Mt. Rushmore

Journal Entry - 10.20.2026

An under-the-hood look at the progression of the bands and artists that defined different stages of my life. How did we get to where we are today? These artists are all very near and dear to my heart for the roles they played during important moments and big changes in my life.

Childhood

Childhood was largely shaped by what my parents played around the house, along with whatever my brothers and I got hyped up to while attempting to destroy it.

Green Day

This is the epitome of the early 2000s for me. Playing their songs on Guitar Hero, getting American Idiot on CD for my birthday. I don't think I really understood the meaning behind the songs at the time, but I liked the angst and the feeling of being a reckless kid listening to them. Listening to “21 Guns” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” instantly brings back childhood nostalgia, especially memories with my brothers. It is very Xbox, Mountain Dew, Disney XD coded.

Bob Marley

This was a regular on the mix for my family. With my grandma being from Jamaica and my mother growing up there, it was only natural that his music was playing throughout the house. I have fond memories of my mom singing “Three Little Birds” to me and my brothers while dancing around the kitchen. If there was a concert I could attend, dead or alive, it would be Bob.

Jack Johnson

I have memories of his music playing throughout the house and on our car CDs, similar to Bob Marley. There isn't one specific memory attached to it, but his music was a regular part of my childhood. In Between Dreams and “Upside Down” was being a kid.

Black Eyed Peas

This was another artist I bonded over with my brothers. We would get so hyped listening to “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow.” I remember visiting Canada and being in our hotel room, absolutely bouncing off the walls while singing “Boom Boom Pow.” My mom was heading down to the lobby when another woman in the elevator said, “Those kids won't be quiet” not knowing they were my mom's kin. My mom just had to agree with her to avoid the full embarrassment. Something was in those Peas songs.

Honorable Mentions: John Mayer, Amy Winehouse, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, The Fray, Michael Jackson

Middle School

Middle School was mostly about what was popular among my friends. Rap heavy, but nonetheless, it gave us a sense of community and something to bond over. I can still tap into some of these songs through pure muscle memory.

Eminem

I remember spending summer days biking over to a childhood friend's house, where he would play music on a speaker while we played Call of Duty. He seemed deliberate about the music he chose, and he knew the differences between artists. It was the first time I had encountered that kind of music awareness from someone my age. Up until then, it was whatever was on the radio. Recovery and “I Need a Doctor” got me hyped up for Kino Der Toten.

One Republic

I remember absolutely replaying Counting Stars into the ground. Before my soccer games, I used to imagine myself crossing some dude up and slotting the ball top bins with this song behind a Vine edit or something. They actually have some heat with I Lived, Secrets, and Good Life.

J. Cole

2014 Forest Hills Drive came out just as my older brother had gotten his license. I remember him driving me around and playing “No Role Modelz,” “Wet Dreamz,” “G.O.M.D.,” and others, thinking it was the coolest thing ever. At summer camp, my friend Sebastian was also a big fan of J. Cole, especially “Hello,” which he kept me up all night drumming along to on his bed frame in our dorm room.

Chance the Rapper

Chance was the first artist who really opened up music for me. He was introduced to me by that same friend who played Eminem. Chance wasn't as popular as the other artists at school, so it felt like I had something special of my own. This was around seventh grade going into eighth, before Coloring Book came out. I became obsessed with Acid Rap and 10 Day, as well as any unreleased song or remix I could find on SoundCloud. This only grew when Coloring Book dropped right before the summer of 2016, which, as we all know, was blissful. I never saw him in concert, but I caught a glimpse of him in Boston a couple months back.

Honorable Mentions: Childish Gambino, Drake, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay

High School

High School was my first real taste of music exploration. I began developing an ear for genres and artists that I found interesting and that spoke to me.

Khalid

American Teen easily has some of the most nostalgia packed into 15 songs of any album I listened to in high school. Released in April 2017, I remember listening to it in science class with my friend Chase. This would ultimately lead to us seeing Khalid live when he opened for Travis Scott on his Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight tour. The album stayed on repeat during school, soccer practice, and bike rides around town for the next year. Free Spirit came out in 2019, during my junior year, marking yet another milestone in my life.

The Lumineers

The Lumineers are largely responsible for my connection to music, just as influential to me at the time as Chance the Rapper. It started with Sebastian showing me “Summer Storm” by Joel P. West, a song featured in the movie The Glass Castle. “Sleep on the Floor” by the Lumineers was featured in the trailer, which sent us both down a rabbit hole to discover every song they had to offer, from “Dead Sea” to “The Gun Song.”

They opened up folk to me. This led me to discover other artists such as Hozier, Lord Huron, Caamp, and The Head and the Heart, along with music that made me think a little harder than before. I played Cleopatra like there was no tomorrow, followed eventually by III, which came out during the fall of my senior year. I don't listen to them as much anymore, but I'm thankful for the role they played in my life. I would go on to see them live in 2022.

The Beatles

Similar to when they first landed in the US, I was fully caught up in Beatlemania by my senior year. They were first truly introduced to me by my US History teacher, Mr. Dillon. He had a list of artists and would play someone different every morning before class. This also introduced me to my first taste of The Cure, which would come up again later in life.

