My Musical Culture

 What's A Song That's Really Important To Me?

 For this question I wanted to show everyone my favorite instrumental piece. It is by my favorite composer Frank Ticheli, a more modern composer who composes music for different levels of band and wind ensembles. My favorite piece is called Vesuvius, and here is a recording of it below:


By the name, it is clear that this piece centers the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the town of Pompeii many years ago. This piece characterizes that with a sweet and mournful saxophone solo which becomes the main melody throughout the piece, intense and complicated mixed meters, and an amazing build with a soft and slow section in between two very energetic ones. I could talk about this piece for paragraphs, but instead I'll explain why this piece is so meaningful to me. 

So why is this piece in particular one that I would choose for this? 

My introduction to this piece was during my junior year of highschool, and although I unfortunately have not played it since, it still heavily impacted my love for music. Junior year was the year I started figuring out that I wanted to major in Music Education, so having a piece stick out to me during those vulnerable years was very important. I love this piece because it characterizes an event that impacted the lives of many, with a clear purpose and almost personification of Mount Vesuvius. This piece taught me what I truly loved in instrumental music and composers, for I didn't exactly have a favorite composer or instrumental piece before I played this. Now I have more of a musical identity regarding what I enjoy listening to and what styles I prefer to play, all thanks to Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli. 


What's A  Song That Helped Me Get Through The Pandemic?

I have always enjoyed Broadway and Musical Theater, so it is no surprise that I would become obsessed with one over the past year. I remember watching and enjoying Mean Girls as I grew up in the 2000s, and I'm sure almost everyone knows at least a few jokes and quotes from the cinematic masterpiece. However, it wasn't until I was introduced to its musical counterpart that I began to really fall in love with it. Mean Girls The Musical is a Broadway adaption of the original movie with a wide variety of songs that maintain the cynical humor of the film with amazing vocals from its cast. One of my favorite song from the musical is "Someone Gets Hurt", which is performed by Regina George played by Taylor Louderman in this recording. 

Why is this my favorite?

First of all, Regina George is my favorite Mean Girls character. Secondly, this and "World Burn" have some of my favorite vocals to sing. I love the evil energy they both give off, and both include powerful riffs that allow me to explode when I'm singing them in the car. However, there are so many other good songs in this musical and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Broadway. 

What Is Some Music I Don't Enjoy?

I personally don't enjoy most of today's popular music. For my taste, it isn't energetic enough and uses a lot of autotune, which are two things I don't particularly look for in music. Another thing that turns me off is the word choice and lyrics. The melodies are admittedly very catchy and I don't mind them most of the time, but I am a person who heavily relies on the lyrics and meaning of a song. I feel as if a lot of today's music depends more on the sound and beat rather than the words behind it, which I can't help but find a little disappointing. 


The song example that I chose is Wow by Post Malone. For those who enjoy his music, I do not understand how you do but I also respect that you do. For me, this song fits the categories of things I don't personally enjoy in music. It does have a relatively catchy melody, but this song uses a lot of autotune and not as much raw vocals. It also doesn't include many actual instruments, which I enjoy hearing in produced music. This is a more energetic example of today's music, but I prefer more intense beats and this song seems to be more low-key with that. Finally, there are the lyrics. I looked them up since I don't actually know them, but I honestly still don't understand what the song is supposed to be about. Like most modern music, the main idea seems to be a general way to "flex" on everyone and brag about having money, fame, etc. Of course, this song's purpose isn't to contain an important message of any kind, it is simply there to entertain a crowd, and it does just that through the catchy melody and music. I understand that there are many who enjoy songs like this, but without my personal criteria I simply cannot. 

Comments

  1. Lauren SellarsJanuary 12, 2021 at 8:38 PM

    Although I personally love Post Malone, I have seen him in concert, I do understand how some people don't like his music. Even though I do listen to him, there are some songs I just can't physically get through, so I think I love him more as a person than I love his music. For example, I absolutely hate Hollywood's Bleeding, and that may be someones favorite song, but just not mine. I do recommend his other songs like Stay and Allergic if you haven't listened already! They're both great songs, much better than Wow, both sonically and lyrically.

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