Blog Entry 1: My Musical Culture

 Hello everyone! My name is Sierra Stiles and I'm a full time student at Converse College. I'm currently undecided for my major but I would like to go for math and hopefully go into the dual engineering program with a minor in ASL. I think the world of engineering would benefit by having more gender diversity as well as by having more POC. Me specifically, i would like to go into aerospace engineering which would include working on air crafts and even spacecrafts. 

I grew up in a small town called Clover, which is about 30 minutes from Rock Hill. I went to Clover High School where I was a part of AFJROTC and marching band. I did 3 seasons of marching band as a colorguard member and 2 seasons of winterguard. I learned a lot about music through dance and choreography, as well as how to spin a flag, rifle, and saber. Back home, my mom and dad tell me about my younger brother joining marching band as a tuba player. I also have 2 cats, Neo and Smokie, and a chihuahua-dachshund mix (a chaweenie!) named Pip. 

Now that you know a little about where I come from, I hope you enjoy learning about my music culture!

A type of music that is important to me: Ever since I was little, my dad would quiz me on 80's hair metal music. He would play a song such as 'Crazy Train' and ask me who sings it (Ozzy Osborne). Eventually, I would find my own taste for 80's rock. I even got the chance to go to a Bon Jovi concert for their come back tour. My dad and I would listen to Motley Crue, him doing an air guitar solo and encouraging me to sing the lyrics. Even though I'm not a good singer, I would still rock out.  Some of my favorite songs of this genre include 'You give love a bad name' by Bon Jovi, 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' by AC/DC, and 'No One Like You' by Scorpion. 

My go-to music for lock down: During Lock Down, I worked in at Food Lion so there was a lot of stress of people coming in and panic buying hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and bleach. I found myself gravitating to soothing instrumentals to calm my anxiety throughout the week. This type of music isn't well known, but it's called Lo-Fi. It's non-lyrical and relies on 'aesthetics' and ambiance to get it's relaxing reputations. It is a type of DIY music which started in the 90's so a lot of the original songs are found on SoundCloud and then complied onto youtube. Many students, including me, listen to this type of music while studying or doing homework to help them focus and relax. I suffer from really bad anxiety/depression and since I could no longer see my friends as often as i used to because of the virus, I relied on these compilations to help stay relaxed. The more I listened to the mellow playlists, the more I found myself taking on the aesthetics that go with it. Normally I wear black, almost an 'emo' vibe, but lately I've wanted to see more pastels in my environment, I've been in love with the Cool to be Kind logo. I guess it's my projection of wanting to see a simplicity and kindness during this time of turmoil and confusion.

 

An example of music I don't like: I have many different music tastes depending on my mood so it's hard to find an example of music that I don't like. I've listened to some country music, I listen to Latin music, I even to listen to Die Antwood which is a rap duo from South Africa. I never thought there would be a song that I would not want to listen to until I heard the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. I understand that the beat is catchy and sometimes it gets stuck in your head, it got stuck in mine just typing about it. The thing is the lyrics. The more I would look into the lyrics, the more uncomfortable I would become with lyrics like "I know you want it" "You're a good girl". It would give me an icky feeling that I didn't want again so I refrain from listening to it if I can. Some people may like the song and I won't ask them to change it if they play it, but I would prefer if I didn't have to hear it.