Songs to Make You Feel Upbeat about Another School Year

Even for students who count down the hours to the new school year with giddy anticipation (you know who you are), September can still be a bit of a bummer. The days get shorter, your freedom gets curtailed, and you begin to reacquaint yourself with life's little inconveniences: tests, papers, presentations, cafeteria lunches, The Scarlet Letter.

With that in mind, we composed this little playlist to balance out the new school year blahs. If you feel no such blahs, think of the following as precautionary.

"The Sound of Settling"
Death Cab For Cutie

Never mind the wistful lyrics (Death Cab's stock-and-trade), we chose this one mainly for the uptempo beat. A good pick for those first few early mornings before first period. Try it back-to-back with similarly bouncy "Say Hello to the Angels" by Interpol.

"Another Brick in the Wall"
Pink Floyd

If you're the disaffected type or just not a fan of "dark sarcasm in the classroom," you can't go wrong by cranking this rebellious three-part epic by Pink Floyd. "We don't need no education." Hmm. Judging by that syntax, you do.

"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
R.E.M.

Another one that we could have picked purely for the breakneck tempo, it also contains a perfect chorus (consisting of just the title, sung over and over again) for when you're feeling melodramatic and optimistic at the same time. Not a bad mix of emotions for surviving high school.

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
Daft Punk

Sometimes you just need a euphoric electro-pop dance party to make everything seem just a little brighter—including the first month of a new school year. It's not possible to be in a bad space at the end of these three-and-a-half-minutes. Certainly not after watching this homemade video.

"Don't Stop Believing"
Journey

Sure it's a bit overplayed these days, but this early 80s hit induces mass singalongs. It's actually a very difficult song to sing well, but an easy one to sing badly (our preferred method). Good for those needing a cathartic release after the first few days of school. Or the first few chapters of The Scarlet Letter.

What songs are on your back-to-school playlist?