My interview was a pretty spur of the moment thing. Originally, I was supposed to having a relatively chill conversation with my partner about music. But he dropped out last minute so I had to find someone else. After a few minutes of my convincing, my roommate Marla decided to join my conversation. About music, the center of my core memories and my research fascination. At first, Marla was hesitant to talk about music as she doesn’t see herself as a music person. However, I’ve seen Marla listening to music and so I decided to ask her how music has been present in her life.

Gabby: What’s the longest phase you’ve had without listening to music?

Marla: Um, to be honest, I didn’t listen to music when I was growing up. So probably the longest phase would have lasted more than a year because I don’t remember ever actively just listening to music. I would always watch Netflix and stuff- but let’s not say a year, let’s say it’s summer. Cause I know my school would play music and I was in the band. So that probably counts. But let’s not say the summer, cause in the summer, I was just watching movies and TV shows that have music in them. So this is kind of like a contradiction.

Gabby: So then would you say music is something we can’t really escape? 

Marla: I would say music is something we can’t escape. I feel like we have songs that go on in our heads. We get a song stuck in our head, but I don’t really get artwork stuck in my head. I don’t have images of people dancing stuck in my head, but I do get music stuck in my head. And I feel like our hearts are just music. 

Gabby: Can you explain?

Marla: You know, like I’m all the time just in a mood and it usually matches the song or just a vibe. I don’t know how to really explain it, but I feel like, you know, music is kind of everywhere. Like if I turn my computer on and it makes a sound, that’s music. Or when you’re on hold. So music is everywhere.

Gabby: Okay, cool. Cool. Do you have a favorite album?

Marla: No. That’s why I don’t say I’m really a music person. I don’t really have a favorite, but I will say some albums. I really like Brent Faiyaz’s Sonder Son. And then, I like H.E.R. but I would say I liked the Ella Mai album more. I do love this new Jhené Aiko album, you know the one I’m talking about, Chilombo. I like that album because each song targets a different chakra. And I think that’s so cool to have the ability to heal through music. That’s really nice. 

I specifically chose this excerpt for a few reasons. One, this excerpt highlights the pervasiveness of music (i.e. how music was always present in Marla’s life even though she wasn’t actively listening to music on Spotify or other streaming services). Two, it highlights the reversible connection between spirituality and music: music can be spiritual and spirituality can take the form of music. (The point of the reversible connection between spirituality and music is somewhat shaping my current research project in which I argue that dancehall, a Jamaican dance music, is spiritual). And three, this excerpt shows the dynamic between myself and Marla. I, the interviewer, ask short and mostly open questions; Marla, the interviewee, answers those questions in detail. If need be, I follow up with “can you explain?” to get greater detail or more clarity on what Marla talks about. And because Marla is more on the extroverted side and loves to talk, she was able to become reflexive and personal in her responses to my rather short questions.

The best question I had is if music is escapable because the answer requires creativity, reasoning, reflexity, and perspective. But beyond that, I enjoyed asking this question and listening to the answer because I personally think that music is inescapable. In retrospect, I could have asked Marla a follow up question about what she considers/defines as music. Overall, I had fun talking to Marla about music and hearing about her experience growing up without actively listening to music.