When you look back on the music you listened to as a child, it tends to have a huge impact on who you are as a person. Your interests, your outlook on life, and experiences associated with these songs of innocence mold your perspective. Recently, I have found it interesting how some of my favorite artists growing up have branched out from where they began. Some, in my opinion, for the worse, and some for the better.
Like plenty of other girls my age, when I was 13, I was a massive fan of One Direction. I mean, who wouldn’t be? They were the British boy band of an early teenage girl’s dreams.
This being said, as I grew older, the more the band seemed to fracture--eventually, the members of the band parted ways. Last month, Niall Horan, often referred to as “the blonde one” or “the Irish one” in the band, released his own album--one that finally allowed for him to be put in the spotlight. In the band, formed by Simon Cowell on the X-Factor, Niall was given few solos, and initially had a timid personality.
Since his early days in the music industry, Niall has truly grown as both a performer and a songwriter. I was truly surprised at the amount of talent that was suppressed over the years during his time in the band. He has a fantastic voice that can be both raw and soothing, paired well with his magnificent guitar playing skills. All the meanwhile, the songs on his debut album "Flicker" depict a variety of themes through heartfelt lyrics, ranging from a “flicker of hope” left for a relationship, to heartbreak, the exhilaration of feeling happy for the first time in a while, to the simple joys of being young and single.
On the other hand, there is Harry Styles, known as the star of the group, with his extensive vocal range, charming stage presence, and legendary flowing locks, who was awarded the most solos in One Direction. But his debut self-titled album, released back in May, paints a different picture--one far from the bubblegum pop tunes I sang along to in the car at 13.
Drawing on British classic rock n’ roll, and the British pop of the 1960s-70s, it carries influences from the likes of Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and even the Beatles. Through a series of modernized lyrics that depict the complexity of relationships and the condition of the world around us, Styles managed to truly emphasize his talent both lyrically and vocally in a style that is not as common today, which proved to be very engaging.
When I was even younger, I idolized Taylor Swift. Her songs spoke of the innocent misgivings of first love, and her clean-cut, curly-haired image was something that I really looked up to and aspired to be. At the age of 11, my parents took my younger sister and I to go see her on stage at Madison Square Garden--an experience I will never forget. Her quick costume changes, guitar playing, and variety of sets told a beautiful and entertaining story in a unique art form.
Unfortunately, time has jaded her, and six years of drama and a string of failed relationships stand between now and the magical night of the very first concert I ever attended. Swift’s lyrics, once rife with metaphors and words woven together to constitute beautiful melodies that were both vibrant and meaningful, are now vengeful and petty against anyone who has ever wronged her.
It is one thing to harbor pain from one’s past experiences, and rise above it, but it is another to spread negativity and ill-will towards others who you may have had bad experiences with in the past, never allowing yourself peace. Luckily, I will always have Taylor Swift’s earlier music to look back on and remind me of my childhood memories.
Six years have passed between the night of the concert, and this very moment of my senior year of high school. And while I have learned that spreading encouragement and positivity is for the best in the current state of our world, I am equally as aware that everyone deserves to have their voice heard--something that music is always an outlet for, no matter what their message might be.