Interview - 13 February 2006 - Edited Transcription of the first 20 minutes

Edited transcription

[1.1] Trifon (the interviewer): So, for my ethnographic report on the portable music data player in conjunction with Campus for Christ, interviewing Cara Stone, social co-ordinator for Campus for Christ. We will be talking about this issue on a general level, as well as issues concerning social behaviour, the creative potential of portable music data players, and music as part of Christian life and Campus for Christ. So, do you own a portable music data player of some kind, like an iPod or something like that?

Cara (the interviewee): Yeah. I have an MP3.

T: Who makes the MP3 player?

C: I have no idea … a really cheap one. That’s all I got.

T: Does it do anything else?

C: No, it just plays music.

T: Wow.

C: It puts it in folders.

T: So it treats music as data, then?

C: … I think so.

[1.2] T: So, what kind of music do you like to listen to on your MP3 player?

C: Pretty much anything. I’m involved in dance so I listen to dance music, and I run, so that’s the only time I’ll pull out my MP3 … it’s more I guess upbeat music … I don’t know, either like pop rock or hip-hop or anything with a beat. So it can even be country, as long as it has a beat.

T: So you use it for gym workouts, then?

C: Not in the gym. Just when I’m by myself.

T; Oh, okay. So, like, jogging in a park?

C: Yeah.

T: Okay. So how often do you use your MP3 player?

C: I use it more in the spring and fall and … summer because winter’s too cold … (laughs)

T: I can understand that.

C: Yeah, and sometimes my battery will die and I just won’t replace it for a month, and so it’s very, I guess, not frequent in how often I use it? Because if I’m into one new song, then I’ll use it more, but sometimes it’s months before I upgrade it too. So, it’s very infrequent. Sometimes, I use it ten hours a week, and, other times, absolutely nothing.

T: So, how often did you have to replace your battery?

C: … how often do I have to replace it?

T: Yeah.

C: It drains pretty fast. I don’t do rechargables, so it’s often, I’ll get maybe five hours out of it.

T: So it runs on double A-style batteries?

C: Triple-A.

T: …Oh. [I didn’t realize that some MP3 players were THAT cheap!]

C: It’s pretty bad, I think. It’s probably more than that, but I don’t notice. (laughs)

T: Well, that’s no problem. What’s your favourite piece of music that you’ve come across in the last little while?

C: In the last little while? Aww, I haven’t been listening lately.

T: Alright, then how about period?

C: Period? Um…I guess this is going to sound weird, but my classes have kind of affected my music as well because I’m in this classical cultural tourism, and so we were listening to, actually, Kenyan music, and so, yeah, there’s this song called “Chumba Wana” and I’ll listen to it a lot.

T: What about the music interests you?

C: What … interests me about it? I think just the fact that it’s new and different, so it’s like it’s light, and it’s fluffy, and … well, it’s not fluffy, but this is light and very laid-back but it still has this beat to it, that I can sing along to and even though it’s in a different language. That’s what I like about it.

T: Yep.

C: And Disney music. I’m leaning back to the Disney music.

T: Any particular song from the Disney … ?(laughs)

C: I feel embarrassed to say this (laughs)

T: Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to…

C: Under the sea, from the Little mermaid? (breaks into laughter again)

T: So, you like pieces with a Caribbean steel-drum type of feel?

C: Lately, that’s how it’s been going. (laughs)

T: That’s cool. So how important do you think music is for a social setting?

[2.2] C: For a social setting? Really, really, really important, especially for places like extra, or a lounge-type setting. I think it really creates the atmosphere, even though people don’t realize it, because if there’s a beat, people will move their bodies a little, or if, there’s this quiet classical music, it’ll be like, I guess your state of mind, I think, almost changes, as the music changes. They do this in movies all the time; there’s a reason why they have the music start soft, and then go up really loudly as the climax happens and, the great forecast or something, it just helps; it’s very emotional; it’s tied to your emotions.

T: Do you take this into account when you look at designing social events for Campus for Christ?

C: Music? Yeah, actually once this year, we did a house construction, and me and the other girl who was organizing it decided that we needed construction music, even though I don’t really lean towards harder rock stuff. We brought it there; we played it quite loud for a little while until we had to unplug the electricity. But for a while, y’know, it helped set the mood.

T: Did you find that it aided the people there with their work? Did it help with what they were doing?

C: Yeah, I think it would probably help with their state of mind and because it was popular music too, they could sing along. I think it depends very much on the individual, and who is around as well.

T: Do you notice any difference in somebody’s behaviour between when they are using a portable music data player of some kind, and when they are not?

C: Their behaviour? I definitely think there’s a behaviour change, because music, I think, will affect, like I said, your state of mind. So if you’re listening to sad breakup songs about girls, it’s going to be like you’re going to feel that way? And if you are singing songs about, a significant other, you’re gonna feel lonely; if you sing songs about God, it could bring you to a spiritual high, too, at the same time. And when other people are around, I think it’s very visible. And I think music can be a gate towards certain emotions, where it’ll affect the people around you as well, because if you’re depressed, it can have this contagious effect and everyone could get depressed. You know what I mean?

T: I do.

C: I think other people see it.

T: So, have you experienced that as of late when you listen to it yourself?

C: Lately? Yeah! Yeah, I have. I’ve turned on certain music; lately I’ve been too busy to play music, but it hasn’t been that long where I turn on this song, and it was called Hosanna, and, it’s just like it uplifted my spirits. It really did. And I just started dancing around in the house, and then my sister would come in, and she’d join, and … it’s building community in that way, it puts you on the same level, the same state of mind, I guess.

T: So you find that music has a cathartic effect in your life, that it helps you overcome things?

