As the first month of ‘25 approaches its end, new music releases have already been a hot topic among social media and conversations in OH halls. With that being said, older songs are just as prevalent– weaving their way into the playlists of the students and teachers at OH.
In a student survey about the most popular songs over the past seven decades, songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s had an 81.5% knowledge rate, higher than the 80.6% for popular songs of the ‘00s and ‘10s.
Whereas teens only a couple of decades ago were all listening to the same radio stations to find their favorite musicians, today’s high-school students have a myriad of unique bands and soloists at their fingertips.
“I think the biggest thing is not that it’s changed or is evolving– which it certainly is– it’s the fact that everything is accessible and anything you want to listen to is available to you,” said OH teacher Ryan Pentzein. “Now more than ever, you have access to any weird, cult-classic, goofy thing that’s ever existed, so people should be able to find the thing that they love more than ever before.”
Over the past few decades, the change in how music is consumed has greatly impacted its exposure to new generations.
“I do listen to the same style of music now that I listened to as a teenager, and some of the same artists as well, but I do make a conscious effort to expose myself to new music regularly,” said OH English learner teacher Katherine Lydston.
OH teachers expose students to lots of older music but are just as impacted by new music and their students’ music tastes.
“My playlist will range from Benson Boone right now, to Taylor Swift, to Lizzo, to Teddy Swins, to country,” said OH physics teacher Jamie Piper. “Right now, I’m really liking Louis Capaldi, Niall Horn, Benson Boone, those kinds of male voices.”
Musicians such as these have become very popular because of how easy it is for fans to relate to the underlying messages about mental health embedded in their songs, with younger audiences on social media showing increased support for music tied to mental health.
“Through platforms like TikTok, I’ve heard a lot more music that’s open and honest about mental health. That’s probably one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in the music scene recently,” said Piper.
“I think that it needs to reach a lot of audiences, but in particular, our adolescents can gain a huge benefit from having yet another outlet that can show them that they’re not alone … through some of that music, they might gain the courage to ask for help if they need it,” she said.
Hi I'm Chayse! I'm a Senior at OHS and this is my first year on the 42Fifty team. When I'm not at school, I participate in activities such as BIONIC, Commotion, SOTC, and many various Honor Societies! You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
My name is Jessica VanVooren, and this is my second year on the 42Fifty publication staff. I am a senior in high school. I am a part of the OH National Honors Society (NHS), the National Art Honors Society (NAHS), and the Quill & Scroll (Journalism) Honors Society.
