Final Project ~ Notes and Lines: The Preservation of Music through the Big Screen

One class at UMBC has been presented with a unique opportunity in this preservation project.  Culture is what defines a society, and the opportunity to accent an aspect of our culture is an amazing thing.

Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center, located in Wheaton, Maryland, has seen its share of a rich history.  In business now for over 50 years, The Washington Music Center (or 'Chuck's,' as the locals call it) was originally located on H Street in Washington, DC.  Due to fires from the MLK Riots hitting the building, Levin was faced with moving out of DC in 1968.  

His buildings in Wheaton look like something out of 'The Blues Brothers.'  The basic design has not changed since the move, which makes it a cultural cornerstone.  A cornerstone that has survived despite music titan's like Guitar Center trying to overtake the industry.

Looking at this one store that holds so much cultural weight, it's easy to see what it is worthy of preservation and a heightened public awareness.  So, after much thought on the subject, I feel as if the best way to bring this out is through a documentary film outlining the history of the store, the personal relationships developed over the years, and the cultural significance it has.  After the completion of the film, there would be a screening at the AFI in Downtown Silver Spring, only a 5 minute drive from Chuck's.  

The process of research and filming would heighten student awareness, and the film itself would serve as a sustainable object, bringing their message to countless audiences.

The Budget would mostly center around marketing the film once it had reached completion.  Due to the AFI's policies concerning Maryland schools, the University would most likely be charged minimal costs (if any) for the screening.

Contacts include Chuck Levin's Music and the AFI for reasons relating to filming and screening.  

Another winter day has come and gone away...

If I close my eyes, I can smell a fireplace.  It's warm.  I can feel comfort.

When I was young, home was a safe haven; a place I could feel comfortable.   Is defining home any different now?  Or has the context just changed?

What makes me feel comfortable?  All of the above?  Yes, but I could find those qualities in many places.  What defines home for me?  Maybe home is a portable object.  If I have my guitar, my journals, my movies, and my computer, I could basically be happy in any house.  

But it that home?

No, it's not.  Home is beyond objects.  Home is where the relationships we formed are strongest.  Home is where we can find ourselves.

Plugged In or Plugged Ou- Wait, no. Still Plugged in

Look at her.  Holding her $14 coffee drink, carrying a messenger bag, and smiling as she talks on her work-issued BlackBerry.  What's wrong with this picture?  No one smiles at the fact they are connected to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

Unless you work for as a cookie tester - in which case, rock on.  

When it comes down to it, being attached to the work environment in such a way is not healthy.  The American ideal of success has created a monster army of workaholics.  24/7 connection doesn't allow for rest or relaxation in the least.  I wouldn't be able to sleep at night just due to the prospect of that phone ringing.

I was given a BlackBerry for a consulting job I was working on about a year ago.  For about two weeks, I felt like Mr. Freakin' Wall Street.  I was checking emails, looking at company stocks I didn't understand, and making calls to people way above my pay grade.  Then it got old.  Really fast.  That ring.  That piercing ring.  It signified an email was just dropped in my inbox.  Well, great - I guess!  I've got mail.  Why do I have mail at 3:30AM?  Why do I need to respond to this by 6AM?  Don't these people ever sleep?! 

I feel that technology, along with many other things, can become dangerous as soon as they are taken to the extreme.  Now with BlackBerry becoming more commercialized, maybe people will start to relax a bit.  Because that will serve as quite the relief to quite a few very, very up tight American workers

We can only hope.

The American Sense of Taste

In the world today, many Americans have lost sight of what it means to eat healthy, and enjoy sitting down to a meal - There's quite a difference between enjoying well prepared food and counting the calories of the muffin you ate for lunch. 

Halfway ~ An Introduction: Defining an Artifact

I'd like to think that life is like playing the guitar.  If you play too hard, you break a string.  If you play too soft, no one is going to hear you.  It's about balance.  It's about feeling the strings.  It's about defining your own way to play.

Life is music, it's rhythm and blues, it's rock & roll.  It's a heartbeat when you decide to close your eyes and listen, and feel, and live.  

Music is the closest to heaven I'm ever going to reach.  And from where I'm standing, with this guitar in my hands - I'm halfway there.  This guitar is a mode of expression.  The music I can find, the words I write, and the emotions I can capture - There's nothing that can compare.  Nothing.  Because this defines me.  It gives an outline on something that no one can capture with words.  And that's what's beautiful about it.  That's why.