Awesome Study Break Songs

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Oct 31, 2006

Need some songs for study breaks to help you relax and study more effectively? To offer you suggestions for great songs to blare in your room or on your iPod, I asked my students to suggest some of their favorite study break songs. Also, check out my suggestions for other healthy procrastination habits, including mindless television, awesome novels, funny movies , and study snacks.

My students can probably offer much better advice to you Generation Y students about music than I can! But in case I can be of use to you as well, here's a list of the music I loved to listen to when I was a student.

• Fleetwood Mac-- I drove everyone in my dorm crazy with my Fleetwood Mac craze. I listened to Rumours over and over (The Chain, Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Gold Dust Woman).
• Elton John-- My roommate Michele was largely responsible for this. My favorite loud Elton John study songs were I'm Still Standing, Love Lies Beeding, I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
• REM-- I discovered REM in college, and now they're my favorite band. As an undergrad, I listened to Out of Time (Losing My Religion, Texarkana, Me in Honey) and Reckoning (South Central Rain, Rockville). In grad school, I listened to Monster (Bang and Blame, What's the Frequency, Kenneth?) and Up (Walk Unafraid, Lotus, Diminished, Sad Professor).
• Billy Joel-- My history class friend Eric and I memorized the words of the last verse of We Didn't Start the Fire. (Yeah, I was a total geek.) I also loved The Stranger, Moving Out, and My Life.
• Cocteau Twins--This was from my annoying quasi-goth alternative music phase. If you haven't heard them, this music is mellow and gothy and has mostly inaudible lyrics, so it's great study music. My favorite albums were Heaven Or Las Vegas and Blue Bell Knoll.
• Nirvana-- A mandatory choice for an angsty Generation X type like myself. Great loud Nirvana study break music includes Heart Shaped Box, About a Girl, Pennyroyal Tea, and of course Smells Like Teen Spirit.
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young-- Great college music for all generations. They offer mellow study music (Teach Your Children, Wasted on the Way, Guinevere) and good loud study break music (Ohio, Woodstock).
• Peter Gabriel-- Peter Gabriel music reminds me so much of Demarest Hall, especially my friends Andrew and Seth. My favorite songs are I Have the Touch and Games Without Frontiers.
• Concrete Blonde-- One of my graduate school favorites for rockin' study break music. My favorite albums were Mexican Moon (Heal it Up, I Call It Love, Jenny I Read) and Bloodletting (Darkening of the Light, Joey).

But seriously, check out my students' suggestions for great study break songs, and please leave some suggestions of your own!