Contributing Writer Tara Thorne (’24)
When it comes to music, RamPage writers Tara Thorne and Mila Morgan are polar opposites. Tara’s favorite genres are country, indie, and pop, she enjoys softer, more lovey-dovey songs and tends to shy away from music with a heavier sound. She mainly listens to cheesy country songs and Christmas music, a stark contrast to Mila’s taste. Mila prefers alternative/indie, rap, and R&B. Mila is generally open to many genres, but country is not one of them. She usually tends to stay away from overly cheesy songs, and Mila mainly listens to “louder” music, where the artists usually sing with a heavier beat and tone of voice. Naturally, they decided to rate each other’s favorite songs and get a taste of each other’s music.
The two will not only rate the following on a letter scale ranging from A to F, but also give a short explanation to why they rated it that way. After listening to all of eachothers top 10, they will rate them from best to worst.
Tara’s Ratings of Mila’s Favorite Songs
“Everlong” by Foo Fighters: I absolutely love this song – the guitar makes me feral. If I could get “Breathe out so I can breathe you in” tattooed in my veins, I would.
Rating: A+
“Fallen Star” by The Neighborhood: I’m usually a fan of The Neighborhood, but this song didn’t do it for me. It was, in my humble opinion, too repetitive, and the melody was lacking.
Rating: D-
“Star Shopping” by Lil Peep: This song was on my depression playlist when I was in 7th grade. I think it should stay there.
Rating: D-
“Rosemary” by Deftones: I don’t know why, I just couldn’t get myself to like it. I also didn’t get the lyrics at all. Sorry, Rosemary.
Rating: D
“Change (In the House of Flies)” by Deftones: Sonically, this is not my preferred genre of music, but in my eyes, the main thing that makes music good is the lyrics, and these were alright.
Rating: C+
“Awful Things” by Lil Peep & Lil Tracy: Again, not my genre, but the lyrics are so tragically, perfectly romantic. However, they were not enough to make me love it.
Rating: C
“Castles” by Lil Peep & Lil Tracy: I like the melody. It’s comfortingly sad. The intro of this song somehow perfectly encapsulates the feeling of your heart sinking into your stomach.
Rating: B-
“Monster” by Paramore: I love this song. Mila, may God bless your soul for putting me onto it. I don’t know what else to say except repeating that I love it.
Rating: A
“Title Track” by Machine Gun Kelly: In order to maintain my friendship with my beloved co-writer, I’m going to make the choice not to say much except for, I’m not a fan!
Rating: F
“Twin Flame” by Machine Gun Kelly: I actually really, really, really like this song. I love it, to be more accurate. I will like a song of any genre, any artist, any flaw, if it’s a love song. And that’s what this is, through and through.
Rating: A
Average: C- Not bad, but not my taste.
Final Ranking:
1: “Everlong” by Foo Fighters
2: “Monster” by Paramore
3: “Twin Flame” by Machine Gun Kelly
4: “Star Shopping” by Lil Peep
5: “Awful Things” by Lil Peep & Lil Tracy
6: “Castles” by Lil Peep & Lil Tracy
7: “Fallen Star” by The Neighborhood
8: “Change” by Deftones
9: “Rosemary” by Deftones
10: “Title Track” by Machine Gun Kelly
Mila’s Ratings of Tara’s Favorite Songs
“Better Man (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift: I’m not a huge fan of Taylor Swift’s music, but this song has a very bittersweet vibe to it. It’s relatable and I love that.
Rating: A-
“Daylight” by Taylor Swift: It wasn’t my favorite song. The only part I really liked was when Taylor sings “I once believed love would be black and white but it’s golden.” While Taylor’s voice recorded speech at the end was very inspirational, it feels unnecessary and kind of ruins the song. The song reminds me of a coming of age movie and I can’t decide whether that’s a good or bad thing.
Rating: B
“Lover” by Taylor Swift: The lyrics and the beat compliment each other, giving the song a lighthearted and playful vibe. I don’t mind it, but it’s not something I would listen to on a daily basis, only on occasion when I’m in a good mood.
Rating: B-
“Georgia” by Phoebe Bridgers: This song was okay. Phoebe Bridgers has a nice voice, but I couldn’t get past how the song felt 10 minutes long.
Rating: C
“Shake the Frost” by Tyler Childers: I am absolutely in no way a country music girl. I tried to give the song an honest chance, but his voice and the whole song in general made me want to throw my phone out of the window.
Rating: F-
“It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” by The 1975: I like this song. It gives off a nice, lighthearted vibe, and I would definitely add it to my playlist.
Rating: A
“I Couldn’t Be More In Love” by The 1975: My favorite lyrics were “What about these feelings I’ve got?” and “I’ve never been more in love.” They have a nice belt to it that I could feel in my soul. It’s not a bad song, but some parts of it were too slow and boring for me to be able to concentrate on.
Rating: B+
“Then Because She Goes” by The 1975: For some reason this song reminds me of the end of an episode of a show called “Charmed” I used to watch, and it makes the whole thing feel nostalgic. This song seems more like something I would usually listen to, but in the middle, there are some lyrics with a weird, strongly autotuned sound to them that I don’t like.
Rating: B-
“Labyrinth” by Taylor Swift: I liked about half of the songs on Taylor Swift’s newest album “Midnights”, but “Labyrinth” was one that I couldn’t get into. By all means, it’s not a bad song, but it just doesn’t really work for me.
Rating: C-
“Anything” by Adrianne Lenker: I couldn’t get into this song. It almost feels more like background music that you would listen to while studying. Adrianne’s singing voice almost gave me a headache with how high pitched it was. I can also barely understand what she’s saying. She’s almost mumbling for most of the song.
Rating: D-
Average: C+ I wouldn’t normally listen to most of the songs but at the very least, I didn’t hate most of them.
Final Ranking:
- “Better Man” by Taylor Swift
- “I Couldn’t Be More In Love” by The 1975
- “Lover” by Taylor Swift
- “Then Before She Goes” by The 1975
- “Daylight” by Taylor Swift
- “It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You” by The 1975
- “Labyrinth” by Taylor Swift
- “Georgia” by Phoebe Bridgers
- “Anything” by Adrianne Lenker
- “Shake the Frost” by Tyler Childers
