Growing up with my parents music was also a big thing. My parents both had very different music taste, so little me was getting all the genres. R&B was popular for both of my parents , and one genre they had in common. I happen to love music, and I find myself listening to similar genres they did. In my kitchen at home we have a bluetooth speaker and I remember this song that my mom played called “slow down”. I remember being in my room and immediately coming down and asking her the name of it. Turns out the song was by the artist Skip Marley and H.E.R. Marley sounded familiar because of Bob Marley and it turns out this was his son who sang this song. When I read the prompt for this assignment this song came into my head. Reggae music was never one that was listened much in the house growing up, and not a genre I would gravitate towards first. With that, I knew that for this project I wanted to research more on Reggae music and get to know more artist. My first step was to make a Google search of some of the most popular Reggae artist there are. With that Google search, there were a variety of different artist, some names more than just Bob Marley sounded familiar to me, but not enough to know their music. These are some of the artist that came up on Google:
With that Google search I was able to find Peter Tosh. For some reason I decided I wanted to focus on his music just because he looked cool, his music was older and I wanted to hear if his music was cool too. When I listen to music, for the longest time I used Spotify, but I just recently transferred to Apple Music. With that, I was able to search Peter’s name and because I pay for Apple Music, I was allowed to hit different songs and listen to them in depth.
My Experience
The first song of his I listened to was Wanted Dread or Alive. When I first starting listening I loved the beat in the background. Like I said before It automatically made the mood better. I liked how it wasn’t to slow, and it wasn’t too fast paced. I listened to this song with headphones on and I think it made the experience so much better. I was able to really hear his voice, which I fell in love with. It want artificial like most are today. He has such a crisp and clean voice that fits the style of music so well. I felt like I was on a beach, and it was summer and warm, but instead I was in layers of clothes because of how cold it’s getting. I also listened to Johnny B Goode, where I really liked the drums and different type of instruments I don’t typically hear. I learned Reggae music and very fun but calming at the same time. While I was listening to his songs, I could feel the smile on my face while I was just vibing and relaxing. There was no chaos in the music, its very beach vibes, where you could hear instruments like bongos which was different for me. A lot of the music I listen to now is very beat filled and although that can be fun, this music was a different type of fun. I feel as though Peter Tosh’s music is the type I could study too and have a good time. It’s the perfect headphone type of music that can instantly make the day better. Im glad I chose this genre to focus on, and I can for sure see myself Listening to more Reggae music outside of this project now.
Experience of Unfamiliar Music
This project made me realize there are so many different genres of music that I don’t get to experience just because my algorithm wont show them. I think it is really easy for people, especially my generations, to get bored with the same genre as sometimes they can all start to sound the same. I think to try and help people explore more options there can be a separate section on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music that shows the top songs for that week for a specific genre. I know Spotify has separated sections, but I feel like they could possibly make them more interactive for people to step outside their comfort zones. I think the concept of the record shop is cool, but one thing I wish is they didn’t focus on older music for older generations thinking they are they only ones that will want to go to a place like that. I believe that if there were more record shops where they had newer and older music it would draw more people to them. I think people would really enjoy finding a place where they can go and find new music. It would also allow you to talk to others and see what they are listening too. They could have computers or Ipads that allow you to stream artist that way as well, if records or CD’s cant be the only thing in the store. I think making an experience where people can walk and and find they music they want to listen to it would be a huge hit and people would really enjoy it.
