Emma Hurring 6/3 GWSS 241, blog post #4

W, 6/3 GWSS 241, blog post #4 - Emma Hurring 

In her article Self-Reflective Moments in Zapateado, Martha Gonzalez states how she, "was a singer through imitation", but later, "found that [she] had many things to say with words". I was simultaneously inspired by this and saddened. I thought it was disheartening that an individual took so much time in realizing that she could have her own voice, and had spent so many years just going off others. In my opinion, music is deeply personal and often reflective, and I'm disappointed for her that she wasn't able to partake in this. However, I do think that it's really inspiring that she eventually found music that she could create that she was really passionate about. In Quetzal Imaginaries, Martha Gonzalez comment on how how song writing is "story-telling", expanding on this she states how song writing can embody, "a person’s life-views, triumphs, and struggles". This opinion is furthered by Flores, who understood what it meant to use your profession and creativity as a means of fighting for "social justice". Flores further connects with Martha Gonzalez on the concept of being able to perform as yourself, or expressing what you really want to through your own music. For example, he states that "self-representation" was a struggle, suggesting he really found it hard to talk about and convey his thoughts, opinions and sense of self through his music. 


DJ Selections for the week: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW9rITLjKz8 
My first DJ selection is the Nicki Minaj song, I am your leader. I chose this song because it is very self-reflective of Minaj's own life, feelings and experiences within the music industry. I thought this really related to my paragraph above, as it shows how over time artists can really create music that talk about their life and the things that are important to them. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi7Yh16dA0w 
My second DJ selection is Sara Bareilles - Love Song. I chose this song because it really speaks to me about using music to talk about the things that you want your music to be about. Sara was encouraged by her producers to write a love song, as they believed it would help to make her records sell more effectively. She chose not to do so, and wrote the ironic "Love Song". This was her moment where she was able to perform as herself, and write about the things that really mattered to her and make her music really reflective of her own experiences within the music industry.