Whoa, What a Showdown for the 2014 Grunge Class Hummie!

The 2014 Grunge Class Hummie battle of the bands was way epic, dude!

Stiff competition between the bands Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, L7, and (gulp) the sell-out band Nickelback proved riveting. In the end, however, Alice in Chains overcame a tough fight from Pearl Jam to claim the title.

In a video featuring a mash-up like song, "Rooster in the Box," Alice in Chains' slick editing, unique concept, and outstanding visual performances won over the crowd and class.

Here's to a job well done and done well, Alice in Chains!

A link to AIC's winning video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Zb4OrmLmQ

The other videos

Pearl Jam's "Jeremy": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNbTQXZLyaE

L7's "Stuck Here Again": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N87cQ1nIh-E

Nickelback's "This is How You Remind Me": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpLSPust1KU&feature=youtu.be

Marshmallow Challenge Winners

Hard fought. Tedious. Tremendous. Stupendicutakular. These are just some words that can describe the white-knuckled competition to build the largest free-standing spaghetti, duct-tape, string, and marshmallow tower in the Spring 2014 "Grunge" class. L7, everyone's favorite Grunge band won the competition with a little help from a member of the sell-out band. It was an impressive structure to say the least. Good work L7, turns out you cats aren't that square after all.

Writing Project 5

Design and Reflect on a Visual Composition

Writing Project 5 due, Thursday, April 10—Group Project

This writing project is solely a "writing" project in name only. This writing project includes designing a visual composition, along with a write-up to accompany the visual composition. Using the CRAP principles will be an essential component in this visual design process.

Page 1 of this writing project should be the visual composition, and an equally impressive caption that explains the graph, timeline, or map. This caption should also include the sources used in consultation and reference for the production of this visual composition.

Regarding the visual composition: these are a good way to visually represent information to an audience that might otherwise be difficult to explain, and this visual composition should be a graphic that explains something significant about your band. A "family tree," or lineage of how the band developed over time, a timeline that features your band's albums, or a map of the hometowns of each band member are examples of how you might choose to design a visual composition.

Whatever method of visual representation you choose: graph, timeline, map, chart, or family tree, it should be eye-catching, use the CRAP principles, and exhibit an overall well-designed thoughtfulness.

This visual composition is a requirement for final research papers, and you may use this writing project's outcome as the final research paper's visual composition.

Page 2 of this project should be a one-page reflection on the visual composition. Take a paragraph or two to describe the choices you made in composing the visual, and then give some background related to the actual visual composition. Why did you choose to do a horizontal timeline, a pie chart, or map. Connect the visual with the message that you are trying to convey with your design.

Thoughts on the Final Research Paper and Media Project

Final Paper

Core mastery of the course material will be demonstrated in the form of a final research paper submitted by your entire band. The project of the paper will be to write a "social history" of your band. In writing this history, your research-style paper should touch upon the three main aspects of the course--use of simple rhetorical arguments, Seattle's unique geography, history, and economy, and lastly, labor relations.

Each band member should write a ten page paper, and then these individual papers should be merged into one, "final research paper" document. An introduction, segues between the individual papers to create a cohesive document, and a conclusion should be written collaboratively. These final research papers should be double-spaced using 12 point Times-New Roman font and have 1.0" margins. 

Each individual paper should have a header, footer, or name introduction at the beginning of the piece that identifies the individual author of the ten page paper. The introduction, segues, and conclusion do not need this type of identification because they will be written collaboratively. 

There should also be a bibliography or works cited page at the end of this final research paper that includes all the sources consulted or cited in the final research paper.

The paper should be written and formatted as a journal article from a popular press written for a popular audience. This will mean that there should be more than one column on each page, and any images used in the text should be inserted and wrapped in the text as you would see in a magazine or popular journal. Images will also need to have a caption and source. 

An abstract presenting an overview or main point of your band's research paper must begin this final research paper. This abstract should be 4-7 sentences long and be in italics and single-spaced.

In your individual ten-page paper, you will need to cite at least ten different sources. Of these ten sources, at least five sources need to be primary sources, meaning something obtained from an archive, similar repository, or an oral history interview. Also, your individual paper must have at least five different types of sources, an example: you may use a book, vetted web site (.gov, .edu, .org--as a primary source), scholarly journal, oral history, and image. Lastly, your band's final research paper should include the course texts that deal with Seattle and labor law, meaning your band should cite each course text (except the Wiki book on writing) at least once in the final research paper collaborative document.

