Chickpop That Won't Stop
Feature Editors:
Salem Gebrezgi, 16
Tiya Perkins, 17
Massachusetts
Are you sick of today's artists writing songs about things that are irrelevant to what's really going on in the world today? How about giving Magdalen Hsu-Li (pronounced Sue Lee) a try. She's an Asian-American, bisexual artist/musician who speaks and performs at colleges all over the country about real-life issues. Here, she gives us a peak into her unique career and perspective on life, music, and politics.
Teen Voices: How did you get into the music industry?
Magdalen Hsu-Li:
I was a painter first. I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, then moved to Seattle, and it was there I caught the music bug. It hit me pretty hard. I wanted to be a performer and have a closer emotional connection with an audience. I think in many ways I was lonely and music filled a void in my life that nothing else could fill. So really I got involved in music because I had to. I was compelled.
TV: How long have you been writing songs and painting?
Magdalen:
Since I was a little girl. However, they are more mature works now than my first songs and drawings.
TV: Who are your musical influences?
Magdalen:
Allison Krauss currently, but I also dig artists like Ani DiFranco, John Mayer, Dave Mathews, and the Dixie Chicks. I listen primarily to folk, country, pop, and rock and a lot of Nashville songwriters.
TV: How many instruments do you play?
Magdalen: I perform on 4 instruments: voice, piano, guitar, and percussion.
TV: Do you want a lot of exposure or do you play just for fun?
Magdalen:
I feel that I have already gained a certain level of exposure from touring which is enough so that I have a dedicated fan base and friends all over the U.S. I play for work, fun, self-expression, and for my living. Music is my only job!
TV: We hear that you call yourself a cultural activist–what does the term cultural activist mean to you? What kinds of audiences do you try to target when you speak?
Magdalen:
Being a cultural activist means being active in working to raise awareness through the artistic mediums* I am fluent in. It means not being passive–looking outside of myself at the world and commenting on those things which I feel need balancing. College audiences tend to be pretty liberal and interested in the work I do as an activist and performer, so I would say they are a natural fit for me. Also, LGBT* audiences have really embraced what I do.
*Medium: a method of artistic expression
*LGBT: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
Continued on Page 2
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Is there a successful teen woman in the arts (movies, TV, music, writing) whose story inspires and motivates you who you would
like to see Teen Voices interview? If you have someone in mind,
let us know.
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No Ordinary Girl
By
Magdalen Hsu-Li
From her CD Smashing the Ceiling
I am different and unique
stand out on a crowded street
you can't make me fit into mold
or do what I am told
I'm tempestuous and bold
and I am worth my weight in gold
I hope that you can clearly see
what I am meant to be
Just think of what we could become
cause I am verily the one
that you've been
searching for all of your life
I am a woman on the verge
I am a story without words
and I'm ready to unleash myself
upon this world
I'm a kite without a string
I'm an angel without wings
I'm everything you want
cause I'm no ordinary girl
I am facing all these facts
and I'm unable to relax
I push harder every time
someone pushes back at me
I am the next generation
the face of things yet to come
step aside and let me lead the way
cause I have something new to say
In my journey to be free
I will create a better me
I am breaking boundaries
everywhere I go
people will know
no ordinary girl…
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