A little over 30 years ago, highschool students lacked iPhones,wireless earbuds, and the ease of Spotify. People used disc and walkmen to listen to music and made mixtapes of their favorite songs,and the internet had just recently become accessible to the public. Some things are not so different today, like the music teenagers listen to and how they dress. Although the way people can make their playlists have changed, the songs frequenting them overlap with anthems from the 90s and 2000s. Students and teachers alike have been able to recognize the pattern in music that teenagers are listening to. Bigger hits have stayed playing on repeat over the years.
AP European history teacher, Robert Watson, and tenth-grade STEM student, Abhiram Satyavolu, discussed what throwback music and trends they have seen around the school recently.
Watson has kept a compilation of early 2000s music on his iPad, and some of what he listened to during high school and college as well. This includes old punk albums and ska music – a type of reggae.
Satyavolu mainly listens to hip-hop, focusing on songs that include wordplay or jazz infusions. Satyavolu dabbles in indie pop and alternative rock, like Car Seat Headrest.
Several students wear shoes that were popular in the past, such as Converse and Vans. A lot of San Marin students can be seen rocking them around campus.
As far as style, Watson has seen some older trends resurfacing with students.
“Some of the stuff is coming back, and it’s really funny. I saw the Vans Old-Skool in high school and they’ve come back. Overalls, which is crazy, because that was a thing of the time. Those are two trends I see now that I remember from when I was younger,” Watson said.
Shoes and clothing from past decades have found a second life in today’s high school groups. In addition to style, the modern music students listen to can be inspired by the 90s.
Satyavolu expressed that some songs made now are similar to what was being produced years ago.
“Specifically, there was a lot of New York style hip-hop production going on, with lots of jazz and drums. One of my favorite mixtapes, Faces by Mac Miller, has that sort of style, a lot of jazz stuff,” Satyavolu said. He thinks that elements from older music have been reemerging in albums made today.
Some shows and media idolize the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Netflix fan favorite Stranger Things, which takes place in the 1980s, is also fairly popular among San Marin staff and students. Watson was one of the many viewers who were a fan of Stranger Things.
“I remember watching Stranger Things, and just thinking like … I’ve seen a lot of shows try to do the 80s, and they get it wrong,” Watson said, “But they were always spot on and that’s as someone who grew up and was there at that age, at that point.”
Another person who can relate to the past influencing trends is freshman Story Kushner. Kushner uses their love for fashion to stay in touch with the past.
“Like the 80s, 90s it’s my thing. The 80s are very neon, there’s some mesh, some plaid, tons of bold statements.” Kushner said.
Kushner likes to use elements from the 90s and grunge, but they also showcase colors and matching jewelry items. Their favorite iconic fashion years are 1988 and 1989.
“Those years are just so close to the end of 80s style, but still similar to early 2000s style, like the low-waisted jeans and longer tank tops.”
As seen by teachers and students alike, trends in music and fashion from the 90s have been resurfacing at San Marin.
“I mean, like one of the things that I’ve seen on campus is rather than embracing the nineties style, for students it’s more the 2000s, like I see a lot of the emo sort of stuff coming back with heavy eyeshadow and that era of hairstyles.”
