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Arts | Music

What's the Mood?: Post-midterm moods

Congratulations, midterms season is over! Well, for me at least. If you’re still on the midterms grind, then sucks to suck I guess. Remember in "Risky Business" (1983) when Tom Cruise is doing his famous dance scene to Bob Seger in his parents’ living room? That’s how I’m feeling now that the crushing amount of work I had is slightly less crushing, and I’ve got all the freedom of having the house to myself for the weekend. So here are my favorite Joel Goodson-style dance songs to celebrate the passing of midterms:

  1. “Animal Spirits” by Vulfpeck
  2. “Toxic” by Britney Spears
  3. “Turn to Stone” by Electric Light Orchestra
  4. “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles
  5. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers
  6. “Check Yes, Juliet” by We The Kings
  7. “Cash Out” by Calvin Harris feat. ScHoolboy Q, PARTYNEXTDOOR and DRAM
  8. “still feel.” by half•alive
  9. “Waterloo” by ABBA
  10. “Love Drunk” by Boys Like Girls
  11. “Everything is Alright” by Motion City Soundtrack
  12. “Blitzkrieg Bop” by Ramones
  13. “Hip To Be Square” by Huey Lewis & The News
We’ve got some obvious classics, like “Toxic” (2003) and “Waterloo” (1974), which also happen to be great karaoke songs. We’ve got some ‘80s hits, such as “Walk Like an Egyptian” (1986) and “Hip To Be Square” (1986). And we’ve got some more modern songs, like “Cash Out” (2017) and “still feel.” (2019) — which I consider to be the 2019 song of the summer. But out of all these songs, I’ve got to give the biggest shoutout to “Animal Spirits” (2016) by Vulfpeck. Vulfpeck is a band from Ann Arbor, Mich., that might be described as “modern funk.” They’re the kind of band that just gets you into a groove and makes you want to bob your head around like a crazy person. Sometimes the lyrics of the songs get confusing, like at the end of “Animal Spirits”when the lead singer lists off random phrases, but once you figure out the words, you can’t help but belt them out. I’d also contend that the members are some of the best instrumentalists in music today. All of their songs are played on real instruments, as opposed to being digitally created, which is an amazing feat considering the complexity of their other songs like “Dean Town” (2016) or “Darwin Derby” (2018). Definitely check them out.

There’s also a side to this playlist that I’d consider “angsty music,” which I find is super fun to go wild to. There’s something to be said for letting it all out to “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976) or “Love Drunk” (2009), so much so that my workout playlist is just 100 angsty mid-2000s pop-punk songs I stole from my latently emo friend (sorry to expose you, if you’re reading this). However, the song that holds the dearest place in my heart is “Check Yes, Juliet” (2007) by We The Kings. I first heard it in elementary school when it was on my $10 fake Walgreens guitar that played a song when you “strummed” it. That song makes me feel like I’m nine years old again, jumping around on my bed with a fake guitar pretending I’m a rockstar, and not worrying about supply and demand.

Until next week, then, when I’ll continue to divulge more embarrassing stories about myself to the entire Tufts community.

Link: http://bit.ly/postmidtermsshmood

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