LALENA
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Art
  • Music
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Mailing List
  • Blog

Ghosts in the House & Ghost in the Machine

1/13/2023

0 Comments

 
Presence is one of the earliest noise pieces I worked on. It was originally created using an old 4-track bought from a pawn shop & it makes heavy use of loops. I took the original tapes into ProTools & remixed and arranged them.

One of the sounds in this piece was created trying to replicate the sound of a supernatural experience, thus the name Presence. You'll also hear the sounds of bells, chimes, chains and other noises that are often associated with ghosts.

The work itself was created in a house that dated from around 1900 that was haunted. My cat liked to play and run up and down the long hallway of the "shotgun shack" and she seemed to be playing with some kind of spirits. They were never clearly visible to me, the most I ever saw were vague orbs of light. There were also occasional breezes from nowhere that would move curtains, but I usually dismissed those as just being an old drafty house.

One day I was trying to recreate a sound someone else in the band had heard during a supernatural experience. When I managed to create a waveform on my synthesizer that they felt matched, it had a strange effect on the synthesizer where every other key on the keyboard ended up with it's own unique and odd sound that didn't match the waveform I had just created. (This should not have happened, I created one waveform that should have mapped over the keys in different pitches. It should haven't created a bunch of different sounds for each key.)

As we continued to work on the piece, I saw something invisible lift a curtain that was hanging in a doorway to enter the room. We decided to run with that theme and the song ended up being about ghosts.

So here is the song, Presence. It contains that waveform/sound that one of the band members heard during a supernatural experience. The song was created during the event described above when my synthesizer freaked out when I tried to recreated that sound & a spirit appeared to enter the room.

Many describe this track as hypnotic, meditative, and trancelike. And I love the way the visuals look and move with the music. I hope you enjoy it.
0 Comments

Feminist Friday: The Super Bowl Sunday Special

2/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Feminist Friday is back, because I felt compelled to write about the Super Bowl Sunday halftime show.

Why did I watch it?
Francesca (aka Sabeya) posted on Facebook saying she wasn't watching the Super Bowl & asked if other people were not watching it too. Someone commented that Francesca was missing the halftime show & she replied saying she watched the halftime show. I wondered why, so I checked out the details and learned that JLo and Shakira were performing. According to article I read, Shakira's been belly dancing since she was young. Suddenly, it made sense. Francesca is a professional dancer. She teaches a belly dance fitness class I attend & she's the person who started Shimmy Mob, the world's largest belly dance flash mob! So I decided to watch the halftime show.

My View
First, let me say there were some things I really liked about it! Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are both talented entertainers & they put on a great song and dance act. I thought it was very cool that both of the women featured weren't young; Shakira is in her 40's and JLo is 50! I also liked many of the songs and artists that were featured. I love Reggaeton. I often dance to it at clubs & Mi Gente is on one of my playlists. :)

Now let's get to some of the problems, starting with this. I think this image really sums up one of the biggest issues I had with the show. Here we see JLo in a nude bodysuit with sparkles that strategically cover some parts & mimic the look of lingerie. And we see J Balvin next to her fully clothed and covered. We see her dancing suggestively & him pointing at her butt.

Picture
This sends a very clear message & it's one I've seen time and time again since I was a kid. The message is, if you're a guy and you want to be a musician, go for it! It doesn't matter what you look like. Whether your hot & ripped or kind of plain looking, heavy or thin. All kinds of guys are popular musicians! And when you're up on stage, if you're a guy, you just need to sing. But if you're a girl, well, you better be hot and thin & you'll have to wear revealing outfits & dance suggestively.

It used to be you had to be young too, but with Shakira and JLo being featured it seems like being young isn't necessarily a requirement anymore. But being hot and wearing lingerie-like outfits is required & don't forget those moves! Crotch grabbing, twerking and pole dancing!

I know some people defended the outfits Shakira and JLo wore saying they were similar to the cheerleader's outfits & I agree cheerleader outfits are often skimpy. But why do skilled singers need to dress in outfits to match the cheerleaders? And why do cheerleaders wear those outfits? Where are the male cheerleaders dressed like Chippendale dancers?

Others have pointed out that the outfits and dance moves are just like what you see at concerts done by these women. I agree, but why are women expected to wear revealing outfits and move suggestively and sing? Why is this standard? Why is this considered not just normal and acceptable, but the ideal? Why is THAT what's required to become popular, or even break into the industry? Why is THAT what it takes to become the richest woman in the entertainment industry? Is hot & sexy STILL the only way for women to get ahead?

To me, the halftime show looked like it was crafted for the male gaze, an adult heterosexual male gaze.

I know some people pointed out that a male singer sang without a shirt last year & no, that is not the same. When the standard becomes that male singers have to wear lingerie & dance around suggestively, then we'll have some gender parity!

Maybe the NFL could get Todrick Hall to wear a nude bodysuit like JLo's, with sparkles just covering the crotch and he could do his routine from Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels. That *might* begin to even the scales.

I find it sad, because it's the same old message we've been fed for years. Guys, you get measured by your talents. Girls, you get measured by your looks, how sexy you are, talent is secondary.

Just take a look at listings looking for female singers. They say openly they want young, hot looking women. The entertainment industry is one of the few industries where it's perfectly legal to choose based on looks, ethnicity, age...you can feel free to be biased! It's an industry where you're often judged on how hot and sexy you look, more than your talent. This is part of the reason why plastic surgery is so popular, particularly with female entertainers.
 
Women like Shakira and JLo know how to cash in on this. Same with Beyoncé, Kim K and dozens of others (including lots of Instagram influencers). These women choose to flaunt their bodies to promote their talents, or in the absence of talent (e.g. Kim K.'s infamous comment that she doesn't know how to sing or dance…).

I know personally I've felt torn by this. I've always wanted to be recognized for my talents and skills! My intelligence and the fact that I can act, dance, sing and create art. I've purposefully downplayed my appearance and covered my body, but I've seriously wondered if that's the wrong choice! When I see examples like Beyoncé and Kim K. being some of the richest and most powerful women in the world, I wonder if maybe I should be flaunting my 34H cup tits and shaking them for the world, because it would probably earn me a lot more money! And when these women are held up as examples of being feminist, I wonder WTF am I even doing?

I used to think such behavior would hurt your reputation and damage your professional career, but seeing women like Kim K. go from sex tape to one of the richest women in the world, it makes me think it doesn't matter. You can release a sex tape, do porn, wear revealing outfits, pose nude, etc. and it won't hurt your reputation or damage your professional career. In fact, it can make you rich, famous and popular!

I've seen how women like Cardi B. have openly admitted to not just stripping, but drugging and robbing men. Like she actually did what's portrayed in Hustlers in real life, which is a crime! And somehow there was no outrage. She's not considered a pariah like Bill Cosby. Why?

And as much as I love some of Lizzo's songs, that outfit she wore to the Lakers game with the cut-out butt? Ugly AF & why a sports event? And it’s not about her size, that outfit would look ugly on ANYONE, any gender, any size! But I'm not a fan of ass-less pants either. I feel like the *only* place I can imagine a use for bottomless pants and dresses is a kink club. Not a sporting event.

And here we are at another sporting event, sporting things that make no sense. Like that POLE! Seriously, WTF? Why was there pole dancing during the halftime show? Pole dancing is something that happens at strip clubs. I mean, where else does that happen? (There IS an answer to this question later on in this post.)
 
Mom's View
I asked my mom for her view, because a number of comments I read from moms said they wouldn't want their young daughter or son to see that halftime show. She commented on the crotch grabbing moves, the skimpy outfits, the pole dancing. She didn't feel it was appropriate for what was supposed to be family entertainment.

