As you may have already heard, the gazette has introduced a new project. It focuses on entailing Spotify playlists that consist of songs chosen by each teacher, alongside interviews explaining why they enjoy specific types of music. The playlists will be available to everyone interested. This article will speak on GZAAT English teacher Anthony Schierman and his eclectic choice of music.
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Anthony is an enjoyer of classical music, though he is very specific about it. He finds Classical music to be calming which is exactly the reason he often plays it in the background while grading papers. Anthony is not the biggest fan of orchestral music but he loves Cello music, specifically Bach.
JAZZ
Another genre Anthony is fond of is jazz. Classic jazz and piano trios from the 40s and 50s particularly catch his appeal. One of his favorite jazz artists is the obscure Herbie Nichols, a solo, new yorker, pianist. He mentions his song “The Gig”.
BRITISH FOLK REVIVAL
Anthony has known and loved British Folk Revival for a long time now. British folk revival resulted from several movements trying to preserve traditional folk music from as early as the 18th century and upgrade it to a 1960s sound. Anthony’s favorite band of this genre is Fairport convention, he specifically likes their song "Who Knows Where the Time Goes". He’s also a fan of the lead guitarist, Richard Thompson’s, solo work.
SINGER-SONGWRITERS
And as to singer-songwriters, Anthony enjoys quite a bit of 70s indie and folk music (as you may or may not have noticed, he isn’t the biggest fan of modern music.) He likes everything from Billy Joel to Joni Mitchell. One of his favorite artists is Randy Newman, whom he considers underrated. Newman is largely known for writing the soundtrack for “Toy Story”, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” But Anthony said his other music is quite dark and satirical.
One of the main reasons behind Anthony’s love for music is nostalgia. Listening to songs reminds him of the specific memories associated with them. Living in New York in his younger years, helped him create many special memories connected with music such as going to concerts in high school, etc. But nowadays, he mostly listens to music while driving or working out.
While living in New York, he used to collect Vinyl, cassette tapes, and CDs. Throughout his childhood, he went through all of the different stages of musical media. He mentions loving vinyl because of the cover art and the fun of playing the music itself. He even has a huge collection back in his friend’s house in New York. After vinyl, Anthony moved on to cassette tapes. He loved creating mixtapes not only for himself but for his friends too. Even though mixtapes aren’t the most sustainable way of listening to music, he misses them a lot. After cassettes came CDs and finally Spotify. Anthony started using Spotify last November, and so far he loves how convenient it is. Even though it doesn’t have the same appeal as collecting physical albums, he finds listening to music on Spotify significantly easier.
Edited by Mariam Begiashvili