Lately on YouTube I've stumbled over the work of John Boswell, also known as MelodySheep_, who takes video clips of famous people, manipulates their voices to make them tuneful and creates remarkable remix videos. He calls them 'songifications'. Many have scientific and space-related themes. Here’s one of his latest, which he's called Blue and Beautiful – a tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Until I saw this I'd forgotten, if I ever knew, that Armstrong was just one of the early moon voyagers to remark on the stunning sight of Earth viewed from Space.
A few viewers sound on Boswell's channel sound as if they think this is a cheeky way to treat a hero's words. But I think it's creative and interesting and because it honors the man, its heart is in the right place.
A few viewers sound on Boswell's channel sound as if they think this is a cheeky way to treat a hero's words. But I think it's creative and interesting and because it honors the man, its heart is in the right place.
It demonstrates too, the strong human urge to borrow, change, tweak, enhance and update moments from yesterday and add a touch of today's culture to create something new.
It's the mark of a wide-open mind.
It reminds me of part of a great commencement speech made last year by writer Neil Gaiman.
It's the mark of a wide-open mind.
It reminds me of part of a great commencement speech made last year by writer Neil Gaiman.
In urging students to "make good art" he said: "We're in a transitional world right now, if you're in any kind of artistic field, because the nature of distribution is changing, the models by which creators got their work out into the world, and got to keep a roof over their heads and buy sandwiches while they did that, are all changing.
"I've talked to people at the top of the food chain in publishing, in bookselling, in all those areas, and nobody knows what the landscape will look like two years from now, let alone a decade away.
"The distribution channels that people had built over the last century or so are in flux for print, for visual artists, for musicians, for creative people of all kinds.
"Which is, on the one hand, intimidating, and on the other, immensely liberating. The rules, the assumptions, the now-we're supposed to's of how you get your work seen, and what you do then, are breaking down. The gatekeepers are leaving their gates. You can be as creative as you need to be to get your work seen. YouTube and the web (and whatever comes after YouTube and the web) can give you more people watching than television ever did. The old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are.
"So make up your own rules."
Boswell, aka Melody Sheep, is doing just that. I like that.
"Which is, on the one hand, intimidating, and on the other, immensely liberating. The rules, the assumptions, the now-we're supposed to's of how you get your work seen, and what you do then, are breaking down. The gatekeepers are leaving their gates. You can be as creative as you need to be to get your work seen. YouTube and the web (and whatever comes after YouTube and the web) can give you more people watching than television ever did. The old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are.
"So make up your own rules."
Boswell, aka Melody Sheep, is doing just that. I like that.
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