C: Oh… yeah, I think so.

[1.4] T: What’s the most creative use you have ever heard of for an MP3 player?

C: Oh, that’s a good question. … I think it’s really creative that people can put thousands of songs on it, and they can just bring it to a house party, and then they plug it into someone else’s computer, and it plays, or stereo or however they do it (laughs) and I think that’s just creative to be like “Yeah I’m putting my whole computer thingy on this tiny MP3!” Because that’s a lot of people; the only thing that matters on their computer is, their music is on there, and their e-mail, and that’s it; like (laughs) who cares about anything else?

T: So they use it as a kind of DJ tool? (laughs)

C: Yeah! No, exactly! And it has so much variety, and they can share their music a lot easier … yeah, I thought that was pretty creative.

T: If you could add one capability to an MP3 player, what would it be?

C: Oh. You mean, like something that’s non-existent now?

T: …Just anything.

C: I would really like one where you could, like, … I hate setting it up , so I’d love to be able to put my MP3 player on the computer, and open it up to a certain playlist, and, just have it download certain songs on it. This is for a small 2-gig, or you could have it randomly put songs in it, or if you could match it, like if like you could search for a certain style of music rather than an artist or album; you could search a certain style because so many times you have so much music, and you can’t find what you’re looking for because you forget what it’s called or something like that. And so, I would love to be able to put dance music, and maybe even specific things, like a waltz.

[1.1] T: How many songs do you have on your MP3 player?

C: On mine? Not much. I have a 2-gig MP3 player, so however many songs that fits. I’m not sure.

T: So, it’s full.

C: You want me to guess?

T: No, I’m … (laughs) it’s OK.

T: What uses could you conceive of for using such a device to help Campus for Christ?

[2.1] C: To help Campus for Christ? Yeah, I think that would just go back into what I said before and it’s just like, making a state of mind different, like right before Campus for Christ comes for our weekly meeting, the sound team puts on some upbeat music while they’re setting up, and I think that’s useful. A lot of times in house parties, too, they’ll turn up the music, but not like, so you can’t hear over anybody? So yeah, that goes back to the atmosphere, where atmosphere means a lot. So it’s cool when you could just … If you’re at a house party, and you don’t really want to engage yourself in conversation but you don’t really want to go home, it’s quite cool; you could just be comfy, lay back and just listen to the music? I think that it just solves awkward situations (laughs) I mean, you can just listen, right?

T: Could you elaborate on that?

C: Okay. Um… do you want an example, then?

T: Yeah, that’d be great.

C: Okay. So, if you had a really tough day, and you were in class, nine ‘till five, just finished heavy midterms, and, it went really really bad, and, you just go to the social on Friday night just because you always do, and, you wanna go home, but you’re not really connecting with people, because you’re, you’re stressed, and you’re tired, and you, you just don’t really care? Music can help pull you into a different mood, or emphasize what you’re … going through, like right now when you sing along? A song comes on, that’s very mellow, at first. You could relate to it? Like, the lyrics? Because it’s popular, so you know this song, you can emote with yourself more, which kind of keeps the focus off of what you’re doing with the other crowd? Or it all comes back to where, but their music is upbeat, and it’s your favourite song, and so it forces you to engage people more, because your state of mind isn’t going for the moping “I had such a bad day, I’m so stressed”? It’s more, “I absolutely love this song”, and all you have to do is like tell that to the other person and automatically you’re bridging that withdrawn stage that you were going through.

T: Do you take these types of things into account when you are designing a social?

C: Sometimes. Most of my socials are for a lull, or at home, or, I find, people will do it naturally; it’s so natural to have music. I don’t really need to be like “Oh, is there music playing, or not?”, like I do with the house construction because I know that there was nothing in the house electronically, so I actually ripped off this CD before, and we played it, but I think most of the time, if there is a house, there’ll be music. I don’t have to plan it; the house normally does it for me, so I never worry about it.

[2.4] T: So you have mentioned before that people find it easier to deal with life when they identify with an emotion that is portrayed by music. Have you gone through something like that?

C: Yep! Like, I mentioned, like, my spiritual high for the moment with praise songs, or even when I’ve been drawn towards the Caribbean-style music lately because you think of the Caribbean, you think of a relaxed and slow pace of life. And that’s kind of how my state of mind is lately for the past several weeks, it’s been like “I’ll get there when I get there” and time isn’t quite an issue and, yeah I have that paper, but I’ll just slowly work on it … I think it takes me longer but I’m enjoying it because my state of mind is relaxed. So I totally think that’s why I’ve gone that way towards the Caribbean music just because it matches my state of mind.

[3.3] T: What would you say Christian music is for you?

C: Christian music? I think you could have a wide definition of that where it’s anything that’s pure, and for God, or you could have a very narrow thing, like when I think of Christian music, I could tie it to worship music which is not just for God but it’s about God. Yeah, I think there’s two major differences in that, because sometimes, you’re like Christian music, I often think, you should be able to play it in a church, right? Often. And, there’s some stuff that I wouldn’t really put in there, just because it’s not for God, or it’s not about God. It’s kinda more about you and your own little thing, but, it kind of relates you to that stuff as God, does that make sense?

T: So there’s … kind of a grey music, if you will?

C: Yeah. Sometimes it’s about in the church and you’re like “I dunno if I should be really teaching kids like that.”, because as Christians, we totally go through everything that everyone else goes through as well; we still doubt and we still fear certain things and we still long for certain things, but I think that … to write about a certain subject, and then tying God into it, sometimes isn’t quite as Christian as having God at the centre, and then having the subjects around God, y’know what I mean? What’s your focus in your song? Is it God, or is it your subject and then you’re trying to use God as a coping tool?