Graphic by: Trinity Powell

The Metea Valley School year has, of course, started. We are all nearly a month into this nine month long and winding school year, and some of us might need a pick me up in the form of some jamming tunes. Well don’t you worry, I have you covered. Click the links attached to the title to hear the songs that’ll get you through the beginning of the school year.

Feet Don’t Fail Me Now – Queens of the Stone Age

Sometimes it’s nice to relieve some stress with some dance music. And what could be a better dance song than one made by a bunch of desert rock musicians that are usually known for their incredibly heavy sound and guitar theatrics.

Released on August 25, 2017, the album “Villains” marked a starch departure from the usually heavy affair of Queens of the Stone Age, as is saw them taking a dip into a poppier yet more experimental sound with the help of pop producer Mark Ronson. That new sound is best encapsulated with the opening track “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now.” From its dark, ambient, and thunderous beginning to the song’s incredibly groovy main riff, this song acts as the preamble for the dancey insanity you are about to face, and is by far my favorite song on the album.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel

For some students, this time of year marks a time of melancholy. Seasonal depression starts to hit, sleep deprivation is common, the new workload feels like too much, and by the end of the day you just want to crawl into bed and not come out until the end of the year. Well, for those that feel this way, this next track is for you.

“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” is the title track to Neutral Milk Hotel’s legendary sophomore album, which also happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time. This song covers themes of letting go, moving on, and like the rest of the album, Anne Frank. While by no means my favorite song on the album, which goes to the wonderfully epic “The King of Carrot Flowers” (which on the track listing is separated into two song but act holistically as one grand piece of music), the floatiness and light feeling of melancholy that exist throughout the song make it the perfect “I-had-a-rough-day-and-don’t-want-to-deal-with-the-world” song.

The Modern Age – The Strokes

This song has a little story to it. One of my good friends, who has graduated from Metea Valley, had kind of a rough time here at times. This was especially true during his sophomore year. But that year, he listened to one song every day while walking down the hallways at school. And that song was “The Modern Age.”

“The Modern Age” is the second song off the post-punk revival band The Strokes’ “Is This It?” The song features sharp syncopated guitar chords mixed with both a driving drumbeat and the raw vocals of Julian Casablancas, which helps push you toward the song’s climactic and uplifting chorus. It’s a song that is impossible not only to enjoy, but to feel moved and uplifted by, as if you’ve woken in up from a long sleep ready to face the day head on. In other words, it’s the perfect song to walk down a hallway to.

Fall Is Just Something That Grownups Invented – The Hives

However, sometimes you just need to get mad. I mean the system is just unfair. Why do you have to go to school everyday just to learn about things you don’t need to know and end up feeling bad if you can’t figure it out, can figure it out too easily, or just look funny in general. It just makes you all riled up in a very PG way.

Some of you may recognize this song as it was written for Cartoon Network to be used during fall promotions of the channel. It was later released on The Hives’ fourth album “The Black and White Album” as a bonus track in the UK and on the US iTunes version of the album. Despite the song’s odd origins, the swedish quintet still churned a banger tinged with their usual garage-punk stylings that also perfectly encapsulates the feelings every child in America has felt when the fun of summer ends and the boringness of school begins.

Teen Age Riot – Sonic Youth

You know what? Sometimes you don’t feel like dancing, or being sad, or walking down a hallway trying to feel good, or even yelling at the system like an elementary school kid. Sometimes you want to feel strong. To feel uplifted and powerful, like you could do anything in the world. This includes making it through school, asking your crush to homecoming at the last minute, or even starting a large and violent disturbance with other people under the age of twenty but older than the age of twelve.

“Teen Age Riot” is the first song off of “Daydream Nation,” the seminal album for underground superstars Sonic Youth. The song begins with a spacey opening with a lush chord progression paired with the quiet vocals of bassist Kim Gordon. Once that ends, you are pulled head first into the rest of the song, with its driving guitar work and angsty vocals supplied by guitarist Thurston Moore. And by the end of it all, you feel like you can take on the world. It is truly both one of Sonic Youth’s greatest songs, and one of the best songs to come out of the underground scene.