Pump Up the Volume

I'm taking a great Audio Culture seminar where the focus is on developing Critical listening skills and analysis. This has to do with how Western culture historically favors the visual over the aural. The most obvious example - the Englightenment - highlights this.

We had a great class tonight and these two videos were the highlights of the presentation [all links courtesy of Mr. Trav].

The first is an awesome mash-up of the classic Pump Up the Volume song.



The second is the even more classic Carpenters' "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" video and song.



Radio still has amazing power - witness the immigration marches last year that were led by Latino LA radio DJs. Of course, the best example is Orsen Welles' WAR OF THE WORLDS radio play that tons of American thought was a real Martian invasion in 1938. Over the last century, an interesting nexus developed between Martians, radio, the American public psychosis and herd mentalities. Thanks to Orsen Welles, Rush Limbaugh and El Cucuy and friends et al., radio has remained a dynamic sound form, prob. more worthy of attention even than the internet, 2nd to mobile phone technology, which you could argue it's the parent of.