Over the years, I’ve found my music taste has changed drastically. While some things always stay the same (like my taste for mediocre pop), I have also evolved majorly. What I listen to has changed with me, and it’s been a beautiful experience.
When I was little, I would listen to a lot of popular music. I found myself leaning heavily into Maroon 5 and Katy Perry. My first few CDs that I still own today are Maroon 5’s Overexposed and Katy Perry’s One of the Boys, as well as ABBA’s Gold. Another band I remember being partial to was Owl City, their album Ocean Eyes being the second one I ever owned (Gold being the first). A lot of these bands shaped what I was into when I was younger, as well as being albums I still return to today.
When I was in middle school, I found myself listening to more alternative and indie pop. I was leaning heavily into Lana Del Rey, Regina Spektor, Marina and the Diamonds, and Melanie Martinez specifically. Although I still listened to other bands, I was mostly into these four artists; they brought me a lot of comfort during an admittedly dark point in my life. Despite their songs being relatively heavy in nature, I enjoyed the music a lot and was finding comfort in the music, even if I hadn’t personally experienced a lot of what they were talking about.
High school was primarily showtunes. Some of my favorite musicals were Be More Chill, Hadestown, and Little Shop of Horrors. Showtunes helped distract me from a lot going on in my personal life and brought me a lot of joy. Theater was a new discovery for me, so having all of these new songs on my radar made me really excited about music again. I also got really into Will Connolly’s music. The lyrics from one of his songs, Europe, were actually my first tattoo. It means a lot to me, and I still listen to his music pretty frequently.
Finally, my college years. I’ve been getting back into my music taste from all the years prior (with emphasis on pop), while also listening to a lot of folk/acoustic music and lo-fi hip hop. I’ve also found myself getting into hyperpop lately, as it helps me focus on assignments. My music usually depends on my mood and what I have to get done. A chill cleaning day, I’ll put on my folk playlist; homework is hyperpop and lo-fi hip hop.
My music taste changing with who I am and who I become has been a really interesting and fun journey. I’m excited in seeing where I go in the future and how things change, or if it’ll be like how I am now and will just be me revisiting what I used to be into. I’m also excited for all the new music that’ll come out and for what I’ll discover as I get older. Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember, so it’s nice to see how it’s evolved with me.