Fairfield gets stereotyped as a campus that’s mainly into bands doing the college circuit, such as this year’s act, O.A.R., and others like them. This explains the synonymous string of bands we have seen on campus during our time here.
Every semester or year when the campus concert is announced, there is an uproar among students. It’s an easy time to spark conversation about different music and find out who is interested in what. And everywhere you go, you’ll find plenty of people complaining about how typical the concert decision is. But either way, mostly everyone ends up going to the show.
So the question is, what music is actually listened to on campus? Is there musical diversity or are we complaining just to complain? Would it be in the best interest for FUSA to branch out its options when it comes to music decisions, or is getting the typical college band the safest bet? Apparently not.
Plenty of students think so. Speaking to students of different classes from all over campus, I discovered in no time that it wasn’t necessarily musical interests that everyone had in common, but the urge to see a new kind of band grace campus.
“I was getting really excited for this year’s concert to be announced because of all of the rumors going around about what band was coming,” said Thomas Wondsel ’09. “It was disappointing to find out after all of the hype it was something typical like O.A.R. I was hoping the Kelly Clarkson rumor was true.”
The idea of the jam band and typical Top 40-infested iTunes libraries on everyone’s computer is not completely true, but it definitely takes on a majority role.
“It seems like the whole idea of ‘indie college music’ doesn’t apply here and it’s more about ‘oh wow, this has the same beat as Black Eyed Peas.’ It’s just average radio stuff, boring stuff from the radio,” said Adam D’Abrosca ’08.
“Coming from a New Jersey punk scene, Fairfield University opened my eyes to a plethora of new music. There seems to be a large interest in jam band, classic rock, and Top 40 music.”
Joe Sanchez ’07 added “Who would’ve thought that no party could be complete without a sing along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing?””
What is interesting is that even fans of this particular kind of music are looking for a change. Just because certain musical genres dominate the better part of the campus, it does not mean this majority is close-minded to giving something different a chance. Students are looking for a new and interesting show, not just the shows they would see over the summer anyway.
“I don’t think we should have O.A.R. because they’re just the same as Guster and Dashboard. And the thing is I’m even a big fan of these bands. I know the majority of people on campus seem to listen to similar music, but it’d be nice to have a change,” said Jen Hargrave ’09.
So the question remains, if not the bands going on the college circuit, then who? The answer of the students seems to be anything surprising and outside the box. Some people will be disappointed, and of course FUSA can’t cater to everyone. But giving something different a shot might not be such a bad idea.
“Personally, I think a lot of people are interested in country and rap music here. So why can’t we get something different than O.A.R., Guster or Dashboard? Bring variety to our campus,” said Patty Lovelette ’09.
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