Musical Reflection

I was recently engaged in a discussion over how music can be a way for youths to break away from their traditional family values, and express themselves and give meaning to social issues. It made me start thinking about the power of music and how music has influenced me growing up. My favourite music artists when I was in pre-school were Bon Jovi, Lenny Kravitz, U2, 4 non blondes, ACDC.etc. from early on it was easy to tell that my musical influences were a direct result from my parents musical taste. As I grew up my music repertoire expanded to include the traditional “girl power” music of the 1990’s.eg. Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Alanis Morrisette. The music was uplifting, empowering and fun albeit sometimes angsty. It reflected me growing up and starting to understand relationships and that journey that I was about to undertake from a girl into a women. As I reached high school, my music taste changed again. The music I listened to became darker eg. My Chemical Romance, AFI, Incubus, Metallica, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional- I moved away from pop music into the alternative rock or “emo” rock, as some of it was called. I guess this reflected my loss of identity. I was struggling throughout high school to fit in and understand who I was. My music became moodier, more depressing, and angry. I don’t know how much of that was a direct reflection of my personality or whether I was caught up in what was expected of my generation. The music was current, all of my friends were listening to it and it was misunderstood, much like we all were.

Upon becoming an adult my musical taste underwent another shift into the Glam Rock/Pop Rock era. It includes artists like Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Pink, Semi Precious Weapons, Queen, Motley Crue, Kiss.etc I like the sexual empowerment that these artists explore and the fun and upbeat sound of their music. Some of these artists are pushing the boundaries of mainstream music and societies values and I appreciate the freedom that this music brings. They tell the youth of today that its okay to be yourself and you can express yourself freely without putting yourself in a box and sticking a label on it. In the case of Semi Precious Weapons, you can be a heterosexual male and walk around in dresses and high heels, in the case of Adam Lambert, you can be gay and a masculine rock-star at the same time, or in the case of Lady Gaga, you can be quirky and curious, without having to define yourself as one thing. As a youth or even an adult, this message is powerful because often we feel as if we are unable to find the confidence or words to express our true nature. We hide ourselves for fear of being unaccepted or stereotyped. Music breaks through these barriers and opens people’s minds to other perspectives. My current taste in music reflects my acceptance of who I am. I have found my identity and I am comfortable in my own skin. My musical influences are all over the place, no longer just defined as one category, an accumulation of music that I have been exposed to over the past two decades. I’ve come to realise that it reflects the real me. I do not conform to one label. I’m not a pop princess, goth, emo, rock chick. I am everything, and the power that comes with knowing that, is perhaps the most important thing I can have at my disposal.