Blog 1: My Musical Culture

Hello! my fellow musical peeps, I'm Asa (which rhymes with awesome if you have no idea how to say that) and I plan on becoming a psychology major with a minor in ASL. I have a little musical background under my belt, as I use to play viola for 7 years (one of the best instruments you will ever encounter). And Believe it or not, my musical culture truly started after 7th grade. I remember my English teacher had us doing an ice breaker where each of my classmates had to stand up and say what each other's favorite music artist/artists were. I panicked and told my partner Usher. And the WHOLE class laughed. And from that day forward I vowed to refine my poor excuse for a music taste.

And I would love to show what I've found over these past few years. You'll hear music I'll never listen to again, some that were the ultimate head pop tune and stuff that holds a very special place in my heart. Shall we?

One example of music that I don't exactly like and shall never grace this precious ears again is Tiny Tim, in particular his song: Tiptoe through the Tulips. I first discover these artists through my YouTube recommended list (I always find the weirdest stuff there). A girl was doing a cover of his song and I thought to myself: "This can not be how the song goes." So after the cover, I search up the original song and artist and my, oh, my. This girl wasn't exaggerating in her performance. This artist was making the craziest high pitched and disjuncture notes come out of his vocal cords, on purpose. My ears ached, my shoulder cringed, and the hairs on my arms stood up, but don't get me wrong this man had pure talent, my ears just weren't ready for it and probably will never be.

An example of music that I simply loved during lockdown was 90's hip-hop, R&B, and Jazz. My mother made a strong impression on me when she would turn on some Lauryn Hill when she would bake, then Missy Elliot and Jill Scott for long road trips. And every time I heard R&B blasting through the house I knew it was clean up time. My mother exposes me to such rich, colorful music I had to dig around deeper to find some true gems. I found artists and bands like the: Outkast, Fugees, The Roots, A tribe called quest, and billions more that I could throw at you and I simply love them all. Then there's Jazz, ah, Jazz makes my heart swell. My favorite artist from that music category is Nina Simone, her voice is such a rich, yet deep timbre. But there is one song I want you guys to take a listen to in particular. This song showcase such raw emotion, you can almost hear the artist holding back tears, I hope you enjoy this very moving piece of music. 

And finally, the last example is the music that I hold dear to me: Old-time Maroon 5. I remember when My family and I drove from Connecticut (20 hours I can never get back, guys it was supposed to be a 12-hour drive) and my mother would play Maroon songs like This love, she will be loved, Moves like Jagger, and Sugar, but mostly the older songs. And whenever we go on a road trip or drive away that.'s longer than 30 minutes, we put on some old Maroon 5 and shout at the top of our lungs. This song that I have laid before you is one of my personal favorites. The vocals are smooth, the beat is funky, and the lyrics are spicy. It's just a song that I keep running back to.

Well, that's it for this tasty musical endeavor, see you guys through the screen next time or you know, in class.

Peace out Homies.