Stephen Michaels, Piano Student "My brother introduces me to a lot of the music I listen to," says third grader Stephen Michaels. "He knows what I like." Truly a member of the digital generation, Stephen listens to songs more than complete albums and enjoys discovering new songs and videos on the Internet through video.google.com and youtube.com. A piano student at Bloomingdale, Stephen enjoys many different types of music from classical to popular, but his favorite style to listen to is rock. "But not hard rock, more the style of Green Day's rock. I also like to listen to rap." He has also recently begun humming jazz tunes that he's learned from listening to his brother Julian who is a guitar student at Bloomingdale. Stephen would recommend the selections below to other people his age. "I think kids or other people who enjoy a more immature kind of music would like listening to these albums—but not people who listen to adult music. I don't know what adults like to listen to!" Stephen's recommendations below are a unique combination of listening and include a bit of rock, a bit of rap, and even an animated frog! What's on Stephen's iPod/cd player? Artist: Crazy Frog Album: Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits Why you like this particular artist/album: Crazy Frog is a character who originated in Sweden and whose sound effects were later used as a Belgian phone company's ringtone. This album was released in 2005 and includes remixes of popular songs. "I like Crazy Frog because he's funny and remixes tunes I already know. He doesn't really sing, he sort of plays on the rhythm of the original song," says Stephen. Favorite track(s) on the album: "Axel F" Artist: Green Day Album: American Idiot Why you like this particular artist/album: When it was released in 2004 this was Green Day's first album in four years. At the time, one review in Entertainment Weekly called the album a "bold, polished punk opera." Stephen likes this album because "it has exactly the style of rock music I like to listen to." Favorite track(s) on the album: "American Idiot" Artist: Gorillaz Album: Demon Days Why you like this particular artist/album: This is the second album from the animated virtual band whose music Stephen describes as "a mix between rap and rock." Favorite track(s) on the album: "Feel Good Inc."