Dallas' Musical Culture

 Hi! As many of you might know my name is Dallas Singleton! I am a Transfer student from Winthrop University. I transferred to Converse to find my real "home away from home" and play softball here. I am a junior majoring in Biology and minoring in Business. I plan to get my MBA in Business after my time here at Converse and eventually work as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep. I grew up on a farm in Gaston, South Carolina and ever since I was born I have been intertwined with my whole family, quite literally. My immediate family and I live on the same property as the rest of my extended family. By living so close to them I have been able to have a very close nit atmosphere that many people wouldn't get to experience. Similarly, I was raised in a Christian household and  a Christian myself, therefore all of my views of the afterlife will be in a Christian context. anyways enough about me, let's get into my musical culture. 

1. An example of music that's important to me - Drops Of Jupiter - Train 

For the purpose of explaining the meaning of this song in my life, I need to give a little bit of background info that is very dear to me. When I was 9 I lost my Grandfather (mom's side), who I am actually named after, unexpectedly due to an unknown IBM in his brain. (A cluster of veins that cause pressure on the brain) Sadly we found about his IBM when it burst and it was just too late. This loss caused a lot of distress in my life. As many of you might figure, death is quite hard to understand as a young child. I like to explain my relationship with my Grandfather as he was the first man I ever loved. He showed me what unconditional love looks like and he was my best friend. On another note, I began to start to play softball at a late age, 16 (for travel softball), which is quite late for any athlete dreaming to be a college athlete. Ever since I began to see dragonflies during the times in my life of discouragement which I relate back to him watching over me. After my 18th birthday, I got my first tattoo of a dragonfly with my grandmother (Dad's side) to honor him. 

Back to the topic of music, I would have to say that the one song that has always stuck with me is Drops Of Jupiter by Train. I relate this song to my late Grandfather as many of you could guess. 

To me every lyric has a meaning. 

For example the lyrics, 

"Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? 

One without a permanent scar

And did you miss me

While you were looking for yourself out there?"

remind me that after it is all said and done we will return together once again in heaven. If you are a Christian yourself, you should understand that heaven is a place of joy and peace. A place of health and prosperity, therefore they are the "one without a permanent scar". 

Another set of lyrics are, 

"Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way?
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?

Was it everything you wanted to find?
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there"

meanwhile, these lyrics remind me of the fact that we will be able to understand everything we didn't when we were on earth. Once in the presents of God, we will be able to ask and know a multitude of things that we never would have been able to fathom. Because, it was everything we wanted to find, while we found ourselves out there. 

Finally, I also really connect with the idea of how Patrick Monahan, wrote the song after his mother who died from cancer. Since the song was written about mourning and joy, (Sadness and happiness, weird I know.) I was specifically able to connect with this song to uplift my spirits and remind myself that he is in a place of joy and peace, laughing and praising His name. 

2. An example of music that's helped me get though the pandemic - The Fray 

It's no secret that march 2020 - today has not been easy. Many spirits have been brought into the darkest time of their lives. For myself, I am a pretty big extrovert. So, not being able to surround myself with people left me feeling extremely bored with a lot of pent up energy. Sometimes to pass the time my friends and I would just go for long drives and listening to all different kinds of music to try and pass the time. (post mandatory quartitine) Over time I have began to pick the "Essentials" playlist of a certain artist on apple music. One Day it suggested to listen to The Fray, so I went along with it and I'm so glad that I did. Many of their songs not only talk about the struggles of feeling alone, but also how we can reach out to each other. 

Such as, How To Save A Life. 

Another song that truly helped me throughout the pandemic is, You Found Me.

For example, 

Where were you
When everything was falling apart?
When all my days
Were spent by the telephone
That never rang and all I needed was a call
That never came
To the corner of First and Amistad

Lost and insecure
You found me
You found me lyin' on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

You Found Me connects with me in a spiritual aspect. This snip of lyrics perfectly explains my thinking during this song. If you listened to the whole song before reading this section the first lyric you heard should have been "I found God on the corner of First and Amistad". Leading our thoughts into the aspect of what a Christians life looks like. As some of you might know, the Christan life is not always the easiest to live. You will be tempted and even fall during your walk with the world. You Found Me encapsulates the idea of the Christian walk. It shows how difficult it  can be to walk by your faith alone. However, it also explains how God can come into anyone life at anytime. For the person in the song, God used the trials and temptations to bring them to their breaking point to show them how God can turn your life around. How he can be your biggest supporter and love you even in the Darkest moments of your life. 

These songs reminded me that God is there throughout the Darkest time of our lives. Forever watching over us and loving us though it all. Similarly, these songs also remind me that we are not alone, while yes God's always watching over us, but we also have each other. You can reach out to someone at any moment in time, and to think, you could possible save their life. 

3. An example of a music I don't actually like - Rap 

Please forgive me if this section is shorter than my pervious points. This genre is a hard one for me, because I enjoy rap in moderation. Perhaps just a section in a song. However I have found that the only rapper I tend to enjoy is nikki minaj, and even she has songs that are not all rap.

 For myself, I just don't understand what's appealing about yelling into a Microphone for every single song that they ever release. It is insanely hard for me to connect with any kind of music that is super heavy and very loud. I guess you could say it's not my cup of tea.