While walking down the halls of South Anchorage High School, I just can't help but notice that people are always hanging out in groups, cliques. When I pass the stairs in E Block, I see goths grouped together, wearing black eyeliner and blaring hard, fast guitar riffs through their headphones. Then you have the hip-hop crowd beat-boxing down F Hall. Practicing classical tunes in the music ward and painting in the art room, are the artsy kids. And filling the whole lunchroom are the skaters and the preps. Then, you have the drifters bunched up here and there around the school. My close friends and I consider ourselves drifters. We hangout with whoever is around, and we also share common tastes in music.
Music is a major part of our conversation. We often share tracks from the latest indie band and talk about what's good and what isn't, making fun of everything mainstream. Passing the hip-hop crowd, I notice that cliques also share similar music tastes. The skaters listen mostly to punk rock, the preps-mainstream, the gangstas-rap and so on. Music brings us closer together, and is a factor in friendship.
My friend Mara Malachowski, a freshman at South says she thinks the same.
“It seems like a lot of the time cliques are formed based on what kind of music they listen to and what they feel about it,” she said.
Mara's friend, Rachelle Chouinard says listening to music gives her something to do.
“It's something to talk about, you know, something you have in common.”
One of my good friends Barbara Nave and I pretty much share common ground in music taste. Music is a big part of our conversation, and is one of the reasons why we get along so well. Barbara says that people can strengthen friendships through music.
“I think that you can bond over music. If you have a lot of music in common, or even if you don't, you can share what you like with them and maybe they'll pick up something or maybe you'll learn something new as well.”
This is true for me too. When I find a cool band, I tell my friends about it. When I load new songs on my iPod, I immediately have one of my friends listen to it. When they find a new song they like, they burn me a CD. Music is so easy to share and get that it's impossible to not bond over.
Beth Balmforth, a freshman from South Anchorage High School says this is because friends have similar outlooks on life
“People who listen to the same music most likely have the same attitude towards the world, so it's just easier to hang out with them,” she said.
Mara, Rachelle, Barbara and Beth, all have one idea in common. When people form friendships, they're usually based on common ideas and interests, music is just one of the things friends have in common. Like Bob Marley says, “Let's get together and we'll feel alright.”
Music Cliques
