![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2019\/10\/Queen-BEE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sage Kiernan-Sherrow<\/strong> | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n Let me begin by first saying: I am in no way particularly knowledgeable about music production or the music industry; my opinions are just that \u2014 opinions \u2014 and I make no pretense that my tastes are more impeccable than anybody else\u2019s. That being said, my good people of Western, we have a problem: people are avoiding music outside of their own bubbles.<\/span><\/p>\n Phrases such as \u201cmusic transcends all boundaries\u201d are commonplace, but it seems to me that we keep placing boundaries regardless, most prominently the boundary of language. And, I get it \u2014 people fear the unknown, and more than that, many people just don\u2019t have an interest in listening to music that they can’t inherently understand. I confess, too, that I haven\u2019t always been an \u201cinternational music connoisseur,\u201d but I place value in understanding people and learning about things outside of my bubble and in turn, I developed an interest in exploring music through a historical and cultural lens.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m going to come right out and say it, because you\u2019re probably already thinking it, but yes, my first exposure to music not in English was through anime openings. Sound the alarms, I know that\u2019s the ultimate cringey sentence for some. But hear me out because this article isn\u2019t about that; there\u2019s this anime called \u201cNANA,\u201d and the music for that anime was largely sung by a woman named Tsuchiya Anna, who I now credit with getting me interested in J-Rock, which in turn led me to think \u2018huh, I wonder what else is out there,\u2019 which then got me interested in K-Pop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And you might be wondering, what the hell does this have to do with that historical and cultural lens you were talking about? But through my interest in these musical genres, through time spent perusing YouTube for explanations behind lyrical intent, I\u2019ve learned so much about the cultural values and historical significance of certain songs \u2014 from how a culture might perceive beauty standards to issues of government control \u2014 and I\u2019ve come to have a real appreciation for the artistry of languages that I can\u2019t understand without first doing some digging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a more specific example: I was in the YouTube abyss one night, watching compilation after compilation of music competition videos, when I stumbled upon a video of Elina Ivashchenko competing on \u201cThe Voice Kids Ukraine\u201d while singing a cover of Jamala\u2019s \u201c1944,\u201d a song dedicated to the forced migration of the Ukranian Tatars under the Stalin regime. You might be thinking \u201cthe what? I never learned this in school,\u201d and if that\u2019s what you\u2019re thinking, then I was right on board with you. And that\u2019s my point: my first introduction to the history of a people\u2019s pain under annexation was from a 14-year-old girl on a competition show singing a song so hauntingly beautiful that I did my own research on its meaning which I carry with me now. Music has the power to do that, so why is it that we confine ourselves to the limitations of our perspective languages? The world is so much vaster.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Contact the author at skiernansherrow17@wou.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Photo courtesy of ziyoou-vachi.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2019\/10\/BTS-album.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2019\/10\/Anna-Tsuchiya-Album.jpg\")
<\/p>\n