Madison is a town full of music enthusiasts. The well-funded Arts department, student bands, public performances, and mass of headphones visible during the school day are all a testament to the extent to which music is ingrained in our culture. But what type of music, specifically, is the favorite of MHS? Over the course of one week, MDO surveyed 25 students across the grades in an attempt to answer this question, asking, “Who are your three favorite musical artists?” The responses were grouped together by genre, and the results are very interesting:

The prevailing favorite amongst students was Pop, which is not terribly surprising given its name. However, more notable is the slim margin across the top three genres. Pop, Rap, and Indie all had very similar numbers, thus demonstrating that the musical tastes of this school are far from homogenous. One may not be aware of this diversity simply by what he or she picks up from the surface. Popular musical tastes are generally discussed more openly student-to-student, thus creating the illusion that all other genres are obsolete. This is clearly far from the truth, as even Indie music, a style considered to be the antithesis of Pop, was a strong contender for first place.

On the theme of diversity, it is worth discussing the high degree of variation within each genre, and within each person’s individual answer. Pop and Rap music each had a total of four artists mentioned more than once, and Indie had two. Considering the large total numbers that all three of these categories received, it is remarkable that there were not more repeats. It makes sense that students listed a wider range of  unique artists in the Indie category, because it is a genre that tends not to be discussed socially, but rather pursued alone. Also interesting to note is the broadness of each individual’s musical scope. More than half of those asked listed bands across more than one genre. Diversity of taste is the telltale sign of a true music fan- one who is appreciative of the many attributes of each genre, and it is refreshing to see MHS earn this status as a school.

Many lessons revealed themselves through this survey about the school which we attend, but most notable was just how much music means to students. When faced with the task of narrowing their musical preferences down to only three artists, many did not know where to begin. Music is far too important a factor in these lives to be captured through such a simple question. No matter what the genre, art as powerful as this shapes who we are and who we want to become. Musical taste truly is an accurate representation of one’s nature, and this rings true as our school exemplifies its overall diversity through music.