This school year is off to a strange start, to say the least. With a full week of Zoom University completed, the reality of our collective circumstance has set in. Could be worse. Wish it was better. Want a good pick me up? Take a listen to these back to school songs brought to you by the freshman in my Sound Listening Ignatius Seminar.
1. Starship – “We Built This City”
Going back to school in the middle of a pandemic can be a drag. A lot of our time is spent staring at a computer screen listening to our professors’ voices cut in and out over zoom. It’s important to get away from the screen and take some time to really vibe out. I can’t think of a better song than “We Built This City”. The uplifting beats and overall high energy allow for a superb brain break from all those zoom classes.
-Sam Tollison
2. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
I thought this song was fitting for 2020 in general. Even when things are going terribly wrong, you just have to shrug it off, fake it till you make it, and find the moments that feel like absolute, pure gold.
– Mioko Ueshima
3. Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Waiting In Vain”
The chill vibe that reggae gives off can improve any mood and the lyrics in this song apply to our current situation as we wait to return to campus.
-Dexter King
4. Calle 13 – “Atrévete-Te-Te”
This 2000’s reggaetón is my anthem right now. The good rhythm and iconic melody always hypes me up.
-Carlos Rueda
5. Surfaces – “Sunday Best”
This song is all about making each day the best it can be and staying optimistic despite the challenges or failures we face.
-Avery Kaye
6. Samia – “Big Wheel”
Although I’m not a freshman anymore, I think that “Big Wheel” encapsulates how I’ve felt coming into this academic year: bummed, but cautiously optimistic. I hope that this song about non-confrontation and shrugging off feelings can hold some of you over until we’re back on the hilltop hanging out with the rats once more.
-Maya Cassady
