On September 5th, 2024, Carmen Lomas ‘25 became the second host of the featured playlists for the 2024-25 school year, consisting mainly of country, rap, and r&b. The following day, Natalia Villafan ‘25 spoke with Lomas to get more insight on the songs chosen.

FRIDAY 9:00 AM SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

NATALIA VILLAFAN: Alright, Carmen, I’ve got to point out the obvious. Looking at your playlist there’s a split right down the middle, half of it being rap, r&b, and hip-hop, with the other half being straight up country, and I want to know if that was intentional on your part. Did you want to specifically focus on these two genres or was it unintentional and just an accurate depiction of your music taste? 

CARMEN LOMAS: Okay so at first it was pretty even once I immediately thought of my top 12 songs, and then I was like “I actually want this to be perfectly even because I do pretty much listen to half rap and half country,” so I thought it was a pretty accurate representation of my music taste. 

VILLAFAN: It was intentional but it’s also accurate!

LOMAS: Yeah! It started accidentally, but then I just made it intentional!

VILLAFAN: Lots of your songs were also released in recent years, most of them being from 2021 to 2024 for both rap and country genres. Is this because you recently got into the genres? I know that as young people there’s a certain age where we start to take our music taste more seriously, is that why most of these songs are recent? Or are these just your current favorites and you’ve been a long time fan of the genres?

LOMAS: Okay so, looking at all the music I listen to, I think I have music from all sorts of time periods. But I think it just depends on what’s the vibe right now, there’ll be different moods that I go through. Right now with the end of summer and transition to fall, that goes with the new country and the hype of the new school year, like all the football games and Friday nights starting, that goes with the new r&b and rap. So I feel like, for now–

VILLAFAN: You’re listening to what’s new?

LOMAS: Mhmm the new songs just fit the vibe!

VILLAFAN: That makes sense because you have a few songs from Zach Bryan on here. You have two songs off his album The Great American Bar Scene and one song from his self-titled album. Have you been a fan of his for a while? I mean, you put 3 songs of his and you’re only given 12 spots so that already takes up a quarter of your playlist. 

LOMAS: Well, Morgan Wallen has been my favorite for a long time, basically since I started listening to country music. But lately, Zach Bryan has been releasing a lot of music and it caught my attention so I’ve been liking him more! I went to a Zach Bryan concert at the beginning of summer.

VILLAFAN: Oh my god!!!

LOMAS: Yeah! So I feel like that ignited my love for his music–

VILLAFAN: Totally!

LOMAS: –even more! Yeah!

VILLAFAN: How was it?!

LOMAS: It was really good! I went with some of my friends from Leadership–okay so! Last year during homecoming, we were building our float–it was the day of homecoming, so we were doing our last minute touches–and we had Zach Bryan blasting on the field! We were like “You know what, it would be so fun to go to a Zach Bryan concert. We’re gonna make it happen!”

VILLAFAN: [Gasp]

LOMAS: So, I don’t know, seven to eight months later, we finally bought the tickets! We all went together!

VILLAFAN: Oh, that’s so exciting!!

LOMAS: And it was a really good experience! We had a lot of fun! So I can listen to those songs now and think of, not only the concert itself, but think of homecoming too and all of those memories.

VILLAFAN: What introduced you to Zach Bryan? Did you hear more about him through friends? Did you hear him on the radio? Was it through TikTok or some form of social media?

LOMAS: Oh let me think about that…

VILLAFAN: And just country music in general, for both rap and country actually. Have you been into these genres for most of your life, or are they more recent discoveries?

LOMAS: Country music in general I grew up listening to, but then once I was about to start high school I started listening to Morgan Wallen. Then I just branched out to more country music. Rap/R&B came a little bit later when I wanted more of a mix in what I listened to, a difference in feelings and moods… I’m trying to think of the first Zach Bryan song… Okay! I think the first Zach Bryan song that I listened to was “Something in the Orange,” it was a really groundbreaking song for him! He started off more unrecognizable, but once “Something in the Orange” came out

VILLAFAN: He got that recognition!

LOMAS: –Yeah, he kinda blew up! That was the first song of him that I heard!

VILLAFAN: You mentioned wanting to have different emotions in your music. Looking at this, I feel like if you listen to this in order you totally get whiplash, because you start off with Eric Church’s “Springsteen” and then you go into “Ivy” by Frank Ocean. It’s kinda crazy, but I also wonder if I’m looking at this in a different way. I feel like these genres are really different, do you find them similar or do you also find the differences?

LOMAS: I find them different, because I feel that personally I’m very sensitive. Right now we’re going through a pretty emotional time, being seniors, starting this year, thinking about the future. But also thinking about the past, and all of our time as kids. All the country is that happy positivity but it’s also an emotional genre. And with “Ivy” by Frank Ocean it’s really nostalgic, you listen to the lyrics “We’ll never be those kids again” and you think about how we’re not kids anymore!

VILLAFAN: Oh yeah! 

LOMAS: I’ve been listening to that song a lot recently, and just soaking in that nostalgic feel. The other rap and r&b is more upbeat, a little bit more grown up…

“It excites you for the future! You’re not only focusing on the ‘Oh I’ll never be a kid again’ but also the ‘Oh wait! I’m getting older and doing more!’”

