By: Isabel Ebin If you walk through the halls of any high school, you’ll see hordes of teens with earbuds plugged in, listening to their favorite songs. Music serves as a form of both personal and public self-expression, and one’s music preferences can easily change and adapt. These qualities are perfect for teens in the throes of defining their identity. Oftentimes, teens in a friend group share similar music tastes, and their choices provide clues as to what sort of people they are. Here at GSE, earbuds are less common, but many students find other ways to listen to music. From Bluetooth speakers on the quad, headphones in the cafeteria, to (of course) a multitude of AirPods, the musical scene on campus is extremely varied and reflects diverse individual personalities.
Out of curiosity, I surveyed GSE teens on the songs they’d most recently listened to. The variety was impressive—the most referenced artist was indie singer-songwriter Mitski, but even she only came up three times. Taylor Swift and Kanye West were each mentioned twice. Even chart-topper Olivia Rodrigo was referenced just once. The only songs to be consistently repeated were “Kiss Me More” by SZA and Doja Cat and “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” by WILLOW. The variety in genre was also apparent. While both indie and pop made solid showings, rap, rock, musical theatre, and even comedy songs were mentioned. Artists included modern pop stars like Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift as well as artists from decades past, including The Ramones and Metallica. More obscure artists also made the list, from Evelyn Evelyn (a band with an elaborate backstory about conjoined twin sisters) to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, a band with a name so incredible it could not be left out of this article. Another power of music, even beyond defining personality, is its opportunity for connection. I’ve overheard several discussions about the songs playing in Belk Dining Hall, and such discourse often leads to students bonding over music they enjoy. In the process of interviewing students, I had a musical summarized to me, watched two teens discover that they both liked the same artist, and discussed the merits of G-Eazy. For all that earbuds may close us off to the world, they haven’t outweighed music’s power to bring people together. Scan the QR code below to experience the full GSE student playlist. Comments are closed.
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