Blog's Midterm Study Playlist
Not your grandma's 10-Hour Lo-fi Anime Study Beats...
Edited by Sloane DiBari, with contributions from Zoe Stern, Rhys Hals, Edie Carey, Ebun Lawore, Charley Burns, Quince Hopkins, Kate McCaull, and Benjamin Rosielle
Midterms getting you down? Perhaps even killing you? Do you have three papers due on the same day and an Economics midterm for which you have to re-teach yourself all of the material (eye twitches)? Feel like repeatedly slamming your head into a wall after listening to two million consecutive hours of complete silence on Mudd 3, White Noise for Sleep and Studying 20 Hours, and/or Lo-fi Anime Study Beats?
Have no fear, Blogheads. We’ve got just the playlist for you. Here are some of our picks for study music that doesn’t suck.
after image – toe (and all of For Long Tomorrow)
Few vocals, fast paced and interesting enough to not get bored of but not the main focus of my mind when I listen so I can properly lock in. –Zoe Stern
Daydream Repeat – Four Tet
Weirdly dancey for something I listen to with the purpose of Locking the Fuck In, but surprisingly pretty great for getting really into researching a paper. With Four Tet, extracting quotes from journal articles feels just like a night at the club! –Sloane DiBari
Blue Rondo à la Turk – Dave Brubeck
Instrumental yet upbeat jazz to keep me focused and awake. The length of the song allows for longer bursts of quality work. Brubeck almost tricks me into enjoying myself! –Rhys Hals
Ma mère l’oye, M. 62: Tableau VI: le jardin féerique – Maurice Ravel
When I’m trying to lock in I usually settle for classical music, usually something by Maurice Ravel. Very calming and a lot of his pieces feel like summer to me, so it helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel. –Edie Carey
Dragonfly – Dana and Alden
I really like listening to jazz when I study and the horns in this song makes me feel like I’m flying in the air at the speed of light and then I blink and all of my homework is done. –Ebun Lawore
Country Livin’ (The World I Know) – Esthero
Literally just the most gorgeous trip-hop beats you have ever heard with ethereal lil vocal moments. Think Portishead but flowier. Perfect for a grind sesh. –Charley Burns
Tardigrade Song – Cosmo Sheldrake
It feels like it’s instrumental because the lyrics are just total nonsense. Ambient sound for people who need their ambient sound to be more music than sound. –Quince Hopkins
Lazy Calm – Cocteau Twins (and all of Victorialand)
I can’t listen to songs with many lyrics while studying or I’ll get too distracted, so I just put on Victorialand and let the music seep into my subconscious while I focus on work or whatever it is that’s in front of me. –Kate McCaull
Discreet Music - Brian Eno
Even if Eno is the most basic pick possible for study music, this is my go-to study song and my favorite of his ambient works. I like to keep the volume as low as possible and let the minimal, slowly shifting synth patterns slip in and out of audibility. –Benjamin Rosielle