Music appeals to audiences by introducing distinctive perspectives and experiences people feel that they can relate to. There is, quite literally, a song for every mood and moment.
Everyone has their own preferences and the students of the UB community are no exception. The Spectrum went out and surveyed different students about their musical flavor of the week.
“Different songs appeal to different emotions,” said Austin Cadore, a junior biomedical science major and president of the UB Piano Club.
Cadore’s describes his music taste as not entirely mainstream - he finds new songs and artists that he enjoys all the time.
Cadore listed of three songs he has been listening to recently: “Outro” by M83, “Hypocrite” by Cage The Elephant and “Your Soul” by Hippie Sabotage.
“I pick a genre for every activity,” Cadore said.
Cadore said he believes that it is every music listener’s job to interpret the songs they hear and have them speak to the emotion they believe the song is trying to evoke.
For Cadore, rap music tends to be his workout music and classical music is what he studies to.
Jillian Decker, a freshman health and human services major, said that she tends to listen to music while cleaning or working out.
When it comes to studying, Decker said that she couldn’t listen to music if there is a lot of reading involved because it becomes distracting. But if she’s doing math then she does listen to music.
Decker’s love of country music made her immediately think of Sam Hunte’s song “House Party” which she said she has been listening to recently.
After checking her “recently played” playlist on her phone and said that the last two songs she listened to were pop star Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” and R&B artist Omarion’s “Post To Be.”
Decker said that her music taste varies depending on how she feels on certain days.
Riley Munger, a senior communication major, said that the music he listens to has a direct relationship with the kind of environment he is in.
“If I’m just hanging out I’ll listen to some Action Bronson,” he said. “But if I’m studying I’m probably listening to something that doesn’t make it hard to focus.
Munger said that he has recently listened to rapper Action Bronson’s “Terry,” light-rock artist John Mayer’s song, “Vultures” and the ambient music styling of Tycho in his song “Awake.”
Munger said that songs like “Awake” by Tycho helps him focus on studying because the mood it sets is one of ease and relaxation ,which are both important when someone is trying to learn.
The music industry is constantly growing and it is up to the music enthusiasts of the world to find the artists whose creations really speak to them.
Making music is as personal and emotional a task as listening to music, which might explain why there are so many genres available for listeners to choose from – there’s a song for everything.
Tomas Olivier is an assistant arts editor and can be reached at tomas.olivier@ubspectrum.com.
