Hej allihopa (Hi everyone)! My name's Isac Åhnstrand. If you have never seen the letter "Å" before, then you have now learned a new Swedish letter. Coming from a small city in Sweden called Sundsvall, I've encountered many different cultures and experiences by moving to America. During my first two years in America, I lived in New York City, where I played basketball at Monroe College. Then I moved on and ended up here at Converse University.
I've been playing basketball for as long as I can remember, and that's the main reason why I moved from Sweden. Other than basketball I love to spend quality time with friends. We usually play cards, hang out by the pool, or play PlayStation. Unfortunately, right now in my life, I don't get to spend a lot of time with my family. It's a lot of FaceTime calls. But when I fly back home for the summer we spend a lot of time together. In the picture below is me and my dog Pike, it's even harder to be away from him because he hasn't figured out how FaceTime works yet. One thing I wish I could do is to play an instrument. But I also don't think I've got the time to learn it right now, maybe something for the future.
It's a big difference between the places I lived in and now I'll share some of my music experiences and music that is important to me.
In my life, music plays a big role. I love to listen to music almost any time of the day, even right now I'm listening to music. Music can make me feel in a lot of different ways. For example: happy, relaxed, and game-ready. For different occasions, I have different playlists so I can pick and choose what vibe I'm feeling.
Something that I listen to every day is Afrobeat. I got into Afrobeat music when we were hanging out by the pool after our basketball season ended. The rhythm just caught me, it’s smooth and makes you want to move without even thinking about it. The tempo is perfect for chilling, and the beat has this groove that gets you hooked. The melodies flow in a way that relaxes me but still keeps things upbeat. It’s the kind of music that instantly puts me in a good mood, and now it’s my most-played playlist whenever I want to feel happy and relaxed, which is usually all the time. So put your shades on, turn on this song, with your friends, by the pool, with something cold to drink and I promise you'll have a good time!
The song "W" by Alpha P is the song on repeat right now.
"Emiliana" by CKay is probably my most played song of this year.
One song that's been personally meaningful to me for a time now is "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z. It’s more than just a song in my opinion, it feels like the anthem of New York City. I remember hearing it everywhere when I moved to New York and walked around Manhattan just looking up at all the enormous buildings. Some of the lyrics hit me in a way that made me reflect on my journey and all the hard work it took to get to that moment. From a dream of playing basketball in the US, to actually being there, and in the middle of New York City, the city of dreams. It was just something else. Walking through the city and hearing that song made me feel proud of what I had accomplished. A big accomplishment in my career. I don’t play it often because I like to save it for those special times when I want to be reminded of that feeling. I don’t want to overplay it and lose that connection.
"Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
I'm very open to listening to new genres and expanding my music taste but Country music is something I just don’t really connect with. I know a lot of people have it as their favorite genre, but it’s never been my thing. Living in Sweden my whole life and then moving to NYC, where you don’t hear much Country, to South Carolina was definitely a change. Suddenly, it was everywhere. I can see a little bit why people like it, but the sound and style don’t hit the same way other music does for me. It’s hard to relate to, but I understand that it's very catchy. In general, for me, country music can sometimes feel too "saucy." It’s hard to put into words exactly. But this doesn't mean that I hate listening to Country music. I will stay positive toward country music and maybe after my second year here in South Carolina, Country music will get me as well.
The one country song I'd listen to: "A Bar Song" by Shaboozey.
As a bonus, I will share with you my favorite Swedish artist, Veronica Maggio. She sings in Swedish so it's probably difficult for y'all to understand the lyrics. But I'll link a translated video. She is called the "Swedish Pop Queen" and you won't experience a real Swedish summer without hearing some of her music in the background.
Isac I personally really enjoyed your blog, it was fun to read and your music preferences are very interesting and fabulous. I found the most interesting one to be "Empire State of mind" I had no idea you liked that kind of music but this is a great song and a lovely choice to put in your blog. The one I liked the best though was "Bar Song" by Shaboozey because this is also my favorite country song at the moment. Keep up the good work buddy
Hey Isac! Empire State of Mind is such a good song and it's so interesting and understandable why you wouldn't play it too often. Sometimes certain songs just need to be played only at certain times to have that full effect. I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't the biggest fan of country! Even though I grew up with some country, you're definitely right about it being everywhere and it can get really overplayed. Also I checked out Veronica Maggio and her songs are really good! The language doesn't really matter that much to me in a song as long as it has good instrumentals. My favorite song of hers I listened to would probably have to be Välkommen in.
Afrobeats is such genre full of good vibes, the songs have so much replay-ability they never get old. Empire State of Mind is such an amazing song, genuinely one of the best Jay-Z songs if not rap songs of all time the chorus so timeless and Alicia Key's voice is beautiful, I could never have any bad things to say about it. Not the biggest country fan myself but that Shaboozey song is kinda nice, might add to a playlist.
Isaac, great to meet you! I'm glad we share some of the same interests. I love the song Empire State Of Mind, I think that is a classic hip hop song. That's also very cool that you went to New York and were able to experience the big city. Even being in California, we always listen to Jay-Z and that song. Great response Isaac!
You might be turning me on to afrobeats! That genre is entirely new to me. Alicia Keys is one of my favorite singers of all time. As for Shaboozey, I may be alone here, but the first time I heard that on the radio, I thought, this is not country, even in terms of "new country." I'm sorry but it takes more than a few seconds of fiddle solo and whiskey references to make a song country! Nothing against the artist, the song is catchy. :) As someone who was only allowed to listen to country and Christian music growing up though, not being into country is completely valid.
Isac I personally really enjoyed your blog, it was fun to read and your music preferences are very interesting and fabulous. I found the most interesting one to be "Empire State of mind" I had no idea you liked that kind of music but this is a great song and a lovely choice to put in your blog. The one I liked the best though was "Bar Song" by Shaboozey because this is also my favorite country song at the moment. Keep up the good work buddy
ReplyDeleteHey Isac! Empire State of Mind is such a good song and it's so interesting and understandable why you wouldn't play it too often. Sometimes certain songs just need to be played only at certain times to have that full effect. I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't the biggest fan of country! Even though I grew up with some country, you're definitely right about it being everywhere and it can get really overplayed. Also I checked out Veronica Maggio and her songs are really good! The language doesn't really matter that much to me in a song as long as it has good instrumentals. My favorite song of hers I listened to would probably have to be Välkommen in.
ReplyDeleteAfrobeats is such genre full of good vibes, the songs have so much replay-ability they never get old. Empire State of Mind is such an amazing song, genuinely one of the best Jay-Z songs if not rap songs of all time the chorus so timeless and Alicia Key's voice is beautiful, I could never have any bad things to say about it. Not the biggest country fan myself but that Shaboozey song is kinda nice, might add to a playlist.
ReplyDeleteIsaac, great to meet you! I'm glad we share some of the same interests. I love the song Empire State Of Mind, I think that is a classic hip hop song. That's also very cool that you went to New York and were able to experience the big city. Even being in California, we always listen to Jay-Z and that song. Great response Isaac!
ReplyDeleteYou might be turning me on to afrobeats! That genre is entirely new to me. Alicia Keys is one of my favorite singers of all time. As for Shaboozey, I may be alone here, but the first time I heard that on the radio, I thought, this is not country, even in terms of "new country." I'm sorry but it takes more than a few seconds of fiddle solo and whiskey references to make a song country! Nothing against the artist, the song is catchy. :) As someone who was only allowed to listen to country and Christian music growing up though, not being into country is completely valid.
ReplyDelete