Shake That Dirt Off Your Shoulder

I created a remix of Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" (2003) from The Black Album

with Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off (Taylor's Version)" (2023/2014) from 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

I'm calling it "Shake That Dirt Off Your Shoulder."

https://youtu.be/SQ9AuKZ5B1A?si=mzTdgws1I2BCeeGA

Neoliberal Loops art show announcement

Exhibit:

https://events.mtu.edu/event/neoliberal-loops-rozsa-art-galleries

Reception:

https://events.mtu.edu/event/reception-for-neoliberal-loops-rozsa-art-galleries

"9 to 5 Work B**ch" (a remix by Emma Johnson on the morning of 8/25/26) [audio]

I’ve been working on an art project that explores neoliberalism through music and had the idea to mix Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” (1980) with Britney Spears’s “Work B**ch” (2013). I read scholars discuss generations of feminism so I wanted to put feminism and post-feminism in conversation with each other. It was surreal that I worked on it in the morning/afternoon only to realize that Dolly Parton had passed away while I had been thinking about her all day! What a loss. Editing a song she released before I was born, she is still part of the ongoing conversation about women working for equality.

https://youtu.be/9Hb9WT29ZHE

Image credits:

Biography.com Editors. “How Dolly Parton Wrote Her Working Woman's Anthem, '9 to 5.'” Biography.com. Last modified June 24, 2020. https://www.biography.com/musicians/dolly-parton-9-to-5-theme-song. 

Spears, Britney. “Work Bitch.” Track 2 on Britney Jean. RCA Records, 2013, streaming audio. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/3KliPMvk1EvFZu9cvkj8p1.

Neoliberal Loops (installation simulator)

 Play 4 videos simultaneously: Videos 1, 2, & 3 + soundtrack

Soundtrack:

https://youtu.be/sFsX02Q-5bM

Video 1:

https://youtu.be/AKi7xP3mr8E

Video 2:

https://youtu.be/MKSFirJKqLo

Video 3:

https://youtu.be/huizJBq28V8

Soundtrack

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Full playlist of Neoliberal Loops.

"Normal Girl" by Emma Johnson

Performed 2/8/2026

https://youtu.be/JH9Z2edXjmk?si=4WO9ttCvmaIFR2UW

Emma sings Kanye's "Stronger"

https://youtu.be/x8UZv6V7wBQ?si=60uaSLOuHgOACVMD

Singing "Stronger" by Kanye West, which samples from Daft Punk, in the Memorial Union Building at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, for karaoke for Winter Carnival 2026, on February 4, 2026. A song also covered by Marnie in HBO's Girls. So, here is another iteration. Videography by Varsha V.K.

Earth Week Art and Music Festival at the Rozsa (follow-up)

 

"The Anthropocene" Song

I was inspired to write a song about the anthropocene when I read the work of philosopher Timothy Morton and art historian Jill Casid for my "Atlantic AnthropoScenes" course this semester. Hope you enjoy (as much as one can given the subject)! https://youtu.be/wjuocGVn8EI