VILLAFAN: Yeah! You have so much duality in your music taste, rap and country being so vastly different but at the same time two sides of the same coin. What are three words you’d use to describe your entire music taste, beyond this playlist?

LOMAS: Okay… I feel like it’s generally upbeat… diverse…

VILLAFAN: I can see that, yea.

LOMAS: And…I think different. Because there’s just not that many people that listen to country.

VILLAFAN: Yeah!!!

LOMAS: I can go back to freshman year–

VILLAFAN: Everyone was hating on country!

LOMAS: Everyone!! Everyone!! Our freshman year float for Leadership was western themed, and I was excited about it, but everyone else was like “No!”, “This sucks!”, “I don’t like this!” and now people will listen to Zach Bryan and I’ll tell them “Hey, I thought you didn’t like country?” and they’ll go “Oh, well I kinda like it now!”

VILLAFAN: Literally, bro! I feel like country is totally have a resurgence, not just generally gaining popularity, but mainstream pop artists are going country! What do you think about that? Do you like this newer country–this renaissance it’s going through–or do you prefer older country?

LOMAS: I really like both! I think I do prefer the new country because, like I said, it’s so much more diverse! The older country is so distinctly country and I think that’s what steers people away from it.

VILLAFAN: It’s taking a new life.

LOMAS: Yeah! It’s become more like–it’s evolving into today’s world!

VILLAFAN: Yeah, for our generation!

LOMAS: Yeah! But it’s still country! I just think it’s really good! I do think I only had one kinda old country song on there?

VILLAFAN: Yeah! Speaking of that, you had “Something Like That” by Tim McGraw… what did you do this Labor Day weekend?

[This is a reference to the opening lyrics of “Something Like That”: “It was Labor Day weekend, I was 17 / I bought a Coke and some gasoline”]

BOTH: [Laugh]

LOMAS: That one I listened to because it was Labor Day! I went to the gas station!

VILLAFAN: [Laughs] Did you?!

LOMAS: [Laughs] I bought a coke! I filled up the car! I mean, I can only do this once in my life!

VILLAFAN: Oh my god, I know! I listened to the song the day after and realized.

LOMAS: [Laughs]

VILLAFAN: I missed out. For rap music… I can’t not ask about it. You had “Poetic Justice” on your playlist, do you have any commentary on the beef between Drake and Kendrick?

LOMAS: I actually haven’t been listening to that song for that long! When I started listening to it I realized, “This is Kendrick and Drake! There was a time when they were friends!” I don’t know exactly what happened with them. I think that in the end…

VILLAFAN: Yeah! Who do you think won? That’s what we want to know!

LOMAS: I think Kendrick won! His slams were more creative and the overall songs were just better! Drake was just putting out music, the songs were not that good and the slams were blatant and it’s better when rappers get creative. I still listen to both, but I think Kendrick won!

VILLAFAN: A child of divorce…

LOMAS: [Laughs] Yeah!

VILLAFAN: “Poetic Justice” is off of Kendrick’s good kid, m.A.A.d city album, are you familiar with Apple Music 100 Best Albums of all time?

LOMAS: Not really!

VILLAFAN: Because two songs on your playlist are in the Top 10! “Ivy” is off Blonde, which is the 5th album.

LOMAS: Really? I didn’t know that!

VILLAFAN: And good kid, m.A.A.d city is the 7th album of all time. What do you think about that placement?

LOMAS: I’d have to know what the other albums are to accurately know…

VILLAFAN: [Pulls Up the Apple Music 100 Best Albums Wikipedia page and tells them to Carmen] 

[The List’s Top 10 are:

1) The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

2) Thriller, Michael Jackson

3) Abbey Road, The Beatles

4) Purple Rain, Prince

5) Blonde, Frank Ocean

6) Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder

7) good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar

8) Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

9) Nevermind, Nirvana

10) Lemonade, Beyoncé ]

LOMAS: I’m actually not too familiar with most of those other than Thriller.

VILLAFAN: [Gasps]

LOMAS: [Looks down the list] Okay, Fleetwood Mac at 11… Fleetwood Mac is good.

VILLAFAN: I feel like–Blonde was released in 2016, it’s the most recent album in the top 5!

LOMAS: I feel like that’s a pretty good ranking! Yeah, I think it’s accurate!

VILLAFAN: Of all time, too? Blonde was released in 2016, all these other albums predate it by around 30 years.

LOMAS: That is crazy that it’s surrounded by those.

VILLAFAN: Do you think Blonde is gonna be one of those albums that withstands the test of time?

LOMAS: Hmm… I mean you compare it to Michael Jackson and you wonder if it will, but the world changes so fast in such weird ways, who knows? It’s interesting to think about.

VILLAFAN: There is a song you picked that I think is a total outlier, which is “when the party’s over” by Billie Eilish. This is the most pop song you put on here. When I look and try to dissect these playlists, I try to categorize them by genre or year, and Billie didn’t fit anywhere when it came to genre. This song in particular has a very ‘pop’ sound, not really influenced by r&b or rap or country. Why Billie for your only pop song on this playlist?

