By MELANIE MAZZA
In the library, Oppenheimer Café or Diversions Café, Loggers are loyally plugged into their headphones. It is a well-known fact that our campus is a music-loving one, but did you ever wonder what kind of music everyone is really listening to? If so, this might give you an idea.
Senior Alli Cobb, working away in Oppenheimer on a sunny Friday afternoon, was listening to “Postcards from Hell” by the Wood Brothers, a bluegrass band made up of (you guessed it) brothers Chris and Oliver Wood. Their music is focused, like much bluegrass, on the upright bass and acoustic and electric guitars. Cobb says that a friend recommended the band to her, and that so far she was enjoying it.
Junior Pete Bergene was studying to the soundtrack of the film Secret life of Walter Mitty. He chose this music, he said, “because it was a good movie.” Listening to film scores and soundtracks gives a good opportunity to explore different genres and artists especially on music services such as Spotify, which Bergene was using, where you can listen to more music by the artists you like.
Another great music exploration service that Loggers are using is 8tracks.com, where you can search for playlists based on a multitude of themes. The homepage encourages you to “Enter any mood, genre, or activity” and senior Hannah Hawkins is an example of some true creative thinking. Hawkins was listening to “How Many Drinks” by Miguel, a single released off his album All I Want is You last March. This song makes for an excellent anthem for anyone trying to set the scene for a Friday night or apparently to study in the early afternoon, as Hawkins has proven. The song was new to Hawkins, who used took 8tracks’s demand seriously. “If you want to know, I found it by searching ‘90’s R&B Sex.’”
Another 8tracks user was led to “On Our Way” by the Royal Concept. The Royal Concept is a Swedish alternative rock band whose style varies from indie to pop. Junior Chelsea says that she doesn’t usually listen to this style of music, but that she was doing some exploring.
Senior Kevin Halasz, in the midst of some homework, was also going global and listening to Chilean-German electronic artist Ricardo Villalobos. Halasz says he found Villalobos through the recommendation of a friend, and that he likes it because it “helps him focus.”
Study music is always a sought-after commodity around the University of Puget Sound campus, so finding those artists that help you buckle down on homework is always helpful.