“The Anthropocene” Song Written: February - March, 2023 Recorded: March 9, 2023, in Houghton, Michigan Words, music, and videography by: Emma C. Johnson Influenced by the scholarship of philosopher Timothy Morton, art historian Jill Casid, and "Atlantic AnthropoScenes" course at MTU. LYRICS In the Anthropocene. In the Anthropocene. A heat wave is coming. A heat wave is here. A heat wave is here to stay. Undulating but never leaving. The heat remains. You are my environment. We are the environment. Webs connected to the mesh. Strands and strands and strands. Strands and strands and strands. Strands and strands and strands. Plantations bled into capital. The familiar configuration. What was the scene? (‘Cause) The landscape / tries to conceal. A palimpsest remains / But won’t reveal. Be content to never know. The landscape will never show. Look at the Necrocene. You’ll see what I mean. The dead cannot speak / But they occupy space. Things will emerge. If Selectively Unnoticed. The past is dark / but you can see the light. Justice is fleeting But ideas take flight. The past is dark / but you can see the light. Justice is fleeting But ideas take flight. Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! Strands and strands and strands and strands. In the Anthropocene. Strands and strands and strands and strands. In the Anthropocene. In the Anthropocene. A heat wave is coming. A heat wave is here. A heat wave is here to stay. Undulating but never leaving. The heat remains. You are my environment. We are the environment. We are the environment. We are the environment. LYRICS & MUSIC: [1st Pluck stings: [4797 on D string 3Xs, 4 on D string 1Xs] [2nd Pluck stings: [4797 on D string 3Xs, 4 on D string 1Xs (when 4 on D also 6 on G] [a.k.a. pluck: F# A/C# B A/C#] [3rd Pluck strings: [4797 on D string 3Xs, 4 on D string 1Xs (when 479 on D also 6 on G] [a.k.a. pluck: F#/C# A/C# B/F# A/C#] [Strum C#m] [Chords: A] In the Anthropocene. In the Anthropocene. [Chords: D] A heat wave is coming. A heat wave is here. [Chords: D A] A heat wave is here to stay. [Chords: E7 A D A] Undulating but never leaving. The heat remains. [Chords: A E] You are my environment. [Chords: C A] We are the environment. [Chords: A E] Webs connected to the mesh. [Chords: C A] [Vocals: C C C C D D A] Strands and strands and strands. [Chord: E] [Chords: C A] [Vocals: C C C D A] Strands and strands and strands. [Chord: E] [Chords: C A] [Vocals: C C C D A] Strands and strands and strands. [Chord: E E E E (8 BEATS)] [Power Chords: C#m E F#m E] Plantations bled into capital. The familiar configuration. What was the scene? (‘Cause) The landscape / tries to conceal. A palimpsest remains / But won’t reveal. Be content to never know. The landscape will never show. [Power Chord: C#m] [Power Chords: C#m E F#m E] Look at the Necrocene. You’ll see what I mean. The dead cannot speak / But they occupy space. Things will emerge. If Selectively Unnoticed. [1 chord progression Power Chords: C#m E F#m E additonal] [Vocals: F# F# F# A / A A A B B A_______. ] [4797 on D string] [Power Chords: C#m E F#m E] The past is dark / but you can see the light. Justice is fleeting But ideas take flight. The past is dark / but you can see the light. Justice is fleeting But ideas take flight. [Vocals: A B B A_______. ] [Chords: C# E] Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! Ideas take flight! [Chords: D6] Strands and strands and strands and strands. [Chords: A7] In the Anthropocene.
[Chords: D6] Strands and strands and strands and strands. [Chords: A7] In the Anthropocene. In the Anthropocene. [Chord: E E E E (8 beats)] [Power Chords: C#m E F#m C#m] A heat wave is coming. A heat wave is here. A heat wave is here to stay. Undulating but never leaving. The heat remains. You are my environment. We are the environment. We are the environment. We are the environment. [slight rit.]

My Teaching Persona (Song)

I wrote a song about being quirky but trying to be professional in the classroom called "My Teaching Persona"!

Watch the video! :)

https://youtu.be/wjuocGVn8EI

“Teaching Persona” (Song)

Lyrics, music, performance, and videography by Emma C. Johnson, November 2022

Recorded/performed November 27, 2022

[Duration: 7min, 7 sec]

[Key: E minor/G major] [Chords: G C G D Em Am B, Em6 E] [Melody: E D B D E B “I can never fake it”] [G C G D] [Em Am Bm Em6] [G C G D] [Em Am Bm E] [G C G D] [G C G D] I’m quirky. It’s not intentional. I try to look professional. Controlled facial expressions. Measured responses. Educational anecdotes that don’t reveal. So I’m approachable yet unemotional. I wear a blazer And a starch-white shirt to connote success. Shiny black heels slight embellishments But it doesn’t compensate Because my hair’s a mess. I spilled coffee on My black peacoat that hides everything. Students think it’s chic. It saves me on dry cleaning. Praying no one notices I don’t have it together. I need to get it together. When will I get shit together? [B7 Em6] Maybe next semester? Maybe next year! [Em Am Bm Em6] I want it so much I’m going to vomit. Young(-ish), eager to please, and prove myself. I bought a polyester blazer that seems like something a graduate teaching instructor should wear. Thing is I’m a little wacky and like to dress with a flair. My sartorial choice does not express my voice How can I be relatable if students can’t get to know me? I need a professional teaching persona I’m trying to fake it ‘til I make it But do I come off as inauthentic? But would authentic be too much? How do I reconcile personas inside and outside class? How do I find my voice? I’m at an impasse. How do I strike a balance? A dalliance with stiffness alas. Now, I must be in the classroom, organic with some sass. [G C G D] Let’s take a break from style and focus on substance: I’m talkin’ about The rhetorical appeals! Ethos is credibility. Do I have the ability To convince them I’m the teacher I pretend to be? Until that projection becomes me? Pathos is emotion. Can I use emotion to provoke them to see that a writer is a good vocation to be? Logos is logic. I wear a blazer. All professors who wear blazers are professional. Therefore, I’m professional. Enthymeme. I wear a blazer, therefore I’m professional. Visual rhetoric. Can’t you see my aesthetics reveal my disposition? Kairos. Now is the time. Let’s figure it out today! [B7 Em6] Let’s figure it out today! Let’s figure shit out today! [Em Am Bm E] I can never fake it to professional But no one can accuse me of being boring. Forget presentation. I’ll focus on content. How to teach the material And the rest will come (to me). Soon my facade and my spirit will converge. [chord progression] [G C G D] (… in) A pencil skirt with ruffles Now my outside matches my inside I don’t need to hide I can take pride Being my authentic self Me and not what I think I should be What I should be is what is needed. While professionalism should be heeded The new me superseded My past self for the authentic yet professional teaching persona! My professional teaching persona! My professional teaching persona! (I’m glad I found) my professional teaching persona! [strum G] teaching persona!