As this final research paper replaces a "test" final, it is weighted quite heavily in class grading. As such, the paper should demonstrate what we have learned as a class over the duration of the semester:

Be sure to use sound rhetorical principles in the paper, identify your audience; make a strong, but balanced and supported argument, if you write with bias be sure to make that bias transparent; and include the three rhetorical appeals in your writing. Also, be sure to employ the 4 Cs (clear, concise, concrete, current/flow) in the writing, while using some of the techniques we discussed in class to make your writing more readable.

Good luck, be creative, and have fun, but be serious with your work.

Media Project 

Your band's multi-media project, which should be a music video for a song from your band, are due for judging during the Thursday, April 17, class period. In addition to making a music video, your band will be tasked with doing a presentation to introduce, explain, and reflect on your band's video, while also providing a history of your band, Seattle's "Grunge" music scene, and/or the multi-media project in general. 

Then premier your band's music video in class—during presentation of your band's music video all members should be dressed in appropriate period clothing scavenged from the racks of a local thrift store (the group field trip portion of the course). Additionally, as part of this video premier, your band should find a cd, tape, or vinyl from this period, procure it, and then redesign the cover.

There will be two judges evaluating your work on this music video. One, is me, the other is a mystery judge formerly affiliated with the Marquette, Michigan, music scene. As a class, we will view these presentations and multi-media projects in class and then award the "HUMMIE" for best multi-media project...award sponsored by Pepsii (though not affiliated with Pepsi Cola corporation or any of its subsidiaries).

Examples of some very well done previous music videos from this course: 

Sell-out Band Bush:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW0nbFD-EWc&feature=youtu.be  

Hard rocking Alice in Chains' thoughtful portrayal of the Grunge classic, "Rooster":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chYsipNT4sM   

Have Fun with This!

The End: An Updated Schedule

Unit 10—Examining a Legend

Tuesday, April 8

Reading: Grunge Seattle, Chaps 5-6

            Begin Kurt and Courtney

Writing Project 5 due, Thursday, April 10—Group Project

Visual Rhetoric Composition with New Bandmates

Thursday, April 10

            Finish Kurt and Courtney

            In-class debate for participation credit   

Tuesday, April 15

            What is Grunge?

            In-class writing and redux       

Media Project and Presentations Due, Thursday, April 17

Unit 11—Media Projects

Show and present music videos: April 17

Premier and present your band's music video in class—during presentation of your band's music video all members should be dressed in appropriate period clothing scavenged from the racks of a local thrift store (the group field trip portion of the course). Additionally, as part of this video premier, your band should find a cd, tape, or vinyl from this period, procure it, and then redesign the cover.

Unit 12—Portfolios

Tuesday, April 22

            Work on portfolios in class

Thursday, April 24

            Work on portfolios in class

Finals Week: April 28-May 2

Hand in final research papers, portfolios, and any missing materials

For this final paper, as a band write a well-sourced and cited social and cultural history of your band, including the biographical, environmental, industrial, and labor contexts. Make sure to paraphrase, cite, and source from each of the books on the Grunge Movement read in class. Additional information on “specs” for this final research paper will be given later.

Writing Project 4

Resume or Help Wanted Ad

Writing Project 4 due, Tuesday, April 8

This is a simple and somewhat straightforward writing project that all bands, and college students, have to do at some point in their lives. For Writing Project 3, you will be composing and designing an individual resume, if you are a band member, or a job description if you are a band manager.

After our "Mix-up," on Tuesday, we will have new bands including a "post-grunge" or sellout band. One or two of you may wind up in "rehab," though for what we do not know. This mix-up is a chance to shuffle the grungy deck, and will represent the final bands for our push toward the end of the semester, which includes the final research paper and music video.

Therefore, if you are a band member after Tuesday, you should compose and design a stellar resume. The following site gives a good indication of the elements of a resume: http://careers.erau.edu/land-offer/resumes/.

