Music and Gender

Hey y'all! I have been looking forward to discussing music and gender. I have A LOT to say about this topic so get ready. First off, society has shown that girls specifically need to listen to "girly" music. What does that even mean? To me, gender and music have nothing to do with each other. Guys can listen to whatever genre they want to and women can as well. I would just like to say "screw society" before I really get into this blog.

 

When I was little, I was very much into rock and heavy metal (some rap too). I was never into what other girls were doing and I was literally the epitome of a tomboy. I was judged for being into really dark music when I should have been 100% into boy bands like all of the other girls my age. Now that I'm older, I have realized that people actually think gender and music are closely related which makes no sense. Society views women as overly sensitive so we are supposed to listen to slow, sad songs. I've noticed that a lot of older folks are shocked when I tell them what kind of music I listen to. They would be even more shocked to know that I have attended several metal concerts and taught myself to scream because girls aren't supposed to do things like that. Girls are just supposed to sing and look pretty which I absolutely HATE!

I really have some beef with the music industry because if you look up "top ten metal bands" on Google, you will only see male-fronted bands. Let me just put y'all on a female-fronted band real quick. I would also encourage you to watch to this video as well. It won't let me insert the video for some reason so here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU

Let's compare this to one of my favorite bands, a male-fronted group called Slipknot. 

 In my opinion, Jinjer should have just as much recognition as Slipknot. Most people don't go out of their way to listen to female-fronted metal bands because the vocals are a little strange. Once you find the right band, it becomes clear that your gender does not dictate whether you can make good metal music or not. Another great female-fronted metal band is Arch Enemy. I could ramble on for hours about how gender has absolutely nothing to do with what kind of music you can play or listen to, but it would be a million words long. 

If the music makes you happy, you shouldn't let society's weird view get in your way. Go out and scream to heavy metal or vibe to some rap music, girl!

Have a great weekend and feel free to drop a comment!

Cool Stuff: South America

 So it took me a while to find somewhere in South American that really caught my eye until I ran across Brazil. These people are pretty neat in my opinion so let's get into it. 

If you know me, you know that I love heavy metal... A LOT. So naturally I searched for Brazilian heavy metal because I was just curious if I could find some really really heavy stuff. Let me tell y'all something, these people take metal music seriously. The thrash metal scene is very prominent in Brazil which I found very interesting If you don't know what thrash metal is, let me educate you. Basically thrash metal is an overall aggressive form of metal with a fast tempo, crazy guitar shredding, and rad guitar riffs. It's the kind of music that makes you want to jump or "thrash" around. Some thrash metal bands are Pantera, Slayer, Anthrax, and Motörhead. Now that you have a basic understanding of thrash metal, let's talk about Brazilian thrash metal bands. I was trying to find the band name that caught my attention. A band called Torture Squad came up and it turns out that they toured with the two biggest thrash metal bands (Overkill and Exodus). The band has been around since 1990 and their music will definitely pump you up. I listened to a few of their songs but I wanted to highlight "Nothing To Declare" which is partially in their native language. Personally, I gathered that the song is kind of political and it talks about society. Feel free to give it a listen! 

The next cool thing I want to talk about is the different instruments that are used in Brazil. Traditionally, they mostly used flutes, whistles, horns and rattles. Now that their music has evolved, their instruments have as well. The Atabaque is a hand drum and there are three different types. The tallest one, which produces the lowest sound, is called the Rum. The medium drum is called the Rum-Pi. The smallest of the three is called the Le. The drum is surrounded by metal rings and is covered in calf skin. Roping can be adjusted along the rings around the drum to change the pitch. Below is a video of a woman playing the Atabaque. 

Finally, I have found something strange. Something I have only every seen on TV... dance fighting. It's actually called capoeira. It is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that involves elements of music and dance. It has been suggested that in the 16th century, it was prohibited to celebrate culture or practice martial arts. Capoeira was a sneaky way for slaves at the time to rebel against the law. Eventually, people were punished for practicing capoeira but the art form never died. The end of slavery in Brazil caused the use of capoeira to become more sinister. It was used for criminal purposes and criminals learned to conceal weapons used while practicing the art in the streets. The true past of capoeira will mostly likely remain uncertain but the art never died and seems to continue to grow in popularity. Below is an example of capoeira. 

