Long Beach, CA- Over the course of the COVID-19 quarantine, many people found new interests in new musicians. During this time, countless musicians released their art online, making it more accessible than ever before. This access brought many students at Wilson High School a spark of enjoyment during trying times.

Senior Melanie Magana states that her favorite album is Ember by Breaking Benjamin. She found out about the band through their song, “The Diary of Jane.” “It was the first album that I paid for,” she says.

Not only has music affected the students here at Wilson, it has impacted the teachers as well. 

The Wilson High School choir and musical theater teacher Curtis Heard claimed, “Champagne Problems (Taylor Swift)They’re good melodies, good lyrics…” In times like these, many people resort to the powerful influence of music. 

Some people seek different vices when they look for music to listen to. Anthony Saing, a Junior in the Arts Pathway enjoys music that contains uncommon instrumentals, as found in Demon Days by Gorillaz. “I like this album because it has very dreary and weird tones,” said Anthony. The hit album was ranked eighteenth-best album of the year by Mojo magazine, they claimed the album was “genre-busting”. Gorillaz debut in 2001 was a media frenzy, they were the very first virtual band to rock the charts.

Music made in the 90’s is impactful to the youth of today. Nevermind by Nirvana (1991) was their second studio album to be released. The songs on the album definitely took inspiration from other rock from its era. These range from The Pixies to R.E.M, you can hear the similar guitar riffs. Nevermind is Senior Isidro Godoy’s favorite album. “If you want to get into rock, listen to that album”, said Godoy. Quarantine gave people an opportunity to expand their music tastes. Music was a distraction from the horrible events that shook the world, “It helped me through quarantine…it was my go to album” stated Godoy. 

One of the people we interviewed was Cecilia Mejia, a junior at Wilson high school in the WAVE pathway. One album that she likes is Chase Atlantic, she heard it on Instagram. She stated “They had become more known recently than before.” She started to listen to them in the beginning of the pandemic. Cecilia says that they really helped her during the hard times, their music makes her very passionate.

Another person we interviewed was Virginia Lopez-Torres, a senior at Wilson high school in the LPS pathway. One album that she likes is Believe by Justin Bieber, she heard it from Youtube and older cousins. She stated that “Justin’s album made me feel happy and brought my spirits up when I was down.” It is popular, especially when it first came out in May.