Music & Me

 Hi hi! I'm Claire, a sophomore flute performance major here at Converse. I grew up listening to music every chance I got, but classical music wasn't a huge part of my life until I picked up the flute in sixth grade. I marched flute and piccolo in the Wando Marching Band for three years and played synthesizer in the front ensemble my senior year. I also played in the symphonic band there. My favorite memories in the Wando Band were BOA nationals my freshman year and performing in the Midwest Clinic my sophomore year. Trips like those allowed me to do what I love and also meet musicians from all over the country. 

I have two cats, two hermit crabs, and a bunny, who have all come to love music from hearing me practice various instruments for hours on end. My bunny runs around my feet when I sing a song written by my mom called "He Hop". Here's my bunny, Cartman, eating my homework. 

1. Spotify Go-Tos

I want to share two songs that I have been listening to nonstop lately. My taste in music tends to change with the seasons, and these are my most wintery songs this season. 

I stumbled upon a TikTok video a couple years ago of a girl about my age playing guitar and softly singing over her strumming. The words that kept me watching were “You sound beautiful together, firefly night, purple light, brown leather”. These lyrics were clearly chosen carefully and do a great job of pulling the listener in. I eventually forgot about the song, but I found it again on spotify about a year later And I’ve been listening since. 

Here's the original TikTok.

And here's the music video.

Another song I’ve been listening to a lot lately is “madhouse” by Matt Maltese. It's a simple and sweet song with a good beat about finding happiness in the little things. The line “people’s houses make me happy” makes me smile because I’m the kind of person to stop and look at things that most people just pass by. 

2. Strawberry Ice Cream

A song that is personally meaningful to me is “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat. When I was little, my dad and I would sit in his truck eating strawberry ice cream and singing this song. He passed away soon after this routine started. I’ve listened to the song less than ten times since.

3. Not For Me

I have strong opinions about certain pop artists who have risen to fame in the past decade or so, but the one that I’d like to address here today is Sematary. His listed Genre on Chosic.com is cloud rap. Personally, it sounds like static to me. Take “Funeral” for example. The song opens with sounds of a man screaming and saying “haha”, “bleh”, and “funeral”. The chorus is simple: “Funeral, Funeral, we’ll be dancing, we'll be happy at your funeral”. I have honestly never listened to this song in its entirety because it is so loud and not really a tune I want to have in my head. I have a friend who genuinely enjoys this type of music, and that’s great for her! But I personally cannot get into it. Sorry, Sematery.

4. Bonus Claire Music Trivia

There is one song that I will never ever get tired of no matter how much I listen to it, and that is Cold Weather by Glass Beach. It falls into the emo pop/rock genres, which is actually my go-to type of music, despite the songs I listed for number 1. The drums, the vocals, the pulse, all of it just scratches my brain in a way that no other song can. There is not one moment in this song that’s boring because something is always changing, like the inflection, percussion, dynamics, and especially intensity. So when people ask me what my favorite song is, this is my default answer.