Notes from the Virtual Ms B

Saturday, November 27, 2010

World Music - Last.fm

All of the following details were found at website Last.fm

Check out:
1. Swedish hip-hop artists

2.French pop artists

3. Russian rappers

4. Japanese rock musicians

Choose one music genre: hip-hop, pop, rap, or rock and compare 2-3 artists highlighted in that genre (on last.fm) to American musicians in that genre. For example, read/watch information about 2-3 Swedish hip-hop artists and compare their respective styles to popular US hip-hop artists.

World Music - Paris DJs

Check out videos for the following Paris DJs/ artists:

Doctor L
1. Mountains Will Never Surrender
2. Sweet Life

Le Damn Dog
1. Watch Out

Ebo Taylor w/ the Afro Beat Academy
1. Love Is Not Too Far

Watch/listen to the artist's music. Choose one and write a music review. You may need to check music reviews at the following sites: Rolling Stone, Vibe,the Source, Entertainment Weekly, etc to determine what essential information you should include.

World Music - Global Artists

Here is an extremely small list of global musicians -

Michael Jackson (US)
The Beatles (England)
Rihanna (Barbados)
Sean Paul (Jamaica)
M.I.A. (British artist of Sri Lanka Tamil descent)
Drake (Canada)
Shakira (Colombia)

Task: Add a one paragraph bio (and the source from where you read this information)about another global musician - someone (or a group) from another country that is popular in the US OR a US group/person popular all over the world.

This is NOT a CUT & PASTE task. You have to summarize the details you find in your research. What makes this person/group so popular around the world?

No repeating artists please.

World Music - The Darker Side of the Beat

There have been several American movies made about kids wanting to dance and conservative parents wanting the dance-crazed teens to stop...Footloose, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Breakin' 2 - Electric Bugaloo, How She Move, the list goes on and on...

What serves as entertainment to us, may be an actual struggle somewhere else. Women are not allowed to dance in public in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Iran. Musicians from Myanmar, China, Somalia, and Cameroon have been imprisoned or killed because of their music.

Read these stories about the darker side of music and dancing around the world.

A. See Freemuse.org - a website dedicated to highlighting music censorship around the world

B. The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan

C. The Dancing Girls of Pakistan

World Music - Europe

Read/watch the information posted below. Your task is to post a link to another European artist - For example: find a French band, a British pop group, a Hungarian pop artist, an Italian rapper, or a Greek band...

A. Dutch songstress Caro Emerald

B. Check out this German site featuring photos of the EMAs (European Music Awards) - What in the world does Usher have on???

C. German rapper Aggro Berlin

D. Russian rapper Timati

E. Bulgarian singer Sahara’s "Mine" - Song features American R&B singer Mario Winans

F. Italian crooner Cesare Cremonini
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/music/genre-wm/global-pop/cesare-cremonini-mondo-wm.html

World Music - UK

Here are three artists from the UK:

Jamiroquai
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/music/genre-wm/global-pop/jamiroquai-supersonic-wm.html
British funk/acid band

Adele – Someone Like You
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/cc2c9c3c-b7bc-4b8b-84d8-4fbd8779e493#p00c8kgw

British songstress Estelle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5vxw3eijY
American Boy ft. Kanye West

Pick one of the artists and write a music review of their song (identify the artist and song title) like you would find in a music or entertainment magazine.

World Music - Asia

Here are two examples of up and coming Asian artists:

Jin Akanishi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca83TPOZk_g
Japanese Pop Sensation

Jonathon Wong
http://www.mtviggy.com/video/Iggy-Music-Exclusive-Jonathan-Wong-Roswell-Live-Performance
Canto (Chinese) pop sensation

Task: post a link from MTV Iggy, Youtube, or National Geographic World Music of another Asian artist. No repeats please.

World Music - Pop Idol

Pop Idol has taken the world by storm - 43 countries have a version of the series (American Idol). Read about the series on Wikipedia.

Task: find a Youtube clip (and post the link here) of another country's Pop Idol series. Please no repeats.

Afghan Star – Documentary Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DentE2ydnMI
American Idol meets Afghanistan

World Music - Afro/Latin Mix

A mix of Jamaican and Spanish music -

Find a Latin or Afro-Caribbean artist's video and post the link here. No repeats please.

Lady Saw - "Party till December"
http://www.mtviggy.com/video/music-video-Lady-Saw-Party-till-December
Jamaican Dancehall artist

Spanish singer/songwriter Jairo Zavala, a.k.a. DePedro - Comanche
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/music/genre-wm/latin-alternative/depedro-comanche-wm.html

World Music - Africa

Read/Watch information about influential musicians from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. How has the American music scene influenced the different sounds of African music or vice versa? How has African beats and rhythms influenced American music?

