The sound of Deforestation?

[Wystan]

John Gorka - Houses in the fields, more properly talks about farms being used for housing communities, but underlies the sense of remove the obstacle to make room for MORE!

 

[Pbartender]

These are all great songs,but I was thinking of something a little more somber. With a "You see all this beautiful stuff, well in forty years it will all be destroyed unless you do something" kinda feel. Maybe Enya?
Raw

Right, but how many other students are going to do the exact same thing?

I only suggest that you might want to look at it from a different, but still valid viewpoint to set your presentation off from the others... The Raymond Scott music I suggested, for example, would emphasize the faceless, implacable and inevitable march of "progress" that requires such an insatiable appetite for raw materials that our modern civilizations practically demand deforestation to feed that need. Which rather turns the message into, "in forty years it will all be destroyed unless everyone does something" kinda feel... A subtle, but significant difference.

Also, will you be speaking during the music? If so, I'd suggest sticking to something instrumental, otherwise the lyrics will compete and your own words for the attention of the audience.

Another music suggestion... A Night On Bald Mountain. You'd have to trim it down a bit to fit the time restraint, but it's got a rather ominous tone to it, while still having the possibility for a "hopeful" ending if you end it with the bell chimes.

 

[rawgt3]

Well actually there are only 2 students doing somthing similar (endangered species). and one of them is using In the arms of an angel but she is not sympathetic too the subject (she got the idea straight from an example in the textbook) so I'm not expecting her to "steal my thunder". Everyone else is doing something random, like the speed of a car or the price of shoes, or anything else that models exponential growth or decay ,with some kind of crazy rap or country music.After going through what music I already have, I am thinking of using Evenstar or Gollum's Song from LotR tracks. Also I will not have to talk through it. After listening to it, I see what you mean with Powerhouse and Dinner Music.., but I have a feeling that the class will be instantly brought to laughter by the ridiculous (to them) music and miss the point completely. I like A night on Bald Mountain through, but once again, I fear that they will instantly recognize it from Fanastasia and being talking amongst themselves.

 

[Tewligan]

You could play three minutes of Dane Cook's "comedy" routine. NOTHING is more tragic than Dane Cook.

 

[Pbartender]

Well actually there are only 2 students doing somthing similar (endangered species). . . Also I will not have to talk through it. . .

Ah, don't mind too much then... for some reason I was under the mistaken impression that everyone was giving a presenation on the same topic. A silly assumption, that.

But don't underestimate the power of satire... Too much negative emotion can turn an audience off to the plight your trying to espouse. I've some good success in the past by playing the devil's advocate to the hilt, and by presenting arguements for the pro side that are completely true, but utterly ludicrous. For example, "Clear cutting prevents forest fires." (Of course it does, you can't start a forest fire without a forest.)

It works great as an introduction to pique the audience's interest, before switching the real arguments against, which by contrast will seem more dire and more serious in the face of the "opposition's" stance... In other words, keep your side of the fence ultra-serious, but breifly present the opposing viewpoint in a dismissive, semi-humorous, nearly rediculous light.

 

[Moulin Rogue]

Bruce Cockburn - If A Tree Falls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8CibAuvZM4

 

[Richards]

You could try something from Phillip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi. I think there's a track there dealing with giant bulldozers and such tearing their way through vast swaths of land to put up the latest housing development and such.

Johnathan

 

[rawgt3]

But could satire not also backfire and make them think the whole issue is some kind of joke?
And in responce to trancejeremy: There are about 20 acres of forest no more than 40 ft from my backdoor. Sure I hate the bugs and snakes ,but I'd rather deal with them than traffic jams, polluted air, stench, crime, and jerks. Also learning to appreciate nature is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself spiritually. It even has it's own wikihow page.
Also we've recently had a plight of trash tipping racoons but with a little added security they seem to have gotten the message.

 

[Pbartender]

But could satire not also backfire and make them think the whole issue is some kind of joke?

It depends on how you handle it... Use the satire only for the introduction while keeping the rest of the piece serious, and make the satire purposefully ludicrous almost to an extreme to keep the contrast. You can even use the line, "Sounds pretty rediculous, doesn't it? But the reality is no lauging matter..." As a segue to the serious parts.

You don't want the entire speech to be satire, otherwise it will seem like you are just making fun of the subject, and you don't want to be too subtle, otherwise the audience might miss the contrast and mistake it as your support for the opposition. Either way, that's when when the issue starts seeming like a big joke.