The composer for Sim City 4 is chiefly Jerry Martin with other composers like The Humble Brothers. In this game a jazz theme is carried out along with classical styles that borderline epic scores.
Sim City 4 Background
Sim City 4 is a city-builder simulation game that is developed by Maxis, a division of Electronic Arts. It was released in early 2003 and is the first in the series to bring in full 3d graphics. The game starts with the player terraforming the land. Once the environment is setup the player can begin building a settlement. The simulation progressively gets harder as the small town grows into a megalopolis. Your role is to play as the mayor. You get a group of advisors to assist you with everything from the cities budget to various services and the well-being of your citizens. This game is open ended and the possibilities are only limited by your creativity and how well you can keep up with the financial and logistical side of the city.
Terraforming tools
Close up medium sized city
Song: Terrain
Musician: The Humble Brothers
The Songs Role
This piece starts out slow with sparse instruments that sound ominous. A couple accent sounds come in that are angelic and bright. This parallels the beauty that is being created with the placement of hills, mountains, rivers, and trees. About a minute in, drums appear to give this song a faster beat and up its intensity. This reflects a major aspect of the game, money. Once the terraforming is complete, you begin to lay down the first roads and create the the residential, commercial and industrial zones. At this point the clock is ticking to turn this into a profitable city before it goes bankrupt and game over.
The song makes another transformation at the 2:20 mark. An acoustic guitar comes in along with more angelic voices. This is aligned with a part in the game where you must overcome the first hurdle of being profitable with all the basic necessities of a town in place. The player can now take a deep breath as the initial threat of demise is gone.... for now. At the 2:54 mark violins enter the song. This communicates a part of the game where the player can transition from being an accountant / business man and focus on the creative aspect of the game by spending the cities surplus money on items like parks, decorative features, and large venues like stadiums for the citizens to enjoy.
At around 4 minutes in the song makes another transition. This time it is beginning to revert back to where it started. This is very much in line with an ever present aspect of the game, it is not all bliss. As the city grows you get new problems like the potential for gridlock, power outages, or lack of high density buildings just to name a few. This outro is much shorter than the intro. This is reflective of the fact that these new problems have much clearer solutions than the issues at the beginning of the game. Finally, the song ends on a positive note with the gong and the uplifting voices.
Social Commentary
This song does not have social commentary outside the game per se. With this game being a simulation, the various aspects speak to the real life challenges of city planners.
Personal Opinion
This song to me is very relaxing and is conducive to creative thinking. It makes me think of the kind of music you hear in a "brain food" music playlist. The fact that it doesn't have any vocals adds to openness and freedom it engenders. This song is one of my favorite instrumentals and it will remain a mainstay in my music rotation.
In 1931 the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent decided to make a new orchestra. The original idea was to set up a permanent orchestra that would have a guaranteed salary by Beecham's patrons. This did not go over well with the players in the orchestra as this would involve weeding out less skilled players. The orchestra at this point had been self governing. So, the two conductors decided to build a new orchestra. The only challenge was that most of the skilled musicians were already employed with other orchestras. Luck was on their side though, the economy wasn't doing too well so there was a surplus of freelance musicians. They ended up employing a large number of these musicians. In the following year, their orchestra had grown to 106 players. After their first performance it was clear that they are a cut above the rest, and the publications of the time had nothing but rave reviews to give.
Today
The London Philharmonic Orchestra has become the gold standard in when it comes to classical performances. In 1993 they became the resident orchestra of the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames. They routinely perform at prestigious events around the world. They are also credited with performing for various film soundtracks like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Performance 1: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: I. Morning Mood
In this musical piece the wood instruments take center stage. Specifically the flute and the oboe. This is a Norwegian song that was composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875. This piece was written to accompany a play that takes place in the Moroccan Desert, but most people think of the composers home country, Norway when they hear this song. The instruments alternate between the flute and the oboe. The use of the pentatonic scale in this song gives it a folk-like quality.
Performance 2:London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Gymnopédie
In this classical piece the piano is the sole instrument. It was composed by Eric Satie, a Frenchman in 1888. The mood for this song was inspired by the painter, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. This song is much slower than most of the pieces they play. The fact that its a singular instrument gives a sense of being alone or in an introspective space. There is an economy of notes in this song. It is also a relatively simple song compared to other classical piano solos.
Role of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
The players in this orchestra dedicate their lives to reproducing the great classical pieces. This orchestra gives people the opportunity to experience this music live. They also bring inspiration into the various venues they play at such as schools and workshops. This inspires many prospective musicians.
Personal Opinion
I have been introduced to a wide variety of classical music thanks to this orchestra. They play a curated selection of some of the greatest classical works which makes the process of enjoying classical music that much easier. Their passion for reproducing the music at such a high standard is something I appreciate.