It Was Your Time

Link to song on YouTube: https://youtu.be/acKuPTa8y9c

Awards

*European Union’s Erasmus+ exchange program grant, Spring 2021 (Central Michigan University and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität)

*Semester Abroad Tuition Waiver, Spring 2021 (Central Michigan University, History Department for Friedrich-Schiller-Universität)

*Graduate Assistantship, Fall 2020 (Central Michigan University)

*Silver Medal, Adult Artistic, Skate Midland, 9 Nov 2019 (U.S. Figure Skating)

*Gold Medal, Adult 3 CM, Skate Midland, 9 Nov 2019 (U.S. Figure Skating)

*Gold Medal, Adult 3 FS, Skate Midland, 9 Nov 2019 (U.S. Figure Skating)

*Gold Medal, Adult 1 CM, Skate Midland, 3 Nov 2018 (U.S. Figure Skating)

*Grow with Google Developer Scholarship, 2018 (Google/Udacity)

*Grow with Google Challenge Scholarship, 2018 (Google/Udacity)

*Scott Kennedy Memorial Scholarship, 2017 (Interfaith Peace-Builders)

*Helen M. Casey Center for Nonviolence, 2017 (for IFPB delegation)

*Coca-Cola Scholarship, 2015-16 (Delta College)

*Zonta Club of Midland Scholarship, 2014-15 (Midland Area Community Foundation for Delta College)

*Arthur J. and Bette L. Fisher Scholarship, 2014-15 (Delta College)

*M. Seth Babcock Scholarship, 2013-14 (Delta College)

*President's List, Delta College, Winter 2013

*Honorable Mention, Column, Serious, Michigan Community College Press Association, “Investing in universal pre-school is a step in the right direction, ” 2013
*First United Methodist Church of Midland, MI, 2011 (for mission trip to Chiang Mai)  

*Dean's List, University of Minnesota, 2006-2008

*Winner for best art piece in the Ivory Tower Art and Literary Magazine published by the University of Minnesota, 2009

*Dean's List, MCAD, 2000-2005

*Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program grant (UROP), University of Minnesota, 2007

*Cari-DeWall Obst Uptown Association Scholarship, 2002-03, 2003-04 (MCAD)

*Girl Scout Gold Award, 2000

*Invitation from MSBOA to participate in Youth Arts Festival All-State Honors Orchestra in Ann Arbor, MI, 2000

*Honor Roll, Houghton High School, 1996-2000

*Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, scholarship (Copper Country Suzuki Association private and group violin lessons)

*Houghton High School Music Boosters, Band Camp Scholarship, 1996-1999

My Aesthetics SHEET MUSIC

Violin/piano/vocals/guitar parts:

My Aesthetics

https://youtu.be/_M534_DeUEU

By Emma C. Johnson

Written: Oct 2019 – Apr 2020

Recorded: Apr 23-25, 2020

LYRICS:

Alone with your aesthetics.

Alone with your aesthetics.

You aren't here but it feels like you're near

in a room with our aesthetics.

in a room with our aesthetics.

Void except for things.

A girl at a piano

purses her lips

cracked by centuries of drying.

Her blue satin sash

catches the light

in a room with my aesthetics.

in a room with my aesthetics.

Ballerinas

grasp bouquets

of perfectly positioned flowers.

The sun is pouring

in through the glass

in a room with my aesthetics.

in a room with my aesthetics.

Ceilings painted

with history.

Gold-leafed trim on white walls.

Crystal chandeliers line the hall.

The mirrors go on forever and ever and ever

in a room with my aesthetics.

in a room with my aesthetics.

