Lame Humanities Assignment

I really am planning on blogging sometime in the future but for now I just want to share how lame our Humanities assignment is. Every week we have to write a quick 150-300 word essay about a question that we choose out of 3 options. Usually all the options seem ridiculous but I'm able to at least make some stuff up. This assignment however has gotten on my nerves and taken way more time than I want to admit. Who wants to answer one of these? They're all dumb in my opinion:

1. More and more classical music is being interfused with pop music. For instance, Grammy award winner, Alicia Keys' chart-topping single “Fallin” begins with Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” then progresses to a hip-hop R&B melody. How do songs like “Fallin” demonstrate the versatility and resilience of classical music? What impact, in terms of music education, do you think pop artists like Alicia Keys will have on your generation and future generations?

Websites:
MTV: Alicia Keys
http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/keys_alicia/artist.jhtml Go to: News
Click: “Alicia Keys Channels Beethoven’s Spirit at Vienna Show” 10.14.2002

Experience a concert of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” at the Sidney Opera House
http://www.oznet.com.au/opera/

2. Music not only effects our moods and behaviors, but it also influences are thoughts and perceptions. For example, an artist painting with soft classical music produces work very different than an artist painting to heavy metal. Perform an activity, whether it is sketching, writing, or even roller-blading, to various types of music. Describe the impact each music genre has on your performance. Then study the music played in shopping malls, elevators or even commercials. Why do you think certain music is played at certain times of the day, and in certain places? How do you think you can apply what you’ve learned about the power of music to your daily life, like in writing a short story for your English class?

Websites:
20th WCP: Music, Emotion, and Language: Using Music to Communicate
http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Aest/AestWort.htm

Nordic Journal of Music Therapy
http://www.hisf.no/njmt/artikkelvink102.html

Mozart Effect: Research
http://parenting-baby.com/Parenting-Baby-Music-Research/Music-Research.html

3. “All classical music is good for fingering and speed and building your skills, but… I gravitated toward Chopin. His preludes! He has these songs that are so deep and have so much passion you say, 'What was he possibly thinking? What was he feeling?'" -Alicia Keys

What distinguished Chopin from other composers of his time? Explain how his music effects you, what emotions does it invoke? Is Chopin’s music passionate? If so, what makes it so? Chopin’s music permeates throughout Roman Polanski’s Oscar winning film, The Pianist, how do you think his music contributes to the story?

Websites:
Read Chopin’s brief history while hearing excerpts of his music at:
www.ipl.org/exhibit/mushist/rom/chopin.htm

Read about The Pianist at:
www.thepianistmovie.com

Well there's the excitement going on in our life right now. Obviously you should be jealous.