Continued...
Chickpop That Won't Stop
Teen Voices: Why did you choose to go to Berklee College of Music? How has it helped you?
Magdalen Hsu-Li:
Berklee is amazing. I am in love with this school. It's hard. But if you can get into Berklee you will get your money's worth and more. It is incredibly challenging and also a really ethnically and internationally diverse environment. I have learned so much and am so glad I took the time in my career to be here. It is a place where any musician at any level can hone their skills and grow. Also it has the only songwriting program of its kind in the world. The only thing I would say is that they need more diversity awareness training for their students and they need a women's and LGBT center really, really badly.
TV: Do you see any different responses to your work in different parts of the country?
Magdalen:
Definitely, in the liberal areas of the Northeast, people love what I do. However, in some areas like rural, conservative, Republican, red states they have not liked my anti-Bush songs. To each her or his own, I say–there is something for everyone. I am just expressing one personal viewpoint.
TV: In the current political climate do you think people with your political views get heard?
Magdalen:
Well, if you make a scene or find your audience and tour out to meet them you can be totally heard. But the music industry is pretty dull when it comes to political expression. They think it won't sell. Funny, because in the 60s political music totally sold.
TV: What's the best/worst thing someone has said about you and does that influence your work?
Magdalen: Someone once called my music "Chickpop" and I was so mad I named my record company after that word. Touché!
TV: When did you start up your record company? How is it to run your own business?
Magdalen:
I started in 1997–it's a lot of work to run your own company. There are pros and cons. One pro is that you can have the satisfaction of knowing that (if the business is successful) you did it yourself! A con is that sometimes good workers are hard to find. I have had some wonderful interns and employees and it has helped me to learn to be a better boss–how to manage people. Also to know what I want in an employee and to be able to recognize those qualities in people.
TV: Do you have any advice for girls who want to be part of the music industry?
Magdalen:
Get the best musical education you can get, and then also get a strong background in business skills. Never listen to anyone who is a negative naysayer. You have to say, "I can do this," and you have to follow through.
TV: Do you think it's harder for women artists?
Magdalen:
Not particularly right now. Maybe in high school because women are not encouraged to play instruments or become instrumentalists as well as singers. I do think that it is a strange market for music in general nowadays, though. We are due for a big shift in thinking in the next few years and it will be interesting to see where the industry goes.
TV: Have you worked with anyone cool?
Magdalen:
Matt Chamberlain, Tori Amos's drummer. He is truly amazing, and incredibly nice.
TV: Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics?
Magdalen:
Dreams, emotional situations in my own life, or in observing the life of others, and sometimes stream-of-consciousness*.
TV: What are some of the obstacles you have overcome to become a performer?
Magdalen:
I had to overcome a rare disability called Tourette's Syndrome* when I was a teen. I started having symptoms and no one knew what was wrong with me. They blamed me for the symptoms and I was ostracized* for them. At one point, my parents finally helped me find a neurologist who diagnosed me with the disorder. Then came the hard part. After a year or so of taking drugs–which were not effective–I realized I had no one that could help me–the doctors, my parents–I had no support system. The Tourette's was still there, so I turned to myself and used my will power to stop the Tourette's. I did something that I felt was a superhuman thing and it worked. Other obstacles included earning a living as a musician, being afraid of performing, and being an Asian-American musician in the music industry.
TV: Do your parents support you being a musician?
Magdalen:
Magdalen: Absolutely, and I love them for it!
*Stream-of-consciousness: a continuous series of images and ideas running through the mind.
*Tourette's Syndrome: A disorder of the brain that causes people to twitch uncontrollably and to scream incoherently*, often with obscene words.
*Incoherently: not making sense; meaningless.
*Ostracized: excluded from a group; shunned.
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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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