It’s a Friday afternoon, and as much as you want the week of work to be over, it seems there is always one more thing to be done. The best companion for any study session is a good soundtrack to bop along to. From the Green Bean to the stacks, The Occidental asked students to pull out their headphones and give us their favorite study tunes to compile a collective playlist of music choices. Whether you are writing comps, reading philosophy or working on a lab report — we’ve got you covered.
1. Sandy Pattison (senior), American Studies and Spanish
Task: Writing music charts. 12:42 pm.
Music: Japanese Denim by Daniel Caesar.
2. Zoe Alles (senior), Politics
Task: Writing methods section for comps. 12:44 pm.
Music: Untitled 02 by Kendrick Lamar.
3. Maggie Smart-McCabe (junior), Diplomacy & World Affairs
Task: Reading “Our Sea of Islands” by Epeli Hau’ofa for an independent study on climate and mobility in Oceania. 11:52 am.
Music: Switch Lanes by Simpson.
“It’s from a study playlist of music from all female artists,” Smart-McCabe said.
4. Ian Zunt (junior), Urban & Environmental Policy
Task: Making a bibliography. 2:00 pm.
Music: Lucky Strike by Troye Sivan.
5. Zander Graneth (junior), Sociology
Task: Statistics homework. 2:30 pm.
Music: 911/Mr. Lonely by Tyler the Creator.
6. Molly Davis (sophomore), Chemistry
Task: Biology lab report. 2:45 pm.
Music: Anything by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“I also have a classical music playlist I listen to when I study,” Davis said.
7. Sam O’Brien (junior), Biochemistry
Task: Biology lab report. 2:55 pm.
Music: Broken Horses – Santo Domingo Edit by Twin Shadow.
“I listen to a lot of lo-fi beats when I study,” Obrien said.
8. Spencer Whaley (junior), English
Task: Writing. 3:00 pm.
Music: Rising Water by Andrew Bird or the entire Echolocations album by Andrew Bird.
9. Gaby Verdolini (junior), Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture
Task: Writing. 3:00 pm.
Music: Ethio Invention no. 1 by Andrew Bird or the entire Pulaski at Night album by Andrew Bird.
“Andrew Bird is creative so it helps to get my creative juices flowing,” Verdolini said.
10. Evie Pope (sophomore), Politics
Task: Writing a paper. 3:05 pm.
Music: September Song by Agnes Obel or piano/classical music playlists on Spotify.
“I can’t have [music with] words, especially when I’m writing a paper,” Wasson said.
11. Erin Shin (first year), Diplomacy & World Affairs
Task: Reading for philosophy and economics. 3:11 pm.
Music: Blue Monday – 2016 Remastered Version by New Order.
“I like listening to the “Beats to Think To” playlist on Spotify if I am trying to go really ham on work. That, or house music,” Shin said.
12. Linda Hussein (first year), Economics
Task: CSP Essay. 3:18 pm.
Music: Smartwater by Summer Walker.
“It’s really chill and she has a great voice. It’s not an overplayed song, I don’t think a lot of people know about it,” Hussein said.
13. Andrew Henson (junior), Philosophy
Task: formal logic, math for philosophy equations. Reviewing and doing some practice problems. 4:00 pm.
Music: Hate That You Know Me by Bleachers.
“I can’t listen to music while I read, which philosophy is a lot of reading, but while I write or do other things the specific music depends. My playlist is called ‘Mixed Signals,'” Henson said.
14. Nicholas Fotopulos (junior), Media Arts & Culture
Task: Anything and everything. 4:05 pm.
Music: None.
“I don’t listen to music when I study, I get too focused on the music. Only if I’m pretending to study I put music on,” Fotopulos said.
