Music is an art that is beloved by virtually everyone who gets to hear it. It makes people feel and dance, or at least stimulates their minds. So, when one walks around campus and glimpses others with Airpods in their ears, just what is it they are listening to? Recently, a few students here at UMass Boston were asked about what music they are currently listening to and enjoying. Here’s what they had to say.
Karina Luke is a sophomore at the university, studying early education. She says that she listens to a lot of different songs by The Weeknd. She then went on to expand on this, saying “My faves are ‘Wasted Times’ by The Weeknd, ‘Les’ by Childish Gambino, and ‘Devil in a New Dress’ by Kanye.” This student seems to have an inclination towards R&B and Rap, which is something that will be repeated much more in this list.
Alana Coriolan is also a sophomore at UMass Boston, majoring in Biology. She said that she listens to “Freestyle 2” by Ken Carson, “Little Bit” by Lykkw Li, and “Ivy” by Frank Ocean. Tamar Dorvelus is a freshman majoring in computer science who likes the songs “Lit” by Bas ft. J. Cole, and Tyler the Creator’s “Come On” and “Let’s Go”. “’Little Bit’ by Lykke Li was a song that Drake sampled,” she said, “And when I heard the OG one, I fell in love with it, and it kind of sounds like fall too.” She also mentioned that Frank Ocean puts her in a nostalgic mood and that she feels connected to his songs.
The songs “Day by Day” by Grent Perez and “Over” by Lucky Daye were given by Zach Duzan, a junior majoring in Exercise and Health Science. Emma Curtis, a sophomore majoring in psychology, suggested the songs “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan and “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers. The songs may be ten years apart from each other but there’s no expiration date to good music.
Josemanuel Cruz provided this article with an extensive list of musical artists that he is currently enjoying. The junior pursuing a Communication/Management major cited J. Cole, The Kid LAROI and Bad Bunny as his favorites. He also mentioned Drake, Marc Anthony, Juice WRLD, Frank Sinatra and Bruno Mars. If there’s one thing this student seems to enjoy, it’s variety.
Anastasios Aslanidis was the final person asked for music recommendations. He is an Economics major and currently in his junior year. He recommended the rapper NAV and 88GLAM. When asked what, specifically, he liked about them, he gave maybe the most compelling answer he could have: “They are cool.”
Looking over this list, there isn’t that much overlap, artist-wise. Rap and R&B seem to be the most popular genres, and Drake gets mentioned a few times, along with J. Cole, but that’s about it. What exactly does that mean? Are students any less connected in their musical taste? Is it simply that there is so much good music out there that it’d be virtually impossible for any two students to give the exact same answer?
Maybe it’s simply the modern reality of platforms like Soundcloud, Spotify and other streaming services. People get to make their own individual playlists. Sure, certain artists and songs are still popular and the Top 40 still means something, but perhaps the ability to curate one’s music with ease has led to them simply listening to whatever they personally want to.
It goes beyond some people mentioning artists that nobody else talked about. Josemanuel Cruz put Bad Bunny in the same list as Frank Sinatra. The decades between the two artists didn’t matter that much. One could theoretically put them in the same playlist, listen to them the same amount, and appreciate them in the same way, regardless of if anyone else is listening to either.
Whether this is something new or different, it is clear that UMass Boston is filled with a variety of tastes. So that theoretical student wearing Airpods mentioned at the beginning of this article could be listening to anything from Drake to Glen Miller.