Discussion Post #1

1. Hi, everyone, my name is Weida Ju, an international student come from China. This is my third year here. I expected to educate from DU in two years. I will stay in Denver during the Christmas session and the summer session. My favorite band is Coldplay. I like popular music, blues, Rock and Roll, and etc. My favorite show is from a Chinese singer Eason Chan, who sings Cantonese and Mandarin songs. My email address is Weida.Ju@du.edu

2. Three features of an album review as a genre of are such as analyze the album itself, making research, give your review whether it’s negative or positive. We also need to pay attention to the features of how we use our own feelings and understanding to know the albums. We also need to think about do not be afraid of making things wrong in our own review. I think Blam, Powers, Derogatis did a really good job in music review. From reading their reviews, we could hear clearly of what they are truly think about the album, positive or negative. They have their own thoughts, and they write as if they are really important. Amanda Petrusich weaved some information about Courtney Barnett when reviewing about “Tell Me How Your Really Feel” with the life of Courtney Barnett. At the very beginning, Amanda told about Courtney’s nonchalance. Her experience of swells shut. The experience of Barnett with her releasing of album. The inner side of Barnett’s mind, and how she expressed with the lines and rhythm to the music. To be honestly, I think Amanda just adds a lot interpretation of the whole album, which is helpful for us the readers to know better about Barnett’s music and herself.

3. The album that I choose is Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon’s album Salt released in July 2019. After listening to the 11 songs from this album for twice, I realize that this album is a good one to reflect and express the singer’s emotion to us. Most of songs are with low voices and with the guitar. Most songs just sing the emotions to us about the singers but also like ourselves. I think the rhythm of this album is mostly slow. There are not too many happy songs, but sad ones. Checking out for the first song of this album, “Play the Game”, the first track is a slow, heartfelt build at first-her voice low and husky before peaking at pivotal moments for necessary relief-and it left us in awe in that TriBeCa alleyway. Like McMahon herself, it’s quiet and restrained in a thoughtful way, before crescendoing into what feels like a much-needed sigh-a testament, perhaps, to how helpless we feel in the grips of love.

Angie Mcmahon is an Australian singer, songwriter and musician from Melbourne. She’s only aged 25 to 26. Her debut album, Salt, was released in July 2019 and peaked at #5 on the ARIA Chart. Eddy Lim from Beat Magazine said “While Salt is primarily driven by deft guitar work and a tight rhythm section, it’s McMahon’s stunning vocal performance that unequivocally captures the spotlight.” adding “Her stunning vocal range takes notes from K.D. Lang, Florence Welch and Lucy Rose with a timbre that sporadically oscillates between husky intimacy and cathartic clamour.” Dylan Marshall from The AU Review said “Angie McMahon is a tour-de-force, an artist demanding to be listened to and heard. She is a musician second, and a human first. She’s put her lived experiences into these tracks. There’s a special sentiment to be gained there. Salt is an album that in ten years time will be looked back on as being pivotal in the shaping of so many artists.” Kayleigh Hughes from Consequence of Sound said “Salt exhibits McMahon’s lyrical prowess time and time again.” adding “For those who are feeling lost and needing to really listen, Salt will speak loud.”

Let’s then listen carefully of some songs from this album and checking out for what she tries deliver to us. This song is with a low voice and slow rhythm. Guitar is the very outstanding musical instrument that used in this song. With the lyrics, we know that it trying to say that “I don’t know how to play the game

You say that we’re not playing We’re not playing well And I’m not proud of all the loud things I’ve been saying I lost my way inside our house”. It completely describes about the singer’s hesitation, the unconfident, and the negative feelings toward the other person and the life that she lived. “I don’t know how to play the game. You say that we’re not playing. We’re not playing well” is the main theme of the song. The second song that I want to share is Missing Me. This song also has the low voice, the slow tempo. The lyrics tells about “Loving you has thrown me. Loving you is lonely. Loving you is lonely. Oh, you can swagger. You can gather attention. But I’m sick of your photographs. I’m so sick of your photographs. Oh, you can chatter. You can talk me to nothing. But I’m tired of being your sweetheart. I’m tired of being your sweetheart”. This lyrics tells about the hesitation and the failure of the singer to her lover and the love. It seems the young men or people always have these type of negative feelings and emotions in their lives. The artists especially have the sensitiveness in knowing people’s feelings in love. This song not only describes about the failure of the love but also this song full of the doubt of the singer to herself. It maybe not a good thing for people to miss themselves in the relationship. This album is expressing the negative feelings of the singer mostly.