Alone with my aesthetics.

Alone with my aesthetics.

Alone with my aesthetics.

Alone with my aesthetics.

You aren't here but it feels like you're near

in a room with my aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

My aesthetics.

Images videorecorded for B-roll from: 

The Musée d'Orsay, Barnes & Noble Books
your visit to Versailles, art lys
Degas: A strange new beauty, MoMA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, metmuseum.org

Images include:

0:14 Henri Fantin-Latour, Flowers and Fruit, 1865  

0:18 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Daughters of Catulle Mendès Huguette (1871-1964), Claudine (1876-1937), 1888  

0:23 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Two Young Girls at the Piano 1892  

0:27 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Woman at the Piano, 1875-6  

0:32 Edgar Degas, The Dance Foyer at the Opéra at the rue Le Peletier, 1872  

0:35 Edgar Degas, Fin d'arabesque, c. 1877  

0:39 Edgar Degas, Dance Class, 1873-6  

0:44 Edgar Degas, Ballet Scene, c. 1879 

 0:48 Louis Le Vau, et al./Versailles, The War Drawing-Room  

0:52 Le Vau, et al./Versailles, The Hall of Mirrors 

 0:57 Edgar Degas, The Orchestra of the Opéra, c. 1870s

Poses include: 

0:10 Mary Cassatt, Young Woman in the Garden, c. 1883-6 

5:14 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, The Source, 1856 

5:15 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, The Virgin of the Host, 1854 

5:16 Edgar Degas, Little Dancer at Age Fourteen, 1880-1 

5:19 Gustave Courbet, The Spring, 1868 

5:20 Théodore Chassériau, The Tepidarium, 1853 

5:21 Édouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863
 

FRENCH and GERMAN lyrics translation below:

April MCO concert cancelled due to COVID-19

The April 2020 Midland Community Orchestra concert is CANCELLED!
Please enjoy my favorite piece we were going to play at the concert: Beethoven's Symphony no. 7!

Midland Community Orchestra concert 11-17-19

Our MCO Fall Concert 2019

https://youtu.be/nB51hRy5ZNA

Skate Midland 2019

Adult 3 FS
Gold medal
Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the Midland Civic Arena in Midland, MI.
Skater: Emma Johnson
Choreography by: Emma Johnson
Coach: Melanie Black
Videography: Melanie Black
Music: Les Savy Fav's "Disco Drive" off of their 2001 album Go Forth.
https://youtu.be/uhHTze7vaI0

"Disco Drive"/Les Savy Fav

https://youtu.be/LyAtJXDlZZc

Adult 3 CM 
Gold medal
Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the Midland Civic Arena in Midland, MI.
Skater: Emma Johnson
Choreography: Emma Johnson
Coach: Melanie Black
Videography: Kaye Horn
https://youtu.be/RSJd0HADNWg

Adult Artistic 
Silver medal
Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the Midland Civic Arena in Midland, MI.
Skater: Emma Johnson
Choreography: Emma Johnson
Coach: Melanie Black
Videography: 張齡友
Music: "No Rain" by Blind Melon with a hip-hop section in the middle by DJ Girl Talk sampling "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa and "Paint It, Black" by The Rolling Stones
"No Rain"/Blind Melon

https://youtu.be/3qVPNONdF58

"Triple Double"/Girl Talk

https://youtu.be/i0yY0zxk-18?t=353

Articles:

MFSC skaters earn high finishes at Skate Midland

Skate Midland to host record 140-plus skaters on Saturday

17th annual Skate Midland competition

ABC12 News at Noon: Skate Midland Competition

 

Creating the Bee Girl Ice Skating Costume

 
Dying, sewing, creating

MCO's May 2019 Concert

The Midland Community Orchestra's concert filmed by Midland Community Television (MCTV) on May 19, 2019, at the Bullock Creek Auditorium in Midland, Michigan. I am playing violin.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1bJUkwMCNI

On being a musician

Introducing myself and talking about my process:

https://youtu.be/3-_ozJDfUs8

The whole 24-minute outtake:

https://youtu.be/XIPIae_j3QQ

Music Résumé

SUMMARY

Voice, guitar, violin, piano
110 performances
1991-Present

Piano, Delta College, 2 semesters + self-taught
Guitar, self-taught + University of Minnesota,Twin Cities, 2 semesters
Violin, Decorah Public Schools + Copper Country Suzuki Association, 8 years
Choir, Houghton High School, 1 year
Flute, Houghton High School, 6 years
Recorder, Decorah Public Schools, 1 year
Autoharp, self-taught