My Musical Culture

Hey everyone, I’m Ronasia Jones and I’m a psychology major here at Converse. I graduated from Spartanburg High School in 2020, and I am currently a sophomore. I was born in Newark, New Jersey but moved to Spartanburg when I was eight years old. As it pertains to music, I enjoy a multitude of different musical genres. However, some of my favorites are rock, pop and R&B.

An example of a song that is my currently my favorite, is the song “Black Out Days” by the musical duo Phantogram. Although I do not know many songs by Phantogram, I would frequently hear snippets of this song on Tik Tok. After hearing different videos including the snippet of this song, I decided to attempt searching up the full song on YouTube. When I was able to find the full version, I was shocked to learn that it was not a new song. However, I still have been currently obsessed with the catchy lyrics and the different beats in the song “Black Out Days”. I also thought it was pretty cool that I discovered
the full version of this song around the same time I moved back on campus here at Converse this semester. Although I have listened to this song no less than one hundred times on Spotify since then, I still enjoy it just as much as hearing the first snippet.





An example of a song that is personally meaningful for me is the song “Don’t Stop” by rock band Fleetwood Mac. I began listening to Fleetwood Mac in senior year of high school, which “Don’t Stop” was one of the first songs I heard by this band. I really connected with this song after hearing the meaningful lyrics. The theme of this song surrounds not dwelling on the past and instead focusing on making your future better than the past. As I am one to frequently think about my past mistakes and failures, the hopeful lyrics really spoke to me. The lyrics encouraged me to be more present in my thinking and strive to be better than I was in the future. Although I discovered this song in high school, I often find myself listening to “Don’t Stop” whenever I need to be brought back to the present.



An example of a song that I don’t really connect with is “O’Fortuna” by Carl Orff. As I previously stated, I enjoy a lot of different genres of music. So, choosing a song from a genre of music that I personally don’t connect with is difficult. However, I find opera songs including the one I provided, to not be as enjoyable compared to other genres. Although I find the way the instruments are being used to be interesting, I would not personally listen to this song in my free time. However, I do believe songs like the one I provided, are appropriate for certain movie scenes. 



Comments

  1. Alyssa GrafSeptember 7, 2021 at 4:41 PM

    Hey Ronasia! I agree with you in not fully connecting with the last song, "O'Fortuna" by Carl Off. I agree that it is a great piece when used for movie scenes; however, I would never listen to something like this for fun. To be honest it is just a very intense piece that kind of scares me and does not really relax any part of me! I love the song by Fleetwood Mac! I have heard it a few times before, but it is really just a great take me back to the past kind of song! I love the beat and the message is spreads too. Finally, I have honestly never heard "Phantogram." Although, it was a good song when I listened to it. I liked the message is spread but mostly I liked the beat. Thank you for sharing these songs!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kelly WertzSeptember 8, 2021 at 10:02 PM

    Hi Ronasia!! I'm so glad somebody also shares a love of Fleetwood Mac other than just me in the class. If I'm being totally honest, when I started out listening to them I would just listen to Gypsy, Dreams and Rhiannon. It wasn't until I came across one of their CDs while shopping and spending that $10 was the best decision I had ever made. I fell completely in love with them after and now can't go a day without listening to them. I connect to Fleetwood Mac so much and especially to "Don't Stop" and "Everything." If you've never listened to "Everything I definitely recommend listening to it(it's actually my favorite.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jackson BeckSeptember 10, 2021 at 10:09 PM

    What's up Rosania one thing I really liked about your blog was the part with Fleetwood mac I personally love them and think they are underappreciated with all the bangers they post. My personal favorite song by them is dreams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ChanayaSeptember 13, 2021 at 9:11 AM

      Hey Ronasia, I've never really listened to Fleetwood Mac before running across your blog, but I've added a few songs to a couple of my playlists. I never knew who "Don't Stop" was by when I heard it, but I do enjoy it. I also love the meaning behind the song because it's very encouraging.

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