The thing I have decided is my favorite thing about traveling is hearing American music in different countries. I'm not naive to the fact that American artists are often popular worldwide, but the moments I'm talking about are when the song is so American it almost feels like your life is a poorly written movie. For example, when our group got off the ferry in Ardrossan, Scotland we stopped by a grocery store to grab snacks. As we walked in, the song that was playing was "Livin' in America". If my life was a movie, people would criticize the soundtrack for being too obvious. When we were at an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen quietly played as we ate. I've found moments like this to be an unexpected source of American pride. Back home in the states, songs like these can seem corny. But when you're in a Scottish take-away place and the man making your food is singing along with New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi, America doesn't seem so lame.
The clubs in Scotland also pump out their fair share of American jams. The first night we went out in Edinburgh, I almost had an out of body experience watching the Scottish locals dance to Tupac's "Picture Me Rollin'" It was a surreal moment. I love to wonder whether Tupac ever thought his music would be played in a club thousands of miles from California in 2014.
Emily, Tara and I had such a good time dancing to American music in the Scottish clubs that others took notice. We got lost in our dancing and when we looked up, a half circle of people had formed around us. It was probably because our dancing looked very different than the rest of the people in the club. Most were just bobbing their head to the music or slightly wiggling their bodies. It seemed like most of them preferred techno or house music while we danced enthusiastically to the American hip-hop songs. The guy next to me asked me something and I couldn't make it out so I asked if he was from Glasgow. He said he was and I had told him we weren't. "I can tell," he said with a laugh.
Without a doubt, one of the best moments of the trip was when Nelly's Hot In Herre came on in the club. The DJ followed it by Ride Wit Me. Two songs by a Saint Louis rapper in a row? One of the songs even mentions the mall I work at. This moment was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I never felt like I was meant to be somewhere more than in that moment.
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Audrey Hasse