We all have memories of our younger selves sulking in the backseats of our parents’ cars, despising whatever music they had on that was far from our personal liking. We couldn’t bear to listen to it and would have to plug our ears until the torture was over. As we have grown up, times have changed, their music slowly grew on us, and planted the seeds that have grown into our playlists of today. For many of us, these songs are our bread and butter when it comes to having the best aux.
Music is an emotional influence that teases with thoughts. One song you may be the happiest person ever swinging your arms in the air and letting your thoughts run free. Another song may have you reminiscing about the childhood memories that you will forever miss. Junior baseball player Dustin Rovak cites the songs his parents used to play on the way to his Little League games as his motivation for continuing to play the game to this day. Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” lyrics are ingrained in his brain. “The moment you own it, you better never let it go…this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”
Childhood music is sometimes seen as background noise for high schoolers and their old fellows, not something that is a spark of a memory. However, as junior Hanna Huckabee grew up, she learned to appreciate the music her dad would play and let the “car concerts” be a key memory that she treasures. When Huckabee and her dad listen to their throwback playlists, it turns the moment into a bonding moment instead of background noise to their conversations. “Whenever my dad and I take a late night drive now, which is usually a rare occasion, I always make sure I appreciate the music he plays because it has shaped what I listen to,” said Huckabee.
For those of us whose parents are no longer behind the wheel, we are the masters of the aux. Of course, they influenced our musical tastes, but at some point they have to learn new music and who would be a better person to introduce the Gen Z tunes then the kid who bloomed from their own tastes. Junior athlete Brooks Binder is a music fanatic when it comes to current genres. Binders’ love for music was encouraged during his childhood when his large family would sing throwback songs with the windows down and the wind blowing his hair back like he was in the 1920’s. However, he is now the one behind the wheel as he blasts new, current hits, such as “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift and “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan. “I wouldn’t be as intrigued in music today if it wasn’t for my moms hefty tastes, but she sure is always ‘gettin’ down to this sick beat’ of the new age tunes,” Binder said.
Our parents will always be appreciated for putting us on the right path to creating the best playlists. Their favorite songs will always be featured because for a while that is all we knew. In the long run, music advances, our playlists advance, and our parents should follow our path in finding the new biggest hits that we can enjoy as we did with our childhood throwbacks.
