End of semester celebration tracks – staff picks

Songs perfect for celebrating the end of the semester

Wait for the sun to set and watch the bats dance across the sky in the fading twilight. Settle down on a warm summer eve to celebrate another finished semester. Even though the pandemic limits the ability to party, it’s always possible to listen to “Electric” by Boy Harsher in the comfort of home. From their recent album Country Girl Uncut, this beat thumps hard enough to wake the dead and piss off your neighbors. Also check out the music video online or consider getting entranced by the whole album.

-Trevor Leach

“I Forgot That You Existed,” the opening track from Taylor Swift’s most recent album, is by far the best way to say goodbye to the Spring 2020 semester. Considering everything that has happened over the past few months, although, it’s likely to say no one will forget this time, the song is still a great yet gentle middle finger to the first four and a half months of the new decade. One of Swift’s less aggressive pop songs (see “…Are You Ready For It?” for the other type), “Forgot” is a fun, danceable ballad punctuated by soft, cheery synthesizer, a super-easy-to-learn chorus, and all the happiness of leaving behind something bad that anyone could ask for. With lyrics like “I forgot that you existed / and I thought that it would kill me but it didn’t / it was so nice / so peaceful and quiet” it’s all but guaranteed that this one will have students singing away the painful memories of a truly difficult semester and embracing the semi-freedom of summer break (because everyone still needs to stay inside). One could even pretend this is exactly what Swift wrote the song about or just bluntly direct it at an ex. It works both ways.

-Alexander Elmore

The end of a school year is a grab bag of emotions. There is relief at the thought of being done with another set of classes and being that much closer to the ultimate goal of a degree. Yet there is also sadness at letting go of a routine. In years past David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” felt like a love letter to a life lost and now this year it has become a ballad that foreshadows a chilling cycle of events that echo real life. The B-side of the single when it was released was “The Man Who Sold the World,” that also deserves a place on any end of the semester playlist.

-Taelar Pollmann

What better way to celebrate the end of the semester with a bit of dancing? The 1975’s newest track off their upcoming fourth record, Notes On A Conditional Form, is the perfect song for that purpose. “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” is a flawlessly danceable track for anyone’s playlist that’s bound to make everyone feel like they’ve been transported to an 80s John Hughes film. The spunky guitar and lyrics mixed with a contagious beat make it a great track to get down and boogie to after taking the last final of the semester before heading into summer.