The Hush Sound {Media Literacy}

Genre: Indie Rock

Yet another band I have been lucky enough to see in concert. The two lead singers, Greta and Bob are both strong charismatic performers but in a way that does not overpower each other. This band also makes it impossible to forget the bassist and drummer, Chris and Darren, who do the backup vocals. This is especially prevalent in their latest single "Medicine Man" which heavily relies on the drums and bass to add a strong beat to backup the Greta's competitively strong voice. I believe that this is an amazing feat for a group, to make every part of the band noticeable. Another thing they did in concert to do this was giving Greta drumsticks and have her switch places with Darren, he sang her part and she played the drums, or it might be more accurate to say she attempted to play the drums. I listen to their newest CD "Goodbye Blues" in my car a lot. I listen to it loud, and yes I do get strange looks. The Hush Sound is not a band you hear blaring, driving down the street often, but it should be. Greta's voice is meant to be played loud. They're not an angry rocker band, but they are not a 'everything is marshmallows and rainbows' band either. Their lyrics range from sad, empowering, excited, happy, angry, so on and so forth, and yet every one of their songs is full of such enthusiasm that there is never a wrong time to be listening to it. For the people who have never heard of The Hush Sound or want to know more about them click the links below. Their discography is on iTunes and they have a constantly updated MySpace page. I also strongly suggest that if you ever have an opportunity to see this band live, take it, you will not regret it

http://www.thehushsound.com/

http://www.sweettangerine.net/index.php

I also added a good interview I found by TV Guide with Greta and Bob.

Cassy and Deb's Ultimate Blog 3

AD Deconstruction {Media Literacy}

I found this ad when I searched "weird commercials" on youtube. Due to the language they are speaking in the commercial you can tell that it is foreign. It's 40 seconds long, which is an average length for a television commercial. This commercial is educational rather than made for selling a product, but they sneak in the brand Zazoo condoms at the end. The audience for this commercial is sexually active men from teens to their twenties. The fact that the father is a young man depicts this. This commercial tells a story of a man and his son in the grocery store when the boy throws a fit over not being able to get his "sweeties". When this happens the man looks lost in the situation and like he has no idea what to do. When they show the exasperation on the man's face text shows up saying "USE CONDOMS". There is a large lack of information in this commercial like, where to buy condoms, who you can talk to if you have questions about sex. They barely advertise the brand of the condoms until the very end and only for a moment. They very much appeal to the fear in young men that they will be stuck with a kid after having sex, so they offer a alternative to have safe sex rather than become abstinent. The weakness in this advertisement is that not all people think that having kids is a bad thing and it could be considered offensive.

There is a young man and a child used in the commercial and surrounding grocery shoppers to show the horror of the child throwing a fit. The setting is a grocery store, a normal, everyday setting to show that this incident could happen to YOU. It was also set at the grocery store to put it in public to show the embarrassment that the man face because he has a child who threw a fit in front of everyone. The boy screaming gets annoying really quickly to show how easily YOU would get annoyed with a child. The closeup on the mans face makes the annoyance very obvious. The intended effects of the ad is to get people to think twice before having unsafe sex because they might be put into the same situation the man in the commercial is being put into. One of the unintended effects of this commercial is that it upsets the people who believe in abstinence until marriage. This ad is very controversial because it shows a child as a consequence of sex when many people believe that it is the reason for it. I don't think that this ad is very effective because for the people who want kids find it offensive and the people who agree with the commercial are most likely performing safe sex already to avoid having a child. I personally found it funny and so did the people my age with the same beliefs about safe sex that I asked to watch it. I believe that this commercial is majorly for entertainment and shock value.

Rilo Kiley {MediaLiteracy}

Jenny Lewis is a strong woman. She is something I aspire to be. I don't want to be a musician, I'm not very talented in that field, so it may seem confusing that I say this. It's the essence of this singer, actress, songwriter that makes me not want to be someone else, even her, but to become more of myself than I've ever thought possible. I've been listening to the band Rilo Kiley a lot, the lead singer is the previously mentioned Jenny Lewis. A year ago I was lucky enough to see Rilo Kiley perform at The Ogden theater in Denver with my friend Luke. It was our first (and last) date and even though he was a very nice guy he was overshadowed by the lyrics and attitude that emitted from this small powerful redhead. The reason that I have been listening to Rilo Kiley more frequently lately is because I have become confident enough in myself to be in a relationship, have a job, go to school and live a life separated from my home and friends without losing myself. I found peace with myself and learned that I didn't need people in my life to make me happy, this made the people I did choose more satisfying to have there. This band's music reminds me of point when I realized all of this was possible and that I could do it on my own.

Check them out for yourselves at:
rilokiley.com

Cassy and Deb's Ultimate blog on Youtube