It is the Georgetown Voice’s 50th anniversary week. To celebrate, the Halftime Leisure team got together to review our favorite Halftime posts. For our Tuesday Weekly List, we bring you some of our favorite Halftime playlists.
***
Anna: “The Weekly List: Happy Birthday Beyoncé” by Dajour Evans
When I came to my first Voice meeting earlier this school year, Dajour (then Halftime-Leisure editor) attempted to explain to us new writers what exactly a “Weekly List” was. She said something along the lines of: “It’s a list of songs that fall under a theme.” And then she mentioned that she had just written a Weekly List that was inspired by Beyoncé and her birthdays. Not even two seconds later, I was googling “The Voice, Weekly List” and found this glorious piece. Not only does Dajour pay homage to one of the greatest woman to ever walk this earth in this Weekly List, but the piece is the epitome of The Voice. After reading Dajour’s list, I knew that I was in the right place.
John: “The Weekly List: Pulling an All-Nighter” by Emily Jaster
Though I myself have never pulled an all-nighter in college, that doesn’t mean I don’t know how it feels to need a solid playlist to make it through some late-night homework grinds. Emily’s selection here is exactly what I find myself listening to whenever I need to keep my eyelids from drooping at one o’clock in the morning. Certainly my alt-rock side is satisfied here: we’ve got some Weezer, some twentyonepilots, and even two appearances by Panic! at the Disco. Yet, Emily also made a point to throw in some Beatles into the mix, a choice I found to be excellent. Of course, her selection of “A Hard Day’s Night” smacks with thematic relevance; the song after all is literally about the toil of working to the bone, and thus is quite fitting to the topic of the playlist. At the same time, I think the classic rock gives the selection some variety that makes it stick out in my mind. It’s a wonderful thing when John Lennon and Brendon Urie fit on the same playlist and nothing feels out of place. Now I just need to figure out how I reconcile all of that praise with Smash Mouth’s inclusion.
Sky: “The Weekly List: Your Best Georgetown Girl” by Claire Goldberg
I decided to write my first Weekly List and second-ever piece for the Voice after reading this. It’s so funny and also hits extremely close to home—from songs called “Club Culture” to “Drunk Text Romance,” Claire encapsulates the characteristics, struggles, and experiences of a typical Georgetown girl. Her commentary on how mumble rapped “Canada Goose” is bad, but still not as bad as actually owning a Canada Goose is sharp and witty. Her explanation for deciding to include (the extremely underrated) “Fucked My Way Up to the Top” by Lana del Rey because she finds it empowering, even though “Georgetown is more about nepotism than sexual favors” is definitely deserving of a few snaps. If you want to listen to some Frank Ocean and laugh about how everyone here is from New Jersey, this is the playlist for you.
Juliana: “The Weekly List: Georgetown Day” by Brynn Furey
I think this was the first Weekly List I ever edited, and I just remembered being so confused. As a freshman, I had no idea what Georgetown Day even was, much less why someone would want to make a playlist with “Mr. Brightside” repeated 10 times (and XO TOUR LIF3 once in the middle). It seemed odd then. Now, I realize it’s genius. From 8 AM darties to drunken lectures to crashing at midnight, Brynn walks you through everything you might experience or see on the Hilltop on this mad day. So read this before the last Friday of classes, learn where to go and what to do, prepare yourself for an overdose of “Mr. Brightside,” and you’ll thank Brynn later.