Music is a major part of student culture at East, from our vivid music department to the way almost all of us can be found listening to music in class or in the halls. But while sitting around in class, watching the time go by as your teacher is locked in with grading, have you ever wondered what kind of music they listened to when they roamed their own high school halls and how it shaped them into who they are today? I interviewed some of our beloved teachers to see what their music tastes were like back then and what they’re like now, and I heard some very interesting things!
Did you know that AP Lang and Lit teacher Charles Strader listened to a lot of hard rock during the first half of high school, and drifted toward hip hop during the second half? He would listen to bands like Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Fabulous and Disturbed. He would also listen to artists like Kanye West, Jay Z and Nas. Strader tended to drift toward east coast rappers more than west coast, or toward the more philosophical/lyrical rap. He described himself early on in high school as an “angsty teen,” saying that he connected with ideas of rebelling against the system and liked The College Dropout by Kanye West for a similar reason. He liked that Kanye spoke on injustices he saw and had really fun wordplay, and also that The College Dropout was “a little more lyrical than the hard rock stuff,” so those sort of themes struck a chord with him, he said.
If Strader was an angsty teen into hip hop and hard rock back in the day, you might assume he locks in to similar sounds now.
“If I listen to Nirvana, it’s probably the unplugged album,” said Strader, who actually doesn’t listen to intense music as often as he used to. He still listens to bands like Rage Against the Machine, but more for a nostalgic vibe: “just to feel what I was feeling back then.”
He mostly listens to music that calms him or that “makes [him] think,” now. This includes a lot of that lyrical hip hop mentioned earlier, folk, and surprisingly even reggae.
“I want to use those hours to unwind or relax, not get amped up,” Strader said.
Strader isn’t alone in his past love of rock, for example, social studies teacher Jeremy Buehl listened to alternative rock as a teen, which is a soft mixture of grunge and hard rock.
He deeply connected to music from the genre: “it was new, it was fresh, it wasn’t hair metal from the 80s, [it was] just more grunge, [and] I kind of like that part of it.”
Buehl noted REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam as bands he listened to back then.
Buehl still listens to this kind of music and loves when his students suggest songs he should check out. REM is still his favorite band; their album Monster continues to be one of his favorites.
“I listened to a lot of oldies: things from the ’50s and ’60s with my parents a lot. That was kind of one of the first albums where I was like ‘this is my stuff’, not just my parents’ music,” Buehl said.
He also described his music tastes as having changed over the years, saying his early 20s were all about nu-metal, but he had a falling out with the genre.
“I don’t listen to it (nu-metal) anymore. I don’t feel like I have that personality as much anymore [as I did] back in my early 20s,” Buehl explained.
Buehl got into the bluegrass genre about 7-8 years ago.
“I’m probably more mellow now than I was in my 20s,” Buehl said while reflecting on his current tastes.
On the flipside, geometry teacher Jake Rodgers listened to mainly hip hop and a little bit of alternative rock when he was in high school around 2012.
Rodgers noted listening to artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Jcole, Drake and Macklemore. He said that during that time, he and a lot of his generation would pick up music off the radio first.
“So I think that allowed people to connect around dances or around specific moves, because everyone knew the same songs,” Rodgers added.
This set him up to listen to the same artists years down the road. He touches on how he and his generation caught these major artists during the start of their careers.
On a similar note, Rodgers’s music tastes really haven’t changed much since he was in high school, instead describing himself as having “morphed” into his own “listener” of his own “stuff.”
“You have kind of those main artists, and then below that you have people that are similar to them, but maybe more eclectic,” Rodgers added.
However, he did mention that he’s into slower rap and that the spectrum of genres he listens to has increased in comparison to his high school days. For example, he’s been exploring reggaeton and “more dancey music.”
Social studies teacher Terry Green also listened to rap music in high school, including older rap and underground rap music. Flatbush Zombies, Denzel Curry, Jcole, and Kendrick Lamar were some of his favorite artists. He also listened to older artists such as Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G. and the Wu Tang Clan. Green related to this kind of music throughout his life, saying that these predominantly black artists rapped about things that he had lived through as a black man. Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar also had a strong influence on him as a teenager.
“I listened to a lot of G Herbo in high school. He rapped about coming up in Chicago, stuff that I can relate to because I have uncles and aunts and cousins who’ve gone through that sort of stuff,” Green said.
He used to only listen to rap music, but once he arrived at Stevens Point, his music tastes began to diversify. Green said he began hearing a lot more classic rock and emo music which helped broaden his tastes.
“I’d say the music I’ve been into kind of influences my different moods throughout time,” said Green.
