The experiences of teens and the development of their own music tastes
By Charles Cleveland
Date: March 18th
The summer of 2022 was pivotal for High School student and avid music listener Lilly Goldstein. Between her freshman and sophomore years, Lilly remembers starting to develop a taste of her own. “Before then, I would really just listen to whatever was on the radio in the car, or whatever my parents were playing around the house,” but around this time was when she started listening to what she liked, “as opposed to what other people liked.” In the months leading up to the summer, Lilly had been in a period of redefining herself and growing more into the person that she “chooses to be.” Describing her music taste as Indie, Rock, and even as far as Indie Rock, Lilly has found a style that suits her appreciation and personality.
For Roan Fine, music taste developed much earlier. He says that he started listening to rap and hip hop as early as 6th grade. “Because my brother listened to it, so whenever I was with my brother he would play music. Slowly, I started to really enjoy his music.” Because Roan is a younger brother, he believes that many of his habits are a cause of his relationship with his brother. “Before that, it came from a mix of what my dad would play in the car, and my oldest adopted brother.” The classic rock taste of Roan’s father has not completely left his playlists, though, still enjoying Led Zeppelin and ACDC. “I think that my family’s taste was a base for me, and the stuff I listen to has expanded off of that. It was a base for the genres, and now I have found my own niches and artists.”
For Kaitlyn Fisher, an odd mix of country and rap is what she prefers. “My mom grew up in Texas, so I always heard her country music growing up, and rap is what everyone else listens to.” This mix of rap and country are almost polar opposites. Rap, known for its rebellious nature and abrasiveness, is a product of social injustices out of poor black neighborhoods of America. Country is almost the opposite. Slow beats, soothing lyrics of love and a simpler life, are in stark contrast to contemporary rap and hip hop. “My dad being from DC has always listened to 90s rap from when he was my age, which is how I got this weird taste. A mix between my Dad and my Mom” for Kaitlyn, this mix of cultures has created an incredible base for what she likes that has helped her get a broad perspective of the world. “When I got my own spotify account, I was able to listen to my own music, which helped me find my own music and kind of separate from my parents.”
For me, windows down. The calm noise of the North Carolina wind out of my fathers 2002 Toyota 4Runner driving around Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty. The indie-country and rock of Tracy Chapman plays through the aux on my Dad’s “Charlie Chill” playlist. For how short most songs are, it’s peculiar that my earliest memories are all to music. All my earliest memories include music in some fashion, whether that be in my family’s home, at amusement parks, or restaurants. Only within the past 3 years have I really found a taste of my own, though. For most of my life, the music I enjoyed was music that my Mom or Dad enjoyed.
Like many other teenagers around the country, the change and growth in my own music taste has been the result of a base set by my parents, but it has spurred off into a more unique catalog that suits my interests.
My Mom has always preferred contemporary christian rock and mid 2010s pop. My Dad though, an Army Brat to his core, has had a much broader music taste throughout my life. I see myself as a lot more like my dad than like my mom, and I also have a very broad taste, though different in actual genre.
My top choice is modern Hip Hop and R&B, with reggae, alt rock, and latin music. I took the base from my Dads appreciation for 80s and 90s rap, reggae, classic rock, and old Latin music, and gave it a more modern spin.
I think on a deeper level, I want to be like my dad. Strong. A soldier. A father and husband. At the same time, I don’t want to be my dad. I want to set my own path and be known as Charles. Not Charlie’s son. This is what many other teens think, too. We see our parents as role models and templates for our own lives, but also want to be separate from them and become our own people. This want-not want to be our parents, at least for myself, is what is driving my and many other young Americans in life.