Extended Essay about Opeth

flemflames

flemflames

Member
Feb 10, 2006
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belgium
Hey guys!

I was writing paragraphs and paragraphs but I don't think anybody would have read it all :loco:

To make things short:
-I have to write a 4000 word extended essay.
-I want to write mine about music.
-I originally wanted to write mine about music and the media/industry (basically bash MTV a bit ;))
-My music teacher then suddenly goes "Which musical group do you feel really means something to you?"
-I respond with "Opeth" and I tell her a bit about them.
-After a little chat we decided that it would be a good idea to do it along the lines of "What is the influence of Swedish traditional folk music on the musical output of Opeth?"

What do you all think? A different question/approach perhaps?
How could I "tackle" this question? I know nothing about Swedish traditional folk music!
Yeah... I need your help :erk:

Much appreciated if you help me out! Mikael too (somewhere down the line)! :p
:kickass: -Vic (Flem)
 
Well apparently you've given the guy the impression that Opeth is folk music. You can either lie and make something up about this, as I'm sure the teacher is never going to look into it, or you do it right. Either way, you know there is a good medieval sound on the earlier records and still a lot of acoustic material on the new stuff.

Maybe you could talk about prog rock's influence on it instead of folk. You know Mike loves the prog vinyls and such. :)
 
Swedish traditional folk-music is kinda narrow, I see very few Bellman-influences in Opeth :p Mike has been vocal about the British folk and prog-influences, looking at those connections would probably be more rewarding. With as narrow a topic as you've described, I think you'll end up grasping at straws a bit. On the other hand, widening the topic too much would lead to other problems.

You can definitely do something interesting with an essay like that, but if I were you I'd try and find a slightly different angle.
 
I'd do an essay and call it "Balance in Opeth". I'd talk about anything that comes to mind, like the balance of aggression vs. calm, heavy vs. acoustic, bad vs. good, even the friggin band logo shows the yin yang. Lyrical themes, even balanced production. The mood, which is neither wrist-slashing nor exactly joyful. And look at the 'Autumn' thread too. Why Autumn and not Winter or Summer.

I think it's difficult to do a 4k essay on the folk effects on Opeth.
 
I already have to thank you guys!

These are great ideas right here!

I sure am gonna bring up the "prog influence" and "balance" ideas at my next meeting!
And I really wish I could just write about how much then "pwn"...

I will keep you updated!
:kickass: -Vic (Flem)
 
here's a post of Mike himself about his folk rock influences:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/opeth/334978-mikes-interest-folk.html#post6527366

also i heard him say in an interview, that he never really listened swedish (should i say nordic) folk music in particular. it was just part of his culture, he, they grown into it so it runs in their veins by default.

4K sounds pretty long, maybe you should write a considerable part of your essay about nordic folk music itself. ;-)
 
Why does it have to be only one kind of influence? You can talk about the many different kinds of influences (first, talk about the genre, IE folk, prog, metal - and then talk about how you can hear those parts in opeths music, sometime completely ripped off like Benighted and so on).
 
A little suggestion,if you are preparing a presentation with Power Point,add Madrigal as the font music for the presentation and set it on loop.It would feel mystic and mysterious,making it better.
 
Metalstrm said:
The mood, which is neither wrist-slashing nor exactly joyful. And look at the 'Autumn' thread too. Why Autumn and not Winter or Summer.
Click to expand...



Actually, Opeth talked about every seasons. Just remember My Arms Your Hearse, or The Leper Affinity (Winter), or In My Time Of Need (talking about Summer somehwere). All the seasons have a kind of feeling with it, mostly because they are all so different and suddent. They remind of past, I guess. Autumn is is like a passage from life to death, Winter is the dead season (refer to Black Metal), Fall is rebirth, etc. That's a way of seeing it.
 
Metalstrm said:
Lol. How I'd have loved to be given a 4000 word essay on Opeth.
Click to expand...

Relate it to your programme of study and turn it into a research project! Should've thought of that for myself

If there is such a lack of Swedish folk influences, then making a point of this and explaining what other influences have been key in the making of the music is just as valid as talking about the Swedish folk influences. In any case, if possible, I'd at least try to do some research on Mike's musical upbringing (didn't he say something about having a cool grandma, into metal albeit?) or any strand of info that relates somehow to Swedish folk and speculate on how it could've influenced him, even if not conciously. Now, I'm off to do my own essay planning seeing as I may be on a roll! G'luck with yours.
 
Thanks noura, thats a good way to tackle the question.

To CladInDarkness, yes I am in the IB!

I have a rough outline due next week to show how I'm gonna work on it during the summer vacations.

Peace,
:kickass: -Vic (Flem)
 
noura said:
Relate it to your programme of study and turn it into a research project! Should've thought of that for myself

If there is such a lack of Swedish folk influences, then making a point of this and explaining what other influences have been key in the making of the music is just as valid as talking about the Swedish folk influences. In any case, if possible, I'd at least try to do some research on Mike's musical upbringing (didn't he say something about having a cool grandma, into metal albeit?) or any strand of info that relates somehow to Swedish folk and speculate on how it could've influenced him, even if not conciously. Now, I'm off to do my own essay planning seeing as I may be on a roll! G'luck with yours.
Click to expand...

I'm graduating in Maths & Physics this year. It's difficult to relate Opeth to maths! :) Well, I could always talk about musical intervals and frequencies and the physics of sound and recording, but I hardly think my professors would like that ;)
 
I was in the IB as well. I was to complete my EE over summer break too. My topic was a bit akin to what you're doing, my essay dealt primarily with social movements and the music that followed. There was a bit of MTV and nu-metal bashing in my paper too haha!
 
Also I do hope you include this page as a reference or else it would be considered plagiarism! :wave:
 
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