CS 400U Digital Media and New Aural Cultures Fall 2024

 For this blog post, I thought I would take the time to share a list of my top 10 favourite podcasts. I started listening to podcasts a couple years ago when I was trying to find new ways to calm my ADHD racing mind down before bed. Before podcasts, I tried many things to fall asleep, including listening to music, counting sheep, picturing a blank page and pretty much anything the internet tells you to try. One day, I was going through my apps to figure out which ones I can delete to get more space on my phone. That's when I came across the Podcasts app. Since discovering podcasts, not only do I use them to fall asleep every night, but I also listen to them every time I'm driving for more then 20 minutes.  Anyways, here is my list of podcast recommendations (in no particular order): 1. "Call Her Daddy" 2. "The Cancelled Podcast" 3. "The Viall Files" 4. "BFFs" 5. "Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast" 6. "Hot Mess with Alix Earl...

Kuffert explains that early radio was celebrated for its potential to unify people across distances and social divides. The idea was that radio could provide something for everyone, connecting communities, and bringing new voices to the public sphere. However, this ideal didn’t last. As radio networks and stations became money-hungry, the focus shifted from serving a broad audience to catering to content that could attract the largest, most commercially viable audiences. In other words, radio stations "sold out" because stations and networks wanted to maximize advertising revenue. Today, we see a similar pattern: YouTubers who were once dedicated to creating meaningful and engaging content will now sell their souls to make some money. A real-life example of "selling out" is when YouTubers who swore they would never support gambling end up gaining a lot of followers. In return, they receive a ridiculous amount of money to promote gambling, and because this is their j...

 As I mentioned in my presentation, podcasting and YouTube draw many parallels in their trajectory and formalization. One of my favourite YouTubers, Emma Chamberlian has been on YouTube since 2016 but over the years has taken many breaks from posting and now posts much less frequently. Emma was one of the first YouTubers to start a podcast and when she started she was posting on both platforms but has eventually shifted to strictly podcasting for the most part. Her move from YouTube to podcasting brought her many already committed fans like myself to the new platform which also introduced us to find other podcasts similar to hers but from smaller influencers. Since she already had an established brand of being considered one of the most authentic YouTubers sharing many aspects of her life, podcasting only felt like an extension of herself and made sense for her branding. Since she already had a team of people her podcast had a sense of professionalism and set a new standard for pod...

Growing up in Kleinburg, it’s hard not to feel a sense of connection to someone like Maria Georgas. She’s more than a familiar face from The Bachelor; she went to high school with my older cousins, and she even lives in my subdivision. So when I heard her featured on Call Her Daddy, it felt strangely personal, almost as if I was listening to a friend. Over the past few weeks, our class has debated if podcasts can truly create intimacy. One key takeaway is that they can make listeners feel close to hosts, thanks to the personal, unfiltered nature of the medium. For me, Maria’s story on Call Her Daddy really exemplifies this. Hearing her perspective on love, life, and fame made me reflect on my own sense of familiarity with her. It’s fascinating to think how this format, layered with local connections and shared experiences, can create such a powerful sense of intimacy between hosts and listeners. Additionally, since podcasts are often recorded in home settings and focused on private or ...

     For my presentation readings, I have learned a bit about the history and mechanics of podcasting. I find the history of podcasting, it developing from talk radio, very interesting because the first internet radio broadcast highly resembles modern podcasts to me. They are both pre-recorded, downloadable, on demand, and shareable. While I enjoy music radio, talk radio has never really caught my interest and seemed boring to me. Though this was probably mainly because I was encountering it as a child, the themes and discussion was not interesting or entertaining to me and I always skipped those stations to get to the ones playing music. Lately though, unless I'm in the car, or I’m walking somewhere, I usually opt for podcasts or youtube video essays when I want to listen to something. I think the difference for me is the ability to choose what I want to listen to based on my interests. I enjoy topics like specific histories of things, mystery and crime, or psychology an...

    In the movie Pontypool , speech as a medium and orality as a practice of communication create the possibility of the virus, exclusively with the English language, because of the attributes speech has as a medium, the idea of oral repetition and understanding in people's minds, the differences in linguistic meanings between languages. We know speech and hearing are linked with the sharing of knowledge, culture and meaning. Through this auditory medium, we create a shared understanding of this shared information. Speech draws listeners into understanding certain meanings which embeds ideas into people's minds. In Pontypool , the virus exploits this shared understanding so as soon as the listener understands the words being spoken, they are infected. After infection the person repeats words or sounds over and over again, this repetition, we learn, is likely the body’s reaction to fend off the virus. As we repeat words over and over, they become just a constructed sound a...

 Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how Spotify and other streaming platforms “know” my music taste. On one hand, it’s amazing—each week, my “Discover Weekly” offers new tracks I’d probably enjoy. But after our discussions in this course, I can’t help but wonder how much of this personalization actually reflects my taste and how much it’s actively shaping it. There’s a subtle but powerful difference between being exposed to music that aligns with my taste and being guided into a carefully constructed “musical identity.” With every song I stream, these platforms collect data, refining their model of my preferences to keep me listening. While this might feel like discovery, it’s actually a deeply calculated experience, leading me into a cycle that reinforces familiar sounds rather than broadening my horizons. Over time, my “unique” music taste might end up looking suspiciously similar to everyone else’s within my demographic—predictable and profitable.          ...

The global music industry is mostly controlled by a few corporations, the majority of which are American, putting a hold on performers and limiting their chances. The music production and publishing sector is dominated by three major record labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group, which account for the large amount of the market. LiveNation, which controls Ticketmaster, and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) have market control on live concerts and ticket sales, owning major venues and events while placing restrictions on musicians.  In radio, a few American businesses, such as iHeartMedia and SiriusXM, hold the majority of terrestrial and satellite radio stations, combining power and reducing variety. Even internet radio, which once promised greater variety, is now dominated by corporations such as Liberty Media, which owns holdings in other large music-related organizations. Although streaming services offered greater chances, in reality, they have...

The recent breakup between country singer Zach Bryan and social media personality Brianna Chickenfry has been one for the books, and fans have followed every twist and turn across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and the BFFs Podcast. With their romance playing out so publicly, the breakup hit a dramatic peak when Zach ended things via an Instagram Story—a move that fans are still talking about. And if that wasn’t enough, BFFs co-hosts Josh Richards and Dave Portnoy added even more fuel to the fire with a diss track directed at Zach.     Since the beginning of Zach and Brianna’s relationship, social media has been at the heart of their story. Brianna’s appearances on BFFs offered fans a unique window into her life with Zach, sharing updates on their budding romance. When their Instagram stories reached their sizeable fan base, rumours began circulating rapidly. Brianna’s candid on-air discussions about her relationship struggles only intensified the speculation, making the...

The article by Leslie McMurtry, "Transgressing Boundary Rituals on Radio," and adapted by Crisell, refers to "boundary rituals" as those cues or transitions that signal a listener that a certain format, genre, or segment of radio programming is about to commence. Those early rituals standardized content to make it more predictable and listener-friendly. Whether it is television, radio, or social media, there are always characters, voices, or algorithms reproducing traditional values and norms. Using gender as an example, earlier media forms always portray women as stay-at-home moms, responsible for caretaking, cleaning, or cooking, and men as the primary providers and protectors. These roles are still prevalent in media today but they are openly discussed and challenged. This is more specifically evident in podcast culture. Podcasts today are more often than not, unfiltered, unscripted, and authentic to the people involved in the conversation. Jordan B. Peterson, Jo...

SMART HOME DEVICES After talking about smart home devices in class I wanted to focus this blog on Alexa and smart devices such as echo and google home. These devices are becoming increasingly common in households, offering convenience with features like voice commands, music, smart home control, and information retrieval.  However, when it comes to personal safety, there are several considerations. One concern is the device's ability to listen continuously for its wake word, which may raise privacy issues, as conversations in the vicinity could be recorded or transmitted to data collection. While these device companies assure that recordings are only stored temporarily and can be deleted, the mere possibility of accidental data collection can be unsettling.  On the positive side, Alexa and other smart devices can play a significant role in enhancing convenience and personal safety. Users of these devices can set up emergency contacts and have the ability to call for help with ...

With AI increasingly generating songs, remixes, and even full albums, the music industry faces a transformative wave that blends technology with creativity. This trend isn't just about convenience or automation, it reshapes what it means to create and consume music. AI programs like OpenAI's Jukebox and Google's Magenta can now produce music that mimics the styles of renowned artists. But should AI-generated music be considered "real" music, or does it risk diminishing the human element essential to musical expression? In my opinion, while AI can assist musicians by expanding creative boundaries, it can’t replace the emotional depth that human composers bring. Music, at its core, is an emotional and personal experience. AI may be able to replicate a pattern, but it lacks the soul and context that human experiences bring to art. This echoes our class discussions on how sound isn’t just about the audio itself, but the power and context behind it. For a deeper dive i...

 I always find old technologies very interesting. Whether it's the turning phone or the wall phone, I'm always intrigued by them and how they were used during my parent's younger days. This usually stems from the fact that TV shows and movies that I watch sometimes had these old techs, so it made me aware of them more often than not. That is to say, when it comes to music, learning about the old days of listening to music such as the vinyl, Walkman, i-pod, boom box etc., was and still is fascinating to me. I've never had these technologies, but my parents did, and I would see these tools on the screen, so it created a sense of intrigue and curiosity to either witness one or learn about one's experience during the time that it was popular. I believe that looking at these tools and thinking about how they were important not only in their time of invention, but as a precursor to what we have now is interesting in its own right. Thinking back and investing myself in the...