Similar to Green’s tastes in college, biology teacher Mary Bridget Nowicki listened to a mix of classic rock, country and “a lot of random music” when she was in high school. The artists she listened to the most were Tom Petty and The Beatles. Petty’s album Wild Flowers, she said, had the strongest impact on her.
“It has a feeling of grounding and belonging that I really like,” Nowicki said about the album. She believes it’s filled with motivational messages that helped her get through high school.
Nowicki still loves listening to the kind of music she listened to in high school. Wild Flowers continues to be one of her favorite albums today. She listens to the same kind of music to get a feeling of nostalgia and “just because it’s fun.” Nowicki listens to a lot of different genres and enjoys hearing music that’s new to her.
Songs that evoke fond memories of Nowicki’s high school years include “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, a song that she and her friends listened to a lot. Among this, there are also a couple of Weezer songs that evoke nostalgia for her.
“There’s one specific Beastie Boys song that I cannot remember the name of, that was on our warmup tape for volleyball games. We listened to it, you know, like all the time,” Nowicki said.
Bio Bestie of Nowicki, life and physical science teacher Emma Watermolen liked “sad boy music” so she could “pretend to be a main character in a music video.” Alongside this, she would get down to oldies such as Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, The Eagles, Carol King and The Beach Boys. In those days, one of her favorite things to do was to make playlists on her ipod and trade mix CDs with her friends.
“I connect to all kinds of music but I really enjoyed music with lyrics that make you feel something one day, but if your mood changes then your interpretation of the lyrics also changes,” Watermolen said.
Speaking of music she connected to, the album 1 by The Beatles has greatly impacted her life. She knew every song note for note when she was around six years old, adding that “it’s deep brain honestly, which is kind of scary.”
What music Watermolen listens to today is heavily guided by what her students recommend. Some of such recommendations she’s loved include The Internet, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Nana Grizol and Faye Webster. She feels very lucky, she said, to get all these awesome recommendations and encourages her students to recommend even more.
“My music tastes have grown more expansive the more people I meet and experiences I have,” Watermolen said.
Music teacher Luke Hrovat-Staedter, affectionately known as H-S, listened to tons of music when he was in high school, but he said he vibed with musical theater, pop music, and whatever was on the radio the most. He listened to artists such as John Mayer and Bon Iver. The RnB infused pop music that was coming out around the time he was in high school was a genre he loved. Acts such like Akon, Justin Bieber, Maino and IYAZ took him by storm. H-S also notes that Papertrails by T.I. was the first CD he ever had in his car.
“I LOVED that album and could still rap most of it for you,” H-S said. Someone should definitely take him up on that.
H-S said he finds redeeming and valuable things in all music that allows him to connect with just about everything. He was drawn towards really subdivided music, expressing how syncopation (offbeat in a catchy way) and rhythm really got him going.
The musicals he adored growing up shaped his love for a job in musical theater later in life. Wicked, Chicago, Guys and Dolls and Rent were some of the musicals that shaped him into the person he is today.
These days, he can be found listening to the “jazz fusion/pop/funk that a lot of conservatory/music school kids are making,” H-S said. “I’m still into all the old stuff, but always amazed and taken away by the new stuff.”
AP Psych and AP African American Studies teacher Alyssa Paolocci who graduated from high school in the same year as H-S, also listened to all kinds of music in high school. The 80s hair metal that her parents enjoyed nurtured her into being a more “alternative listener.” Paolocci would listen to artists like Paramore, P!nk, All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, Gwen Stefani, Never Shout Never, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. This kind of music, she said, gave her an outlet to channel the feelings that she didn’t have words for.
A couple of things have changed when it comes to what music Paolocci listens to now, but one thing remains the same: the fact that she’ll always rewind the clock and go back to reminisce on her old playlists. “Especially when I’m stuck in traffic,” Paolocci added.
On the flip side and in an unexpected twist, algebra teacher Alex Conner listened to heavy metal and nu metal when he was a teenager.
“I just listened to it because I liked the way it sounded,” Conner said.
Having graduated high school at the height of the attitude era, it adds up that he had bands like Korn, System of a Down, Incubus, Limp Bizkit, Blink 182, Papa Roach, Staind and Linkin Park on repeat.
Conner connected to anything that would raise his spirits when he was feeling down, he said. To him, the lyrics themselves didn’t have to be uplifting.
“It was more about how the sound made me feel,” he explained.
These days, he mainly listens to the band Tool while occasionally listening to metal from his high school days. Tool’s album Lateralus has impacted his life immensely, he said, and he also believes it’s the best album ever made.
AP Lit teacher Mars Subola, who prefers being called by their first name, enjoyed pop punk and emo music in high school. My Chemical Romance, Fallout Boy, Trinity, Panic at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots and Florence and the Machine encapsulated the “classic, ‘it’s not phase mom’ type of music” they would listen to.