Sources:

https://www.ocweekly.com/the-10-best-brazilian-metal-bands-6579896/

https://www.natalriograndedonorte.com/brazilian-musical-instruments/#Cuica_%E2%80%93_the_brazilian_music_instrument_that_sounds_like_a_monkey

https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/disguised-in-dance-the-secret-history-of-capoeira/

Music and Religion

So to get started, I'll talk a little bit about my religious background. As a kid, my parents tried to find a good church for us to attend. I grew up in church, but we had a hard time finding an accepting one to go to. It seemed like the people in a few of the churches alienated us just because we were new to the congregation. We ended up stopping our search and started worshiping from home. Once I got into middle school, I strayed from God a little. My best friend suggested that I try to go to the youth service at his church. I finally went and the next year I got baptized. I have a lot of recent and vivid memories of some good old Southern Baptist church music. Music is a very important thing in Christianty. Christians find peace in using music to worship God and it is definitely a big part of the culture. It helps Christians express our love for God in a powerful way which is common in other religions. Not only does the music have a special meaning, but it also is used in different situations. The music played on the organ during prayer is different than the music played when the congregation is exiting the church. Different music sets the tone for each situation during the service. While more traditional hymns are used in church, I have always connected more with different Christian artists like NF, Zach Williams or Hillsong United. 

I remember going to a youth service and hearing one of the older girls singing "Oceans" by Hillsong United. It may not be the most traditional Christian worship music but it really resonates with me.  This song has always stuck with me because it serves as a reminder that God will never leave me. Below is a lyric video to the song. 

Below is one of my favorite gospel songs that we sing at my church. Of course, we don't sing it like a country song but it's played frequently. This is a very uplifting song as it talks about the power of Jesus. It always makes me think about how Jesus is in control so I never have to worry about a thing. 

Another good Christian song that is constantly on repeat for me is "Fear Is A Liar" by Zach Williams. Again, this is not your typical gospel song that is played in the middle of a Sunday service. I went to Hearts On Fire with my youth group to see this artist in concert and I fell in love with his music because it is so honest and real. He talks about his struggles and how God has brought him through them even when he was at his lowest. This song is about fighting the fear that the devil tries to put in our hearts. I find myself going back to this song a lot when I'm uncertain of the future.  

Cool Stuff: Native American Music

 I found it interesting that Native American men and women dance differently to music at powwows. The women are more reserved while the men are more active. I thought the women's jingle dress dance was very interesting. Women attach rows of metal cones to their dresses that jingle while they dance to the music. The jingle dress is thought to bring healing to those who are sick. According to an old story, an old medicine man's daughter was sick and the spirits led him to make a jingle dress for her. The spirits told him that if she danced with the dress she would be healed. After dancing, she was healed of her sickness. Jingle dress cones were once made with rolled snuff can lids but they are now machine-made. The dresses are often very colorful and flashy.

https://www.powwows.com/jingle-dress-dance/

The men's Fancy Dance is very fast paced and their costumes are full of bright colors. The dance was first introduced in the reservation era. Dancers can carry twirling spinners as they dance. The outfits are made to be as colorful as possible for entertainment purposes. The dancers showcase their fancy footwork and acrobatics then they abruptly stop to pose at the end to impress the judges. No one dances the same, they all feel the beat of the music and dance along. The dance is extremely difficult since they have to keep up with the fast drum beat and stop on the final beat of the song. 

https://www.stjo.org/native-american-culture/powwow/powwow-dance-styles-men/

https://www.wernative.org/articles/men-39-s-fancy-dance

The men's Grass Dance also caught my eye. The dancers wear long strands of colorful ribbon and fringe that move in the wind as they dance. They have headdresses with feathers attached as well as matching a shirt, pants, and aprons decorated with yarn and ribbons, matched bead-work, headband, wrist cuffs, arm bands, long harnesses, and a belt with side drops. The accessorizing doesn't stop there. They can add bone chokers and scarves or carry dream catchers or a fan. The dance is slower paced than the Fancy Dance and they hop and sway to the music. 

https://www.wernative.org/articles/men-39-s-grass-dance