Mr. Eversole

Mr. Eversole had a hard time deciding his favorite genre, but he eventually comments, “I don’t think I really have one. I listen to almost everything. But probably rock is the one I listen the most to.”

His favorite song is “Don’t Give Up” by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush.

“It’s a really inspirational song. It’s originally about a guy who’s lost his job, but it definitely reads as a guy who is really struggling. It’s a duet with a woman who is comforting and supporting him. It’s just really reassuring,” he replied.

Eversole was raised listening to rock, jazz, R&B and country music.

“I started listening to rap in college. I think what I’ve gotten into more recently is rap and alternative,” Eversole said. “They are great for storytelling. Rock is really broad, and the sound I like is more common and rock.”

Ms. Jimenez

Ms. Jimenez’s favorite genre of music would be hip hop and R&B.

“It’s what I tend to listen to most,” she said. “I think it’s because I like the beat and the style better than other genres.”

When it comes to enjoying different types of music, Jimenez states how she thinks “everyone kind of listens to songs they can relate to, at least most of the time.”

Mr. Purvis

Mr. Purvis’ favorite music genre is rock or indie rock. 

His favorite song is “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins, although he also said, “I’m not a ‘favorite song’ kind of person. I listen to a lot of music.”

He likes “1979″ for the melody. “It harkens me back, kind of gives me my teenage years. You guys listen to your music now, and I listen to grunge. So right now, I’m just listening to ‘Mellon Collie’ over and over again. ‘Mellon Collie’ is an album by The Smashing Pumpkins,” he said.

Purvis thinks back to how he enjoys his favorite songs and artists, stating, “Lyrically, the song doesn’t completely connect to me. There are some things, but it’s not about me. I think that about a lot of music because sometimes I really like the lyrics. Like I love Tom Waits; his lyrics are amazing, but his voice is terrible. Like Bob Dylan too, he can’t sing very well, in my opinion, but he can write. I like his stuff for that. As for The Smashing Pumpkins, I like their sound and their tempo, so I think that’s where I learn and get the connection versus actually the lyrics.”

Purvis grew up listening to classical rock with his dad. He said, “I lived through the grunge era listening to a lot of Counting Crows, Pearl Jam and Nirvana.” He continues, “As I listen now to newer stuff, I don’t want to sound entitled. I’m just not really into the newer mainstream music. That’s why I think I like indie because they’re still trying things, kind of like how I love The Beatles. It’s because they kept changing, seeing what they could do, what instruments they could add in, how they could make the songs different. And I think that’s kind of like the independent stuff because you get more of that, people experimenting with music. I like maybe one or two songs by a specific group, but I don’t know any bands anymore. I just hit play on my playlist or on the radio station.”

Ms. Middendorf

Ms. Middendorf comments that she is into Christian music.

“It’s easy to listen to. It doesn’t have negative language that can make you feel chopped away like by the end of the day just because I feel like there’s so much inappropriate content in other music, that there’s nothing inappropriate in Christian music,” she said. 

Middendorf couldn’t come up with a favorite song, but she said, “I love Casting Crowns. Everything by Casting Crowns is definitely my favorite. I recommend it to anybody, and I saw them in concert and they were awesome.” She also said, “I like them because they’re kind of local, they’re in Nashville or Tennessee and I love their energy and the way that it makes me feel. It’s more than any other band. It gets to my soul and my heart. The message is just that feel good and spiritual connection.”

Ms. Kruse

Ms. Kruse’s favorite genre of music is hip hop, R&B and rap, but in the summer, she likes to listen to country “because it’s the summer,” she added.

She also said, “In the summer, I like country because I like my windows rolled down. It makes me feel like I’m part of nature. I like the warm weather so I like to feel like I’m part of nature and feel good.” She continues, “When it’s not summer, I like hip hop and R&B because I like the music that means something and I feel like hip hop, R&B and rap the artists really express how they feel, and I like to hear their thoughts.”

She shares that she particularly likes Machine Gun Kelly and Post Malone because “they are very lyrical in their music, and I like listening to more of what they’re saying than the sound, but when what they’re saying and sound are both beautiful, I like the production.”

“Machine Gun Kelly is super, like, be yourself, who cares about what anybody thinks, do your thing, do good and good things will come, and Post Malone is more, like, feely and kind of helps you get out of your head, and don’t worry about what your head’s saying to you too much because there’s more things out there.”

She said, “Whenever I think of Post Malone, I think about the song that connects to me the most is ‘I Fall Apart’ because it got me through a really hard time, and then Machine Gun Kelly anything ‘twin flame’ is a fire song. They’re all good.”