Personal Narrative: Mellowing Out

I have chosen to write about one of my favorite alternative rock band, Red Hot Chili Peppers from Los Angeles, California. My decision was based upon two things; one being I like the band, while the other was to learn if some of their music is sending the wrong message to our young people. I personally would not consider myself music sappy; never have I really been given a chance to listen to music as I grew up, to find what I like. As of today, I don’t know who sings what song nor really know what the lyric’s mean. With today’s environment young people are given a chance to be inspired by different kinds of media; thus giving them the opportunity to actually find out what the artist is meaning behind the songs. After interviewing four participation;

At the age of nine, I watched my uncles lowering my father into the ground and what took his life was addiction. All my life I have watched addiction take over the lives of people, I love. My father's side of the family, besides my grandparents, has always faced addiction. Although, addiction runs through my blood, I will not take the same path I have watched people take all my life. I will be the one to end the cycle. Watching the majority of my family waste their life has motivated me to change the direction and better myself from living a life of addiction and misery.

People listen to music for a variety of reasons. Some listen to music to relax in which it serves as a sort of escape from everyday life, some because they are a fan and follow a certain artist, and others because they can relate the lyrics to their own personal experiences. Whichever the case may be, music has and continues to serve an important role in people’s lives.

I spent the first ten years of my life, roughly, homeschooled and constantly around both my parents. During this time, I had no choice but to listen to whatever music they enjoyed playing drying the day, whether it was Seal in the car or Melissa Etheridge on the home stereo. Once I had struck my preteens, and with the help of my then high-school aged sisters, I was introduced to punk rock and hard rock genres of music. This became a new addiction for me; it felt rebellious, cool, in style and new. Eventually, it felt very repetitive and it seemed as if everyone was trying to emulate the same sound. So, after a short time, I began searching for music on my own. I bought Coldplay and Vampire Weekend albums, and was on the lookout for music with a more sophisticated feeling than what I had been listening to previously. I was then hopelessly addicted to music that I was discovering, and was proud to say I found my own style of music to listen to. After I received Coldplay’s album, “A Rush of Blood to the Head” as a Christmas gift, I would play it daily to

Picture this: An early Saturday morning that consists of a steady flowing summer breeze that caresses the curtains as it dances into the bedroom of a young girl. The young girl that this room belongs to sits on her bed Indian style (or Native American Style, to be politically correct), listening to her beloved iPod. She’s probably listening to Aerosmith -- her favorite band -- or her guilty pleasure song “Hollaback Girl” by No Doubt lead singer, Gwen Stefani. These aren’t her only musical interests; she has hundreds of favorites. Alice Cooper, Ludacris, Bad Company, Korn, Beastie Boys: the list continues on.

In Nielsen’s Music 360 study in 2014, “93% of the country’s population listens to music” with “75% of respondents (saying) they actively chose to listen to music, even ahead of watching television at 73%”. The number of people that prefer to listen to music can be considered enormous and as the population grows, so does that number. This only goes to show how music has become commonplace in our lives such that “most U.S. residents listen to roughly four hours and five minutes of audio each day” (Stutz). As the world changes and new innovations emerge however, so does how we, as consumers, enjoy music. Over the years, there has been a gradual shift from physical copies of music such as CDs to their digital counterparts. As shown in the

| Today people hear so much music that they tend not to listen carefully to it.

Her father’s words echoed through her head as one might hear a reverberation throughout the Taj Mahal. Continuous. Chilling. Having no control to distill the wavelengths until they mellowed out on their own accord. She tried to anatomize the depth of his phrase, more than dutifully needed but Davina needed to know why. Why did she need to keep an open mind and more importantly, who the hell was about to come bursting through that door. But then again, did it really matter in the first place. When she thought about it, the brunette could have laughed at the idea. That an unattributed, faceless figure had her panties in a bunch. Surely Dominic wouldn’t think to waste her time with venial diversions,

The band Twenty-One Pilots positively changed people's views on alternative music by using other elements from different genres. A band that started off in Columbus, Ohio has “blown up at top 40 radio, sold out massive arenas and even drawn the ire of millennial­-bashing columnists with an unapologetic mashup of suburban angst, rap and reggae”(Ringen).

I hear people complain all the time [I’m guilty as charged] about mainstream radio – who can blame us when you hear only music from 20-25 artists for the most part, and good songs played to over and over till you turn it when you hear it come on. To top it off we have comments from radio executives coming out like Gary Overton’s comment [don’t even get me started on that one right now, that’s deserves special attention] “if you’re not on the radio you don’t exist” and things like women are the tomatoes.

Who knew that things could change so abruptly, it almost felt that my whole world was flipped within a blink of an eye. Things were going to be different from now on, the people, the weather, even the fresh summer breeze from the coast will soon become a cold bitter winter breeze. This all came to my mind when my mom announced to my family that we’re moving, to New Jersey, once my school goes on summer break. At first, I began to panic, why do we have to move? Why can’t we just live here? We don’t even know anyone there, except for my aunt. We just moved here three years ago from New Jersey, and we didn’t like it, that’s why we only lived there for a month. Then why would we would we like it now? I question my mom, and I demanded explanations

Walking away from everything you once knew and starting over is never a picnic. Leaving Iraq, and moving to America has impacted my life more than anything. I was only 4 years old at that time, and the only English I spoke was “excuse me, water please.” My family and I did not know it then, but our lives were going to change; we would become “Americanized”. Learning English was one of the massive changes that occurred, the way I dressed (culture), and even the way I had power to go to school and educate myself.

Throughout the conversation, Susan did not inform me that the home was still in First Look and not open to investors at this time. Susan did not highlight any features of the home, nor did she talk about the neighborhood or the surrounding area. When asked, Susan paused to reference the property file and stated, "In looking at the pictures it appears that it needs interior paint, carpet, appliances, and a few windows, which the previous seller must have taken." She stated, "I don't know why they have to remove things from the homes." I asked, "Do you have offers?" She paused to check the property file and answered, "No offers." I asked, "Is the property behind the home farmland?" She paused to reference the property file and replied, "It appears

As a teenager in their high school years, there is a definite shift in my music taste from elementary and middle school to where I am today. Looking back, I listened to classical music as a snob, thinking “music isn’t as good as it used to be”, and assuming that I am the best just because I exclusively listened to what I thought was “refined.” Of course, tastes change. As I transitioned to high school I was curious about rock. One of the first bands I got into was The Strokes, especially their debut album, “Is This It”.

Following the concert that I attended on Thursday, October 8th, 2015, my ears quietly rang for two days. That evening, for Fallapalooza, the University of Maryland’s Student Entertainment Events group held a concert at Ritchie Coliseum, which featured Zeds Dead, a popular electronic dance music (EDM) duo, as the headliner. While I had not previously attended an electronic dance music concert before, my raver friends exalted these concerts and had described their various and ludicrous experiences at raves and festivals. Nevertheless, actually attending one proved to be more than I ever expected, and I was able to experience first-hand how Zeds Dead identity rang through their mixes and tracks and rang through my ears. The loud lyrics of their