Music and Family

     For this blog, I have decided to interview my mom's boyfriend, Elliot. During his childhood, he did not have his mom and his father was always working, and his father did not even care to monitor the kind of music that Elliot was listening to. However, if they were to be listening to music together, they would both enjoy the same genre. The first experience with music Elliot remembers was him listening to a "45" on a record player. He claimed that music kept him out of trouble and kept him stable. I asked him if he had to take enroll in music courses, but he unfortunately did not take any. He says that the only instrument he played before was a drum set in his backyard.

    Elliot said that music gathered the people around him and kept people feeling spiritually alive and happy. His church choir sang a very soulful, gospel genre of music. He said he enjoyed it. He never claimed that he disliked any kinds of genres. His favorite genre varies from jazz to country to hip hop. When he was a teen, however, he mentioned that his favorite genres were soft rock, jazz, and R and B. Some of his favorite artists he mentioned were George Benson, Howard Hewitt, Stephanie Mills, Earth Wind & Fire, and Heavy D Today, his favorite genre is country. 

    The technology Elliot has used over the course of his life also varied. I have always listened to music from a CD or just mostly digitally. Him, on the other hand, has went through transistor radios, 8-track tapes, cassettes, record players, CD's, and now digital music. There is no particular area where he listens to music. He said that he listens to music anywhere and everywhere. There was not a particular place designated for music. 

    I asked, "How do you feel music has evolved over the course of your life?" He said that it not good, nor bad. He thinks that music is just music and people will get what they want from it. To him, music is expression. He says that music helps him express who he is and how he is feeling. He says he feels connected to music based on the tempo, lyrics, style, and the origin. He thinks it depends on what kind of music that kids listen to today for him to think it is bad. It does not depend on the genre, but the storyline.