Letter From the Editor: Closing Out the Year

For my last print editorial of the semester – and of 2024 – I’d like to sum up the semester in a more creative way than just paragraphs of my thoughts. So, I’ve collected some songs that have shaped my semester in some way, or that I’ve just been listening to a lot in the last few weeks. Enjoy and feel free to add to the list. 

• “Good Kid” – Kendrick Lamar
  • Even 12 years later, this song is mesmerizing and sickening at the same time: “Grown-up candy for pain, can we live in a sane society?/It’s entirely stressful upon my brain/You hired me as a victim, I quietly hope for change.”   
• “My Life Would Suck Without You” – Kelly Clarkson
  • What an underrated getting ready song. It brings me back to my preteen years of carefully choosing which songs to pay $1.29 for on iTunes with my gift cards at Christmas. 
• “All My Little Words” – The Magnetic Fields
  • I have to shout out my esteemed friend Tahseen for putting me and my roommate Antonia onto this song. The first night we heard it was a depressing, lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling kind of night, and we haven’t been able to stop playing it since. Put this on when you’re yearning for something you can’t quite put your finger on. 
• “Survive” ft. Chloe – Childish Gambino
  • My mood will always be lifted by this song no matter what; the only detail that brings me down is that this is such a summer song. I can feel the warm night air on my face when Childish Gambino starts up (or maybe because it’s 60 degrees in November). 
• “We’re Alright” – WonderBag
  • WonderBag conveys such a dreamy, warm feeling in this song. It’s also a point of pride for me since it was one of the first songs this semester that I was able to figure out how to play on the piano completely by ear. 
• “Alley Rose” – Conan Gray
  • If you haven’t listened to this album from Conan, you need to stop what you’re doing and queue it up right now – especially if you’re a fan of 80s music. This track is less 80s pop than “Lonely Dancers” or “Killing Me,” and more of a knife to the heart. 
• “One Of Your Girls” – Troye Sivan
  • Maybe this one is super basic but I don’t care. My best friend Lilly and I watched this music video about 50 times in a row this summer and I could truly watch it 50 more times right now. Ms. Sivan is one of the hottest women I’ve ever seen in my life, which balances out the deeply traumatic lyrics. 
• “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult
  • This song saw a revival in my playlists after I watched “Scream” for the first time ever on Halloween. Now I think of both the SNL skit and the incredibly hot 1996 Billy Loomis, which is an interesting combination. 
• “I Hope It’s Cold In New York” – The Wrecks
  • If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like for male singers to convey female rage, this is the song for you. This track is for when you’re finally free of that guy you have a complicated relationship with and you just don’t care anymore. I highly recommend blasting it in the car with the windows down. 
• “Golden Age” – Ethel Cain
  • Quite possibly my favorite Ethel song. Especially in the fall as I prepare to “grow up” in a few months, “Golden Age” knows exactly how to get me where it hurts. It’s a painfully beautiful cry about running out of time in your female youth. 
• “Northern Downpour” – Panic! At The Disco
  • I’m officially coming out as a longtime Panic fan – judge me all you want, but listen to this song before you do. As my best friend says, this is one of the greatest second verses of all time: “I missed your skin when you were east/You clicked your heels and wished for me.” GOD!
• “Share the Land” – The Guess Who
  • This song has been on my “Revolution” playlist for quite a while, and it never grows old to my ears. I’m a huge fan of 70s rock and the idea of living together on shared property. 
• “Once in a Lifetime” – One Direction
  • I couldn’t make this playlist without including a One Direction song – my 13 year old self would be horrified if I didn’t. After Liam’s death, I found myself listening to their album “Four” the most, and this track is so incredibly underappreciated and beautiful. 
• “Shook Ones, Pt. II” – Mobb Deep
  • You can’t tell me that the Herbie Hancock sample isn’t an addicting beat. (Yes, I did have to look that up.) I’m a huge fan of rap songs using funky melodies, and it’s an especially hard-hitting sample underneath gritty self reflection on gang violence: “Sometimes, I wonder, do I deserve to live?/Or am I gonna burn in hell for all the things I did?”
• “Tell Him” – Lauryn Hill
  • Her voice, especially in this song, really does make me want to tell him I need him. For all four minutes and 41 seconds, I’m filled with a warm soupy compassion and the strong desire for a hug. This song got me through many heatless nights. 
• “The Morning” – The Weeknd
  • I kind of have to include this song because it’s my alarm song. Get it? But seriously, if you play this around me I will have a visceral reaction (it’s still better than the Radar alarm sound, if my roommate is reading this…). 

Give some of these a listen and tell me what you think. Thank you to our editors and writers on the Tripod for a great semester, and most importantly, to our readers and community. See you next year!

– OPS