Printer-friendly version

Send to a friend

This Issue 12/03/2009

• Less Than Fine
• Your Favorite Restaurants Are Celiac-Friendly
• Recipe of the Week: Gluten-Free Nutter Butter Blondies
• One Track Mind: 12.3.09

Math/Science: Trip Hop
A number of us at Penn agree: math and science can be scary. Come this finals season many will be joining the legions of students studying for a math or science exam, and it's nice to know that the antidote to their fears exists in trip hop. The music is characterized by a mellow versatility that provides the ideal background to problem sets. If you’re slipping into a chem-induced coma, try “Karmacoma,” a collaboration between pioneers Massive Attack and Tricky. If you’re making a cheat sheet, pop in Portishead’s classic album Dummy. The music is smooth enough not to distract, and it has more in common with those fact-based subjects than you might think: they’re all bizarre, beautiful messes.
— Elena Gooray

Organic Chemistry: The Wackness soundtrack
If a slew of heterocyclic compounds have got you down, the cure, we assure you, is smoothness. And the smoothest sound we know is some fresh, early '90s hip hop. So rock out to this gloriously slick collection of headnod-inducing rhymes, which will compel previously incomprehensible organic chains to rearrange themselves into a model of clarity. Rhymers like Biggie embody the appropriate amount of angst necessary for a problem set, while the Tribe carries you through with their healthy dose of nonchalance. And then, when you’re all done, Neil Young is there to sing you to sleep with “Out on the Weekend.”
— Joe Pinsker

English: Verbose Indie
If you're writing an English paper, your interests probably lie on the indie side of the musical spectrum — read: the cardigan-wearing, hyper-literate likes of The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Belle and Sebastian and Bright Eyes. You should also pay heed to the classic heroes: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Simon and Garfunkel. Their lyrically-rich songs are ideal inspirations for your lengthy papers. After all, who needs lame instrumentals when you have poetry?
— Daniel Felsenthal

History: (Real) Oldies
The back-breaking load of a primary source reading is often made easier if you put yourself in a historical mindset. That's why it helps to listen to some oldies — real oldies — to set the mood for your studying. Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Two Mandolins” is an extremely soothing piece that keeps you calm and focused as history's deadliest battles make your blood boil. And if you’re a rock 'n' roll purist, have no fear, for the Section Quartet has released multiple albums of rock songs played entirely on classical instruments. Noteworthy tracks include Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” Kiss’s “Detroit Rock City,” The Clash’s “London Calling” and Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker.” Let the music take you back in time, and tackle that reading with ease.
— Colette Bloom

Foreign Language: Post-Rock