My Aunts Musical Culture

  For this blog I choose to interview my Aunt, who has been part of our family for, well since I can remember really. I have been on many trips to different states and even Europe with my Uncle and Aunt. Safe to say, I have a very close relationship with both my Uncle and Aunt, but I know nothing about her musical taste. Every car ride with them has never really been music that she chose to play, it's mostly been music from my sister or cousin. If you asked me to name a song that my Aunt enjoyed listening to, I could not at all think of a singular song. 

To preface this interview, my Aunt has said that she struggles to memorize lyrics to songs. For example, we were coming back from a night out after getting ice cream to top the night off. On the way back, it was around midnight, we were singing along to the songs that were being played by my sister. Well singing is very generous to say, but go along with it. While we were singing our hearts out, my aunt was trying to pull up the lyrics to the song and sing along with us. A normal thing for someone who's never heard the song, but she has heard this song countless times before.

Karan: It’s not a secret that you cannot remember lyrics in songs, so my question is has this made connecting to music difficult?

Aunt: Well I wouldn’t use the word difficult because that means it was a challenge or a battle to have a connection with music. In my experience, I have never had an urge to connect with the songs that play on the radio or even when I play songs for myself. To me, it is more of a thing that is there in my ear to fill the space, than something that is super personal to me. 

Karan: That’s what I expect as an answer because I don’t really know how much I’d enjoy music without being able to remember the lyrics. Especially, with the genre of music I listen to that has a very heavy focus on lyrics. Even if you don’t have a personal connection to a song, what is a song to go to for you during work or throughout the day?

Aunt: From time to time I listen to current R&B soul music and maybe soft rock songs. More often though, I go to early 2000s Indian songs. But, it isn’t very often that I listen to my own personal music, if you couldn’t tell, points over to a 2 year old child. My everyday life is mostly filled with wheels on the bus and Cocomelon, so there isn’t much personal time.

Karan: What type of Indian music do you listen to, is it Hindi music or Punjabi?

Aunt: When I was younger it was only Punjabi music because of the Punjabi family and all. Over time, especially after listening to American music, I began to listen to American music and also was introduced to Hindi music formally by the people around me in college. 

Karan: I didn’t even think about that, did you start listening to American pop music because you had a desire to or more to get used to the American culture?

Aunt: It was a mix of both, I was in a new place for the first time with my family and I didn’t really know what it would be like so I went to things that I had been first introduced to about America. But, I also listened to the music with the friends I made in the first year of college. So, I would say it was more of a thing that happened than something I did on purpose. 

Karan: I know the baby is begging for your attention right now, so I will ask one final question and I will give your mother back. In car rides with us, do you feel left out when we are singing to a song?

Aunt: No not at all, being there is just as fun as it would be to sing with you guys. It isn’t something I even think about that often. I have been so used to looking up lyrics that it's just a part of life for me. Just like feeding this little one, let's go. It's time to eat. 

It was nice to have a conversation with my Aunt about her music taste because I didn’t even know she listened to R&B. Most of the conversation was something that I expected though because she is a very open person and she would have voiced her opinion on these things, especially the last question. I hope you learned something and I did, and enjoyed this.