To get you ready for a day full of love, admiration, and genuine kindness, our writing staff is giving you an article a day over the next three days, celebrating artists, songs, and people in our lives that we love! We hope that reading about the love that we have will give you a chance to reflect on what you value most this Valentine’s Day!
Red Hot Chili Peppers
When I think of a band that caused me to start listening, and I mean really listening to lyrics, what they mean, and how they can make you feel, I immediately think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. At the time that I really got into this band, I had experienced music and artists that I liked, but none that I wanted to listen to 24/7. The variety and adversity of their songs is what I have always appreciated the most. As someone who often associates what music they’re listening to with their feelings, it did not take long for me to figure out that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have a song for almost every possible emotion.
Currently, the emotion that I feel the most when I listen to them is nostalgia due to years worth of memories I have with their music- whether I think of my first time hearing The Zephyr song or driving to the beach with my friends while Scar Tissue played softly in the car, it seems that their music was present in many memories of my younger self. The energy and emotion that they put into all of their songs is something that has never gone unnoticed by me, which is why I always have and always will have them in my music rotation.
– Hannah Mahoney, Staff Writer
Blink-182
Coming from a small suburb in San Diego called Poway, Blink-182 was definitely my first love with music. Living in the band’s hometown makes the music so personal for me, and I feel that with each song I can almost visualize the moments they sing about. Growing up, Blink-182 constantly seeped into my life, whether I saw Tom Delonge at Padres games, or ate at the Sombrero’s mentioned in “Josie,” or when I cheered at their old high school as “All The Small Things” rang throughout the stadium. Because of this, Blink-182 quickly became my go-to artist to lift my mood and get the good vibes pumping. Whenever I’m driving to the beach to go surfing, I have Buddha or Dude Ranch blasting through the open windows, and I don’t think there is a single house show I have been to that didn’t play at least one Blink-182 cover. They are truly a San Diego staple!
While their lyricism is definitely unserious, I’ve had songs that still stuck with me through harsh transitions or rougher periods of life. “Going Away to College” fueled the entirety of my senior year, and I still have an overwhelming wave of nostalgia that flows over me when I hear the first couple of chords. It was a total culture shock moving to the East Coast and realizing that Blink-182 was not as universal as I had previously believed them to be, but they still serve as a reminder of my childhood and my beloved hometown.
– Scarlett Heikkila, Staff Writer
“No One” by Alicia Keys
The first ‘favorite song’ I remember having was “No One” by Alicia Keys. R&B was a staple in my household growing up, and Alicia Keys’ 2007 album As I Am was no exception. Every time this song came on the radio or my mom put the CD in, I remember being taken over by the powerful bass, heartfelt lyrics, and passionate singing. I loved to sing as a kid, and every time I heard those opening chords, the volume went up, and the scream-singing began. I don’t remember much of 2007, but this song still transports me to a simpler time. That was the year I became a big sister, the year the iPhone debuted, and a year of great music. I’ve fallen in love with a hundred songs since then, each invoking the same passionate ache in my chest, but almost 20 years later, I still turn the volume up when “No One” comes on.
– Avieana Rivera, Music Coordinator
Carole King
When I think about my first real musical love, I always come back to Carole King. I was first introduced to her by my dad, which somehow makes it even more special. She truly is one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our time, and the more I learned about her, the more impressed I became. Before she was even the voice behind her own songs, she was writing hits for artists like Aretha Franklin, The Monkees, Bobby Vee, and James Taylor. The idea that one person could have a hand in so many iconic songs felt unreal to me. She wasn’t just talented—she was foundational. But it’s her standout album, Tapestry, that completely won me over. That album feels like a time machine.
The folk-rock melodies and honest, effortless storytelling transport you straight to Topanga Canyon in the 70s. Every song feels warm and lived-in; there’s something comforting about it, something timeless. I became obsessed almost instantly. The first vinyl my dad ever bought me was Tapestry from a local record store in my hometown, and I played it constantly. King truly elevated what it means to be a songwriter. She proved that vulnerability, honesty, and simplicity could be powerful. She paved the way for so many artists who came after her, including ones I grew up loving. While my music taste has expanded over the years, Tapestry will always feel like home.
–Lindsay Gould, Staff Writer
Metallica – Master of Puppets
A letter to my first official band obsession… Okay, seriously, I don’t think this comes as a surprise to too many people when I say that Metallica’s Master of Puppets was the first time I ever fell in love with the Metal Genre of music. The story of my discovery of metal began when I was around 16 years old and fresh into my sophomore year of high school. I had been watching Season 4, Episode 8 of Stranger Things as it had all finally been fully released at this point. The moment Eddie Munson stood on top of that trailer and began shredding the most insane guitar I had ever heard in my life, it was love at first sight. I remember immediately getting up from my desk to go steal an electric guitar from the music room just down the hall.
I began exploring more and more of their music as time went on, quickly learning some of my favorite songs whilst teaching myself to play the guitar at the same time. Eventually, my interest in metal branched out further, allowing me to discover and get obsessed with even more bands in the genre, such as Ghost, Mammoth, Iron Maiden, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, and so on. To this day, I continue to be an avid enjoyer of the metal genre, and as of August, I am happy to report that my favorite metal band is Sleep Token.
– Jadore C. Lasner, Staff Writer
Justin Bieber
It all started with a single CD: a copy of Believe (Deluxe Edition) from the one and only, my first love, my first heartbreak, Justin Bieber. I would play the CD over and over, dancing around my room with my Barbie Dolls, imagination running wild. Like all obsessive little girls, I dreamed of becoming a pop star and getting to marry my soulmate, Justin. So you can say this was my first love in more than one way. Anyway, this started my obsession with music and transformed me into a girl who lost herself in the listening experience. To this day, I have to listen to music whenever I do something creative like writing, drawing, or even reading. It’s just a part of who I am, something I don’t even think much about anymore. Fortunately, my tastes have expanded past the Biebs (that’s what my dad calls him) and into something hopefully more diverse. Still, I, as they say, will never forget my roots. So, here’s to my old Justin Bieber CD, posters, notebooks, and doll (yes, it did sing “Baby” over and over).
– Rebecca Kasuba, Staff Writer
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
A band whose influence has never left me as I’ve continued to grow up, has to be Joy Division. Though their time in the spotlight was brief, or even nonexistent, their impact, not only on British alternative music, but also on the way that I think, is almost incalculable. When I hear the name Joy Division, the first thing that I think about is Unknown Pleasures. Their debut album that released in 1979, in some eyes captured the voice of people who felt lost, felt like there was nothing for them in the world. The first time that I heard a song from Unknown Pleasures was by accident. In middle school, when I was just learning about music outside of the gospel that my parents played every day, I listened to bands like The Smiths and The Cure. “Disorder,” the first and probably most popular song on the album, began to play.
From the first chord, I was enamored. The soul-crushing vocals and the thumping bassline completely took over my body. It felt as if I needed Joy Division to survive. From that day on, every day on my way to school, I listened to the entirety of Unknown Pleasures, from start to finish, not skipping a single song. Joy Division, and by extension Unknown Pleasures, for me, helped define the world around me, for better or worse, and has been a guiding light in my life ever since.
– Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
