1A. Who influences me as a Creative Person

I'm not sure what kind of creative person I am, but I know that my favorite thing to do is listen to music.  And I mean really listen.  I like to break down the song and listen to each instrument individually.  I've been doing it as long as i can remember and it really helps get me in a creative mood.

An artist that really inspires me to make music is Beck.  His style of music is so original.  He uses such a wide array of sounds and styles and uses everything from samples and drum machines to live instrumentation and sound effects.

In "Missing," Beck uses mostly live instruments such as acoustic guitar and strings, although the drums are probably sampled.  This song is a good example of Text and Subtext.  In the song, he sings, "And the guns of her mind aim a line straight at mine to a heart that was broke."  Taken literally, the line makes little sense, but the audience knows the subtext is that she dumped him and broke his heart.  Also, the title of the song is mentioned in the chorus and the last line of the song is "Someone's missing."  The audience knows he is referring to the person that broke his heart.

This is an example of Contrast and Affinity.  It is the same song as above remixed.  So, obviously the affinity is that it is the same basic song in key and lyrics.  In this remix, Beck chose to use more electronic sounding instruments an samples, in contrast to the natural sounds of the original.  He actually did a whole album remixing a previous albums songs, which just makes me realize that there are so many possible ways to do something creative.

This song is an example of Tension and Release.  From 0:00 to 0:19, the song sounds like a retro video game of some sort.  Although it is pretty catchy, the audience is waiting for the real song to kick in, which it does around twenty seconds into the song.  Tension and release are an important part of music as well as television/film.  When making music I will try to leave a void and then fill it later in the song.

Beck is considered by many a musical genius in the way he combines different sounds and instruments.  He is definitely someone who I would like to mold myself after musically.