Authors

CURRENT TDP WRITERS AND EDITORS 

CATHY CHANG (writer and editor for TDP; junior at BHS)

Often thought of as the Asian girl who is in every music-related club at this school, I definitely have music on my mind a lot. My favorite thing about music is that I can always jam to it, no matter how I’m feeling. I love to dance whether it be a light muscle twitch or head bop or full out explosive flailing of the limbs.

FIRST MUSIC LOVE: I grew up listening to lots of Taylor Swift CDs because my aunt had a bunch and left them all in my house when she moved back to Taiwan. My dad said he played them only because they were there, but I think he actually enjoyed listening to them.

• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: I am currently listening to some Disney original songs
• ALWAYS LISTENING TO: Kpop girl group songs (especially Red Velvet).
• THEME SONGS: “Happiness” and “Time Slip” by Red Velvet, which have totally different vibes, but it’s fine.

JULIANNA LOMBARDO (writer and editor for TDP; junior at BHS)

I joined the Devils’ Playlist for one simple reason: I really, really love music. Since I was a child, it has had a very special place in my heart. Some of my earliest memories involve music. I remember way back, probably around 2005, the song “ Behind These Hazel Eyes” by Kelly Clarkson was one of the most popular songs on the radio. Three-year-old me was living for it. My sister and I sang every word, even though the words we sang were definitely not correct. It was that song that made me fall in love with music. It kickstarted one of the only things that I am truly passionate about. So here I am, in a club that I have wanted to join since I started at BHS. 

• FAVORITE GENRE: Pop-punk
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Waterparks, Palaye Royale, My Chemical Romance, and As It Is.

FORMER TDP WRITERS AND EDITORS

IVY SALTSMAN (writer and editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

I honestly can’t think of a time where I haven’t been surrounded by music in some way. I
fostered my love for music as a child, and invested my time into listening and singing every song that I caught on to, whether that be a song on the radio or one I heard someone else singing in school. I started playing the piano in elementary school, and tried to figure out the accompaniment of different songs by ear. As I grew older and had more opportunities to perform songs individually or in choruses, I grabbed onto every chance I got. I went into high school becoming more interested in music, so I started taking voice lessons, began to self-teach myself other instruments, and explored different music genres. Last year, after becoming the lead singer of a band with some of my friends, I truly felt immersed in music culture and worked to discover the unique aspects of it. I haven’t stopped yet, and I don’t plan on it any time soon.

• FIRST ALBUM: I can’t remember the first album I owned, but the first album I was totally hooked on is AM by the Arctic Monkeys.
• FIRST CONCERT: The 1975
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Mainly Rock and R&B
• ALWAYS LISTENING TO: Alternative Rock
• CURRENT THEME SONG: “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Tyler Gaffey  (writer and editor for TDP; junior at BHS)

My whole life I’ve been around music. My father is a huge music fanatic, so naturally, I took after him. For as long as I can remember, music has always been played in my house – especially rock. As I got older I started branching off from the classic rock and alternative that my dad listens to and really diversified my taste. Whether it’s metal, rap, punk, edm, country, folk, classic rock, etc., I enjoy it. I’ve been playing bass and guitar since the sixth grade, which has helped me really become closer to music. My main focus with Devils’ Playlist is to add some heavier music, such as different varieties of metal and punk into the mix.

• FIRST ALBUM: American Idiot by Green Day
• FIRST CONCERT: Green Day with AFI
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Chelsea Grin, Whitechapel,  A Day To Remember, Of Mice and Men, Attila, Infant Annihilator, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence
• FAVORITE BAND: Blink-182
• FAVORITE GENRES: deathcore, metalcore, death metal, pop punk, rap, edm

Timmy Sullivan (writer, editor, and marketing manager for TDP; junior at BHS)

