Assignment 3-1

This week I chose to review music and its importance in our lives. Personally I have loved music for as long as I can remember. Though I can not say I love all music, I know I enjoy many different types. Music seems to have a major impact in our lives in many ways. It has a way of changing out emotion. When I was in middle school I can remember the crowd going crazy when the DJ played Quiet Riot’s, “Bang Your Head” or Cindi Lauper’s, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. Music has a way of exciting us and letting our emotions run free. Being a lover of music I can remember getting a Winnie the Pooh record player for Christmas when I was 4 or 5. The record player came with 45’s of Winnie the Pooh music and had about 5 characters that stood up and danced to the music. My parents’ entertained friends of all different classes and ethnic backgrounds so it didn’t matter to me what type of music I listened to, it just mattered that I heard it. I received my very first album; that tells you how long ago it was, at about the age of six. Although it was one my father let me pick from his collection, I was overwhelmed at the thought of that piece of music belonging to me. That Tom Browne album didn’t have many words; my favorite song, “Jamaica Funk” was mainly base lines but I loved it! As a child I can remember listening to Tyrone Brunson, various R&B artists and having an unexplainable feeling inside; it felt like music was made for me personally and I was thankful. I’ve noticed that while they type of music may differ; music still has a way of invoking emotions unlike any other art form. The “Eye of the Tiger” from the movie Rocky, invokes a feeling of inspiration for some, the way “Moments in Love” by The Art of Noise invokes a feeling of peace and calm. The movie industry knows this all to well. They use music to capture tender moments as well as to build suspense and alarm us. When I hear the content of some of the music I hear today I’m disappointed; however, I still think it is a valuable art form. My parents didn’t understand my love for Hip Hop in the 80’s, so the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) again seemed to write the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand” to explain what I felt at the time. I don’t fully understand why my children or their friends love the music they do; however when I put it into perspective, even if I don’t fully enjoy all of their music, I hope the children of their generation continue to encounter a love like no other in music.