by Miranda Lim
Don’t let
the title of
her CD,
Smashing the
Ceiling,
fool you.
Magdalen
Hsu-Li’s
songs some
say are
reminiscent
of soft
acoustic
artists such
as Sarah
McLachlan
and Tori
Amos. Although
she did
confuse the
audience
with her
genre of
music during
her
performance
on Saturday
night at the
Union
Auditorium
when she
played her
first
“freakish”
tune of the
night which
had a slight
Alanis
Morrisette
vibe coming
from
it. This
song
however, not
surprisingly
enough,
received
critical
acclaim from
her audience
of hormone
raging
college
students.
Co-sponsors
Lesbian Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Alliance (LGBTA),
Students
Taking Aim
at
Challenges,
and the
Chinese
Association
at Stony
Brook (CASB)
each took
their place
on stage at
the
beginning of
the event to
introduce
their
special
guest to the
audience
right before
she jumped
right into
her first
song of the
night, “No
Ordinary
Girl.” Make
no mistake
about it;
she is not
your typical
Teila
Tequila
bisexual,
which we are
regularly a
witness to
when
watching her
on MTV.
Hsu-Li
cleared the
air of any
Tila Tequila
resemblance
with not
only her
more
reserved and
properly
dressed
attire, but
also with
the short
biography of
her life.
She told the
audience of
growing up
in the South
as a
bisexual and
having to
face the
harsh
reality that
comes with
being
different.
On top of
that, Hsu-Li
was
diagnosed
with
Tourettes. This
neurological
disorder is
characterized
by
involuntary
body
movements
and vocal
outbursts
which
usually
occur for at
least twelve
months. Growing
up different
while
chasing your
dreams is
hard to do,
which is why
Hsu-Li has
been such an
inspiration
to so many
throughout
the years
for those
going
through what
she has.
For those of
you who
missed out
on a chance
to meet this
influential
role model
or listen to
her music,
clips of her
songs can be
found on
http://cdbaby.com/cd/magdalen3
and copies
of her album
can be found
on
amazon.com.
Note:
Afterwards
Hsu-Li held
a long Q&A
session in
the WoMen's
Center which
will be
written
about in the
next issue
by Denny
Mai, VP of
CASB. Photos
of both the
concert and
the Q&A
taken by
Ngoc Vu are
at
http://aasquared.org/gallery/MagdalanHsuLiConcertandQA
