It’s the end of the semester and I am a ball of stress
heading into finals, but as I reflect back on my classes, I am very glad that I
was able to enroll in VS185X (the alternative was a class on the sociology of
culture, which would have been a very different experience…)
There really is no experience like Songs & Places. My initial
reasons for wanting to join the class was to become educated and immersed in
American folk music—a genre of music that is so ubiquitous yet so foreign to me—
and to get back in touch with my artistic capabilities that have been neglected
for the last few years. I have accomplished both those goals, and along the way
have been continuously fascinated by the richness of American culture and
navigating its history through music while interacting with a group of creative
and talented (and maybe a little eccentric) people. Maybe I’ve even improved my
singing ability…
Songs & Places stands out as the most unique class I’ve
taken at Cal, in every aspect possible. Throughout the course of the semester,
I've tried to engage every song, every story in a way that made sense to me, but
this wasn’t always easy because the sentiment behind each song is undoubtedly unique
to the place and the people the song belongs to. But I will continue to sing
and attempt to understand, though I'm probably too young and naive to fathom what exactly created
the songs.
All in all, the songs have changed me by making me more
American ;)
My favorites:
- Down by the Sally Gardens
- Red River Valley
- Since I've Laid My Burden Down
- San Francisco Bay Blues
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