I was working the first shift of my first ever job on a winter night back in Surrey and my co-worker was trying to get to know me so she asked, “What kind of music do you listen to?” and I stared at her blankly, realizing that I didn’t listen to music (unless the radio was on while I was in the car). After experiencing such an epiphanic moment like this, I took it into my hands to find what type of music I like because the Top 50 Hits can only be listened to so many times before they become worn out. Shortly after this anecdote, a friend of mine once referred to me as “NiJ.Cole” and I took it into my own hands to discover whether the style of music J. Cole produced was my style or not.

So three years later, I have now established a playlist that encases my favourite songs (which happens to include J. Cole himself). I chose these songs because they are my most preferred songs, but I would rank them above other songs not because of who produced them, their (warning: profane) lyrics, or deeper meaning. Rather, my favourite songs are the songs that remind me of a distinct memory that influenced the make up of my current character. An example of this would be the third Youtube link which is a song that I do not listen to daily. However, I enjoy listening to all ten minutes of the song because of its reminder of when I was in an ensemble and we played that song ourselves. I choose El Camino Real in particular because of its many aspects that make it a beautiful composition, but more so because it reminds myself of a time that taught me a lot about myself as a person.

When I listen to music, I can only listen to music with both headphones in because I feel as if listening to music is an experience; with one headphone in, you only get half of the experience. That being said, I am also impaired from doing homework while listening to music because it disallows me to fully concentrate on what I am doing. So, with my belief that listening to music is an experience, I make a connection between listening and experiencing music because each song on this playlist is tied to an experience that has shaped my character. This does not apply to everyone, but oftentimes, discovering why someone has one (or multiple) favourite songs can be telling about their personality even if it does not appear so at first. For this reason, I have chosen a playlist as a form of autobiographical representation of myself.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKgGXxoT5Ds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vBTTbYlss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwte_IvCmpw

https://open.spotify.com/user/freshnoodilz/playlist/2Zd6lZyBYIm5lAK7gwAqU4

Or, if you do not have a Spotify account:

1. “She Knows” – J. Cole, Amber Coffman
2. “Faithful” – Drake, Pimp C, dvsn
3. “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” – Nas, Ms. Lauryn Hill
4. “No Role Modelz” – J. Cole
5.  “Money Trees” – Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock
6. “Buried Alive Interlude” – Drake, Kendrick Lamar
7. “Lullaby of Birdland” – Ella Fitzgerald

After reading Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights by Sidonie Smith and Kay Schaffer, their argument of how life narratives can be “problematic” intrigued me because previously, I had never considered storytelling to be something that could stir trouble. Schaffer and Smith also claim that life narratives are crucial for bringing social change – so why is change considered problematic?

Tying this idea of problematic narratives to G. Thomas Couser who articulates the “counterhegemonic” potential of disability life narratives, I find interesting how sharing life stories has led others to conclude that the stories of others can be “problematic” and “counterhegemonic”. Possibly, this is because texts such as Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, or The World is Moving Around Me by Dany Laferriere are a few examples of the many published life narratives that discuss experiences of trauma. Looking further into this, people often share their traumatic experiences as a form of therapy – called narrative therapy (Dulwich Centre Publications Pty Ltd & Dulwich Centre Foundation Inc). While authors seek to share their life experiences, the reception of the truths that are told can sometimes “disrupt” (Schaffer and Smith) traditional institutions or threaten the current social capital (i.e. those at the top of societal hierarchy in terms of power).

Using The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano as an example, Equiano’s slave narrative discusses his experience as a slave in the 18^th century. For him to talk about the experiences he either went through or bore witness to can be considered problematic because by sharing the wrongdoings of people that have power, Equiano’s personal accounts communicate to others the side of those in power that they most likely do not want others to see. In this way, life narratives can, again, cause change in such a way that past traditions are shifted into modernity.

Life narratives that discuss trauma can often be therapeutic and beneficial for the writer. However, the reception of these stories from other people can evoke issues because social change requires adapting (or breaking altogether) the traditions that previously existed. Life narratives are shown to have more than one potential – whether they are a form of therapy, or a form of advancing social justice, the intentions of the author are unknown to us. However, while calling for social change is seen as problematic to some people, possibly it is only an issue because life narratives interfere with the current power structure that exists today.

Works Cited

Couser, Thomas. “Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Disability Memoir.” Couser, Thomas. Signifying Bodies. University of Michigan Press, 2009. 42, 44, 45.

Dulwich Centre Publications Pty Ltd & Dulwich Centre Foundation Inc. What is Narrative Therapy? n.d. November 2016.

Schaffer, Kay and Sidonie Smith. “Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights.” Biography (2004): 1-24.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm