'Any Tom, Dick or Mince'

My mixtape is named 'Any Tom, Dick or Mince' due to my affectionately unshakeable nickname and a song that will live long in the memory (oooh bricolage!).

This is the cover image, an homage to The Notorious B.I.G's 'Ready to Die' album cover.

Here is the tracklist and my reasons for each song's inclusion:

1. Despicable - Eminem. The most played song on my iPod. Learned all the words, very sad.

2. Big City Life - Mattafix. I hope I never hear this song again, it drove me and George mad when we used it for our music video coursework.

3. Juicy - Notorious B.I.G. An anthem of my favourite genre (hip-hop) and a song me and a number of friends have mastered on Defjam Rapstar. 

4. Patiently Waiting - 50 Cent featuring Eminem. Another song mastered by me and a close friend, always the first song on when it comes to a car journey.

5. Low - Flo-Rida. An awful song but a big one in Years 8-10, always on at parties/proms.

6. Family Business - Kanye West. Beautiful song, I'm sure anyone who listens to it will relate to at least some part of it, myself definitely included.

7. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams. It's always a memorable one, isn't it? Brings memories of summer camp-outs, some of the 'best days of my life.'

8. White Trash Party - Eminem. Always on at parties of 2010 at which we wanted to seem slightly more rebellious than we were, catchy tune to grind to though!

9. Madrigal - Ruddigore. One for Mr. Smith! My first experience of a large group absolutely nailing a song in a musical, very proud moments after finishing this song on a show night.

10. Any Tom, Dick or Harry - Kiss Me Kate. My first experience of a solo in a song, scary stuff. Did myself proud considering I'm pants at singing and I hope I never have to dance on stage again.

11. Viva La Vida - Coldplay. Another Year 9 prom classic! I remember all joining in a big circle and belting the 'WOAAAAH' bit, a good moment.

12. I Get Knocked Down - Chumbawamba. The first CD I ever had.

Scott Pilgrim Essay

Postmodernism, as a concept and a movement, is difficult to define. However what it does possess is a number of criteria which signify whether a text is an example of Postmodernism. These were laid down by George Ritzer. By applying these criteria to the film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World we can determine whether it is Postmodern, which in my view there can be no doubt about.
The first criterion Ritzer suggests is that a typical Postmodern text is likely to break down the distinction between high culture and mass culture. Certainly, Scott Pilgrim does this, with its continuous references to elements of video gaming (an activity which only has a selective proportion of participants ie, a high culture) being included in a film which is intended to be watched by the masses. Examples of such references to video games are the names of the bands in the film; Scott’s band is named ‘Sex Bob-omb’ which is an homage to a common enemy in the Super Mario franchise, and Envy’s band is named ‘The Clash at Demonhead’ which is also an homage to a old NES game of the same name. With references so finely tuned as these, it is no surprise that the film received bad critical reviews – as non-members of the high culture that Scott Pilgrim pays frequent homage to, the intertextual references went unnoticed and unappreciated, thus decreasing the film’s entertainment value to a mass audience which follow the same suit as these critics.

