Sunday, November 28, 2010

An Introduction to a Blogger and Her Love of Music


When I first decided on writing a blog about music, I immediately began exploring which bands and musicians I would discuss. I perused the internet for pictures. I even had a set of blog titles in place. The one aspect that I failed to address though was how I would begin my blog. After much consideration, I have chosen to give my readers (you guys and gals) a bit of a taste of where I am coming from with my music tastes and opinions.

I grew up in a home that centered around music. My father was a drummer for a rock band for some time before I was born, and therefore, shared his love for rock. My mother's taste in music is a bit more broad, ranging from jazz, classical, and musicals, to rock music. Instead of the TV being on during dinner, we listened to music. My mom would clean the house while while my siblings and I danced to the music that my mom was listening to. Our parties were filled with music, starting with jazz at the beginning of the party, and then shifting into rock music as the party carried on into the night. Our favorite movie within our home was the movie "Wayne's World". My parents owned the soundtrack to that movie. My brother did the memorable "Foxy Lady" dance that Garth did in that movie while I dreamed of being Cassandra when I grew up. My brother and I were in band throughout middle and high school. I had dreams of making a career out of my love of music as either a band teacher or a music producer or band manager for an up-and-coming band. As I grew up my music tastes changed and shifted over time. While I brought new musical tastes into my life, I never forgot about the originals that helped define my childhood.

I currently listen to just about every type of music out there, except for country. Within the past year my recent identification as a feminist has led me to think about my music tastes. My Women's Studies class I'm taking right now, "Theories of Masculinity", has led me to begin this blog. I was especially interested in the discussion that we had in class about masculinity in music. Men in society today are forced to live within this invisible box that dictates how a man should act, how they should dress, and how they should present themselves to the public. Music, and musicians themselves, do a great to help define this box. This blog will explore masculinity in music and how there are male musicians out there who help define the walls of this box, and the musicians who help break the barriers of this "man box". I am going to do my best to explore every genre (even those that I don't listen to).

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