Kenyan musician P-Unit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxBZ8hXZu6A

Fela! The Musical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0GepZMzKU&feature=player_embedded#!
Nigerian musician/activist; Jay-Z and the Smiths (Will & Jada) are producing the musical for Broadway

Read about the 2010 MTV Africa (MTV Base) Awards
http://www.mama.mtvbase.com/newsArticle.aspx?iNewsID=10 Which American artists will be there?

World Music - Intro

Artists like The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince are famous all over the world. Check out these links below to see who is working toward being the next big global act or see what other people are listening to around the world.

1. Paris DJs
This site will let you download selected tracks form artists for free.

2. MTV
http://www.mtv.com/sites/
Scroll down to MTV Worldwide to see the countries for which MTV provides content; NOTE: you will not be able to view or listen to videos from other countries.

3. MTV Iggy
http://www.mtviggy.com/
Global Music

4. National Geographic
World Music
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/music/index.html
10 global musicians’ videos to view


Task: Watch one music video (identify the artist name and song title) and write a music review like you would find in Vibe, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, etc. Explain why the artist should get 5 mics or none at all.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Mini-Project Links

Copy and paste the links to your online state projects from Masher.com or Onetruemedia.com here with your First Name, Hour, and State.


Example:
Lelani - 2nd hour - Maine
http://www.mylinkwouldgohere.com

Sunday, November 14, 2010

DISCUSSION CREDIT

Blog Scoring Guide
4 points - students use class material and outside information in a detailed, organized, and articulate response in two paragraphs OR

3 points - students use class material and outside information in a detailed, organized, and articulate response in one 5-8 sentence paragraph.

+3 points - students provide useful, relevant, school appropriate and credible links (to websites, videos, or primary source documents) for others as an additional class resource

+2 points - students pose questions to peers and/or provide an insightful critique of a peer's opinion

+1 point - no slang syntax used in the response; no grammatical or mechanical errors are present


-1 point – for slang, grammatical, and punctuation errors present in the response

Total: 10 points

NOTE: You do not receive credit for just responding – you must demonstrate knowledge of the topic and contribute something meaningful to the discussion to receive credit.

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

Go to Getty Images and type an event (ex. Columbine, Hurricane Katrina, or 9/11) in American History in the search bar to retrieve images from that event. Post a link to that image and discuss why that event was so significant in American History. How did that event change or influence our culture?

Be sure to follow the guidelines for posts. You do not receive credit just for responding. You have to follow the scoring guide.

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

An American college student wanted to write a paper on the similarities and differences between American and Canadian culture and asked people to respond to his blog. Read the first page of his blog and create a list of:
*5 things that are uniquely American
*5 things that are uniquely Canadian
*5 things we both share

Keep in mind that these comments may not be the most reliable - you may have to conduct additional research to find these answers.

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

Watch this YouTube video on Racism in Canada. Keep in mind, this video is only one perspective of what racism is and what it may look like to some in Canada and cannot be used as a definite indicator of life there.

After watching, detail your thoughts about racism in Canada and compare those to your feelings of racism/ discrimination in the US.

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

Read this Wikipedia article about the Canadian Hip-Hop scene (Yes, one exists!!!).

Link a Canadian rap song (one from Drake will not work...) to this blog so all Global Studies students can hear it. No repeating songs please.

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

Traditional Greenlandic food is based on fish and seafood.

The most popular ingredients of a Greenlandic dish are (the eyes, kidneys, or hearts of) walruses, seals and whales - yum!!!

Most vegetables and fruits included in Greenland’s cuisine are imported. Local dishes also include crab, shrimp, caribou, musk ox and arctic fox.

There are numerous ingredients, introduced in Greenlandic cuisine from Denmark cuisine, such as mushrooms, red or white cabbage, onion, dill and mayonnaise.

Find a Greenlandic recipe and post it here (be sure to add the source).

Section 4.2 - US/Canada/Greenland

First detail your thoughts about Greenland. What do you think it's like to live there? What do you think people eat there? take a moment to write down what you think the culture is like.

The watch this Youtube video on Greenland.

After watching, detail your thoughts on Greenland. What did you learn about the people and culture? Was it anything like you thought?

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Unit 4 - The World

Watch this video about rich & poor divisions in Mumbai. How are these issues similar to current problems in the US?

Unit 4 - The World

Read this MSNBC article about a Kenyan officer's HIV rampage killing. Discuss your reactions to what you have read.

Unit 4 - The World

Read this CNN News article about a boy in Kabul. How does his story relate to some in the United States?

Unit 4 - The World

Read this BBC article about Queen Elizabeth and Facebook. Should royalty (or in our case, presidents) participate in social networking? Please defend your answer.

Unit 4 - The World

Read this BBC article on the cholera outbreak in Haiti. How should the US respond?

Unit 4 - The World

Read this article from Britain's BBC News on Sweden's recent issues with race and violence. How are the issues presented in the article similar to those in the United States?