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

Some Tunes I Enjoy and One That I Don’t + A Brief Introduction To My Odd Taste In Music

Hello my dudes! My name is Chasidy and music is a huge part of my life. When I’m not running or watching The Office, you can almost bet that I’m listening to music. I have been blessed to have parents with good taste in music. My dad introduced me to hard rock and heavy metal at quite an early age. Apparently there is an ancient video of me head banging to a band called Mudvayne. I remember loving The Beatles, Elvis, and Journey as well. My taste in music has always been strange. To this day, I can go from listening to Big Time Rush to Lamb Of God and be totally unbothered. On the other hand, my mom introduced me to 80’s/90’s rock. She let me listen to whatever I wanted as a kid and she took me to my first concert (Demi Lovato).

Music is a very important aspect of my life. I use it as a tool to clear my mind or to improve my mood. Heavy metal really holds a special place in my heart though. For me, heavy metal isn’t scary or hard to understand. When I listen to music, I looks for songs with deep meanings and that’s something I have been able to easily find in the heavy metal genre. This specific genre of music is so raw and artists use their songs as a way to vent which makes it relatable. Artists like Slipknot, Korn, The Browning, and Jinjer use their lyrics to tell their life story to the world in a beautiful way. 

Fun fact: I got bored over the summer last year and taught myself to scream along to heavy metal music. 

Just to clarify, I listen to several different genres of music because I find it all so interesting. I love listening to songs and picking out the individual instruments and harmonies so I try to be open to all types of music. 

1. An artist that means a lot to me is Slipknot. I began listening to their music more frequently when I started 7th grade. I also joined the cross country and track team that same year so I listened to their music while running. Although I loved their music in middle school, I really fell in love with it once I began high school. Slipknot’s intense and emotional lyrics matched my feelings exactly. Their music helped calm me down on many occasions and made me feel like I wasn’t alone in what I was going through at the time. My favorite Slipknot album was released during freshman year which was perfectly timed. One song that means a lot to me is “The One That Kills The Least”. This isn’t a happy song by any means but I still highly recommend giving it a listen!

2. During the horrid quarantine, I listened to music A LOT. I found myself growing bored of my normal playlist with bands like MCR, Slipknot, and Linkin Park. Before the quarantine started, I knew a few songs by Joji but I didn’t really give his entire discography a chance. Since I had literally nothing to do except stay at home, I decided to go through and listen to all of Joji’s music. I fell in love almost instantly. His instrumentals and vocals are so calming and beautiful. While his voice is far from perfect in his earlier songs, I still love every song he has ever released. The majority of his lyrics focus on relationships and rejection. I highly recommend listening to “WANTED U” because his vocals are absolutely incredible. One of my favorite songs by Joji would have to be “Will He” even though it’s a bit sad. 

3. An artist that I can’t get behind is Nickelback. I have to admit that Nickelback has about two songs that I like, but I would never go out of my way to listen to them. My main reason for disliking Nickelback isn’t just because of their boring instrumentals and vocals. Instead, I find the lead singer’s cocky attitude to be obnoxious. Their music just sounds bland and repetitive to me but Chad Kroeger still thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe if the band experimented with their sounds and toned down their ego, I could get into them. Below is a song called “Photograph” and then a good Nickelback meme.