Growing up, although I hate to say it, I was not very musically educated or diverse. The only songs I knew were the ones playing on the radio during long car rides, or the repeated playlist on my Mom’s iPod. Even throughout middle school, music was not a huge part of my life. Freshman year is when I started to explore music and all the depths of it. I had just finished what would forever become my favorite book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and found myself fascinated with the main character. His name is Charlie, and a large aspect of his friendship revolves around music and mixtapes. Often the characters in that book use the term, “Good Music.” Upon encountering this phrase multiple times, I asked one of my pop-punk friends to introduce me to “Good Music.” From there, I discovered bands such as Green Day, Blink 182, and Good Charlotte. I have since become musically diverse, not limiting myself to one genre. I enjoy various forms of pop-punk, alternative, country, rock, pop, and indie. I am also very into supporting local artists at the moment. Three is something very satisfying in it.

• FIRST ALBUM: The first album that I explored on my own is American Idiot by Green Day. They were the first band that I truly knew I loved because I HAD to find them and listen over and over. It was also very exciting coming from a world without music and being introduced to this new genre and style of sound I had never heard before.
• FIRST CONCERT: My first concert was Avril Lavigne when I was in the third grade. She was one of the artists on the radio and on my mom’s playlist that I would listen to, so naturally, I knew her songs (though all the lyrics were wrong). As a Christmas present, we got tickets to go see her in concert, and from what I remember, it was a good time.
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: U2. I am in a total U2 craze right now. They are my dad’s favorite band, and I recognized their name when I got their free album, Songs of Innocence. I have since downloaded all of their music and am in an intense U2 craze phase. Hopefully, they will tour soon.
• ALWAYS LISTENING TO: Blink 182 and Good Charlotte. Unfortunately, since Green Day was the first real band I listened to, I overplayed them. Yet Blink and Good Charlotte never get old for me, and their music will forever be my go-to songs.
• MY THEME SONG: My theme song is definitely “All Star” by Smash Mouth. My explanation is as follows: My dream car, of recent, is a 1960’s Volkswagen Minibus. The nicknamed, “Hippie Van.” Whenever I imagine driving across the country with my friends in my “Hippie Van” for whatever reason “All-Star” is always playing in the background. I think it is a sign. (On that note, if anyone is, or knows someone, selling a 1960’s VW Minibus, I am in the market.) I will also accept “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runner’s as my theme song. Because, Perks of Being a Wallflower, ya know?

Mike Ackerman (writer and editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

 Music has always played a dominant role in my life. I always have enjoyed hearing the stories music tells. Listening to music also provides a time that helps me think. My real music journey began in sixth-grade when I started listening to bands like The Beatles, U2, and Coldplay (all of which I still listen to today).

• The FIRST ALBUM I bought was Please Please Me by The Beatles when I was in 6th grade, and I have loved them ever since.
• The FIRST CONCERT I ever went to was Coldplay in 2012, touring their Mylo Xyloto album. The concert was an amazing experience and had very high energy. As I have aged, I have opened myself up to more styles of music.
• The GENRES that lately have grown on me have been hip-hop/rap and indie rock. I am always in search of new music to listen to.

Irina Grigoryeva (writer and editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

 Living with my grandparents for most of my childhood, I grew up around opera, classical piano, and Russian translations of Beatles’ songs (“Yellow Submarine” was changed to “White Parrot”…what?). Music then came from turning on an old tape player while my grandfather’s baritone voice boomed out of the kitchen during his culinary extravaganzas. I listened to “Belle” from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris” on repeat, not knowing a single word in French but trying to imitate the authentic gargling accent. My uncle, who was in his mid-teens by the time I started enjoying music, began his rebellious phase by blasting Evanescence’s Fallen album. He let me play with dolls in his room while he was doing homework and Evanescence became my first exposure to the music that I currently enjoy. I was nine years old when my uncle gave me the Fallen tape and it quickly became my dearest possession. Going into my early teens, I listened to more pop music and tried to hide the part of me that loved Evanescence in fear that I would be plagued with a reputation of “a goth weirdo.” I am much more comfortable now with my love for the music jumble that is siren-like female voices and 80s rock and weird ambient indie goat noises, pretty much anything that floats my boat. I find something I like in most songs. There’s a time and a place for everything. For an extremely optimistic and bubbly person, I listen to very angry and angsty music, but I love the fact that I don’t have to place myself in a designated “happy- box.” As an artist, music drives emotion into my drawings and paintings and provides many dimensions to my work, rather than being all rainbows and smiles. It allows me to explore my personality and see myself from different angles that I would not have been able to notice otherwise.