Mars connected to a lot of Twenty One Pilots songs because they cover topics like mental health and “how it feels to be in a space where you can’t always trust the things that your brain tells you.”
Mars was also able to connect with the aesthetics of Panic at the Disco, saying they liked the unique theatricality of the group and their performances. They enjoyed witnessing how the sound of the band changed over time, too.
“I didn’t see many other artists not just leaning into one sound [or] going out on a limb and trying new things,” Mars said.
Their music taste is roughly the same today. They mainly listen to an Australian philosophical rock band called Gang of Youths. Next to this, Mars is “massively” into Hozier. Their journey with Hozier’s music began when they were in high school. As they’ve grown older and had more life experiences, they’ve been able to gain a better understanding of Hozier’s song lyrics.
Although their tastes between now and high school are similar, their taste has still matured over the years.
“As I’ve gone through therapy, a lot of my music. . . has become more insightful, more meaningful,” Mars said.
Their taste has strayed further away from pop music and into the territory of things that they can deeply connect to.
“I think it’s coming from feeling like I didn’t have a voice as a kid,” Mars added.
They didn’t think that others had experienced the same thing they did, but over the years, they’ve found parts of their story in different music. Now, songs are more like “a collection of memories” as they remind them of certain aspects of their life.
Earth and environmental science teacher Jake Greshik, who graduated a few years before Mars, listened to rock and alternative rock. Shinedown, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmy Eat World, Linkin Park, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Korn, Breaking Benjamin, and Rise Against were bands he listened to as a teen. Similar to Nowicki, Greshik also found the music played during pre-game and sports practice to have been a glowing part of his high school experience.
“Rock music . . . helped set the mood and tone” for the sport, he said, “it was also upbeat and I liked to listen to it while I [did] school work.”
As a high schooler, he didn’t listen to full albums. Most of what he listened to was off of CDs he and his friends burned (like a mix tape), meaning that they were a collection of different songs from different albums. He listens to a lot more genres today than he did back then. For example, he can be found listening to the “piano music” he discovered in college while he studies or grades work. He also discovered genres like house and pop while in college that he still listens to now. He still finds himself listening to rock, but not as much as he used to.
“I think as you grow and experience different stages of life, the music you listen to can also change depending on your needs and wants at the time,” Greshik said.
Social studies teacher John May enjoyed new wave, punk, and alternative music in general as a high schooler in the early 90s. Messages of unrequited love, politics, social issues, and “lots of depressing topics” tended to reel him in more often than others. The Cure, The Smiths, New Order, Queen, and James were groups he listened to.
“I connected to a lot of British artists, and I think that shaped a lot of the way I viewed. . . social issues and politics,” said May.
His music tastes really started to change when he got to college: a recurring theme in this article. May was introduced to “a lot of different things” during college, which prepared him to listen to just about anything today. “I know a lot of people say that, but it’s really true,” he added..
“I’m perpetually, like, a good five to 10 years behind what people are listening to now. I’m like, oh, that’s awesome, when did that come out? And I found out it’s like, 10 years old, May shared. Speaking of which, the 2006 album Hey Ma by James has had the strongest impact on him.
“I feel like it’s the best album that describes what I went through in the 2000s,” he said.
His taste for older music is shared by many students here at East. Whenever May sees students wearing band-tees, it reminds him of how old he is. However, he thinks it’s nice that kids of our generation enjoy his own generation’s music: “It’s really cool that kids are getting exposed to that and are into those things. It gives us things to talk about,” he said.
Like AP Lit teacher Mars and music teacher H-S, Ben Winesett listened to radio pop and pop punk back in the day. “Because I was angsty,” explained Winesett. Growing up in the 2000s, he looked up to his older brother and would often listen to whatever he liked because he “wanted to be more like him.” His older brother’s favorite band, BLink 182, ended up shaping the tastes of Winesett.
“One of the things that especially punk and pop punk music does is that it’s really good at helping you describe, and name, and express feelings of anxiety or frustration, and it’s a good outlet for those types of feelings,” said Winesett.
Though he feels this strongly for pop punk, he’s been able to branch out to different kinds of music since his high school days, “except for what I call pop country,” added Winesett.
RnB, rock, rap and “just about anything I can find enjoyment in” make up his current music tastes. He highlights that shoegaze is a genre he really likes these days. “It’s just a vibe,” says Winesett, “just a good vibe.”
Just like his passion for pop punk, Winesett feels very strongly about a certain album and band. ”It’s not my favorite album, but the best album [ever created] is The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel,” said Winesett. This album in particular took him by storm, declaring “there’s never been anything like it before or after.” This album has changed him as a person, despite not being his favorite.