Gamelan music is the most common of traditional Indonesian music. The origins of this music are unknown. According to Javanese mythology, this music came about in 230 A.D. during the Saka era. Gamelan music is created using a variety of instruments. The most commonly used are metallophones and hand drums called kendang . Other instruments that are used include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a stringed instrument called rebab and a plucked sting instrument called sitar.
Metallophones
Kendang
The overall sound differs depending on which variety of Gamelan you listen to. The tempo is set by the drum players. The Javanese gamelan has soft and gentle sounds. The Balinese is more virtuosic and rhythmic. The third variety of Gamelan, Sudanese, is primarily made up of flute instruments and is soft and slow. Vocals can accompany the instruments, but this is not common.
Performers: Gamelan Semara Ratih of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Music: Manuk Anguci, a now-classic Balinese gamelan instrumental piece
Composer: I Nyoman Senen, from the village of Pindha, Saba, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Director: Anak Agung Gede Anom Putra
The court of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, c. 1876.
Gamelan music is played at a wide variety of Indonesian events. Traditionally this would be at courts, but in modern times it is played at various community gatherings. These include: weddings, house blessings, right of passage, community entertainment, puppet shows and temple rituals.
Modern Gamelan
Modern Gamelan music has incorporated many changes. The biggest change is the fact that vocals now take the front stage. On top of that the traditional instruments like the gongs and drums are now dominated by electronic sounds. The overall soundscape takes heavy influence from the west with big punchy electronic sounds. The size of the ensemble has decreased. Now it is more common to see smaller groups similar to the size of American bands. The tempo of modern Gamelan music is much more energetic compared to traditional gamelan.
Beauty of BALI by Alffy Rev (ft. Meiska Adinda, Gung Indi & Gus Teja)
I personally like the sound of the traditional gamelan a lot more. The sound of the large metallophone ensemble creates a very melodic and relaxing sound. It has a meditative quality. It is unlike anything else. The modern Gamelan music with its westernized sounds loses this charm for me.
Synthesizers have been around since the mid 1950's. Early synths were for the most part only in recording studios. During the early 1980's a major leap forward took place. I am going to focus on two iconic synths from this era, which are the Yamaha DX7 and the Korg M1. The Yamaha DX7, which was produced from 1983 - 1986, was a revolution in the world of synths. The Korg M1 followed up that trend with major refinement. This lasted well beyond its production run from 1988 to 1995.
The DX7 brought affordability, sound diversity and expandability to the masses. The DX7 was the first commercially successful synthesizer with over two
hundred and fifty thousand units sold in the three years it was
produced. The cost of this synth in today's money is six thousand dollars. Previous generations of synths were astronomically more expensive. This meant that a lot of musicians had to rent studio space as apposed to having their own synth. On top of that earlier synths were comprised of multiple boxes stacked onto each other with a "rats nest" of cables connecting everything together.
One of the main advancements the DX7 had over earlier synths was in the texture of the sounds. The sound texture of the DX7 was bright, glassy and metallic. A good example of this is the song: I Touch Roses by The Book of Love. The composer made great use of the built in piano and bell presets. Another feature brought by the DX7 was a punchy baseline which you can also hear in this song. These sounds were stored on digital memory cartridges.
This was a first for synthesizers. Previously a user would have to manually adjust knobs and patch cables to achieve a specific sound. It wasn't all roses for the DX7. Programming the DX7 was notoriously difficult. This was partly due to the user interface being hard to navigate.
The Korg M1 solved this problem. The user interface was more intuitive. Additionally the M1 featured a dedicated "knob-per-function" design.
The improvements over the DX7 didn't stop there. The M1's main claim-to-fame is the use of samples. This meant that a composer could make a song without having to go through the lengthy and difficult process of programming the sounds. Another feature the M1 had over the DX7 was built in effects. Some of these effects included reverb and EQ. An example of the use of M1's built in effects is Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap!.
I personally like the sound of the Korg M1 more. To me it produces a crisper and cleaner sound as whereas the DX7 can sound a bit noisy.
The Yamaha DX7 paved the way for future digital synths. It brought the size and cost down to a level that could be widely adopted. The Korg M1 further refined and revolutionized on what the DX7 brought. The M1 took programming out of the way so that a composer could simply focus on making the music.
This is a review of Dancer on The Water by Brothertiger. The songwriter and singer is Brothertiger (John Jagos). The producers are Brothertiger and Jon Markson. This song was released on march 18, 2021 and it appears on the self titled album.
Brothertiger is an electronic artist whose creations are influenced by 80’s and 90’s electronic music. His career started back in 2009 in Ohio. He was influenced by bands like M83 and Animal collective. This song in particular falls under the genres of chill-wave and synth-pop.
