When I first came to uni my music taste was mainly musicals, soundtracks, and upbeat pop songs, with the occasional Paramore track. I never really knew how to define my taste in music, spoiler I still don’t. However, in recent months I’ve managed to explore an array of new genres and find some of my new favourite artists.
I love getting recommendations from people, which is why my taste in music is currently all over the place. One of my favourite things is when someone makes me a playlist with music they know I’ll love, my friends truly do have a talent for making good playlists. This has now turned into me spending hours making oddly specific playlists to fit most moods, from a chill playlist that has a soft, mellow feel, to playlists full of bops.
One genre that seemed to have played a big part since coming to uni is pop-punk. I must admit that I hadn’t heard of the genre’s name before, however, I came to realize that I’d always loved this genre and simply didn’t know the name of it to explore it further.
My taste in music has 100% come from my dad. One evening I was showing him the playlists and recommendations my friends had given me, and we spent the night bopping to them and him giving me more recommendations. It made me realize how music truly does connect people.
In no particular order, here are a few of my favourite artists and albums that I discovered/gave more of a chance to over the past few months from recommendations. I am very late to the party however I do highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t!
Hozier - Hozier
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Taylor Swift - Evermore
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Bring Me The Horizon - That’s The Spirit + amo
Julie and the Phantoms - Julie and the Phantoms Season 1
5 Seconds of Summer - 5 Seconds of Summer + Youngblood
My love for musicals and soundtracks will never die and will always be a comfort genre, especially the guilty pleasure ones that are normally Disney Channel Originals. However, uni has opened up my eyes to more music that I now adore. When it comes to music, it’s important to have an open mind to recommendations. Not all the albums/artists are going to be your cup of tea, trust me there are a few that come to my mind for me, but you could unlock a newfound love for a genre you never thought you’d end up liking.
When I first started getting recommendations at uni, I decided to create a master playlist of my favourites on Spotify if you’d like to check it out, along with the other playlists that I update frequently. There’s something for everyone in them: