Ever since the beginning of time, music has existed to bring people together, to unite through a common melody. It tells stories with a few beats and a strum of the guitar, and has evolved through the rises and falls of rock ‘n’ roll and New Wave. From Elvis Presley to Lil’ Wayne, music has not stopped changing and building upon itself new ideas and tunes.

Starting with two primitive sticks smacking together to using electronic mediums to transform the singer’s voice into an unrecognizable chord, music shows the evolution of mankind and the ideals of it. Tthe forward thinking teenagers of Middletown High School reflect the era they were born into and the one they would come to create.

Jerry Donald, a Middletown High School teacher who graduated from the school in 1982 reminisced on the ending tale of disco and the introduction of New Wave into the media, but still, he didn’t listen to the mainstream. Opting for an older sound, a unforgotten beat in an era of flashy upbeat flared pants for softer bluesy rock and country stars like the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Willie Nelson, he counted himself far from the hip crowd.

Jump to the 1990’s when Jaime Thomspon attended MHS in the midst of the grunge craze and before Brittpop invaded American ears with musicians like Blur or Oasis. Beginning with Nirvana, grunge blasted pop culture with its unique style, and it continued the idea Punk created where a genre has a fashion statement. Ripped jeans, flannel around the waist, easy T-shirt, and hemp beads, this was the essence of grunge Kurt Cobain introduced, but Thompson didn’t listen to him so much as Bush Stone, Eddie Vedder, and Tumble Pirates. On radio-taped cassettes, she jammed to the fringe grunge, the border between the mainstream and a far cry from the pop of the Spice Girls or Hanson.

All of these older generations have become a melting pot for the modern age. Indie rock, psychedelic, “screamo”, coffeehouse, rap, and pop. Drawing ideas from the geniuses before like A Tribe Called Quest or even old country without the drawl found in the modern genre.

Junior Evan Ruderman says, “What music don’t I listen to?” and his choice reflects this. Crossing generations, he lists artists some people would never hear of or recognize like Vuffpeck, Hiatus Kaiyote, and the Russian band, Via Orera.

Ruderman dislikes the idea of musics genres, saying it’s good for categorizing but harmful to listeners. Instead of broadening horizons, people are scared to think outside their chosen genre, and they can’t find or go beyond what they already know. He also mentioned alongside fellow junior, Lucy Kiefert, music is not genuine anymore and has lost its emotional edge in today’s pop and country scenes.

“Everyone should learn to play an instrument,” Ruderman says because it helps him think and calm down like an emotional barrier. With icons such as the Beatles and Elvis Presley to draw upon, he writes his own music and plays bass guitar in his band, Peaches and the Cream. Listening to the greats and forgotten, he shields himself from the troubles of the world in times of stress.

Kiefert leans toward older genres and alternative or indie rock, but spoke against modern country. “The more homeless you look, the more interested you’ll be in my music taste,” she says. She drew influence from the grunge revolution. Citing Pearl Jam as a favorite and Kurt Cobain as an icon, she dresses in casual flannels, Doc Martens, and distressed jeans often.

As expected, “emo” bands popped up with junior Jazmine Kershner. Within the school, she is recognizable, sporting a golden safety pin in her eyebrow and dressing in almost all black except for a surprising pop of color. Like Ruderman, she writes her own music, but hers tend to have themes of seemingly happy melodies paired with distressed and depressive lyrics like her favorite singer Marina and the Diamonds. But she isn’t bound by her punk appearance and listens to country music instead of just the expected.

Coffeehouse music, described as “what you hear at a Starbucks or Seattle’s Best,” is a broad term used to describe indie or electronic bands heard in a coffeehouse, sipping on a favorite cup of Joe. Middletown High’s senior Willow Webster and junior Mira Nair used this term to describe what they listen to which includes Ed Sheeran, Tori Kelly, and Elton John for Webster while Vampire Weekend and Lana Del Rey appeared in Nair’s repertoire.

It’s an idea all teenagers listen exclusively to what’s on the radio, and although most recognize such songs, many, if not most, listen to the fringe of pop. Some don’t even at all turn up the radio, and others do it exclusively. High schoolers are given the image they believe whatever is told to them or they can’t think for themselves, but that isn’t the case from their diverse musical tastes. Nothing is off limits and everything is within it. It’s a tragedy the rich inner lives of the future aren’t explored until it’s too late to see them.