Click to watch
Personal Reflection
I spent a great deal of my childhood summers in nature. My hometown had thick birch forests with spruce trees. I loved the solitude and peace the forest provided. The song Dancer on The Water brings me back to the same headspace.
Lyrics
This song tells a story of longing for a tranquil space. The song opens with the chorus. The chorus represents the singer's dream of being by the ocean. He uses the lyrics “Dancer on the water” to evoke a graceful and effortless surfer. The line “Cool ocean blue carries you” describes the calm quality of the “dancer”. After daydreaming of the ocean, the singer becomes optimistic, which is made clear with the line “sun up above shining through”.
He then goes on to tell us why he daydreams of the ocean. The lyrics “I Drift through the streets all alone at night” clue us in to the singer not finding what he is looking for in the city. The lyrics “escape from you the streets so grey” symbolize how dull and lackluster the city is. The singer goes on to say “cus I’m not a city boy anyway”, which means city life is not for him.
With the lyrics “I’m through. I’ll try to remember you” the author is saying he is over this brief fantasy. He ends the song by singing “one more sullen sky and watch as the boats go by.” This lyric describes the end of his fantasy.
Chords
This song has 4 chords: E♭ -> D♭ -> Fₘ⁷ -> B♭ₘ⁷. The song is in the key of D-flat. (Song BPM)
This key brings the emotional quality of grief (Song BPM). I don't think this matches the tone of the song. I think there are notes of grief in it, but the song mostly sounds like relief from grief in the form of a daydream. The opening line "dancer on the water" is in the key of E-flat major, which evokes love or devotion. The second line "moving like you do is in D-flat major, which brings the emotion of grief. The third line "cool ocean blue carries you" is F minor 7th chord, which has the emotional quality of melancholy. The fourth line is b-flat minor 7th chord, carries the emotion of cheerful love. So, the chord progression carries the listener through mixed emotions.
Texture
This Song incorporates many “nostalgic” sounds from various 90’s rack mount synths (SAYS WHO?) The intro is the sound of a soft drink filling up -- an interesting and non-musical sound-nugget that is there purely for texture. Next, a bright synth flute sound appears. The texture of this instrument is airy. The harmonica that comes in afterward has a metallic texture. To round out the overall sound, a chime interment plays at the tail end of the verse -- this adds a bright, shimmering element of texture.
Range
This song has mid-range vocals throughout. The vocals smoothly roll up and down similar to gentle waves.
Melody
In this song, the primary melody is both sung (in the chorus) and performed on the harmonica. The melody ends with a long, sustained-but-dwindling note reminiscent of a sigh. This contributes to the daydream-like and wistful emotional characteristics of the song. I think it is particularly interesting that the melody carries over from the singer's voice to an instrument. It's almost like his voice is just one of the instruments playing the melody.
Critical Response
The music blog Glamglare shared an opinion of Dancer on The Water: "[it is an] irresistible blend of 80s pop sensibilities and his own highly appealing craftsmanship and style." BroadwayWorld wrote: "Armed with a wacky new vocabulary of sounds, Jagos wrote 'Dancer on the Water,' an elegant, up-tempo coastal fantasy with lustrous synths and pan flute flourishes." So, these critics clearly appreciated the song, like I do.
In the modern era, it is becomingly increasingly difficult to form relationships with other people. Charli XCX is a cutting-edge pop artist who explores this theme in super-danceable songs. 'Unlock it' is a quintessential hyperpop song with a catchy synth melody and a synthetic timbre.
Hyperpop is kind of a niche genre, so you might not have heard of it. Click on the link below to hear a version of 'Unlock it," a quintessential hyper pop song that will introduce you to the genre.
Personal Reaction
To me, this song is euphoric. At the same time, I feel like this song acknowledges a sense of isolation, so it feels like a celebration after a period of suffering or sadness. It feels kind of like spring -- coming out into the light after a long period of isolation.
Lyrics
The lyrics of this song are repetitive -- a lot of the chorus is just Charli Xcx saying 'Lock it, lock it, unlock it. Lock it, lock, it unlock it.' The repetitiveness contributes to the dreamy or trance-like feel of the song. The real meaning comes in at the end of this repetitive chorus, though, which says 'if you want my love, try to unlock it.' These lyrics mean that the author wants to connect with another person, but finds that there is a 'lock' in the way. For the author, loving and being loved is not easy, so she needs her pursuer to put forth considerable effort to 'unlock' her love, which is buried beneath defensive barriers.
The bridge in this song says 'Roller coaster ride in the fast lane, got the roof down, kiss me hot in the pouring rain.' These lyrics explain that connecting is, for the author, a chaotic process with a lot of highs and lows.
