Personal Life Soundtrack

Life Soundtrack
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Department of ABC, University – Whitewater
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Life Soundtrack


A key characteristic of popular music is that it is highly persuasive and seductive. Unlike traditional or 'folk' music, popular music has a broad appeal and is typically distributed to large audiences via the music industry. Such music is popular because the forms and styles utilized can be enjoyed or performed by people without a background in music training. According to O'Bried and Szeman (2017), popular music represents different elements of capitalistic production by segmenting different parts of music production and uniting them into a single dynamic and collaborative text. The current paper aims to curate a personal life soundtrack consisting of popular songs that always form part of my playlist today.
Music List
Dear Mama (Tupac)
The central message in this music is the struggles of single mothers raising African American children in the streets. In the first verse, for instance, Tupac sang that "you always were committed, a poor single mother on welfare…tell me how you did it" as he admires his mother's resiliency that allowed her to raise Tupac and his sister even though she faced difficulties like surviving on welfare and being a friend to crack. This song appealed to me because I find it an appreciation for my mother. It spoke to Tupac's childhood when crack prevailed on American streets and struggles between the police and Black communities were at their peak. Tupac sings about hanging out with thugs, acknowledging that they sold drugs, and appreciating that they provided him with love and care that he could not get from his runaway father (O'Dell, 2009). Dear Mama is as relevant today as it was in 1995 because it speaks on the struggles of single black mothers raising boys amidst issues of police violence, drugs, and poverty.
All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)
Mariah Carey's message in the song is the desire for a simple Christmas with the person she loves beside her. She does not care about the presents under the Christmas tree or the hype and pomp that comes with it. This is partly why I found the song appealing and seductive. While growing up, our family did not fancy or value Christmas presents much. Most activities centered on food indulgence during Christmas mostly focused on cooking and eating the best meals. This song trounced the traditional belief that only Christian-produced songs appealed to the audience during the festive season (Puskбs & Andersson, 2022). With the song making headways in the secular culture, it allowed even non-believers in Christ to have a new dimension in which ...