Senior Asael Castaneda joined “The Rosette” Newspaper as he thought this was a chance to get to know more people and maybe get comfortable with the school. Castaneda loves music… like a lot… , hence why he is always wearing his headphones, but don't be afraid to go up and talk to him! Castaneda loves doing lots of things such as reading, playing guitar, and also loves animals, traveling, going out and going for walks to clear his mind. He loves to watch movies, especially horror movies. His favorite shows and movies right now are “Dexter” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (though he thinks the book is 100x better). Castaneda is hoping to get into forensics, specifically studying blood spatter. He always found it interesting how you can solve so many crimes just by the angle of the blood or what weapon was used and he thought that it was a pretty cool career!
A Musical Presence: Castaneda explains what music means to him.
Reported by: Georgina Bolanos
There isn't anything more loveable or motivating but the sound of music. Headphones on and disappearing to the world of comfort, in peace he is not worried about a single thought as he closes his eyes and enjoys the sounds coming out of his headphones.
Senior Asael Castaneda has found music as a huge impact in his life that is full of meaning.
His love of music began when he was in 5th grade going to middle school.
“I have a lot of playlist with different genres I listen to,” Castaneda said. “I don't think I have a favorite song. But as for the moment it's a song called ‘The mess we're in’ by PJ harvey. I really like this song since one of my favorite artists, Tom Yorke, is in it. I overall love the instrumental and vocals of this song.”
Castaneda first discovered Hip-Hop in middle school by mainly listening to The Weeknd and Tyler the Creator.
“I heard of The Weeknd on the radio. When I listen to him it makes me feel nostalgic. My aunt used to take me out on late night drives. The specific song “I feel it coming” by The Weeknd is most nostalgic, bringing back those memories . As for Tyler the Creator I started listening to him alot and I really liked him. Some favorite artists I love now are Slowdive, Radiohead, My bloody valentine, Giles Corey, Smashing Pumpkins, Alex G, PJ Harvey, Car Seat Headrest, The Microphones and The Smiths.”
In spring of 2020 Castaneda grew more love for music and started to play guitar.
“I started watching people playing guitar and I wanted to pick it up,” Castaneda said. “My friend started playing guitar with me, halfway until 2021 I gave up. I couldn't find the motivation to play, ever since my friends started playing they started giving me more motivation. They were better than me and very passionate. I wasn't as passionate when I first started playing guitar, after I heard them play I thought “I want to be better,” I saw playing as a competition so I could get better. I started playing a lot more and bonding with my friends, since we wanted to form a band we started playing together so it motivated me.”
For Castaneda, music has given him a connection between both people and himself.
“There’s not a day I don't listen to music,” Castaneda said. “Music just plays a huge role in my life. Nobody in my family knows much about music, they listen to it but they're not obsessed with it. They could go days without music but for me like I have to listen to music. I would resonate a song to someone or when friends put me on a song it reminds me of them, my friend showed me a song by ‘The smiths’ and I told him it reminded me of him, I do that to a lot of my friends, I would tell them a song reminds me of them. I think of a lot of sad and happy moments. I usually feel sadness listening to music and thinking of someone. Sometimes I would think about my memoires. It just depends.”
Growing with music made Castaneda realize his own purpose of music.
“I think the purpose of music is entertainment,” Castaneda said. “It can entertain anybody, for me it's more entertainment than anything, I prefer music over anything. It would also fall under a category of entertainment but some people would take it as art, something more complex than that, some find it entertaining, some find it as something far more than entertaining. I think music is meant to entertain you. Whenever I’m chilling, reading, working out, doing homework or studying I entertain myself by listening to music. Whenever I'm playing guitar I listen to music so I can get into the setting of playing or when I'm playing a game I listen to music. Music is entertaining to me, it keeps me from being bored.”
