We asked alumni: What music defined your college days?

True story: My final year of college, I burned out my CD player. Blame Cat Power, Lauryn Hill, OutKast, Sleater-Kinney, Wu-Tang Clan—music meant to be played on repeat endlessly. If that seems like a lot of favorites, meet Michelle Mock Durand ’95. She sent us 28, a genre-crossing list saluting Alice in Chains, Tom Petty, Tori Amos, Garth Brooks, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa. … Her final pick? TBDBITL, obviously.

“Most of my music of choice was what’s now considered classic rock: Heat, Supertramp, Journey, Chicago, Michael Stanley Band, Queen, Boston, etc.” 
Jim Wolfe ’81

“The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers Band and Grateful Dead” 
Howard Part ’82 MD

“Talking Heads, close second Billy Idol” 
Scott Smith ’84, ’86 MBA

“My college roommate, Nina, introduced me to a whole host of music. My first CD was Morrisey and my first concert at the Newport Music Hall was Book of Love. Gen X had a diverse mix of music genres.” 
Diane Meves ’93

“When I hear O.A.R., I always think of my first year on campus. The But For Ohio State campaign kicked off with a concert on the Oval from O.A.R, who brought up members of the marching band and then-President Gordon Gee. It was such a fun time and every time I hear this band, which is quite often, I’m transported back to that fun evening with friends.” 
Hannah Pierce ’16, ’22 MA

“As a music lover, there are many musical memories from my time at OSU. A standout is ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.’ The album was released in August 1998, weeks before the start of my freshman year. I lived in Canfield Hall (an all-women dorm at the time). That CD remained on regular rotation from MANY rooms in our building throughout the year. It was like a musical mood ring for the women in our dorm.” 
Jocelyn Armstrong ’02

“Anything Motown!” 
Lillian Harmath Gathers ’72

“Is there any other answer? The Ohio State University Marching Band.” 
Lawrence Cohen ’90, ’94 MBA, ’97 JD

“Taylor Swift” 
Joe Petrilla ’21

“Harry Belafonte” 
Robert Bash ’68

“Oh, so many good memories! What I remember the most is sitting in the Huddle having Coke dates and listening to the juke box playing Nancy Sinatra singing about ‘those boots made for walking.’ However, there was so much music: The Rolling Stones, Donovan, The Monkees, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan … What an age of musical expression!” 
Mary Durkin ’67

“Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The entire grunge music scene ruled the early ’90s and my CD collection was filled with artists from Soundgarden to Nine Inch Nails.” 
Jason Keller ’95

“We saw Linda Ronstadt open for Jackson Browne at the Mershon Auditorium. We proceeded to leave after her set, as I had heard of Jackson Browne but didn’t really know his music! We then went to Mr. Peabody’s Downunder bar to see a band called James Monroe & The First Family of Bluegrass; he is Bill Monroe’s son. Great bluegrass band with a teenaged banjo player. 
Robert Francis ’73

“Elvis! He was still the king in the ’70s when I was at Ohio State. He did a show at St. John Arena and I stood in line for hours for tickets, but it sold out before I could get one. 
Rose Angelica ’77, ’84 MA

“Prince! We wanted to stay in school forever and party like it was 1999—which seemed so far away in the early ’80s! 
Laura Martin ’86, ’97 MS

“Bruuuuce!” 
Jill Holmes Brehm ’82

“Dave Matthews Band” 
Nick Biratsis ’99

“For me it was a place, not a person—Larry’s. The jukebox had a fabulous collection of classical and jazz, and once a week, folk music was presented by talented young musicians from throughout the Columbus area.” 
Diana Jonas McLaughlin ’65

“ELO” 
Larry Evans ’77

“Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs. Their songs reflected the turmoil that existed in the Vietnam War years.” 
Barbara Goldstein Folmar ’68, ’73 MSW