Central’s Theme Songs?

Aw shucks, you hear that? Time to talk about the announcements.

Picture this: it’s third hour, the day before the recent production Matilda’s opening. Papers rustling, teenagers gossiping. A normal day. A normal day, that is, until the bell strikes 10:42. Instead of the usual Central fight song, the three-minute warning is the leading track When I Grow Up. The song is possibly the most iconic in Central’s production, complete with swings and energetic choreography, which is matched by the energy in the hallways. The next week, everybody assumes it’ll return back to normal, but that isn’t the case.

Sam Ryan, sophomore and drama thespian, appreciated the gesture towards the theatre department. “I don’t know why it was When I Grow Up and not like, Telly,” he said, referencing the week when we had thought that the changes would only be a temporary change. “It was good promotion [for Matilda].” But when the announcements continued to change into more obscure songs, he was confused by these little interruptions. When asked what he thought of the new voices and songs, his immediate response was that it was “very funny. I like the different ones because the normal one was boring, but some of them are really weird.” However, he mentioned that hearing Dancing in the Moonlight on his way to French class was a highlight of his day.

This was a common reaction: confusion followed by amusement. “The first week or so it was funny because it’s different every period, but this is like three weeks in and it’s just straight old by this point,” says sophomore Henry Gengler. There were certain songs that people didn’t want to hear every day, such as Encanto’s repetitive staple We don’t Talk About Bruno. Many students felt that the joke had grown stale, and didn’t think about it during winter break.

Part two: The Final Countdown

Most students believed that the recent changes had been only a short-term bit to make the end of the semester more fun. When we returned to school, however, there were both new voices and songs waiting for us. One of these was particularly humorous to everybody, and that was the final countdown.

“The voices are alright,” sophomore Tode Wilson remarked. “I like the songs sometimes… sometimes I feel like there could be better songs. I like that they’re switching them.” Tode is one of the many students who was amused by these choices. In regards to switching them up, who knows what’ll happen? Maybe we’ll go back to normal, or maybe these interesting interruptions are here to stay.