• FIRST ALBUM PURCHASED: It was a cassette tape of a Russian pop singer (equivalent of Nicki Minaj mixed with Pink and Britney Spears…yikes) when I was eight years old. I don’t remember what it was called, but I remember it had very inappropriate songs on it that my friends and I would sing. Where were the grown-ups at the time?
•  FIRST CONCERT ATTENDED: A Beatles’ tribute, 2008; First proper concert: Lindsey Stirling, 2013
•  CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Ellie Goulding, Camera Obscura, Andrew Belle, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey
•  ALWAYS LISTENING TO: U2, Bon Jovi, Coldplay

Dora Kadish (writer and editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

I grew up listening to music with my dad, who had a bunch of CD’s that he listened to when he was a kid.  Pink Floyd accompanied my early elementary school years, along with the Beatles and the ever-present Deep Purple.  By the time I was ten, I knew all the words and would sing along to Highway Star at the top of my lungs during every car ride.  My mom, on the other hand, introduced me to a lot of old Russian kids’ shows from her childhood, so my youth consisted of Russian songs mixing in with old rock ‘n roll.  I’ve drifted apart from those songs by now, and most of the time I’ll find myself listening to Fall Out Boy’s newest album, Save Rock & Roll.

• FIRST ALBUM PURCHASED: Aaron Tveit is a Broadway actor. He did a few live shows last May at 54 Below, and he recorded it and released it as an EP.  It’s called The Radio In My Head, and he threw in some of his own childhood stories amongst the songs.
• FIRST CONCERT ATTENDED: I went to see Roger Waters with my dad my freshman year.  I’ve still got the shirt!
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Muse, Lily Allen, Marina and the Diamonds, Fall Out Boy
•  ALWAYS LISTENING TO: Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Pink Floyd

Matt Martin (writer, editor, and Social Media Manager for TDP; senior at BHS)

As a senior at Burlington High School, I have made music an important part of my life since my freshman year when I first began playing the guitar. Picking up that stringed instrument taught me discipline, hard work, but most importantly, it opened me up to a world of music that I would never be able to conquer entirely, which is what I loved about it. There is so much music out there, that I will never grow bored of finding more. It is a passion that can never die. Since then, I have played in local bands, jammed with friends, written songs, and listened to so many bands it makes my head spin in the best way possible. With the BHS Devils’ Playlist, I am channeling that love for music, writing about it, and expanding the musical minds of all BHS-ers while expanding my own.

I fell in love with music at a very young age. My family was always going to Bluegrass festivals, which allowed me to develop an appreciation for that type of music early on. Being able to see these amazing musicians on stage, then watch them jam at their campsites until the early morning hours gave an incredible hands-on feel. I was always trying to develop my own ability, in terms of playing and appreciating. I experimented with violin, mandolin, piano, harmonica, and ukulele – each one allowing a different exploration into a genre. Whether a new folk album or a soulful Jazz concert, I never cease to be amazed by the ability music has to make me feel and remember.

• FIRST ALBUM – The Beatles’ 1.  Also happens to be the second album I’ve ever bought, as my dog decided that it also looked good.
• WHAT I’M LISTENING TO NOW – Anaïs Mitchell, Bon Iver, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Trampled by Turtles, Johnny Cash, Of Monsters and Men, Beirut, Mumford and Sons, Iron and Wine.
• FAVORITE BAND – Punch Brothers. Also happens to be the best concert I’ve ever been to.
• FAVORITE GENRE – Bluegrass, Folk, Indie, Alternative, Jazz.
• MY THEME SONG – Currently, Alligotoah’s “Willst Du.”  Absolutely no idea what the German means, but the beat is fantastic.

