Kaillou's Musical Journal

For this blog I wanted to interview my father. He spent most of his life within the city of Philadelphia living in what is most commonly called “The Hood”. He was born in the 1980s and had his most influence on music in the late 1990s, early 2000s listening to virtually anything. At home it was strictly Cambodian music/karaoke but outside of home it was a huge “melting pot” of music, cultures, identity, and religion. One of his earliest memories of music was listening to Micheal Jackson (“King of Pop”) sing “Thriller” and “Beat it” on the radio. The leather jacket drew his attention as one of the most prized possessions. This partly sparked his interest and taste in music of pop, r&b, and rap which were very popular when he was growing up. The other part that influenced him was anything being played on the streets, in the park, within friend groups, or on the radio.      Michael Jackson - Beat it Music played a big role in my fathers life as it was his form of escape. He listened t

     A genre of American Roots Music I wanted to take a deeper look into was Rhythm and blues. rhythm and blues originated from African Americans around the 1930s-1940s. It was first referred to as ‘Race Music’ before it was renamed r&b to help with marketing (in the 1940s). As many African Americans migrated to urban centers (northeast and midwest) this brought some spotlight to the different types of African American music styles and eventually it spread throughout the country. Genres such as jazz and the blues played a key part as the roots of r&b while other genres influenced it like rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, and folk. R&B was sort of like a way for African Americans to confront the big issue of segregation, and help the civil Rights Movement. They were able to come together and enjoy the beautiful, calming music. Many believed that r&b (also rock ‘n’ roll) were dangerous to the youth when in reality they turned r&b into an identity to portray their culture/backgro

What I wanted to look into was the gender roles in country music, specifically focusing on the main instrument, the acoustic guitar. Just about every country song involves the guitar and in today's world it is played by all. The guitar is a type of chordophone made from wood and strung with nylon or steel strings. It came from the Europeans who settled here in the Americas as early as the 1600s.  The guitar, both acoustic and electric, is a staple in country music. The acoustic guitar has been the primary instrument while the electric is more modern. It brings a rich and warm tone the to music while the simplicity of the design and the structure of it makes it easy to carry on the go and play wherever you wish.  From my basic observation/opinion, it seems like the guitar is a more male dominant instrument and that could be because of cultural stereotypes and social conditioning that increases the use of the guitar by males and decreases the use for females. Obviously there are many

     Being raised in the Cambodian (khmer) culture, I have had my fair share of attending weddings and funerals where the music was completely different for each one. Just like any wedding, the music can differ as the duration of the event continues. Slow and emotional in the beginning then fast and happy toward the end.  From experience, most of the Cambodian weddings I have been to have been put into two parts: traditional and American style. For example, a traditional wedding would be on a Friday morning and the American style wedding would be on a Saturday night.       Most people would take this route to 1. Enjoy the tradition/culture of being a Cambodian, 2. To split the attendance (respectfully) for the grandparents and older folks who want to support without being mixed with the younger generation that wants to party. It is done specifically in this way to respect the culture and go through the rituals, traditions, and blessings of getting married before having the 2nd half of

Hey everyone! I am Kaillou (Kai-u) Touch and I am a student athlete at Converse University. I am on the Mens Soccer Team and I plan to major in Business/Sports management. I was born and raised here, in Spartanburg County, but my nationality is Cambodian/Thai/Chinese. I am the oldest of 5 with an age gap of 17 years between my youngest sibling and I. I have been involved in sports since I was 3 years old. Throughout my childhood I played soccer, basketball, and football. As I got older I narrowed it down to football and soccer, then eventually choose soccer as my main sport to pursue my dream of playing collegiate soccer. I am very competitive and enjoy any friendly competition from who can eat the most chicken wings in one sitting to who can speed walk to the bathroom and back. I am a very talkative person and I also enjoy a good laugh. I believe that laughter is good for the soul and is very much needed to keep your day afloat.  As of Music, you can always catch me doing mini jam ses