She recalled a scene from an old black & white movie where one woman is giving advice to another saying to always remember, "British in the parlor, Parisian in the bedroom." She feels like she’s pretty liberal and her 30 year old friends agree, but she feels like you should be tasteful, refined, elegant in public & feel free to go wild in your bedroom. She felt that movie quote sums up that idea nicely.

She asked, "Why are we celebrating just their bodies and shaking their booty?" She told me she felt like feminism had somehow gone from being able to pursue any job you want for equal pay to let's flash our boobs & crotch. She questioned what kind of values modern feminism was putting forward. "How is this encouraging women to be confident & free? Free to do what? Vulgar movements?"

She thought some of the dance moves were "simulating having sex" and she found that distasteful. "And then to have the children there” commenting on children's choir, my mom sounded truly sad for the young children exposed and involved.

I asked her what age she thought would be appropriate for the program. "Teens?" she said hesitantly, "but even then", she commented again about the "appalling" content. She said she felt "over 25 would be better, when you've had some life experience.” I laughed and asked why 25 and she commented on the values being conveyed and the lyrics in the songs.

I hadn't even paid attention to the lyrics. My mom had! She commented how "She-Wolf" is a story about a woman who feels neglected by her partner, so she goes to a bar looking for casual sex. "What is this teaching you?" she exclaimed. "Rather than talk to your partner, you should go cheat?"

Then she commented about "Hips Don't Lie" and how the message was that if a woman swings her hips and dances suggestively, then it means she wants to have sex with you. Now every guy at the club is going to think I want to have sex with him!

My mom mentioned the halftime show reminded her of the documentary "Generation Wealth". I wasn't familiar with it, so I decided to watch it.

Generation Wealth: Pornified Culture & Where Else Do You See Pole Dancing?
So I watched the documentary & at the start I didn't see the connection, but then Chris Hedges commented, "We're a completely pornified culture. The images of porn are now so pervasive and accessible throughout the society they've leeched into popular culture."

The on-screen images reflect this and include a pole dancing fitness class. Oh yeah, that is a thing! I know they exist locally here in Vancouver too.

Last year I even signed up for a couple of dance classes focused on hip hop that advertised themselves as being for fierce, independent women, using names like "Army of Sass". When I showed up, I found out the classes were focused on teaching you how to dance sexy in heels. Yes, they were using some hip hop moves, but in heels. Needless to say, I dropped the classes. I like sneakers for dance. :)

Generation Wealth now had my attention & it is related. Chris Hedges comments later in the documentary that "unfettered, unregulated capitalism does what it's designed to do, which is commodify everything. Even human beings become commodities that you exploit for profit, until exhaustion or collapse." 

Kacey Jordon, the former porn star is interviewed at one point. She talks about that fact that when she started she wanted to be an actor. When she was offered porn she agreed, because it seemed similar and related, it seemed like a way to get into doing films. She commented about Kim Kardashian's success saying "Kim is my inspiration for, I can still make it, you know, because I have lots of sex tapes to show & maybe I'll still come out on top somehow."

So Beyoncé, Shakira, JLo, Kim, and all the female celebs and influencers, I call to you. I want you understand what kind of inspiration you are giving to the young women of the world. I want you fully comprehend what kind of influence, what kind of role model you are. I want you to understand the kind of messages you're sending. Honestly, not just to young women, the kind of messages you're sending to ALL women, and to men too for that matter.

Every time we use SEX to sell, we are feeding into the system that says that being hot and sexy is what matters the most. It says that how hot you are is more important than how intelligent you are. That how sexy you are is more important than your talents and skills. That a woman's body is her most important and valuable asset.

I'm not saying you have to wear sack dress to perform, but there is a time and a place for lingerie and I don't think it should be the stage (or videos for that matter). But I know that's the path to millions. It's the path paved with gold. The temptation is strong. I know it is. I've felt it. I've had friends who have given in to different degrees. I know women who post sexy selfies & I've known women who have been strippers & women who have done sex work. I know sexy pics get lots of likes and followers. And I know you can make a lot of money being a stripper and doing sex work.

