By Lily Hill ’17, Contributer
If you’ve ever wondered what “hip” music the Country Day faculty listens to in their free time, I’ve got the inside scoop for you. I recently interviewed Math teacher John Christiansen, English teacher Deborah Floyd, English teacher Jamal English, and History teacher Marygrace Tyrrell to find out their musical preferences. Each one of these teachers likes different music for different reasons.
Mr. Christiansen thinks “music is so mood-dependent.” While Mr. Christiansen still likes music recorded in the studio, he says that “live performance[s] [are] better because they’re not just trying to make a pretty sound, they’re trying to evoke emotion.” As for his music preferences he likes everything from Broadway to classic rock. He said, “Country music I’m kind of fond of. I also like classical piano.” In addition to other artists he particularly likes “artists who are story tellers, like John Denver, Neil Young, and the Indigo Girls.”
Ms. Floyd enjoys the song “At Last” by Etta James, her reason being that “this was the first song Mr. Carey and [she] danced to at [their] wedding.” Ms. Floyd also likes the song “Touch of Grey” by the Grateful Dead, one of Mr. Carey’s favorite groups. The line she particularly likes is “I will get by, I will survive” because it reminds her of Mr. Carey and the patience he had with her when she “was reared on sugary pop music.” Ms. Floyd also enjoys The Carpenters; she “played it every night on LPs when [she] was in high school.” Ms. Floyd adds she is unable to decorate a tree without A Partridge Family Christmas Card playing.
When I asked Mr. English what his favorite song was he said “My Favorite Things, the John Coltrane version.” Other artists Mr. English enjoys listening to are Adele, Coldplay, and Stevie Wonder. With this wide variety, you can tell he appreciates and accepts all kinds of music.
When asking Dr. Tyrrell what her favorite song was she replied with a historical children’s song (to no surprise). “Free to Be Me, Free to Be You” is Dr. Tyrrell’s favorite 1970’s song for children, because we definitely all have a favorite one of those! Dr. Tyrrell describes this music as the “civil rights and women’s rights movement in a soundtrack.” I am proud to say that I actually found this song, or a rendition of it, on Spotify.
As we can see, the Upper School teachers here at Country Day might not be as lame as we thought they were.
Image Source: http://www.stereogum.com/1628522/the-10-best-grateful-dead-songs/franchises/10-best-songs/
