Music In Everyday Life

Well its hard to think of when I am not around music actually. Wake up to the radio, always have music on in the car, an if tv is on there will be music in commercials. Then there's music in every imaginable store, in the caf at school (love the 90's mix they sometimes have on). Point is, its almost a sub-conscious experience. You also have to think of all the times you have music in your head. I'm not sure I would consider music a unique part of my culture. I mean, is there a culture that doesn't constantly have music involved in the member's lives? For me the difference is whether you are passively or actively listening to music. Not in a hierarchical sense, but it is a different experience. I will say this, if you ever have the chance to learn to play a little on an instrument, do it. You don't have to be good at it to really have alot of fun. We often talk about how music affects our emotions or is a release from life. Well for me, alot of the time its just plain fun. Playing guitar with a real band beats the heck out of Guitar Hero, and that's nothing against Guitar Hero.

Music Culture

Well as I said in class, I didn't really get into music until I was 11ish. My parents mainly listened to the local Christian radio station, which seemed to believe "Christian music" meant easy listening/soft rock. However, I had friends who were getting into alternative music that wasn't being played on the top 40 stations and yes, at the risk of the FBI putting me away we burned lots of cds to share with each other. Yeah, sure you never have done that right? Anyway, I really enjoyed music that had lots of energy, intensity, but was still catchy. Luckily, the mid-late 90’s were full of that with 3rd Wave Punk and Ska still going strong. Also, just modern rock at the time was not as touchy feely as it seems to be now with the indie movement (no offense meant toward it). I wouldn't say I was directly rebelling against my parents as much as I finally found something that matched what my personality and ears found musically satisfying. Another source of musical influence for me was a independent radio station out of Auburn I could barely pick up called The Tiger 95.9/104.9. It's slogan was new rock, and it is about the only radio station I've ever heard that actually kept up with modern rock and wasn't stuck on the best of the 70's and 80's.
As for my musical culture, I guess I just like anything with strong guitar riffs. I play a little guitar, so I always enjoy hearing a guitar player come up with a good rhythm line or riff that makes a song memorable. I listen to instruments and how they work together in music before I pay too much attention to the words, although I certainly enjoy a well-written song as much as anyone. I have anything from Straight Edge Punk to classic rock to grunge in my music collection. I am open to new music, but I pretty much know right away if I like a song or not. I want music to really grab hold of my attention; I am an active listener, not passive. Well that’s about all I can think of, thanks for reading.