Staff Picks: November 2023

Juliana Lepore – Editor-in-Chief

My Spotify auto-curated playlists have still been dominating my music taste this month, and one song that it’s been pushing on me is “Love Lost” by Mac Miller. Whenever it comes on in my car, I’m immediately put into a more funky mood. Mac Miller is a good artist to get you feeling more upbeat, and his songs remind me of high school/my first year of college, which are some fun times to reminisce on. Overall, I just vibe to this song, and it’s a nice change from my usual taste of old boy band music.

Ronan Himelrick – Managing Editor

November has been a month of musical exploration for me. My “On Repeat” playlist on Spotify is a mess of synthwave, folk blues, psychedelic rock and modern rap, but one song that has stuck with me has been “No Excuses” by Alice in Chains. While I was familiar with some of AIC’s discography, mostly their hits such as “Rooster” and “Man in the Box,” a deep dive into the world of their unique sound led me to this song. The blend of grimy grunge textures with some lighter acoustic guitar and Layne Staley’s signature voice makes this song and the whole album “Jar of Flies” a new personal favorite of mine.

Casey Chan-Smutko – News Editor

For this month I’ve been listening to AJR’s newest album, “The Maybe Man.” From that album, my favorite song is “Steve’s Going to London.” This song is about nothing, according to Jack Met from AJR. There is no meaning behind it, which makes it a bop. It’s definitely worth a listen if you’re feeling bored and need an energy boost.

Lucas Masiello – News Editor

This month I’ve harkened back to 2010, perhaps one of the best years in musical history, to listen to B.o.B’s “B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray” album. I was obsessed with this album during the third grade when it came out – it was the very first album I downloaded to my iPod Nano and there was about two years where I could sing to every single song in the album by memory. This album features some throwback bangers, such as “Nothin’ on You (feat. Bruno Mars),” “Airplanes Pt. II (feat. Eminem & Hayley Williams of Paramore) and “Magic (feat. Rivers Cuomo),” that take you back to a far simpler time of flip phones, Cartoon Network and the Obama administration. I hadn’t listened to the album for about a decade before recently re-discovering “Nothin’ on You” earlier this month, but have now re-listened to it in entirety a few times and put some of my favorite songs onto my playlists.

Lauren Drapeau – Entertainment Editor

This month I’ve been revisiting some old favorites from 2020 and 2022. Both years opened my eyes to the extent of music’s ability to shape your overall surroundings, living as though your personal soundtrack sets the theme of each scene (cliché, I know.) This week, “It Never Rains in Southern California,” by Albert Hammond has been on repeat. I cannot quite explain my fixation on this song outside the fact that it brings me back to the soundtrack of “Euphoria.” I enjoy the harmonies and the minor chords, the message that reality seldom lives up to stereotypical expectations. It also makes me feel as though I exist in a pivotal moment of my film, so if you want to feel like a main character approaching an intense breakthrough, give this a listen.

Nathan Robillard – Sports Editor

Call me basic, but I recently started listening to Noah Kahan’s music this month, and one of my favorites is his song “New Perspective.” His music carries a super calming vibe that provides a necessary escape from the constantly-moving world of sports media and school that I find myself in, and sometimes listening to his music feels like my only chance to slow down and breathe once in a while. It’s super necessary, and helps me get through the day. I love it.

Alexa Potamianos – Newscast Editor

My pick this month goes to Miss Taylor Swift once again. The song that has been on loop this month is a bonus track off her album “Evermore,” called “Right Where You Left Me.” I cannot verbally explain the emotions that course through me while listening to this on repeat over and over. I have spent countless rides home blasting this song, screaming out the lyrics and crying along. After what I can only assume is over 100 listens, it still hits hard every time.

Molly Cronin – Business Manager

This past month has been a rollercoaster to say the least and the best song I can use to describe it is “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynryd. Beyond the song’s meaning, I love the way I feel when I’m driving around with the volume blasting and the guitar is just hitting. I also love that it is one of those songs that leaves space for you to think and feel and really resonate with the music. I value art that transports you, and for me, “Free Bird” is that. Being home for Thanksgiving and listening to this type of music with my family just reminds me how to enjoy parts of my life that are seemingly in the background and bring them to the foreground.

Aidan Cahill – Photo Editor

Over the last month, I dove back into music in a way which I hadn’t in a long time. As such, I finally got to sit down with a few albums, songs and genres which had been on my radar for a while, primarily shoegaze and lo-fi indie. Off of the album “The Glow, Pt. 2” by the Microphones, “The Moon” has been one of my most played songs this month. The lo-fi indie folk album explores a dynamic range of volumes and sonic densities, with “The Moon” being one of the more dense and energetic songs off the album. Being lo-fi, it plays with dissonance, fuzz and crunchy production in such a unique manner, which creates a wonderfully atmospheric and personal sound that is characteristic to the genre.

Jenny Arnold – Social Media Coordinator

I can’t stop listening to “Calling For You” by Drake, and I have no shame. I enjoy every song off of his new album “For All The Dogs,” but this one is my favorite. I don’t know what it is about it, but the song is the perfect combination of chill and rap. I also find the sound-bit halfway through the song a funny touch.

Nils Fimmers – Production Manager

With Thanksgiving over and the holiday season in full swing, I’ve been revisiting some of my old holiday favorites that seem to make the nostalgic Christmas feeling return. My favorite (by far) is Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental)” off of the Charlie Brown Christmas album; an album that has surpassed simple-movie soundtrack notoriety and moved into, in my opinion, one of the best Christmas albums (if not the best) of all time. As opposed to the vocal rendition following, the instrumental brings a jazzy calmness and warmness that suits any cold winter evening leading up to the holidays. For the sophisticated individual who believes a soft jazz track is the best holiday tune, I cannot recommend this listen enough.