                                                                             During my presentation, the idea of “phenomenological representativeness” was discussed concerning the Jody Berland reading “Contradicting Media: Towards a Political Phenomenology of Listening.” As outlined by Berland, phenomenological representativeness is how music can articulate or reflect broader cultural narratives and identities, articulating different kinds of aspirations for listeners (p. 44). Moreover, Berland argues that the elements of “Canadian-ness” are not present in Canadian music. As discussed during my presentation, it is challenging to think of songs that would go on a quintessentially Canadian playlist, as many songs we think of as Canadian are established on knowing...

  Something that I have been wanting for a few years  now and cannot wait till I am able to buy is a record player. I will admit that my interest came from when records started to become trendy, but ever since then the idea of collecting records from my favourite artists is something I can’t wait to do.  The resurgence of the record player both goes against and supports themes about the development of sound that we discuss in class. The waves of mediatization have made listening to music digitized. An appeal of constant new listening technologies is the promise of improved quality of sound and personalized music content. Record players do not offer the best quality sound, or a personalized experience and you must manually cue the music yourself. Even though we now have every song and album at our fingertips with our phones, people are still buying record players. With records there is a sense of nostalgia associated with it that even appeals to generations who did not gro...

Spotify’s AI DJ transforms music listening by combining advanced personalization, OpenAI-powered insights, and a lifelike voice, modelled after Xavier “X” Jernigan. The DJ curates tracks based on each user’s unique tastes, drawing on nostalgia, new releases, and personalized recommendations ( Spotify, 2023 ). With input from Spotify’s expert music editors, listeners also receive context about songs and artists, making each session feel curated just for them; DJ X will give a little context as to why the next set of songs will be played. But does the Spotify AI DJ truly reflect a listeners taste or simply narrow it down to familiar patterns making the listening experiences more predictable and, potentially, limiting? For me personally, when I use the DJ often, it will repeat the same songs as it is reflecting on familiar patterns but when I use it once in a while it will introduce me to new songs in the genre of music that I am enjoying at that time. Therefore, by encouraging listeners ...

This photo is from October 2nd, 2015. As you can see, my dad and I are dressed up, all set to cheer on Toronto FC together. What I didn’t know, though, was that the night held an even bigger surprise: we’d be heading to Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour right after the game. My dad didn’t know a single song from the album, but that didn’t stop him from sharing this excitement with me. Looking back, it’s one of my favourite memories, we both shared our joy for sports and music together. Though I was only 12 at the time and my memories from the concert are strictly sneaking onto the floor, and seeing my biggest idol, alongside my dad, one particular moment has stuck with me ever since. Taylor Swift opened up the concert with "Welcome to New York". We were both mesmerized by the visuals, the performance, the lyrics, the sound. To this day we reflect on how outstanding that moment was, and "Welcome to New York" is still our favourite song we share together. Now almost a decade l...

In the age of digital media, sound and music play an essential role in how we experience the world around us. From the songs that make us feel nostalgic to the audio cues that evoke specific settings, our connection to sound is deeply personal and powerful. Music, in particular, has the unique ability to trigger memories and emotions, creating associations that tie us to places, people, or moments in time. For instance, a song you listened to during a special summer can transport you back to that season with just a few notes. This emotional resonance is why music continues to be a key part of storytelling in film, podcasts, and digital content—it enriches narratives and shapes our interpretation. For example, as I mentioned in class, I first heard the song Revival by Zach Bryan a few summers ago while staying at a cottage in Muskoka with friends. We all sang along to the 10-minute version, creating an unforgettable and wholesome moment. Now, whenever I hear that song, it takes me back...

Last semester I was away on an Exchange in England, this experience was amazing in so many different ways, I got to travel across Europe while learning more about myself and continuing to grow and become more independent. Through this time music was a huge part of feeling like I wasn't alone. In particular, Billie Eilish's recent album, "Hit Me Hard and Soft" came out while I was on my first solo trip to Portugal. I remember being excited but incredibly nervous to take this trip I always travelled with friends but wanted to push myself. I remember because the album had just come out I listened to it on repeat as I walked around the city. Although the songs were new, it felt like a comfort at home being able to still connect with my favourite artist and my friends at home who also love Billie Eilish. The album is a mixture of sad songs, pop, and dance beats. Now whenever I listen to the album or the songs again I'm instantly taken back to wandering the streets of L...

    Lately, I've been working on a music piece for a class where we learn about playing drums. I'm focusing on the snare drum, which is one of the main drums in a drum kit. It really helps keep the beat in all kinds of music. As I practice, I've started to listen to music in a new way. Now I listen closely to each beat of the drums and other instruments. I try to imagine what those beats would look like if they were written down. It’s like I’m seeing the music as well as hearing it, which is pretty cool! This new way of listening helps me understand how different parts of a song fit together to make up the whole tune. It’s interesting to think about how each beat on the snare drum can change the feel of a song. Below is the sheet music for the snare drum exercise I’ve been practicing. Check it out and see how the beats are laid out!