In composing and designing this resume be sure to think about use of white space on the document, alignment, and audience. Familiarizing yourself with the CRAP design principles will be essential to successfully completing this unit's writing project. What are the CRAP principles you ask? They are essential elements of designing things like documents, web pages, and presentations. Here's a link to a downloadable pdf that helps explain CRAP: http://www.presentationzen.com/chapter6_spread.pdf

Same goes for band managers who are writing job descriptions. This link provides useful tips for composing a job description: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Job-Description-Template

Resumes and job descriptions should be one-page, well-designed, and evocative compositions!
As a note: these resumes and job descriptions should be hybrids documents of actual personal history, and fictional, class role-play elements. So, if you are making a resume for yourself, and you'd like to join Pearl Jam, include some of the experiences you had in high school--perhaps you worked in a local record store; include that factual information. Also, include experiences unique to our class role-play that are fictionalized. If you're leaving Soundgarden, perhaps include that you were a member of the super-group Temple of the Dog, etc.

Combine fact and fiction in these documents to produce a resume or job description that fits the course. However, the point of this writing project is to give you a document that you can use down the road. So, while the information on your resume can be changed, you have the shell or template of a document that you can use for future career fairs and job seeking endeavors.

Writing Project 3

Sign the Band, Man

This writing project is due Thursday, March 27

In General

This writing project is designed to be a companion work alongside the assigned readings for Labor Law for the Rank-and-filer.

Using aspects of the readings, our class role-play, and the whimsy and wackiness of rock n' roll, it is the task of your band to get a written contract together that "signs" the band to a formal, written contract with your manager.

We have discussed some aspects of employment in our previous class, and now the task is to get those particulars negotiated, or agreed upon, by all members of the band. In essence, your band will be writing a technical document that ensures all band members will know their rights and responsibilities in the development of your professional relationship in this role-play and in the execution of future class assignments and projects.

Therefore, there are two essential components to this writing project:

1. Have a good understanding of your rights as a band member (worker) via reading Labor Law for the Rank-and-filer. In contrast, band managers can use Labor Law as a tool to understand some expectations of an employer or administrator, and then craft contract language and negotiations based on an understanding of potential needs and wants of band members.

and

2. This contract should be sure to spell out (literally) the rights and responsibilities of all band members, including the manager. These rights and responsibilities can be for instances specific to our course role-play such as band health insurance, the band's "recreational opportunities," and/or safety issues related to concert events or life on the road, but should also include aspects of work and assignment completion for this course. As an example this might include: who in the band takes the lead in organizing work schedules (does the manager send out emails to get everyone together, or is this the task of everyone in the band) or who might take the lead in giving presentations to the class. The objective here is to write a contract that combines class role-play scenarios with "real-life" tasks from our class.

Help with the Document

An example of an employment contract can be found here: http://www.legaldocs.com/htsgif.d/xemploy.htm.

Writing Project Specifics and Timeline

In written form for Tuesday, March 25, each band member and the band's manager should work through a rough draft of what they would like to see in a labor contract during class. This is a type of pre-writing exercise that could take the form of an outline, mind-map, or simple rough narrative of what you, as a member of the band, would like to see in a contract. Nothing fancy needs to be completed, but you should come to class with some idea of your rights as a worker (member of the band) or manager, expectations of the other party, and particular ideas of what you would like to see in a contract. 

As a part of this negotiation process on Tuesday, I will be available to arbitrate any problems or sticking points that arise from these labor and contract negotiations. Meaning, I will be happy to help facilitate the working toward compromise between band members and manager that might result from an impasse regarding contract details.

Be sure to consult our class text Labor Law for the Rank-and-filer in this process!

Then, for class on Thursday, March 27, managers should have a final draft ready for band members to sign. These final drafts and your band interactions on Thursday should evidence a working knowledge of our course text, Labor Law for the Rank-and-filer, and some type of investment in the process of coming together as a group to debate/negotiate the terms of individual and group responsibilities to fellow band members and manager. These final contracts should reflect the agreed upon clauses and specifics from the Tuesday, March 25, contract negotiations. Band members should then give a final read over of these contracts, and then if all is agreeable--sign these contracts on Thursday.

Our course text, Labor Law for the Rank-and-filer, should be cited at least one time in your final contract!

Standard writing project particulars are in play: 1" margins, 12 pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, etc. A works cited page for our book Labor Law is also a writing project necessity. 

These contracts, however, may be longer than 2-3 pages if needed to convey the complex interactions between manager and band members. 

Quick, but important note: these contracts are in no way legally binding, but rather a tool to help simulate our class role-play between band and manager, and possible labor relations scenarios.