Pranav Menon (writer and editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

 My parents are still in possession of tapes featuring my 3-year-old dance moves. I tended to walk around in circles, arms akimbo, and then stop suddenly to attempt a cartwheel/backflip. It can’t really be called dancing, but I blame the music; it was too good to not focus on completely. I was raised with a super-saturated, highly fattening diet of Indian music (in 3 different languages!) of various styles; pop, rock, cinematic, classical, semi-classical, raga, ghazal, you name it. By the age of 4, I had mapped out the tracklist of all my favorite tapes (the aforementioned baby videos will attest) and mastered the use of my dad’s sound system. Guests would come over, and I’d have the best party trick in the whole Lord Baron apartment complex; my dad would tell me to play a song, and I’d drag my illiterate self to the shelf, get the correct tape, throw it in the player, and skip to the right song without missing a beat. That was my start with Eastern music- and for the record, I can still do the cassette tape trick.

Then, I was 12. And Guitar Hero III came out. And dude, it blew my wimpy little mind. From “Slow Ride” on easy to “Through the Fire and the Flames” on hard (I never could beat it on expert, but neither could you!), I played nothing else. GH3 was my gateway drug into western music; at night, names like Rage Against the Machine and Alice Cooper used to lull me to sleep. From the game, it was an easy step into the world of rock n’ roll, and once I was on the timeline of western music, I traveled back and forward and down and up all at once. I found Count Basie and Pops (Louis Armstrong) in the ’20s; I tumbled down demon-rabbit holes and met Marilyn Manson and Metallica; I shook hands with Kurt Cobain in ’93; and, believe me, I took the much-sought-after Stairway to Heaven. My innards are 5% good, 5% bad, and 90% western music, and it’s all because of that cheap plastic guitar and the hours I spent worshiping it.

The great thing about being multi-cultural is that some doors are open by default when you’re born. I got lucky- India’s got 14 different languages of music; plus English, which makes 15. I use many of those languages on a daily basis. But really, I don’t care- the only tongue I need is the language of music. Fortunately, I get to speak that language every day, with every part of my soul, with everyone I meet. Music is the best thing about my life; it really is.

•  FIRST RECORD: Breathless, a Hindi record featuring the superhuman talents of singer Shankar Mahadevan and lyricist Javed Akhtar. The music is nothing short of epic, and the words have a glorious mystique to them (probably because I still can’t speak a word of Hindi)… it was Swiss chocolate for the ears. I must have listened to the titular track at least two-hundred times; such was its effect on me.
•  FIRST ENGLISH RECORD:  Lie to Me, by Jonny Lang. I listened to it at a very young age (courtesy of my father) and appreciated that bluesy guitar and Lang’s easy-to-understand lyrics. Sometimes, when I’m sure I’m alone, I’ll start (poorly) singing “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”; that’s all the indication I need to say that Lie to Me is still solid, 18 years after its quiet release.
• FIRST CONCERT: I saw Transit in the Tewksbury United Methodist Church’s basement, on their Last Five Years tour. The people were violent, the sound system made my ears bleed, and I left early, but it was still magical.
• CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Everything. And I mean it.
•  ALWAYS LISTENING TO: The Roots, Bill Evans, Dispatch, Eddie Vedder (with and without Pearl Jam), The Black Keys, The Strokes, Chopin, Nobuo Uematsu, Daft Punk, and a whole lot more.

 Xin Zhang (writer, editor for TDP; senior at BHS)

 My first exposures to the world of music were Top 40 radio and my relatives’ terrible imitations of pop stars at the karaoke machine. Not the greatest of first exposures, but music has since grown from a side interest to a dominant one of mine. I will thank Thom Yorke for that. Thom Yorke is pretty talented. I would like to meet Thom Yorke.