Your comment post should be at least 400 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).
Student Question | What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music?
MAY 9, 2016 5:02 AM May 9, 2016 5:02 am 4
What does that statement mean to you?
David Gonzalez interweaves a story about what music meant to his father as he tells about his own first memory of listening to those songs in the section of the article called “A Bolero Between Father and Son”:
My earliest memory of being alive comes with its own soundtrack. My father, Pedro, used to sit with his battered guitar by the window of our first-floor apartment in the Bronx and slowly pluck out the songs he had learned decades earlier in Puerto Rico.
They were romantic boleros, filled with melancholy and heartbreak, or traditional aguinaldos from his own rural childhood in Caguas.
God, I hated those songs.
During the 1960s, when Puerto Ricans were depicted as knife-wielding know-nothings who would be the downfall of the South Bronx, the last thing I wanted to hear was some corny music that reminded me of where my parents were from. Besides, by the end of that decade I was too enamored of Jimi Hendrix, Creedence and The Guess Who to even give a second thought to papi’s music. So while he tried once to teach me guitar, all I ever learned to play were records.
A few weeks ago, I was driving by Van Cortlandt Park on a sunny morning when one of those old songs popped up randomly. I only had to hear a few notes from the lead guitar to know it was “Noche de Ronda” by Dúo Pérez Rodríguez, one of papi’s favorite groups. With flowery, poetic lyrics, they declared loyalty to a vanished lover, vowing to wait until death.
Waiting. Maybe that was also a theme of papi’s life. He had come here as a teenager to work in factories where, in time, he would lose most of two fingers on his playing hand. No longer able to play leads, he switched to rhythm. He didn’t really talk about that. Nor did he talk much about Puerto Rico, having only gone back to visit once in the mid-1940s after he married my mother.
Music was the link to the island he left behind. Along with his brother Eusebio, and Luis Reyes, a family friend, they would break out the guitars to perform the music of their youth.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:
— To what degree do you identify with Mr. Gonzalez’s story of listening to his father’s favorite music from his own childhood?
— Is being a fan of a certain style of music or artists connected to how you see yourself? What about how you view other people? Explain.
— What are your first memories of music? What is the setting for those memories?
— Have your parents, grandparents, other older family members or teachers introduced you to music that they loved when they were younger?
— If so, what artists or musical styles have you “inherited” from them?
— Have you likewise brought new music to older family members? If so, what?
I, like Mr. Gonzalez, remember fondly what type of music my parents used to play around me when I was younger. When I hear them in the car or when they come on the radio it reminds me of specific times. My parents used to play the songs over and over again forcing the lyrics and the tune in my head. God I hated when they did that but it was their favorite songs. When I hear the music now I can remember where I was when I listened to it and when it played. Songs are like mini scrapbooks. I think the style of music does depict the style of music I listen to today. For example my mom was a big 90s hip hop fan while my dad was a big alternative fan. Today I listen to Lenny Kravitz and LL Cool J because that's what I grew up with. If it were any different I don't think I'd see myself the same. Now a days teenagers are so often identified with their style of music. If you listen to bands with heavy metal you are automatically categorized as Emo. If you like hip hop, you "hang out with the wrong crowd" or "do the wrong things" because of how the lyrics were. My parents and grandparents definitely influenced what I listen to today. I fondly remember my grandma listening to Rob Thomad and my sister and I listening to it too. I still listen to the music today and styles like it. When I'm in the car with them I can sing along with them because I learned the music when I was a little girl. My mom definitely listens to what I listen to now a days. She likes the rap now and the pop music on the radio. She sometimes knows the one direction songs I play and sings along. I have showed my little brother older styles of music and he listens when I do. If I plug my phone into the aux cord in the car my parents or my siblings will sing along with me because they hear me play it inside on my speakers. In conclusion, I definitely believe music tastes is inherited through parents and members of the family. I know for a fact my music taste did.
ReplyDeleteMr. Gonzalez story was him not liking the music he and his father used to listen to together. The music he had heard in his childhood reminds him of different times now. I kinda agree with Mr. Gonzalez’ opinion on listening to his father music. Listening to it so much can make you sick of it. I think that if I didn't listen to the type of music my parents did I could have a different music taste or just be different today. Different types of people listen to different types of music. I think you are a fan of a certain genre of music because it connects to you. When you can relate to music you like it more because you understand it. I guess you can say people can be judged by the type of music they listen to. Basically people can be put into different categories just like music. If you listen to a band like sws or panic at the disco, people may think “oh they're emo.” Also if you listen to Eminem or any type of rap music you could be considered “bad.” My first memories of music is probably being in the car with my mom and dad and they would be singing along to journey. That was definitely their favorite band and it still is today. Since they would always sing it and listen to it I caught on to it. If a song from them comes on I would definitely know the words to it. I would say the music is like being inherited. My grandparents know some of the songs my parents listen to, so they probably passed it down. Then, my parents passed it down to me. Then, maybe if i still listen to it when I have kids, I would be passing it down. I definitely already brought newer music to my family. When we are in the car my family sometimes listened to my music and we sometimes listen to theirs. We get a taste of different types of music. I know that I learned music from them and i'm teaching them about music I know and listen to now.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Mr. Gonzalez’s story about how when he was younger he hated his father’s music, I honestly can’t say I can relate or agree with him. I feel he wasn’t caring for his father and his music. He didn’t understand why his father enjoyed that music and I feel like he didn’t try to understand. So I honestly can’t relate or understand Mr. Gonzalez’s choice of hating his father's music. It kind of makes me mad that he acted that way when he was younger, hating what his father loved.
ReplyDeleteI myself am not a fan of a certain type or style of music. I’ve always enjoyed all types of music, from country to opera to metal to pop, since i was young. I have never been picky about music and I feel like it’s really molded me into who I am today. I’m a simple going person who just loves life and everything it has brought me. I feel like you see that in how I listen to music and the different types of music I listen to. But I’ve never judged anyone for their musical taste. I feel like everyone gets to choose their music and I have no right to judge them. And I can’t judge them because I listen to everything so I listen to the music they listen to.
Music has been apart of my life for as long as I could remember. I was born while they were playing Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns and Roses. But my very first memories of music would have to be a metallica concert when I was five, I think. It was honestly amazing and beautiful. I don’t remember that much of it but I do remember the crowd and how great they played. It was also my first concert ever. My family are big music fanatics so I have always been surrounded by it.
My family has always played music around me. My parents played metal music, rap and pop. And other family member would play opera or classical and such. So i have always loved music and never went a day without it. I for one haven’t gotten to show my family any new styles of music or anything because they all know it all, especially since they know it all. But I really hope I can show my family, in the future, the many types of music there is and I hope they love it all just like me.