Music has been a big part of my life; I can easily track the stages of my life through the musical tastes and environments that were around me. Looking back at my childhood, my adolescence, and on through my adult life, there have been a variety of artists and songs that have helped define these life experiences. Since music is such an integral part of popular culture, we can link our experiences to the music we were playing at the time to give ourselves common cultural ground. The music I listened to throughout the various stages of my life say important things about the times in which I grew up, and my overall personality.
When I was growing up, my parents had me listen to a lot of children’s music – Raffi, the songs on Barney, Mr. Rogers, etc. – and so I do place a strong amount of correlation between those artists and my childhood. When I think of childhood, I imagine these songs and their simple, upbeat chords, remembering that this is how I learned to first recognize music. In terms of real music artists, I tended to gravitate toward what my parents used to listen to: they were big fans of country music, so I have at least a passing knowledge of popular Garth Brooks songs like “The Thunder Rolls,” “Achy Breaky Heart,” and so on. I was too young when I listened to these to really form any kind of critical appreciation or opinion on them, so I liked them because it was the only music I could listen to. These songs were simple, happy and carefree, which reflects how happy my childhood was – alternatively, even with the darker lyrics to some of those country songs, I was unable to really be aware of what they meant, so they still had a positive effect on me.
Once I became a teenager, I started to very actively rebel against that music – I was starting to make friends with kids in school, make my own money to buy CDs, and I had gotten sick of all the Garth Brooks songs I had been forced to listen to. After that point, I started to listen to what my teenage friends did: they were big into grunge and classic rock, so one of my favorite songs was Weezer’s “Buddy Holly,” and I started gaining an appreciation for The Beatles and David Bowie. I used these songs to both rebel and fit in; it was not what my parents were listening to, but it did get me closer to friends who wanted to find good music from their parents’ era, while finding new youth-oriented music to grab onto. This stage of my life largely informed much of my musical tastes, as I would try to find high-quality contemporary rock and pop bands while also exploring older music, like Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and Richard and Linda Thompson’s “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight.”3.What music do you associate with comfort? How do these songs help you deal with disappointment or stress? Include at least one specific song/artist for this category.
The kind of music I associate with comfort is typically very low-to-midtempo songs; Getz/Gilberto’s “The Girl from Ipanema” is very kitschy and sounds like elevator music, but I find it incredibly comforting. The same goes for the songs of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong; many of their love songs like “What a Wonderful World” and “The Lady is a Tramp” I find really help to de-stress me after a long day. Guilty pleasures abound as well; I enjoy the simple harmonies and high energy of the Barenaked Ladies, and so some of their earlier songs like “Hello City” and “Brian Wilson” will find themselves in my playlist during times of stress. When I think about songs of happiness, they largely overlap with songs of comfort; when I am comfortable, I am happy, and so many of these same songs will serve dual purposes. Sometimes, these even extends to hearkening back to the songs I listened to as a teenager; the early artists I would become familiar with, like Nirvana and Weezer, take me back to the times when I would hang out with my friends and listen to these CDs in our respective homes and garages. These were times of great camaraderie, and I cherish them still; these songs truly make me happy.
In conclusion, like with many people, I have many songs that I consider to be important to me. My childhood is defined by Raffi’s “Bananaphone,” Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places,” and more, while my adolescence had me listening to Weezer’s “Undone (The Sweater Song)” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The songs that comfort me and the ones that make me happy are one and the same, from relaxing crooners like Sinatra and Louis Armstrong to energetic pop singers like the Barenaked Ladies. I have worked hard to try and keep my musical tastes open, but there are just some mainstays that I permanently associate with my history and personality.
References
Armstrong, L. (1967). What a wonderful world. What a wonderful world. ABC Records.
Barenaked Ladies. (1998). Stunt. Reprise Records.
Weezer. (1993). Undone (the sweater song). Weezer (Blue Album). DGC Records.