Even though the author is defensive and unpredictable, she also feels vulnerable to the person she is trying to love. Another verse says 'I'm right here in your pocket; you've got my heart so don't you drop it; if you want my love, try to unlock it.'
Melody and Chords
The melody in this song is very fast and bubbling. It contributes to the overall euphoric feeling of the song because it instantly catches you and then keeps looping and intersecting with other parts of the song in unexpected ways. It feels like the melody bounces on top of the song and then ducks underneath it throughout the song. I think this has something to do with its equalization / sound engineering. Musically, though, the melody sounds like a bubbling crystal spring -- it is very catchy and it repeats over and over throughout the entire song without stopping. The unceasingness of the melody makes the song kind of hypnotic and dreamy, which accentuates the 'synthetic' vibe of the song.
It's also worth noting that the melody comes from an arpeggiation of the chords in the song. The chord progression is D, E, C sharp minor, A, F sharp minor, G sharp minor in the key of A major (ultimate-guitar.com). The key of A major is associated with pure joy and euphoria, so that tracks (Steblin 1983). The chord progression starts with two major chords in a row, goes back to a major chord (A), then sinks into two minor chords before starting over again. This chord progression -- while euphoric overall -- is suggestive of a euphoria that is teetering on despair (because the chord progression starts from mostly major chords but ends in mostly minor chords). This makes the song emotionally poignant and interesting despite being very 'bubblegum.'
Range
This song has a very narrow range of sound. There is no bass line in this song, and the melody (along with the singer's voice) are quite high pitched. This is very characteristic of the hyper pop genre. The narrow sound range makes the song sound kind of artificial and glossy. That is part of the aesthetic of this genre. Said another way, the narrow range contributes to the feeling of 'floating on a cloud' that this song is trying to engender.
Critical Response
Overall, critics raved about this song. Pitchfork called the song 'art-pop at it's finest' and 'hyperaware of contemporary trends" and 'euphoric.' This supports my analysis of the song. Pitchfork also called the song 'just shy of a parody,' which I think is funny and accurate. In my words, the song 'bubbles;' in the words of pitchfork, the song 'evaporates.' I think both of those words are good descriptors of the unique way this song evolves (Nast 2024).
Nast, Conde. "Charlie XCX: "Unlock It" [Ft. Kim Petras and Jay Park]." Pitchfork, pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/charlie-xcx-unlock-it-ft-kim-petras-and-ja-park/#:`:text=The%20lyrics%20of%20. Accessed 17 feb. 2024.
Hello, I'm Karsten Kroener and I am currently in a Bachelor of Arts in Art program at UAF.
This is a photo I took from near the top of Bear Mountain in the summer of 2021. To the right of the mountain in the distance is the town of Eagle River.
I've lived in Fairbanks for the past few years and don't plan on ever leaving. I am a lifelong Alaskan who really enjoys the nature, more-so in interior Alaska. I like the dryer weather, mixed forest, and surrounding tundra all encapsulated in a small-ish town. Music brings me peace and helps me stay grounded . In the 7th grade I played the trumpet, much later on I learned how to use daw's and midi keyboards in conjunction with GarageBand. I didn't have any training in music so all of what I've created in Garageband is more experimental sounding. I usually use synth instruments with a deep baseline. I like to go for nature walks and take nature photographs. Another pastime I enjoy is to make art, primarily three-dimensional art like woodworking, sculptures, etc.
I mostly listen to electronic music, I think this is due to all the electronic soundtracks I heard growing up playing computer games like Command and Conquer Red Alert, and Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. I listen to a variety of sub-genres like break-beat, house, melodic / downtempo, and nostalgic sounding vaporware. I don't exclusively listen to electronic music. I also like some alternative / indie rock (Pinkshinyultrablast), dream pop (The Sundays), classic rock (Fleetwood Mac), some rap (Azealia Banks), some classical music (Clair De Lune), and electronic music (Negative Gemini). I used to listen to a lot more rock and grunge music (puddle of mud, minerva, nine inch nails, etc.) but as I got older I've leaned towards other music.
I have been to three music concerts in my life. The first was in Seward AK back in 2000. I was originally there for a camping trip, but a bluegrass concert was going on at the same time so I attended for a few songs. The next concert I saw was around 2009, I'm not exactly sure. It was at the East high school auditorium and the performer was the drummer for the band Hootie and The Blowfish. The first real concert I attended was in Anchorage in the summer of 2017. It was the road to warped tour. I saw multiple bands play. It was mostly modern up and coming "scene music" and an older 90's alt rock band. Linked below is a song that has recently become one of my favorites. The singer is Caroline Loveglow and this song has nostalgic appeal to me.