At one point in Generation Wealth, a young girl named Sheena is interviewed, she's 15 and she says "I wanna be a topless dancing showgirl...if I can accomplish being that, then I can accomplish anything."
 
I think this quote points to what I think is horribly awry with modern feminism. Women are being told and shown that the way to get ahead, the way to accomplish ANYTHING, fame, fortune, success, etc. is to show and shake your body! That the path to power as a woman is to take off your clothes, to be hot and sexy, that that IS empowerment, that that is feminism.
 
Sadly, I read that Jennifer Lopez thinks this debate is “silliness” and she feels the halftime show was “really well reserved”. In her interview with Jimmy Fallon she says, “and that small faction of people who want to be negative about it, I can’t even let in because it was such an amazing night.”
 
So apparently she thinks it’s just a “small faction” of people who think the performance was inappropriate and that they’re just being “negative”, so she won’t even listen to what they have to say. :(
 
I think that’s really sad, because it makes it clear to me that she not going to listen to anyone who doesn’t agree with her. She’s not interested in hearing how her performance showed that women are on top of the world when they’re half-naked twirling around the top of a pole.


I wish I could end this post on a more positive and hopeful note, point to some bright spots, some hope for change, but this is the same issue and same messages I’ve seen since I was a child and things don’t really seem to be getting better. In some ways it seems like things have gotten worse.

My mom asked if I was going to encourage people to write to the NFL & I feel like go ahead if you want, but I think the issue is larger than that.

I think it might be more effective to write to female entertainers to try to change their minds, but I’m not sure if they will listen.

I guess I should thank JLo for making it crystal clear what it takes to get to the top of the world as a woman. The halftime show made it clear that as a female entertainer, what really matters is how hot & sexy & scantily clad you are. But if you’re a man, you can wear baggy sweatpants and glasses, because men just need talent.

I wish I felt like I could stand up and say, no, I won’t do that! But I know all too well that my success and even my ability to get jobs is directly related to how many followers I have on social media.


I guess I should post more hot and sexy pics. Goodness know lots of guys asked about that bikini pic after I did the Dolly Parton Challenge. I’m sure my social media following would increase if I did!
0 Comments

Casual

2/16/2019

1 Comment

 
I've been feeling this song lately. I love the broken speaker intro and the lyrics.

Lines that resonate:

"Let me in, don't shut me out
Don't tell me you love me if
That's not how it really is"

"You don't need to paint me a sweet fantasy
...Say what you feel, don't just say anything"

"If you wanna lay with her, why don't you just stay with her?"

"You say you don't want a girlfriend
But when we are in person
You always act so different
You make it all seem perfect
You hold me when we wake up
Say you like me with no make up
I'm trying to be patient
How am I supposed to take it?"


And of course the chorus:
"Is it casual
Or are you tryna spend your life with me?"


I guess this is kind of my anti-Valentine's day post? Maybe an expression of a bit of my frustration with my experiences over the last year? Some of my other posts allude to this, I've had some not so great experiences. :(

It's also sharing a good song I like. :)

Oh, and I want that bikini top she's wearing! I don't know when I'd ever have a good reason to wear it or if they make it in my size, but oh, so pretty. I want one!

1 Comment

Crystal Method: Live Oct. 2018

11/23/2018

0 Comments

 
I wanted to share a nice find, Crystal Method doing a live set at the Lab LA last month.

I have a special fondness for Crystal Method. I loved the use of the Dark Crystal samples in Vegas. And I love video games and N2O is a lot of fun and I played it a LOT. I also got a chance to see the Crystal Method live at a private party I went to in Cali.

