Prom season has given way to graduation season and a big part of just about every graduation ceremony is a choral selection, where senior members of the chorus have one last performance.
They usually get to pick one last song in which they can communicate to their peers the sum of their school experience.
At my high school graduation in 1986, the song was a vocal and saxophone duet of Dionne Warwick's "That's what friends are for."
In recent years there have been many ballads that have captured the spirit of graduation. Green Day's "Time of your life" is one such song. Fans of the sitcom "Seinfeld" will recall that the Green Day song was used in a classic montage in a half-hour special just before the airing of the final episode.
A key thing about a great song for graduation is that it must be both easy to sing and become a fuller song with more voices. I'll admit that I've heard some good graduation songs ... And some not-so-good attempts.
Songs that can be harmonized simply are popular and capture the spirit of the event are hard to find.
When it comes to popular music on the radio, mp3 player or iPod, there are many songs that can capture the spirit of graduation.
Haters will poo-poo Nickleback's "Photograph," yet just about everyone who was a teen in the 2000s knows the words.
I find it interesting to talk with my son and stepson about music because they're both fans of 1980s music. In fact, this past weekend, when driving with my son, he said out of the blue, "I would have liked to have grown up in the 1980s."
When he said that, I had been thinking of his graduation, which should be a year from now. I was also thinking about what he and his classmates would sing at graduation. He's been in chorus every year. It's certainly rounded out his musical interests - from Frank Sinatra to modern country pop music.
I spent much of last weekend with my boys and their friends as they helped us move, which has become a long, arduous process.
At lunch on Sunday I watched these teens eat cheese curds and then before the meal arrived, they all pulled out their smartphones and disappeared into Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or games.
Thinking of this after my son dropped his comment about growing up in the 1980s, I said, "Well, we did talk to each other a lot more than your generation does."
When I think of what my son is viewing on his phone, I realize a lot of it is ongoing text messages with his friends. He drove us from Viroqua to Monroe on Sunday. When we arrived home he got on his phone. He had to take a break after we unloaded the car, because he hadn't been on his phone for two-and-a-half hours and "had a lot of catching up to do" with messages.
I'm thankful that my son spends two or three hours a day at Monroe's YMCA, because when he's lifting weights or doing his cardio workout, he's not on his phone. When he's lifting, he's actually talking to his friends, which I'm happy to say has grown well here in Monroe. Derek will always have friends among the kids he grew up with in Viroqua. He's now forming friendships that will leave him with fond memories of Monroe.
When I was in high school, there was one classmate of mine who came to our school his junior year: His name was Rod Knudson. We were in the same homeroom and physics class, so we formed a friendship.
I remember him at our graduation ceremony. I haven't seen him once since that day. He hasn't been to any of the high school reunions I attended. He was nice, laughed, got along with everyone, was helpful - a good guy.
In high school, you can make friends that last a lifetime. That's what the spirit of a good graduation song is supposed to capture.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of The Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
They usually get to pick one last song in which they can communicate to their peers the sum of their school experience.
At my high school graduation in 1986, the song was a vocal and saxophone duet of Dionne Warwick's "That's what friends are for."
In recent years there have been many ballads that have captured the spirit of graduation. Green Day's "Time of your life" is one such song. Fans of the sitcom "Seinfeld" will recall that the Green Day song was used in a classic montage in a half-hour special just before the airing of the final episode.
A key thing about a great song for graduation is that it must be both easy to sing and become a fuller song with more voices. I'll admit that I've heard some good graduation songs ... And some not-so-good attempts.
Songs that can be harmonized simply are popular and capture the spirit of the event are hard to find.
When it comes to popular music on the radio, mp3 player or iPod, there are many songs that can capture the spirit of graduation.
Haters will poo-poo Nickleback's "Photograph," yet just about everyone who was a teen in the 2000s knows the words.
I find it interesting to talk with my son and stepson about music because they're both fans of 1980s music. In fact, this past weekend, when driving with my son, he said out of the blue, "I would have liked to have grown up in the 1980s."
When he said that, I had been thinking of his graduation, which should be a year from now. I was also thinking about what he and his classmates would sing at graduation. He's been in chorus every year. It's certainly rounded out his musical interests - from Frank Sinatra to modern country pop music.
I spent much of last weekend with my boys and their friends as they helped us move, which has become a long, arduous process.
At lunch on Sunday I watched these teens eat cheese curds and then before the meal arrived, they all pulled out their smartphones and disappeared into Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or games.
Thinking of this after my son dropped his comment about growing up in the 1980s, I said, "Well, we did talk to each other a lot more than your generation does."
When I think of what my son is viewing on his phone, I realize a lot of it is ongoing text messages with his friends. He drove us from Viroqua to Monroe on Sunday. When we arrived home he got on his phone. He had to take a break after we unloaded the car, because he hadn't been on his phone for two-and-a-half hours and "had a lot of catching up to do" with messages.
I'm thankful that my son spends two or three hours a day at Monroe's YMCA, because when he's lifting weights or doing his cardio workout, he's not on his phone. When he's lifting, he's actually talking to his friends, which I'm happy to say has grown well here in Monroe. Derek will always have friends among the kids he grew up with in Viroqua. He's now forming friendships that will leave him with fond memories of Monroe.
When I was in high school, there was one classmate of mine who came to our school his junior year: His name was Rod Knudson. We were in the same homeroom and physics class, so we formed a friendship.
I remember him at our graduation ceremony. I haven't seen him once since that day. He hasn't been to any of the high school reunions I attended. He was nice, laughed, got along with everyone, was helpful - a good guy.
In high school, you can make friends that last a lifetime. That's what the spirit of a good graduation song is supposed to capture.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of The Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