LOMAS: She just has such deep songs, and the lyrics really hit hard. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not always upbeat and happy or in the best mood, and I think that represents that part of me. All the other songs are upbeat, and there have been times when I’m down and that song relaxes me. When I’m in a bad mood I can’t listen to those upbeat songs! It just doesn’t fit! So I put on something like Billie Eilish, and that’s the song I’ve been listening to the most.

VILLAFAN: How do you feel about the music she’s been putting out lately? Are you listening to her recent work, do you prefer her mellower songs?

LOMAS: I think she has more versatility than she lets on, for example her song for Barbie [What Was I Made For] I listen to that too!

VILLAFAN: Oh yeah! That Oscar was deserved! What are your favorite songs from this playlist? Your top three?

LOMAS: That’s hard, for example “I Remember Everything” has been a top song of mine for like exactly a year! I remember going out with my friends when that album had just come out, I remember that song distinctly and I’ve been a favorite since. “Something Like That” too has been a top song for a while, been listening to “Springsteen” for a while… and “Ivy”! Oh, I remember February of last year is when I first started listening to it. I was doing my makeup in the morning, and I had been listening to it throughout the day and I got in a car accident–

VILLAFAN: [Gasps]

LOMAS: –that day! [Laughs] And yeah! That was just a crazy time! The rest of the songs are all pretty recent in my life.

VILLAFAN: So those would be your standouts?

LOMAS: Yeah! The songs that I mentioned are distinct songs that I’ll remember and the rest are songs I’ve been listening to this week or this month! The songs that are newer to me, you know?

VILLAFAN: Yeah!

LOMAS:

“There’s certain songs where you listen to them, and then go back later and you can remember the time you listened to them! You can just see the picture!”

LOMAS: For example, I’ll listen to “Poetic Justice,” and “28,” and “when the party’s over” in December and I can think of August and September.

VILLAFAN: What do you think is the best lyric that sticks out to you out of the songs you picked?

LOMAS: Oh my goodness, it would definitely be one of the country songs, they have deeper meaning to me. I think “28” by Zach Bryan, there’s a trend on TikTok right now that I want to do really bad! You make a little poster collage of all the pictures that are important to you and you write “How lucky are we?”

VILLAFAN: Awe.

LOMAS: I’m probably gonna do it, the lyric is “How lucky are we? It’s been a hell of a week / And we’re all grown now” and like we’re seniors! We’re all grown now! That’s one of the nostalgic songs, so that’s important to me. It sticks out.

VILLAFAN: Do you think you’re good at memorizing lyrics?

LOMAS: I think so yeah? Definitely more for the country songs because I pay more attention.

VILLAFAN: Do you wanna finish the lyric?

LOMAS: Okay, yeah! That sounds fun!

VILLAFAN: I’ll do a country song for you. I won’t tell you what song, but it’s off your playlist. “You took a train to the south-side of Boston / You showed me where your whole heart stayed“

LOMAS: Oh my gosh… Oh my goodness, it’s “28”…wait! I can’t do it!

VILLAFAN: It’s “28” by Zach Bryan. It’s “You took a train to the south-side of Boston / You showed me where your whole heart stayed / Took 28 years of blood pumpin’ through me / To feel loved on my own birthday”

LOMAS: Oh my gosh! I knew the song!

VILLAFAN: Yeah! We’ll do another one, this is an r&b song! “If I could see through walls / I could see you’re faking / If you could see my thoughts / You would see our faces / Safe in my rental like an armored truck back then”

LOMAS: Oh my gosh, can I hear it again?

VILLAFAN: “If I could see through walls / I could see you’re faking / If you could see my thoughts / You would see our faces / Safe in my rental like an armored truck back then”

LOMAS: It’s “Ivy”… uh… it’s like “We didn’t give a — back then” right?

VILLAFAN: Mhmm! It’s the chorus.

LOMAS: It’s like “We didn’t give a — back then / I ain’t a kid no more / We’ll never be those kids again”? Was that it?

VILLAFAN: Mhmm!!

LOMAS: Yay!! I got one of them right!

VILLAFAN: That’s everything! Thank you so much!

LOMAS: Thank you, that was actually so much fun!

The Songs Carmen Lomas included in her playlist are;

1. Eric Church’s “Springsteen” off Chief, 2011.
2. Frank Ocean’s “Ivy” off Blonde, 2016.
3. Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That” off A Place In The Sun, 1999.
4. J.Cole’s “m y . l i f e (with 21 Savage & Morray)” off The Off-Season, 2021.
5. Zach Bryan’s “American Nights” off The Great American Bar Scene, 2024.
6. Don Toliver’s “Private Landing (feat. Justin Bieber & Future)” off Love Sick, 2023.
7. Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)” off Zach Bryan, 2023.
8. Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice” featuring Drake off good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012.
9. Zach Bryan’s “28” off The Great American Bar Scene, 2024.
10. The Kid LAROI’s “NIGHTS LIKE THIS” off THE FIRST TIME, 2023.
11. Morgan Wallen’s “Lies Lies Lies,” 2024.
12. Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” off WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, 2018.