Many people enjoy music and have their own favorite artists and songs, and during this time, it is a great way to entertain yourself. While brainstorming newspaper ideas, we came across a possible good idea. Why not ask someone about music artists of our selection. Almost every day we hear Mr. Harris talk about something related to music so naturally we decided that he would be the perfect candidate for this interview. So here are his “hot takes” on a list we gave him.  

Bob Dylan –My dad is a Bob Dylan fanatic so I grew up on his music, and I’m talking about all of his discography from his folk classics to the electric stuff to his 80’s Christian phase to his more recent albums. I owe my love of music to my dad and to Bob Dylan. 

Bob Marley –Wow, both Bobs on the list! I am a big reggae fan, which means that I listen to a lot of reggae that isn’t Bob Marley (lol), but man, who can’t love him? If you have two ears and a heart, you love Bob Marley. This is spiritual, sacred music for me and I’ll just say that opening yourself up to the rhythm and message of this music is a beautiful and necessary experience. 

Taylor Swift – Underrated. So many people have tried to paint her in a poor light and take issue with this or that simply because she is such a mega-star. But she is a talented songwriter and I thought that her two – yes, two! – albums from 2020 were both excellent. 

Bon Iver – And now here’s someone who worked with Taylor Swift on both those 2020 albums! Nice connection. I love Bon Iver. His music is so unique and even though his folkier, earlier stuff is great I just love the eclectic tapestry of sound it has evolved into. Here’s a fun fact for you. Kanye West’s song “Lost in the World” samples a Bon Iver song that I had sampled over a year earlier for one of my beats. I sampled it first, Kanye! I kid you not. Come to my classroom and I’ll play you the two tracks. 

Nas – This was the rapper that made me a lifelong hip hop head. By the time I first heard Nas, I had already fallen in love with Beastie Boys which had led me to A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, but when Nas’s “Illmatic” dropped in 93 (when I was a sophomore in high school), hip hop became my main focus. Long before genius.com, I would listen to that Illmatic tape in my room and write the lyrics out by hand, constantly pausing and rewinding and relistening to get them right. Rhymes within rhymes with rhymes, all of it revealing a crystal clear picture of life as a young kid in Queensbridge. It was incredible. His discography has other high points, and also some low points, but overall Nas is just one of the best to ever do it. 

Dixie D’Amelio – My wife informs me that this is the sister of a TikTok star I’ve only just heard of lol. 

The Beatles – I love the Beatles but never feel the need to talk about them because everybody and their mom loves the Beatles and I just get so bored of people talking about loving the Beatles. 

Gerard Way – I do not know who this is. But I’m here to learn!

One Direction – One Direction! I have literally nothing to say! I don’t think I could identify any of their songs but I know there are probably girls attending this high school right now that used to have major crushes on some of these guys and I respect that. 

Velvet Underground – How is this artist on the list? What twilight zone is this? It’s incredible that VU is here because they are my favorite rock band of all time. And that’s not something a lot of people say. I discovered them in high school because I liked a girl that loved them and man that stuff just happens sometimes and those artists are with you forever after. Lou Reed is everything to me. May he rest in peace!