Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

This week our class enjoyed a visit from the Cognate Collective duo Misael Diaz and Amy Sanchez Ortega, and before meeting them we had the chance to check out their publication Future Echoes. My favorite part of the project was “Tegami Letter from the Little Tokyo Regional Forest, 2519. I really enjoyed the blend of English, Spanish, and Japanese in order to reflect the history and current state of the land that is now Little Tokyo. I think in my project something similar goes on with the use of Chinese music as it is both my past and present, but I have only recently started to acknowledge it—as is mentioned in the personal essay aspect of my piece. 

I also enjoyed the discussion Misael and Amy provided about the border blaster radio stations and how music was able to be transmitted across borders, and found it so silly how their original intent was to provide somewhat suspect advertising. I think music and food are the most border transcendent aspects of culture given the ease with which they can be shared and enjoyed. Thus, they are also perfect vehicles for translanguaging because while it is most certainly possible to enjoy music in another language, there is always at least some meaning lost if the person listening cannot understand the language nor the cultural references. However, for this exact reason the music of a culture is an excellent way for people to begin dipping their toes into it! This concept makes an appearance in my song selection for my radio piece, for while they may be just a pleasant listen to those who don’t understand Chinese, those who are familiar with the language may be able to theorize how each song ties into the specific section it plays during. And, I hold a tiny hope in my heart that perhaps passersbys will enjoy the songs just as much as I do (which is a LOT) and like them enough to be curious to begin getting into Chinese music.