Living the Dream... for Two Weeks

The last full day of Winterim means the most work and the most pressure to completely finish everything. The Hit Single Machine, having several loose ends to tie up, has been working hard doing multiple things all day. Today consists of shooting the music video, drawing cover art for the song, and seeing if the song sells on iTunes. So, this means that recording has been finished, and the group is within moments of their reward.

Although I really didn't have much of a chance to visit Hit Single as much as I would have liked to during these two weeks, I could tell that every person in the

group had a passion for what they were doing. I could see it in their faces as I talked to them: the excitement of their voices, the light in their eyes. It was as clear as day to see how much these kids loved the project and really had the experience of making and selling music, a business that I'm sure some of them want to make a profession out of. This really was those eight students living their dream, which is what Winterim's all about.

"Taking a Break from Reality" with the Hit Single Machine

Since day one, the Hit Single Machine has been working hard and made crazy progress as a result. Now, in the beginning of week two, their song is finished (actually, it’s kind of finished, as I’m told by some group members) and they’ve been in the recording studio pulling the song together. I was able to catch a glimpse of the song, and it was good. Like, INSANELY good. Standing outside the recording studio, the thick wooden door couldn’t stop me from hearing the upbeat, exuberant song loud and clear. The catchy beat, amazing vocals, and creative lyrics seriously caught my interest (I only heard a vocal recording session). Although some things that I heard were questionable, such as insane laughter and screaming, I was left wanting to hear more after they were done.

Some students, after the recording session, evaluated their progress and filled me in on how things were going. Sam exclaimed, “We recorded in the dark! It was so much fun, and we couldn’t see anything.” When I asked Sam about the group’s progress, he said, “It turned out longer then we expected it to be -- about three minutes long. We haven’t completely finished it, but we’ll be working until the last minute and will be making the music video. We’re just playing around with it, really.”

I also spoke with Jamarcus, who was pretty happy about the song’s turnout. “I was surprised, but in a good way,” he said. “For one, it was supposed to be a pop song, but it kind of turned out to be a mix of pop, R&B, and jazz. But I like it. Hopefully we’ll be done by Friday for the assembly, but I’m sure it’s going to work out just fine.”

Finally, I ended by talking to Nano, who played the bass guitar and “did the intro” for the song. I also asked him what he thought of the song’s progress and he responded with, “I think it’s pretty good. I mean, we’re just, like, amateurs, but we’re having fun. The song’s a different kind of pop, has a different concept, which I like.”

The completed song will be shown at the assembly on Friday, and I, for one, cannot wait to hear the finished product. If you’re interested to see the Hit Single Machine’s progress more regularly, check out their Tumblr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts. The links are on the left sidebar of the blog.

Pop Artists in the Making

The Hit Single Machine Winterim is well into the songwriting process, and has already come a long way after four days of work. As most of you probably know, this particular Winterim has the students writing a pop song, creating a music video for the song, and selling it on iTunes. The profits will be put towards a scholarship for a student applying to LA with strong musical potential.

At this point, the students have finished writing their song, and the group has an idea for the general concept for the music video. Today, they were having a discussion session, throwing out ideas for the music video and deciding which lyrics work for the song and which ones are more cliche or boring. From what I gathered, the main concept is about daydreaming during class. There's one lyric about purple seas, and there was some discussion about drool for the music video. Let's see how it turns out; so far, it sounds like a phenomenal and hilarious concept!