Music and Me

Throughout time we’ve seen music change tremendously. While many teens seemed to be absorbed with the poppy hip-hop they repeatedly played on the radio my friends and I listened to more authentic music. Drawn to the funky beats, underground raps and indie style music, I considered the music I listened to as a reflection of my character. It was habit to be plugged into the soulful sounds and as a teenager I remember always blasting my tunes. When it came to music I definitely knew what I did and did not like and what came with that was a wide variety of songs.
There was a time when I was really into some weird music. CocoRosie is a sister band that has such unique style. You will never find another group that compares to them. I was always interested in them because of their funk. Half of their songs I had to look up the lyrics not only because I couldn’t understand but if I could I was thinking, did she really just say that? They were considered to be an indie, freak folk kind of music and I loved it.
Growing up I was also taken by the overpowering interest of rap music. There was a small selection of raps played on the radio but they all sounded so lame to me. Most stations played the sissy, I’m in love, hip hop songs. If not, they were all about how much money they had or how many girls. I find that type of music to be annoying and fake as it’s all for record sales. Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina were area rappers that were just pure fun but also not very known to the kids in my town. The beats were unique and passionate, much different from the popular radio rhymes.
Lastly I was moved by the upbeat sounds of Gypsy punk. I couldn’t help but be put in a good mood by bands like Balkan Beat Box, Cibo Matto or even reggae singer Tanya Stephens. I’d be sure to blare it throughout the house when forced to clean because even then it brought my spirits up. This upbeat cultural music put the best twist to hip-hop music I had ever heard. I could dance, sing and be silly to it, and didn’t care one bit.
Although I chose to listen to this kind of music, you wouldn’t catch my parents listening to it. They never told me I couldn’t listen to something because that was my right. Regardless, my mom referred to it several times as creepy or obnoxious. I could understand why she appreciated the music she did and she tried her best to wrap her mind around the music I listened to. The time from when I was growing up and when my parents grew up had a lot of change. It went from my parents hiding their albums from their parents to me openly listening to my music, however “obnoxious” it was. As most kids are, I was greatly affected by the music I listened to. I think everyone needs music in their life that they can express themselves through and relate to.