If you’ve ever taken a U.S. History class with Mr Van Nuys, you know there is never a day you walk into class without hearing a new tune. Let’s take a look at some of the songs he holds closest to his heart.
What’s a song that defines your high school years?
“There are two songs by the Violent Femmes from their first album: ‘Blister In The Sun’ or ‘Add It Up.’ I think it came out my freshman year, and it’s pre grunge and it’s pretty cool.”
What’s a song that made you fall in love with music?
“It would probably be the Beatles, so probably the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I had older siblings and they had a ton of Beatles albums. I would listen (to them) on vinyls in our basement.”
What’s a song that brings back a specific memory?
“The Talking Heads came out with an album when I was in high school. It was a live album (called) Stop Making Sense I just remember being at, not a party, but a bunch of us were just listening. I was watching the video, they made a video of the album and it was just really great live footage. I think it was my senior year and I just remember that album and that video.”
What’s a song that changed the way you think about the world?
“Bob Marley, his album (about) War, they’re kinda protest songs. My senior year in high school, for a project, I remember we could have analyzed a film or an album. I did Bob Marley’s album (about) War, which had a lot of protest songs. When you got into the lyrics, they really gave you a lot of perspective about the third world and injustice. That was really a good album.”
What’s a song that helped you through a tough time?
“Jerry Garcia has a song called ‘The Wheel.’ It’s now a Grateful Dead song, but it was his song. It’s just about life and how you really can’t be prepared for it. There’s good stuff and bad stuff but it’s just like a wheel, it just keeps going, and you just kind of have to deal with it. I just, at a tough time in my life, looked at those lyrics.”
What’s a song that perfectly captures your personality?
“Elvis Costello’s ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.’”
What’s your favorite song right now?
“I’ve been listening to a lot of Elvis Costello’s third album, Get Happy, which is a lot of really really fast (music). I saw Elvis Costello in October in the Chicago Theater, and he played the greatest hits of his first four or five albums. Those were the albums I really got into early in high school, so just that album, they’re really his short top songs, but if you listen he’s a really talented artist.”
What song would you play as your walk up song?
“Off the top of my head I’d have to say Beastie Boys ‘Sure Shot.’ That’s my walk up song.”
Nothing rivals Mr Van Nuys love for history like music. Next time you’re on the third floor be sure to listen out for some of his favorite songs.