I began digging into the history of The Beatles, their influence, and why they're still the best band ever. At one point, I could name any Beatles song within seconds of it starting, and I'm still not too shabby. This was one of the first times I really started getting into music history and older music.

Cage The Elephant

Cage the Elephant was the head honcho of my dive into indie and alternative rock, which would eventually become the foundation of my listening habits going forward. Toward the end of my junior year, friends introduced me to Melophobia. It was unlike anything I had heard up to that point. It just made sense, and it was intriguing. Like a pie you float toward.

I couldn't let Cage go for years and years. Admittedly, I don't listen to them as much anymore, as every song is packed head to toe with nostalgia and fond memories of high school. I think it deserves to stay that way. I would go on to see them live in 2024.

Honorable Mentions: Mac DeMarco, Logic, Billy Joel, Vampire Weekend, Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Hozier, Kid Cudi, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Declan Mckenna, The Walkmen, Rex Orange County

College

College was a deeper dive into the alternative rock and indie folk foundations laid in high school. I developed a distinct taste that spanned genres and musical eras.

Oasis

Yes, I knew about “Wonderwall,” but that was the extent of my Oasis knowledge until freshman year of college. My roommate, Sebastian, and I were stuck inside our tiny dorm because of COVID restrictions during our first year. With only ourselves and a Fire Stick to keep us occupied, we began delving into different music videos and bands. Oasis, and particularly “Don't Look Back in Anger,” was one of the most prominent discoveries from that era. This led to a deeper exploration of Oasis, which would feed us for the next four years.

Bon Iver

I started listening to Bon Iver in the fall and winter of 2021. For Emma, Forever Ago spoke clearly to me. I was taken by the idea that he had stuffed himself away in a cabin and come out with a completely vulnerable piece of art that would go on to change music. I'd then dip my toes into some of his more experimental work. It was generally a short stint, but an extremely potent one while it lasted.

The Strokes

Growing up, I had this weird, almost mystical view of The Strokes. I knew “Reptilia” from Guitar Hero, and that was it. I always thought of them as an older band because of that. The New Abnormal dropped in 2020, during my freshman year, with “The Adults Are Talking” going viral. I began listening to more and more of them, a natural progression from Cage the Elephant. I listened to Is This It, Room on Fire, and The New Abnormal religiously toward the end of my time at Indiana University.

Gregory Alan Isakov

This was a natural progression from the Lumineers. Removing some of the stomps and hollers that the Lumineers brought to the table, Mr. Isakov is much rawer and more stripped back. I likely pay more attention to his lyrics than those of any other artist. It's only natural when his songs sound as though he created them from the ground up, using whatever instruments were available to him. His music makes me feel ready to pack everything up and drive away to the West. Maybe one day. I would go on to see him in 2026.

Honorable Mentions: Big Thief, Jim Croce, Phoebe Bridgers, The Shins, Radiohead, Cigarettes After Sex, Mazzy Star, Sufjan Stevens, Chet Baker

Post-Grad (so far)

Post-Grad has largely been about discovering subgenres and exploring music history. I became obsessed with specific periods throughout the decades, who shaped them, and why they emerged.

Elliott Smith

I began listening to Elliott toward the end of college, particularly during my semester abroad. However, it wasn't until after graduation that I really started looking into his story, journey, and influence on modern music. I listened to his albums from front to back, rather than just the popular songs. The doubled vocals and rawness of his lyrics and voice cut through, particularly on a cold and rainy day. I became so enthralled with his music that I almost got a tattoo of his self-titled album. I still might, but not just yet.

Talking Heads

Talking Heads began finding me right after graduation. I was becoming obsessed with the New Wave scene in New York, CBGB, and the artistic community that had grown around it. This largely went hand in hand with my work on Kollektive during the summer after graduation in Bloomington. I watched Stop Making Sense later that year, and it has become one of my favorite movies, definitely my favorite concert film. I appreciate how weird and silly it is, but also how meticulously it is presented. Byrne doesn't take himself too seriously, but he knows exactly the vision he wants to create.

Wilco

Similar to some of these other artists, I had dipped my toes into Wilco's discography during college, mostly sticking to the surface-level songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Once I started working in NYC and living in Connecticut, I really began listening to more of their work. I think it spoke to me as a taste of home, since the band is from Chicago and the Midwest. The twang was something I had been missing, so it was only natural that I found a taste of home away from home. This relationship blossomed into a new favorite artist and eventually led me further into folk and alternative folk music.

Geese

Geese and Cameron Winter were symbolic of my time in New York. They came onto the scene just as I moved in, and people couldn't stop talking about them. I still listen to them now in Paris, but in a whole different light. They make some of the freshest music to come out in recent years. Cameron's solo work is a breath of fresh air, and his Live at Carnegie Hall is straight out of a Dylan episode.

Honorable Mentions: Arctic Monkeys, New Order, The Velvet Underground, LCD Soundsystem, Simon & Garfunkel, The Replacements, Silver Jews, Current Joys, MJ Lenderman, The Cure, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah