Thanks to the availability of sources across the Internet, the taste of music has grown to an unbelievable paramount. Fans of a certain genre of music are no longer bound by deals and opportunities given only by our local record vendors. Music that is available from other countries are finally crossing international borders and entering the local market. With the vast number of technologies available, we find ourselves listening to our favorite music almost everywhere and anytime we would like to. Through an interdependency, we not only become aware of whatever mainstream music is played for us here, we also become aware of the different kinds of music playing around the world. After talking to a few students around Fresno State campus, we find that there are a few interesting trends happening in the music scene today. Let us take a moment to expose some of these astonishing revelations.
See Vang, a senior in the graphic design department enjoys listening to some of her favorite music on her mp3 player. See is currently listening to a variety of Asian music, folk music, and even country. Her current favorite singer is Jay Chou, a famous Chinese musical and television celebrity from Taiwan. See explains, “Jay Chou is one of those guys who doesn’t care about music boundaries. That’s why I praise him so much. He has so much to offer not just rap or just ballad but he does everythingâ€. An interesting thing about Jay Chou’s music is that at times he incorporates effects such as a helicopter flying or sounds animals make within certain compositions.
Korean pop music has gained a huge following to fans at an international level. Calida Arunson, a linguistics major here at Fresno state enjoys listening to a wide variety of music, including traditional Khmer music, Contemporary Christian music and Korean pop as well. Calida remembers the way in which she was introduced to K-pop music. A few years ago, a friend of hers had a video collection of music videos of a Korean group known as Shinhwa. She was amazed at how well they danced, their wonderful music, and the good-looking guys. The videos were so captivating that it led her into an extraordinary fandom towards this music. “When it came to mainstream music, I was really into listening to rap, R&B, and hip-hop music. After a while, rap was starting to change and I didn’t like it as much. K-pop was sort of an outlet from this music.â€
Seiya Higgason, a junior in the history department, loves listening to music on her Zune. She is currently listening to the latest single by a band called U-Kiss. The song is called “Man Man Ha Niâ€. This music can be described as a techno/pop sound with synthesizers. She enjoys music from these bands not only due to their great sound, but because she feels and describes, “they go the extra mile when it comes to making musicâ€. Seiya is author of her own blog dedicated to Korean music (@ http://angrynoona.wordpress.com) Some bands that she recommends are Big Bang, G-Dragon, and 2ne1 if you are into hip-hop.
Japanese music is also making a big impact on the music scene. Through popular influences such as anime and video games, Japanese music has been gaining a lot of popularity. Christina Yang, a first year student here at Fresno State enjoys listening to a variety of Japanese music through her twin sister’s iPod. She has many favorite bands. Several of them include Girugamesh, Olivia Lufkin, AAA, ON/OFF, Ai Otsuka, TRAX, Big Bang, Ikimono-gakari, and Stereopony. “Most of the mainstream music here talk about money, girls, and partying; they are starting to sound alike. Unlike mainstream music, they are more creative, expressive, and inimitable in both their music and lyricsâ€, Christina explains.
There is also a great interest in music from Canada and Europe. John Leonard Ibarra, currently a graduate student, has a very diverse interest in music. He enjoys listening to music on his computer at home. His favorite music comes from the soundtrack of “Lolitaâ€, a movie that is based on a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. “This is my all time favorite story. It is so nostalgic, so sadâ€, he explains. John Leonard also enjoys music from Canadian Idol winner, Theo Tams. All in all, this lover of music listens to a wide variety, ranging from lively mainstream music to more personal or nostalgic soundtracks. John also mentions that he graduated as a music major, which may have an effect over his perspective about music.
Overall, the accessibility of music has created a more open, global appreciation of artists worldwide. Thanks to the Internet, music lovers are not bound to listening to mainstream music. Instead, people have more freedom now in finding music from all over the world.