The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com
NEW STUDENT EDITION
Tuesday, September 6, 2011- 3D
TEDx events
inspire students
to get creative
By LUCY PERKINS
Daily Arts Writer
April 9, 2011 - TEDxUofM
"Encouraging Crazy Ideas" was
one of the most inspiring events
I've ever been to. The confer-
ence was basically an entire day
of talks given by smart, fresh
and inventive students, profes-
sors and professional minds of
the University.
When I walked into the
Michigan Theater, the excite-
ment and passion that the coor-
dinators exuded was palpable.
It hit me like a wall. Here are
these students, just as busy as
everyone else, who have put
all their energy into organiz-
ing something that all culmi-
nated in one day. They thought
of everything: How to make the
event waste-free, what music
will be played at lunch and so
many more things it's over-
whelming just to think about.
Anyway, after I was handed
a cute TEDx lanyard and pro-
gram, I found a seat in the the-
ater. The stage was adorned
simply yet thoughtfully with
red and black decor (the TEDx
colors) soon to be filled with
"crazy ideas."
The first speaker was actu-
ally brilliant. Parag Patil, a
neurosurgeon, talked about the
innovations of brain-machine
interface, something I had
never heard of before, and hon-
estly still can't- quite compre-
hend exactly how it works. But
I understood parts of it, and his
talk really set the tone for the
rest of the day. He talked about
something so innovative and
complex that it's no wonder a
lot of people may have original-
ly thought it was a crazy idea.
But he spoke so clearly and with
such certainty, I'm pretty sure
the entire room would trust him
with their brain if needed.
I didn't stay for all 20 speak-
ers, but I saw quite a few of
them, and everyone had some-
thing different and equally
bright to say. There were
authors, scientists, musi-
cians, filmmakers, lawyers and
explorers. And each one of them
brought an idea just crazy and
dazzling enough to stimulate
the world. But even though each
talk was different, there was a
common theme. These people
are living testaments - who are
right here in Ann Arbor - who
have shown us that achieving
the impossible isn't as hard as
it seems, and that the results of
a crazy or impossible idea are
sometimes unimaginable.
Usually when I go to events
that are so jam-packed with tal-
ented people, I feel pretty insig-
nificant and dull. But that didn't
happen at TEDxUofM. Because
these people - the students
who organized it and the people
who talked - all committed to
doing this for one reason: They
knew that a crazy idea can come
from anybody.
cOURTESY OFSTARCASMNET
fow Rebecca Blacks label sells fleeting fame
By ARIELLE SPECINER
Daily Arts Writer
March 24, 2011 - They say
those who can't do, teach (and
those who can't teach, teach
gym). So what about those who
don't make it on the Disney
Channel? They sign with Ark
Music Factory.
Ark Music Factory has been
the buzz around cyberspace
since 13-year-old Rebecca Black
became a trending topic on
Twitter and serenaded us via
YouTube with our favorite days-
of-the-week song, "Friday" (you
know, today is Friday, tomor-
row is Saturday and Sunday
comes afterwards - that song).
But what really constitutes this
house of fake Mouseketeers that
we keep hearing about?
Ark Music Factory is a record
label to which young teens and
pre-teens sign in order to make
ridiculous songs with equally
ridiculous music videos only so
they can become "viral stars."
At the moment, eight artists
- - -- - . -- ___ - ---- -- YiaiC) -V -. i.'Re
are exclusively signed to the
label, ranging from the Auto-
Tuned pipsqueak Madison Bray
(who sounds like she's 21 when
in reality she's 11) to the much
more mature Ishraq, whose pro-
file photos on Ark's website are
more sex than sing.
Arkcallsitselfan"indierecord
label," but the "stars" it produces
are not what most would call
indie. I mean sure, technically
they are "independent" - being
new and undiscovered - but
what this factory really pumps
out are pure Bieber-esque pop
wannabes with over-indulgent
stage mothers and a sad life
ahead of them. I'm not saying
that these kids aren't talented
- they probably are - but they
just seem like the Mickey Mouse
rejects who weren't wholesome
or perky enough to be the next
Hannah Montana.
The main difference about
this record label is that the
company doesn't pay the artists
- the artists pay the company.
Rebecca Black's mother paid
$2,000 for a package that con-
sisted of pre-written songs for
her daughter to sing. Talk about
selling out. This is an absurd
and unrighteous way to show-
case talent. Sure, there's no such
thing as a free lunch (or in this
case, a music career), but seri-
ously - who would ever think
we'd live in a society where
people pay for their stardom?
I know some celebrities are
low enough to stage their own
paparazzi shots, but to pay for
a terrible song just so they can
become a YouTube star - that's
crazy. Maybe, I'm just naive, but
is the 15 minutes of fame really
worth it?
Take for instance our new
viral friend Rebecca Black. She
claims she wants to be as popu-
lar as the beloved Justin Bieber.
To start, she does not have the
hair. Secondly, the company is
doing it backwards. Usually,
as in Bieb's case, he put him-
self out there and then signed
a record label contract. He was
an unknown who generated a
lot of views and popularity from
the videos he put up, which then
got the record exec's attentions
(yeah, I saw "Never Say Never"
- judge me, it was awesome).
What this company is doing is
signing these hopefuls with the
promise of making them stars.
You can't push popularity like
that - that's what makes people
push back. That is why Rebecca
Black has generated so much
hatred. It's not that her song
sucks - alot of songs suck - it's
that this company is trying to
force YouTube stardom.
Ark Music Factory is a revolu-
tionary type of record label. It's
not looking for the next Grammy
winner or chart-topper, it's look-
ing for the next artist who can
gain a million views on YouTube
in 24 hours. The rise of this type
of record company truly shows
that times are changing. People
don't even want to be pop stars
anymore, they want to be You-
Tube stars. Oh, and we already
knew that Sunday comes after
Saturday - thanks.
IS IT FRIDAY, FRIDAY?
Follow @michdailyarts on Twitter.