ME AND MUSIC

 I have a special relationship with music. I am listening to a 90s playlist and writing this. I grew up in the eighties and '90s in a Middle Eastern country where music, especially Western music, was banned. I had some music exposure while I stayed in South Africa between 98 and 2000. We were struggling financially and still didn't have a CD player. I remember the new Westlife Album was released, and my High school friend Sandra recorded it on a cassette for me to listen to. It must be somewhere in my grandparents’ house, along with a hundred other cassettes I recorded from different radio stations and channels. I used to be crazy about Celine Dion. I would play her music, record my voice with the microphone, and feel like a diva! These days, when I listen to her old songs, I feel sad…I think about the days I used to be wild and young and free. 

The world of music became more colourful for me after we managed to get a satellite TV around 2005, and in those days, I could watch different international videos and enjoy them. Shakira and Jennifer Lopez were the new emerging artists in those days, and they are still going strong and going on tour. By then, I had given up on becoming a singer and was going to medical school. By 2010, when I was an intern, I got my first MP3 player. It was so life-changing! Having music while walking to work or using public transport was lovely. I was using various internet channels to download music. 

Life is amazing now with music streaming platforms such as Spotify! A lot of the artists probably miss the good old days when they would sell records, making less money through these platforms.  With a small monthly subscription, I listen to a wide range of music on my devices. There is no need for downloading or recording cassettes, CDs, or MP3 players. I listen to a wide range of music from my home country, French, Jazz, classical, Arabic, Indian, Latino, and pop from the '60s up to now. The only time I feel like a diva these days is when I am driving and I sing along to my favourite song. I have a little fantasy to have a little band and sing in a bar or something when I retire…


I still have my first MP3 player; it is such a sentimental item to me




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