When someone said they were wowed by the Nvidia party this year with it's huge array or food and drink, I agreed the food and drink selection was great, but I felt like I'd been to more amazing SIggraph parties and I mentioned the Crystal Method one. :)

It was a lot of fun! I guess I like to dance more than eat and drink? Or Crystal Method trumps an open bar with more alcohol than anyone should consume...though actually the club where the Crystal Method played had that too! LOL

Someone I know recently mentioned that the mere idea of clubbing was tiring to them. I thought, wow, I don't feel that way. If it's a club with good music, I'm in. I love dancing!
0 Comments

Story Behind the Song: MageDog

11/9/2018

0 Comments

 
This is MageDog by CLAWED.

This piece was inspired by some great little barks and chirps I captured in my building one day from a small dog in the hallway while waiting for the elevator. When I reviewed the audio capture the samples I caught were crystal clear, so clear you could hear the ring and echo of the walls and floor.

This piece is pure musique concrète in that it only uses samples that were captured with my DAR (Digital Audio Recorder). Though the work itself is probably best described as drone music. It does change slowly over time and is meant to be meditative and trance-like. This piece, like many of the pieces, includes healing frequencies as well.

The video is a visualization of the sound, so you can see the changes in the music as well.

0 Comments

Green Tea for Halloween

10/26/2018

0 Comments

 
My blogging pattern is all out of order now, but I know I haven't posted any music videos in a while so I thought that would be good to do this week.

Awkwafina x Margaret Cho. NSFW, but fun! The video even has "Ring" references just in time for Halloween. :)

0 Comments

The Story Behind the Song: Chatter

9/2/2018

0 Comments

 
This is Chatter by CLAWED.

Chatter is another work that was created using DAR samples. For this piece I used a number of environmental sounds I recorded in downtown Toronto. I often take my recorder out with me on walks, just to see what sounds I run across in the city soundscape. I've found when I don't have my recorder on me or don't have it running, I'll often hear something and think, wow, that would be great in a piece! So I've found the best way to capture is to simply capture a LOT of material, then review it later and work with the bits I think have the most potential.

Chatter is meant to evoke an experience. I had an odd, ghostly experience at the Winston-Salem graveyard in North Carolina in the USA.

I've been to various graveyards before and never had anything  like this happen. Most graveyards seem really quiet, like parks with stone markers. :)

Winston-Salem did not seem that way at all to me. I heard voices. At first just a couple, but then LOTS, like a buzzing. I got a very quick onset migraine and asked to leave.

It was very odd. I could just explain it away as some kind of strange migraine aura, but I don't know. It felt weird. It felt like ghosts trying to talk, way too many of them...

That's the experience Chatter is trying to express. Ghostly voices, trying to talk.

The video is a visualization, so you'll notice the imagery is very reactive to the sound.
0 Comments

The Story Behind the Song: Enhydris Enhydris

8/23/2018

0 Comments

 
This is Enhydris Enhydris from the first CLAWED album.

It's made entirely of heavily manipulated and processed sound samples. I used samples from the Large Hadron Collider and recordings from my DAR (Digital Audio Recorder), mostly of a professional plumbing company snaking the drains in condo where I lived. :) Fun fact, there are no human voices in this piece!

The video is a visualization, so you'll notice the imagery is very reactive to the sound. I like the way it looks like waves in water and includes a spectrum of colors as that matches the themes in the song.

People often tell me my works sound "cinematic", like soundtracks to a movie they're not seeing & yes, I think the pieces do paint a picture. I often do have a specific scene or sequence in mind. For this piece, in my mind it's a fantasy/sci-fi scene of a strange rainbow water snake ritual (thus the name Enhydris Enhydris) being performed by monks in robes (human? alien? who knows, robes!) with metal singing bowls. :)

Oh, I should probably also say this piece intentionally has "healing frequencies" included in it. So if you're actually listening to the full resolution version with speakers than can reproduce the frequencies (20-20K Hz), then it can have an affect on the body. I'm particularly fond on the low "cat purr" frequencies which have been studied and apparently can help heal bones fractures!
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Author

    Laleña

    Buy me a coffee

    Archives

    January 2023
    May 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Beauty
    Clawed
    Fashion
    Feminist Fridays
    Health
    Lalena
    Music
    Videos

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.