Ellie's New Spotify Playlist

 To start out, this blog  is about the music my parents grew up with and what music means to them. This one's a bit longer... but it's because there is so much to mention, and I couldn't leave any detail out!  At first, I decided to interview just my mom about the music she listened to and the way music has affected her throughout her life. However, I realized how much influence my mom and dad have had on each other-- being together for so long-- so I also interviewed my dad to incorporate his and my mom's relations to their changes in musical taste.  ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Starting with my mother, she grew up in a family where music wasn't extremely important. Her parents listened to it, but their era/generation was very different from hers and it wasn't common for them to share music with her or her siblings. However, personally, music was significantly important to my mom. Both my parents were born and grew up in Singapore, which has a mix/diverse range of musical cul...

So I assume most people have heard this fantastic piece by the very famous Aretha Franklin, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, but not everyone, including myself before this, knows that this piece is actually  soul music . And what exactly is soul music? Well, let me tell you a little something (maybe more than a little something) about it! The origins of soul music began in the United States around the late 1950s, however, as an actual genre, soul music really emerged in the early 1960s due to the recruiting and support of Black artists from influential record labels. Roots of soul music lead back to traditional blues and gospel music of the Black church. African American musicians had been using the word "soul" to emphasize the feeling of being an African American in the United States.  Characteristics of gospel music in the soul genre include song structure, a heavy backbeat, chord changes, and call-and-response vocals between a lead singer and a chorus. Sam Cook...

Yay Concerts!! So I'm a pretty big fan of concerts, and I notice that they can be an important aspect of musical artists' careers. I'm no expert or analyst of them but I like to watch clips of concerts on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, and I sometimes come across videos or comments that compare the concerts of female and male artists. One particular point that often reoccurs is the difference in stage presence.   In general, women have a more diverse range of fashion and tend to change their looks (generally based on what's in trend) more frequently than men do. When at a fancy event, women are rarely seen wearing the exact same style and color of dress while men usually wear very similar-looking or the same design of suits. And to clarify, there's nothing bad about this difference, it's just what's normalized and preferred for both males and females. This is also often seen in concerts, especially with very popular artists, where female artists tend to have...

音乐和中秋节 Since we're entering the autumn season, I thought it would only be appropriate to write about 中秋节, The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in Chinese culture. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival that is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar. This year, it is on the 29th of September (which is in a few days!). Also known as the Moon Festival, this festival always falls on the day of a full moon and marks the end of the autumn harvest. It is a time to celebrate unity and reunion.  During the Mid-Autumn Festival, we decorate our houses in red and gold with lanterns, moon paintings/prints, and boxes of mooncakes. Mooncakes are always one of my favorite things about this festival (my parents and I even get them year-round). They are a type of pastry that is filled with a sweet red-bean paste and their round shape symbolizes family reunion. At night, the Chinese participate in many various actitivites such as moonlit walks, making and lighting ...

About me! Hi everyone!! My name is Ellie Lim and I'm from Delaware, Ohio. I am currently a freshman at Converse University, where I am double-majoring in biology and psychology on a Pre-Med track and playing for the women's golf team. I am a first-born American in my Singaporean family and I'm a major travel girly. Today (9/2) is also my 18th birthday! My musical experience: I've played the piano since I was 5, but had to stop lessons earlier this year due to my moving to college. I love/loved my experience and connection with piano and hope to keep up the skill. I also played the violin for a few years in my school's orchestra and took private lessons for a year but lost interest in it after 8th grade.  I'm definitely a big lover of music and would like to share my own opinions and taste of it! 1. Something I like right now: Recently, I've found myself enjoying K-pop music. I have a Spotify playlist that I continue to fill with songs I discover from social ...