actually seems pretty happy, but after the first chorus it actually doesn't seem that happy. It's like she's trying to say "I can't hold onto happiness forever." She uses a good blend of instruments including drums, saxophones, and guitars to create a "happy" beat, but when the drums come on at the end it's not that happy. This piece showed me that happiness is a cycle, that in order to be happy, you have to go through sadness before. I wouldn't listen to this song again, but it seems beautifully put together.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mitski-
ReplyDeleteI have seriously never heard anything quite like this. The first listen left me a little unsure but it grew on me. It is certainly one of those songs that you should listen to more than once. The sound has a texture to it that I can't really explain but I dig it. The repetitive vocals work really well- which I can't say too often. I read through the lyrics a couple of times and it is almost as if the lyrics and the sound don't line up in a cool way. Depressing lyrics and a happy beat --unfinished
Her use of sound mixing gives the listener a feel as if they were on a trainride through her jounrney with her personified character of happiness. The song builds in a very ciruclar motion where it goes from slow and almost ghost like to the upbeat eerieness of the middle back to the original feel of the beginning. Her voice cuts through the static and really makes you hear what she is trying to say. Her lyrics almost contradict the feel of the music during certain parts. In the beginning what she is saying is generally happy, and then she begins with the sad tale of her lover leaving her but the tone is seems happy and campy.
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