Art can be defined as an expression or something that was created to tell a story. Music can fall into the category of art because of how the musician entails certain topics through sound or lyrics.
“I think that all art has to do with is the expression and how someone wants to express themselves and to do it authentically,” junior Christopher Stewart said. “I think that a lot of music is just people expressing themselves.”
Besides lyrics, the sound behind the music became the reason why Stewart listened to music. He was fond of how the melody generated emotions.
“I personally just love art in general,” Stewart said. “I’m into the history of art and a very large part of that is music. With music, the biggest thing is just the way that so much emotion can be expressed through sound.”
For some, music brought peace while for others it energized them. Sophomore Ava Blake found music to have a calming effect on her and to help her cope with anxiety.
“Whenever I’m having a bad day, it helps calm me down,” Blake said. “I’m normally a very anxious person so it’s kind of soothing.”
Composers incorporated topics or issues that connected listeners to the lyrics. This connection has helped Blake realize that she is not alone in certain situations.
“If it has meaningful lyrics, it just helps me find a sense of comfort that I’m not the only one going through something,” Blake said. “It just makes me feel kind of a sense of peace.”
When at home, Stewart created his own stereo setup and established his own environment to listen to music when he felt like it.
“I do have a nice stereo setup just because I like listening to music,” Stewart said. “I think just being able to put on an album and just kind of sit there and to listen is one of the more enjoyable things anyone can do.”
The broad selection of genres made freshman Charlie Vicenti’s preferred options easy.
“I like that it can be different in many types of ways and there’s not just one,” Vicenti said. “Like how many genres there are. There’s not just one specific tie to it. It’s able to branch out, there are many different possibilities out there.”
Stewart’s friends along with the internet introduced him to artists and songs he may not have found on his own.
“The people that I’m around, like my friends, introduced me to this one Thai Pop artist which is good and cool,” Stewart said. “I listen to a lot of more obscure, like South American music because of just what I see online. A lot of like, Brazilian, jazz and then like Argentine rock.”
“I listened to a variety of types of music…The way that range actually sounds can still convey some of the themes,” Stewart said. “The difference between hardcore punk and then soul music I feel is not as drastic as you would initially think just based on how much they sound because there’s so much emotion going into it all, which I think is cool.