5 Songs To Get You Through Finals

We’ve all reached that point now; the pile of missed readings has stretched into something that more closely resembles a mountain; powerpoint slides of past lectures clutter our desktops and the library becomes a room to eat, drink, study, sleep, youtube, repeat. The stress, or perhaps more accurately, the familiar regret at not having paid better attention the first time around in discussion section, can be enough to warrant unhealthy amounts of caffeine intakes and a diet of vending machine snacks. However, once the initial panic disappears, the routine of studying for finals becomes comforting, a pattern of checking off to-do lists, exercise, cooking and note taking. There’s something fulfilling in reaching, albeit potentially minimal, clarity at the end of a course. Something liberating about walking out of each final, ticking them off one by one.

At the time when we are most often alone, most often operating on our own studying-based schedules, there is no greater need for a quality playlist. Enjoy these few tracks while you settle into your ziplocked granola and highlighters; the sounds of studying.

1) It’s cold out. You’ve been sitting next to this window long enough to see the sun begin and end its descent out of sight. Before you rush through the frost-covered sidewalks, spend the last final minutes of studying against this unfailingly reassuring song. Jose Gonzalez will help the deep, calming breaths do their job. Long live bouncy balls. Heartbeats

2) This one’s for the intermediary moments of studying. The flash-card making. The notebook organizing. The productive tasks that gracefully don’t require much deliberate effort or attention. Allow Solange’s repetitive and soothing vocals apply gentle massage-like pressure to your overworked synapses. If you’re at all a Solange skeptic, still wondering whether she’s talented or just Beyonce’s younger sister, I’m right with you. But this track should definitely help sway your allegiance onto team Solange. Groovetown: Stillness Is The Move

3) You’ve earned a break. Put the pen down. Close powerpoint or your coding software. Throw on some headphones, lean back and imagine the ultimate dance party in your kitchen. I want to sing dance eat exercise sleep work and drive to this song all at once. I want to take it everywhere and play it as I walk through empty hallways. If you need to stretch a little, upper-body chair dancing is perfectly allowed. You can even get a little weird with it. Who the heck are Wookie and Eliza Doolittle, you ask? No F’ing idea. Get hype: The Hype

4) Time to ease back into the grind. As you make minor seat adjustments to make sure your legs will last another hour in this same chair, let the relaxing vibes and perfect harmonizing of BenZel and Jessie Ware guide you back into focus. If this is the first time listening, throw this one on repeat. You won’t get bored for at least a half dozen plays, and the consistency will save you from other distracting tunes. If You Love Me

5) Finally, for the long haul. Sometimes you just have to buckle down, throw away the headphones and start memorizing. But we haven’t gotten there yet. Before you forego all ties to human contact and socializing, finish the playlist off with a lovely little acoustic jaunt that will make even Virgina Woolf’s writing more pleasurable. Xavier Rudd has it figured out. Messages

Best of luck y’all. Head down until the finish line.