Music is an important aspect for students.  Students struggle with a great deal of stress during high school as they are literally a step from adulthood and the amount of work and creativity increases.

Music is an escape for many students and a way of connecting with others who share their likes. The teenage years are the most important years of one’s life, and music impacts and clarifies life as one grows. We interviewed many people throughout the period of one full week and gathered information from different students about their music tastes. 

Students enjoy music from all generations. Some students enjoy modern artists, like Melaney Ricardo, 12, who likes Gorillaz for their unique animated music videos, and Mariah Leon, 11, who listens to Fifth Harmony, a successful girl band.

Josalyn Flores, 10, says her favorite singer is Lana del Rey. “She talks about real world problems, and what is happening in the world.” 

“I like they way he raps and what he raps about,” says Manuel Martinez, 12, on his favorite singer, Kendrick Lamar.

On the other hand, some students enjoy older bands, like Anthony Torres, 11, who likes the band Sublime from the 80’s and 90’s, and Raymond Chavez, 12, who grew up listening to the Beatles and fell in love with songs like “Come Together” and “Hey Jude,” all from the 1960’s.

Some students and staff members have very out-there music tastes. Marisa Reynoso, a freshman, likes the band Seventeen, a Korean pop band. “I love this band because all the members are so likable. I also like how their style of pop is different from today’s modern pop.”

Senior Jose Vironche loves Three Days Grace. “Ordinary people see them as a loud heavy metal band, but if you pay attention to the lyrics, they are so much more than that,” says Vironche, who describes the band as “deep.”

Teachers have unique music tastes as well.  As we interviewed teachers, we discovered the younger and more private parts of their lives. Mrs.McCullough says she loves Olivia Newton John. “She is my childhood idol.  She was the first artist who I saw in concert, the first album I ever bought, and Grease was the first musical I ever saw.   So to me, Olivia is the epitome of everything. To me, she equals true happiness and reminds me of my very enjoyable childhood.”

Kenny Garcia likes the prog-metal band, Tool. “Some students recommended the band to me, and I came to really enjoy the mystic, often strange lyrics. They’re more than just a metal band, they create art rather than music.”