Post # 10 Music Of The 90's

   Music is often separated by decades, and there are many disagreements over which decade was the absolute best when it comes to the best music. Of course, that is all a matter of opinion. And in my opinion, the 90's was the best decade for music. Artists from many different genres such as hip hop, punk, pop, and rock really took off in the 90's and created some of the iconic songs that we still get down to and enjoy today, almost two decades later. Who doesn't still love to listen to "Barbie Girl" by Aqua, or "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice?

    There are many genres of music that I listen to and like, but one genre that really seems to resonate with me is 90's Alternative music. You may be wondering, "what counts as 90's Alternative music?" 90's Alternative is basically the rock and grunge music that was really popular in the 90's. Some bands in this category include the all famous Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, and my all time favorite, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Those are just a few of course. Thankfully radio stations who understand that there are more than ten songs in the world still play and appreciate some 90's alternative tracks. Pandora, the internet radio app, is a great way to discover 90's Alternative songs that you may not have heard of before, as they have a category specifically titled: 90's Alternative. Pandora is a great app to discover any genre of music for that matter.

     When it comes to hip hop, the 90's were great. Again, that's just my opinion. 90's hip hop seemed to portray a different meaning than what hip hop today does, and it's a lot easier to dance to than today's hip hop. "Jump Around" by House of Pain as well as "Jump" and "Warm It Up" by Kris Kross, are two perfect examples of easy-to-dance-to 90's hip hop. You've most likely heard them as well. If you have ever seen 1993 movie, Mrs. Doubtfire, you have heard "Jump Around" by House of Pain. Although they formed in the 80's, the Beastie Boys are of the most popular hip hop groups of the 90's. They have a very unique sound, as they combine hip hop with rock. I highly recommend listening to some of their stuff.

     Just like the Beastie Boys, my favorite band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) are also an 80's band who made it really big in the 90's. RHCP came out with three albums during the 90's. These albums include "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," "One Hot Minute," and "Californication." Both "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" and "Californication" are still of the most popular RHCP albums. Songs from these albums can be found on pretty much any 90's Alternative internet radio station. RHCP as well as the Smashing Pumpkins are two of my favorite 90's bands and I strongly encourage you to look them up and check out some of the greatest hits of 90's as well.

Post #9 "All That Jazz"

    One genre of music that doesn't seem to get enough credit these days is jazz music. I was never a huge fan of jazz music. In fact, I despise some of it, mostly what I consider to be "elevator jazz." The kind that plays in hotel elevators or in the produce section of a seemingly deserted super market. Or all of those long, annoying, and confusing saxophone solos. Damn saxophone players. Them and their long solos are the reason why many people find jazz to be so boring. The only saxophones that I really have any respect for are the Baritone Saxophone and the Soprano Saxophone. Although they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, they both give off and awesome and unique sound that really "jazz things up!" Not all jazz is bad though. A lot of cool stuff can be done with jazz music such as improvisation and different renditions of popular songs, such as pop songs and Christmas music. Oh Christmas jazz, how I hate you.
     I spent three and a half years in jazz band in high school as the lead trumpet player. This experience opened my eyes and ears to jazz music and I gained a new appreciation for it as well as a musical and cultural understanding of it. I played some pretty awesome songs, or charts, in my first few years of jazz band. One of my favorites that I've played would have to be a song called "Moanin'" by Charles Mingus. That's definitely a song worth listening to. It's upbeat and interesting and features an impressive baritone saxophone solo at the beginning. It also features an element of ragtime, which is basically where members of the band are playing different melodies at the same time to create a cool, and confusing, layering effect.

Here's a much shorter version of "Moanin'" by Charles Mingus, played by the Fribourg Jazz Orchestra.

     Jazz music is purely an American sound. It originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 1900's and spread up through the United States to New York. It sparked a lot of popularity in the 1920's and grew tremendously. Jazz music is the basis for all of the modern music we have today. If it were not for jazz, we would not have the musicality that we do today. Most Rock music stems from the Blues which is a form of jazz music, using the same, or very similar, chord progressions and rhythms. 

     There are more than just Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie when it comes to talented jazz artists. Buddy Rich is as very famous jazz drummer that you may have heard of. Some of his more famous songs include "Caravan" and "Channel One Suite." My personal favorite jazz artist is Glenn Miller. His most popular piece is called "In The Mood." If you have ever seen the Lindsey Lohan version of The Parent Trap, you have heard this song. I think that is one of the most popular and well-known songs out there.

"In The Mood" by Glenn Miller

I don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about modern jazz music. Especially when it comes to Kenny G. One artist that I do have a good amount of respect for is Gordon Goodwin. He seems to keep things pretty interesting in a lot of his pieces. Here is my favorite of his entitled "Hunting Wabbits."

"Hunting Wabbits" by Gordon Goodwin

Post #8 The Human Library

     I was very glad that our class time was spent at The Human Library last Thursday. During the time that I was there, I spoke to three different people and learned a little about their lives and the experiences that they have had. The first person I talked to was a survivor of a deadly car crash. Her name is Savannah Fielder. I actually went to high school with her and I remember when the car accident occurred. She told of how she was heading to work one day in December of 2013 and her car spun out on the icy road and crashed. Savannah said that she lost a whole month of her life and does not remember anything from the crash other than the ambulance ride where her father gave her his headphones so that she could listen to Taylor Swift the whole way to the hospital. She was in a coma for about a month. The accident happened during her senior year of high school and she spent the last six months of her senior year going through physical therapy and rehabilitation. She did however graduate with her class and is now attending her fifth semester here at Delta. 

     "Forced" isn't quite the word that I would use, but the lady who seemed to be in charge of The Human Library strongly directed me to another person who I probably would not have chosen to sit down and listen to. His name is Ray and he is an English professor here at Delta. He is also a Muslim. The reason why I most likely would not have chosen to talk with him is because I know very little about Muslims and what they do and believe The first thing I learned from him was that Islam is the faith and a Muslim is someone who practices that faith. He explained how he was raised as a Catholic and how he became a Muslim when he was in grad school. I felt a little uncomfortable asking him questions because I was, and still am, quite ignorant about the Islamic faith. I learned from him that there are three mosques in the area and the Muslim community is growing. Overall, I am glad that I talked to him because I learned a bit about something I really knew nothing about. Ray was very open to any questions that we had about him or about Muslims and answered them clearly. He also welcomed us to come see him in his office if we ever had any more questions about being Muslim.

     The last person I talked to was a recovered addict. I did not catch her name but I personally found her story of her experiences to be the most interesting. She was a drug addict for many years and had actually gone to prison. She had battled with her addiction to drugs such as cocaine for several years. She told us that prison is where she got clean. From the way she described prison life, it sounded a lot like the show, Orange Is The New Black, but I didn't have the guts to ask her if she had seen the show or if the show was an accurate representation of what she experienced. We learned that she has an eighteen year-old son as well as twins. She is currently employed and plans on coming back to delta to finish getting her degree.

     I think that The Human Library is a very interesting activity. I really did enjoy taking part in it. It was enjoyable to listen to people tell about their lives and unique experiences that not everyone has. I would most definitely take part in this activity again. I do wish that I had the chance to talk to more people and hear about their experiences, but perhaps I will be able to talk to these people the next time this activity comes around.