Another criteria Ritzer specifies is that postmodern media tend to break down the barriers of distinction between genres. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World does this in that in possesses elements of various genres, including action (typified by numerous fight scenes), romance (Scott’s attempts to woo Ramona) and comedy (though as previously mentioned, the degree of funniness is determined by the audience’s awareness of the films references).  This blending of genres makes Scott Pilgrim, at least in this context, a very postmodern text.
Ritzer also said that a postmodern piece of media would involve the mixing of time, space, and reality; this is another element that is apparent in Scott Pilgrim. In the film, Scott has visions of Ramona in the desert, before instantly jumping back to reality via snappy editing – reality is mixed between the ‘real’ world and Scott’s dream, and even Scott seems to be unable to distinguish between the two (Ramona in the dream tells him he is having ‘some idiotic dream’). Another example is when Scott, seemingly without realising due to daydreaming, jumps from the library with Knives, to band practice and shortly after that to a street heading to a party. This mixing of time and space emphasises Scott’s  – and therefore the audience’s-  inability to look at the chronology of the film as completely linear. There are small fragments of reality that we see, that due to the editing are put together in a spasmodic fashion.  This is a clear example of the postmodern aspect of mixing time and space. An example of the mixing of reality occurs later in the film, where Scott appears to be killed, only to find out he has an extra ‘life’ (another video game reference) and he respawns in order to defeat Gideon. He makes simple work of parts of the encounter he had struggled through  in his previous attempt, and does things differently this time. Of course, in real life this wouldn’t occur – hence reality (a fight between two men over a girl) has been mixed with ‘unreality’ (getting a second chance after being killed).  This certainly makes the film unrealistic and unbelievable, but a postmodernist would ask ‘does it actually hamper the effectiveness of the film?’ This is because, as Ritzer said, postmodernists emphasise the importance of style over content ie, the film’s plot may not be the best but its little details and the way they are conveyed to the audience take precedence over this.
Rizter also claimed postmodernism can be identified by the way a postmodern text blurs the distinction between representation and reality, as is apparent in Scott Pilgrim. Examples of this occur when unrealistic details are added to a scene to represent real things, such as Scott’s ‘Pee Bar’ when going to the toilet; the Pee Bar represents the level in his bladder but in the film it is displayed as part of a real scene (reinforced by its appearance in the reflection of the mirror in the scene).  Another example is when Scott is confronted by the first of Ramona’s evil exes and a ‘VS’ appears in between the two characters. A clear reference to such combat games as Mortal Kombat and Tekken, this would never happen in real life, however it connotes the fact that Scott and Matthew Patel are going to fight. The best example I have found of Scott Pilgrim blurring representation and reality is the scene referring to Seinfeld (an old American sitcom) in which Scott enters his house to the sound of cued applause and laughter. This is a classic convention of sitcoms, and undoubtedly breaks the divide between the ‘audience’ and the events of the film – reality and its representation in the film are connected and therefore blurred.

In conclusion, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is undoubtedly postmodern when examined against the criteria identified by George Ritzer; it breaks down distinctions between high culture and low culture, different genres and representation and reality. It also emphasises style over content due to its attention to detail and lesser concern over a meaningful plot, as well as mixing time, space and reality to make an unrealistic, unbelievable film which to the masses is ineffective, but to a priviledged section of the audience is an entirely relatable and thus effective piece of media. 

Kanye West - Postmodern?

Postmodernism - Kanye West

View more presentations from Alex Wilson.

Johnathan Kramer's music theory.

Jonathan Kramer - PoMo music theory

A very interesting aspect of postmodern music theory. This will help you with your next essay.

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Jonathan Donald Kramer (December 7, 1942, Hartford, Connecticut – June 3, 2004, New York City), was a U.S. composer and music theorist.

Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum

'Discuss why some people are not convinced by the idea of postmodern media' Done in 1 hour.

Postmodernism is the Blend of the Past

Pixies - Where is my Mind

This song has been used in the ending sequence of Fight Club, and in the Thomson advert for holidays.
The song was originally inspired by the writer's scuba diving experience with fish (unusual for a song). The Pixies' lyrics are normally about sex, religion, violence and other 'mature' and controversial themes.
'Where is my Mind' was then used in Fight Club, for it's action-like sound. It's lyrics are adapted to tie in with the twist of Fight Club. More importantly, Fight Club has themes of rebellion of consumer culture (blowing up banks,etc). Its association with Fight Club then cements itself in memory.
Thus, once its used in the Thomson advert - about the perfect family holiday - the postmodernist would link this to Fight Club and suddenly the song becomes very inappropriate for the family theme of the advert. It is also ironic because the advert is trying to make people buy into/ consume the holiday.

Creativity - Random Selection

LOOK WHAT I MADE.

This was made from a random selection of band name, album title and image.

1. Is the 'random' concept you have used 'better' than weeks of Research and Planning for your CD cover?
I preferred this random concept to the weeks of Research and Planning for my own coursework's CD cover. However, this is only because I was lucky with the random elements; the cover above came together just because I was fortunate. In terms of wanting to pass the course, I feel my own CD cover's Research and Planning was more benefical because I knew I had to match my music video to the digipak in terms of the theme, meaning there was only certain things I could do. With these constraints, it was simpler to produce ideas because ones that didn't suit could've been dismissed quickly.
2. What is the best context for creativity to be at its optimum level?
I feel the best context is for it to be controlled in the brief, with not too much time to complete the task, but also not enough. I feel it would be appropriate to have less time to do the draft version than the final - as I have demonstrated today, it takes 10 minutes to make a CD cover. However it is necessary to adapt it with feedback from teachers and peers, so more time is needed for this.