Finals week is nearly upon us! Whether you’re at home or on campus for winter stay, the pressure is real. Many people rely on music to get them through their study sessions. To help you through the upcoming trials and tribulations , I have compiled some playlist ideas, separated by field of study. If you’re looking for new tunes to bop to as you struggle through that paper, feel free to check these out!
Anything art-related: Some pump-up tunes for finishing up that piece, and songs with a lot of variety for inspiration.
Recommended songs:
- “Are You What You Want to Be?” by Foster The People
- “Escape” by Jack Cunningham
- “With the Love in My Heart” by Jacob Collier
Film and Digital Media Studies: Conan Gray, Michael Giacchino’s entire film scoring discography for motivational purposes, and the theme from “Kill Bill” to help rev up that second wind at 2 a.m.
Recommended songs:
- “Comfort Crown” by Conan Gray
- “The Glory Days” by Michael Giacchino
- “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” by HOTEl
Music majors: White/ambient noise or meditation music to take a break from everything you’ve listened to for class. (Theater majors: utilize this playlist to aid in the process of going method in between the many audition songs you may have on constant repeat.)
Recommended songs:
- “Chihiro” by Cha Se-Eun
- “Distant Stars” by Matt Tondut
- “Honeyed Words” by Anna Meredith
Anything in the Modern Languages and Cultures department and Comparative Literature: A mix of songs in various languages. Put in some songs in a language you don’t study so that you can zone out to the music while you work.
Recommended songs:
- “And July” by HEIZE, DEAN, and DJ Friz
- “Não Faz Sentido” by MARO
- “tous les mêmes” by Stromae
Linguistics: If you’re not binging the Lingthusiasm podcast (available on Spotify and iTunes), some classical music might be a nice change of pace from all the word-related content you’re grinding through.
Recommended songs:
- “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” by Saint-Saëns
- “The Lark Ascending” by Ralph Vaughan Williams
- “Syncopation” by Fritz Kreisler
ASL: Rap music for the beats, songs for screaming along to when you screw up your GoReact assignment for the fifth consecutive time, and solely instrumental tracks to help you focus.
Recommended songs:
- “All Falls Down” by Kanye West
- “Where’s My Juul” by Lil’ Mariko
- “Haze” by Shubh Saran
Engineering and anything to do with comp Sci: Rock bands like Queen for motivation, metal for getting through the frustration of coding issues, and some funny bops to help remind you that the grind can, in fact, stop.
Recommended songs:
- “We Are the Champions” by Queen
- “Perihelion” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
- “Mambo Jambo” by Scatman John
International Relations and Political Science: Songs and artists that sparked discourse that also have enough energy to carry you through your research.
Recommended songs:
- “Paper Planes” by M.I.A,
- “Morning in America” by Jon Bellion
- “Concrete” by Poppy
English, Philosophy, and History: Chill lo-fi beats so you can focus on writing, and some pump-up jams for powering through that paper.
Recommended songs:
- “Infinite Sustain” by Amaranth Cove
- “Small Things” by softy
- “we’ve never met but, can we have a cup of coffee or something” by In Love With a Ghost
Gender and Women’s Studies: Breakout songs from “alt TikTok,” alongside some popular hits to sing along to while you dismantle the patriarchy.
Recommended songs:
- “Space Girl” by Francis Forever
- “Stupid” by Ashnikko (ft. Yung Baby Tate)
- “Ribs” by Lorde
- “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse
Psychology, Neuroscience, and BCS: Songs for acknowledging your amygdala and getting in your feels, and some chill tunes to turn off your brain.
Recommended songs:
- “Francis Forever” by Mitski
- “Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus
- “Confessions” by TJ Viola
Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics: A mix of pop music from the early-to-mid-2010s to go completely “head empty, no thoughts” to, punk music for getting angry at problem sets, and math rock (the connection was too hard to resist).
Recommended songs:
- “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees
- “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” by Ramones
- “loqto” by 107.5
- “Return to Me” by The Reign of Kindo
Anything Bio, Chem, or Environmental anything-related: Fast tracks to accompany all that entropy and fun rock songs to cool down the reaction you might be having to needing to get all of your assignments done, interspersed between the best AsapSCIENCE tracks.
Recommended songs:
- “Hey Ya!” by Outkast
- “I Am a Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel
- “Cherry-Coloured Funk” by Cocteau Twins
- “The New Periodic Table Song” by AsapSCIENCE
Business and Economics: Daniel Caesar for chilling out after a big assignment, tunes to keep you focused on supply and demand curves, and some classic bops to remind you that life is more than just what the numbers tell you.
Recommended songs:
- “Japanese Denim” by Daniel Caesar
- “Nemesis” by Benjamin Clementine
- “Reelin’ In the Years” by Steely Dan
