Digital versus Physical

With the increased use of the Internet in the past years the times of owning physical CDs has become nonexistent mainly because digital music is much easier to acquire.  However with this increased use of the Internet, the issue of digital piracy has become a major problem in the music industry.

Analyzing the affects that digital distribution has on the music industry will allow us to look at the decline in physical sales due to the popularity of piracy.  This affects not only the industry in general but each artist individually.

WC: 91

What's a boy band?

My friend Jesse Devine of
Mission Vertigo,
        formerly of Ian Walsh.

In the 20 years I’ve lived, I’ve seen many changes in what is considered “popular” in the music industry.  I come from a time of boy bands and starlets like Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera.  However, when you listen to the radio today, boy bands are nonexistent and the starlets have drastically changed their sound and pop music of the 90’s no longer exists.

I used to be a child that listened to the radio all the time, but now I prefer to plug in my iPod because what I like is not “mainstream” enough to be played on the radio.  I prefer to listen to local bands and artists that are popular in their scene, but I will admit to liking some of what is considered popular now.  I can go to a show for a small local band and have just as much fun as if I were at a national sold out tour for a more popular band.  As the music industry changes so do our tastes, but I’m glad my base started with the classic pop music of the 90’s otherwise these NKOTBSB tickets for this summer would be a big waste.

WC: 196

The Internet is For Porn

We’re always taught not to talk to strangers, and the horrors of chat rooms and Internet predators are engraved in our heads from the age we start using computers.  One day, I went into a chat room for one of my favorite bands, The Maine.  I had no clue what to expect, but the nicest group of people welcomed me.  We’re not all the same age or race and we come from places like the United States, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada.

            It’s been a year since I first went in that chat room, and I still talk to everyone everyday.  Our conversations don’t center on the band that brought us together, but also our personal lives, school, family troubles and so much more.  This group of people probably knows more about me then people I see on a daily basis and for that I am so grateful.

            We may not all have the chance to see each other at some point in our lives, but to us that doesn’t matter, we’re happy just being able to talk to each other on a daily basis.  Text messages, video chats, and other forms of communication have helped us form our own little misfit family.  If I had never entered the chat room that day, I would never have met the best people to enter my life in the past year and eventually we will all have the chance to meet.  For some of us, that may occur sooner than others, but we have The Maine to thank for all of this.  The Internet can be a dangerous place if you misuse it, but it has helped me open up to these girls in ways I never thought possible, all because of a chat room and our mutual love for one band.

Word Count: 300

Point:  You don't need to see someone on a regular basis in order to call them your best friends.

My love/hate relationship with English classes

In tenth grade, I had a teacher that didn’t like teaching high school students.  I watched her scream in student’s faces and throw things across the room.  Unfortunately, my experience with her was slowly spiraling downwards and it reached an ultimate low when she accused me of plagiarism.  I had no interest in the book we read so my work was not my best, but I’d always been good at writing papers.  When she handed back our papers, she could not believe that it was my own work and since then I’ve tended to strongly dislike English classes. 

Word Count: 98

Oddly enough, my best experience was when taking English 100 here at UMBC.  Professor Dunnigan was an odd man but he knew how to get the students involved in our discussions, and the topics for our papers were interesting to analyze and write about.  I’ve never liked being told what to read, but the books we were expected to read were just as interesting as the lectures we had to sit through.  One class with Professor Dunnigan changed the way my entire high school career had shaped my hatred for English classes and the books we were forced to read.

Word Count: 100

I Want To Impact The World, But Can't Do It Alone

            Amanda Moore

           WC: 282

            Music is an important part of everyone’s life, whether you believe it or not.  We all know we’re guilty of singing along with the radio, no matter how tone-deaf we may be.   I’m one of those people who has their headphones in their ears at all times, whether I’m just walking to class or relaxing after a long day.  Music has the power to create or change moods in a person.  I’ve had some rough times in the past, but music has been the one constant throughout my entire life. 

            My family says I used to learn commercial jingles quicker then the things I was being taught in school.  Like all other musical pieces, they were catchy and they got stuck in your head quickly. This experience of my childhood has stuck with me, and even today there is constantly a song in my head. 

To me, music is a saving grace, that one thing that is always there for you.  There have been a few bands in my life that have had a tremendous affect on the way I look at myself, the main one being The Rocket Summer, as well as Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin.  Songs for when you’re happy, upset or even angry, music can pick you out of a funk or help you cope with those angry thoughts brewing inside you.  I believe in the power and impact of music.  It has the power to change the world if we just listen, the power to heal emotional wounds or just as an escape from reality for just a small moment.  Music can be a powerful thing, if we just give it the chance to do its work.

Belief:  I believe in music, in its power to heal and its ability to impact the world, if we just give it a little help.

Generation Social Network

     If I were to name our generation, I would pick Generation Social Network.  Our generation has become so reliant on the Internet in every aspect of our lives that it has blurred the line between private and public.  We feel that we need to share every aspect of every day, and nothing is kept to ourselves.  Our generation relies heavily on social networking sites and feels that we have a right to know everything about everyone.  Without sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, our generation would be a little more private and a little less nosy. 

WC: 97

A Community Landmark [Final]

          Walk through the doors into a 1950’s diner setting with constant noise and motion.  You’ve just walked through the doors of a business full of history, community and tradition.  Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, DC is home to a landmark known for it’s famous chili, a place that holds a special meaning to the neighborhood it resides in.

            Opened in 1958, Ben’s has been a large staple in the neighborhood for over 50 years and has kept the neighborhood alive throughout many trials and tribulations over the years.  Ben’s has also had its share of blessings like visits by celebrities.

            Faithful regulars, as well as tourists have kept business booming to this day.  Ben’s is the place to visit when attending a concert at local venue, 9:30 Club.  At all days during the week, there is a line stretching out the door of the eatery since Ben’s is open until 11pm on it’s earliest days.  Ben’s also offers options for vegetarians, and I can attest that it has the best vegetarian chili I’ve ever tasted.

            Ben’s Chili Bowl has been a popular eatery in the community for a long period of time and has become an anchor of the neighborhood.  A neighborhood that’s been beat down by troubles and is redefining itself thanks to this marvelous location on U Street that will always be the same place it began as, the same recipes, the same bar stools, the same love and support of everyone that steps through it’s doors.

WC: 249