Songs that remind me of college...

So I haven’t made any drastic changes to the playlist on my mp3 player, and it’s been racking my brain lately as to why I never take certain songs off of it. And I finally figured it out: It’s because it reminds me of certain moments with my friends at UMD. So I decided to make a list of these songs and put the reasons why they stick out in my mind, in no chronological order:

The Boxer – Carbon Leaf

Fall 2003 - Spring 2005: This definitely reminds me of living in 2112 Somerset Hall with Erin and Jess because Jess was a really big fan of the Celtic band, Carbon Leaf and used to play it on my stereo in our triple every now and then. It was always their album from 2001 she played, and this was one of my favorite songs on that album. Jess and her Maryland Ultimate Frisbee teammates liked to play their music to put them in a good mood while traveling to their tournaments

Mortal Kombat – Techno Syndrome

Spring 2005: I had heard this song before this date when the movie came out a couple of years ago, but heard it for the first time in ages as we were driving back from our first road trip as initiates in Phi Sigma Pi. I remember Ben put it on as we came on the exit ramp for Route One off of I-95. Now every time it plays Brie gets pumped to fight someone. Honestly, how can that song not pump anyone to kick someone’s ass?

Hey Ya – Outkast

Fall 2003: This song probably reminds most people of freshman year if they graduated my year, but it reminds me in particular of my first Baltimore club outing sometime during that first semester with my roommate Jess, this girl named Ying who lived in our dorm, and my friend Lidia. This was during the time of Baltimore Club College nights which have since ceased to exist. We took that bus that leaves from the Maryland Book Exchange and ended up at this place that was called The Mint but I THINK is now called the Redwood Trust? The place was pretty dark and there were random women dancing on top of four stands surrounding the dance floor for some reason haha. Hey Ya was playing and somehow I ended up dancing with this incredibly drunk guy in a white cotton shirt. At one point he was pretty much just grabbing onto my arms and waving them around like windmills because he was THAT GONE. Also this was my first time in a club so I had not yet perfected the “Hey Help Get this Sketchy Guy Away from Me” signal yet that most girls create amongst themselves entering a club. Yeah on the bus ride back they were laughing at me about that guy for the rest of the night. But it was pretty funny.

The Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani

Spring 2007: This reminds me of the many fun Saturday night gatherings in Allegany Hall senior year. Whenever people came over the radio was on, sometimes until 3 or 4 a.m. My friend Sarah was usually asleep in her room when it was blasting and I still don’t know how she slept through it and if she was actually awake, how she didn’t kill us all. I also don’t know how the numerous individuals who’ve slept on the incredibly uncomfortable campus furniture or that ridiculously comfortable couch Caryn’s sister donated passed out through the noise. I forget whose boom box that was with all the stickers on it, but it was either that one or my stereo that was blasting one of the local radio stations, and I guarantee if it was 99.5 FM this song was playing every five minutes.

3x5 - John Mayer

Summer 2006: One of the many songs we heard while driving back from our first trip visiting Kim at her family’s beac—ahem—shore house in Stone Harbor on the Jersey Shore. We got stuck in crazy traffic in none other than the state of Delaware and also were blasting Disney songs in bumper-to-bumper traffic complete with interpretive dance to the music in the backseat. I am quite partial to the song because everyone knows I’m a picture freak but it also reminds me that every once in awhile I need to put the camera down and just enjoy the scenery.

The Cage – Travis

Summer 2007: The second trip to Kim’s shore house, and the guest list never stopped growing. First it started with me, Brie, Becky, Megan. Then it expanded to Tricia and Sara-Michele. Then Benyam and Erin surprised us with a visit. Then Shyv makes it down the day after ward and the group finally stopped growing with the arrival of Ryan before leaving for his internship in Florida. There was a good portion of this trip where we just laid out in the house and listened to music, and while sifting through Becky’s extensive music selection we found the Travis play list that included this song. But of course we had fun playing and lounging on the beach, were serenaded by Kim’s older brother and some people may or may have not been cockslapped…

Embers and Envelopes – Mae

Fall 2003: Whenever I hung out in Sara Ungerleider’s room freshman year in Somerset Hall she played this song, then she played it again, and again, and again haha. But I liked it and still do, so it’s all good. This also reminds me of her past (maybe still current?) obsessions with rapper Fabolous, love for Burberry purses and her great disdain for her high school soccer coach.

Shake - Ying Yang Twins feat. Pitbull

Fall 2006: The fall semester road trip to Raleigh, N.C. After the banquet there’s always a dance party and I’m pretty sure this is the first time I heard this song even though it had been out for ages apparently by that time. Now easily one of my favorite songs and I get super excited if I hear it anywhere, especially in Adams Morgan. This was also the first time I heard “Poppin’ My Collar” by Three Six Mafia, but that’s not on my playlist…well…at least not anymore, haha.

Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400

Fall 2003 – Spring 2007: Every Terps Men’s Basketball game I’ve ever been to with my older brother. And that’s a lot of them. I was recently reminded of the fun I had in Section 101 when I ran into a bunch of guys who used to sit in that section for every game who also just graduated. Turns out Lidia knew one of their good friends. We ran into them during a party in Potomac this summer with Lidia, Megan and her bf Jose, and I was having trouble remembering how I knew one guy until I asked "Hey, aren't you that guy who gets really mad at fans in the visitor's section and runs after them?" to which he responds yes. *sniff* I'm going to start crying in November when I realize I can't get inside Comcast Center anymore :-(

Sugar (Gimme Some) - Trick Daddy, feat. Ludacris

Spring 2005: I heard this for the first time at that sketchy bar we always go to somewhere in Laurel after the Alpha Mu inductions. I don’t even know what the name of the bar is anymore, we just all refer to it as the “sketchy bar.” Anyways, we come to this particular bar because there’s karaoke, but they always play regular songs in between setting up the music for the next singer. I remember that we barely knew each other and we were kind of overwhelmed but eventually we loosened up. I randomly began dancing to this song and I remember someone from the frat said “yay we got one of them [dancing].” They wouldn’t have any trouble getting the rest of us to dance at PSP events from that day on.

Nasty Little Thoughts – Stroke 9

Fall 2004: Stroke 9 was the opening act for Vertical Horizon when they played a concert at the 9:30 Club in D.C. when I went to see them with Jeff. Little did I know that Melanie Lidman from down the hall of my dorm is one of Stroke 9’s biggest fans who got instantly jealous when she learned I heard them play. To this day, Mel gives me crap about it cause she's still pissed her favorite band was playing that close to College Park and she didn't know about it.

Wake Me Up Before you Go Go – Wham!

Summer 2006: Ryan Wilby invited a bunch of us to his family’s beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware. We dancing to music, and this was one of the songs we sang while dancing like fools. Ben doesn’t pull out his video camera all the time, but he happened to bring it on this trip, but someone, I forget who, had it in their possession and while videotaping Megan’s “riding the wave of drunkenness” monologue you could see us in the doorway shouting out the lyrics.


I’m going to publish this and end up thinking of more, I just know it