What Mac songs were your favorites to listen to during the summer?

As Macalester enters the fall semester, it brings with it a community full of music students, WMCN DJs, and indie music connoisseurs, Mac Weekly we wanted to follow the students’ break by asking for their songs from the summer. We surveyed the students using a Google form and received 50 responses, including the students’ songs and the reasons for their selection.

Our data showed both overlap and contrast between grade years, genres, artists, and themes behind the music. The most songs were submitted by the younger graders, making up 40.8% of responses, while the youngest first graders submitted the fewest, totaling 10.2%.

Artists and musical genres include everything from pop and country, rock to pop music, and even traditional folk music from Peru!

While some reasons for song selection cited the time of year, whether it “says summer” as Gavin Davis ’26 says of Zach Bryan’s “Sandpaper (feat. Bruce Springsteen)” or “just has summer energy” as Jasalynn Quintanilla ’25 says of DPR IAN’s “Ballroom Extravaganza,” most responses fell into three categories: work/driving, important memories, and recent releases.

Several students reflected on their years spent commuting by describing their song choices. Megan Twomey ’25 details how Sophie Tucker’s “Purple Hat” made both the commute and the workday more enjoyable.

“It got us going as we drove to work early in the morning and celebrated the end of the workday on the way home,” Twomey wrote. “It also got me through the tough hikes during the workday.”

Colette Lawler ’27* also shares how the book “She’s a Jar” by Wilco helped her land an internship.

“I often listened to this on repeat while doing simple tasks and it made them so much better. I made a bet with myself that I would listen to 150 albums this summer (which I did!!!) and this song/album really stuck with me for some reason.”

But the students had more reasons to drive than just work. Elliot Pearson ’27 recalls how General Degree’s “Pianist” helped him survive his cross-country road trip: “It came from a CD I got on an adventure in rural Texas, and it was the soundtrack to many adventures.”

Santiago Cotera ’27 often went on night drives during the summer, a common theme in the responses, and described why “Madeline” by Yo La Tengo was the perfect soundtrack for the drive.

“It’s a very night song to listen to… Hanging out with friends, traveling, doing different things, just driving around for fun, all of that happened late at night and it was the perfect song to play.”

Beyond driving, many students’ choices represented a major milestone in their lives, such as committing to a partner or spending their first summer away from home.

“(It) captures how I felt this summer, deciding to fully trust and commit to a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend while we both study abroad in different countries,” Sophia Phillips ’26 says of Clairo’s “Nomad.” “Any heartbreak that would have happened would have been worth the relationship we have now.”

“This is kind of my first summer away from home and what that means for my responsibilities and my freedom,” says Gavin Davis ’26 of Zach Bryan’s “Sandpaper (feat. Bruce Springsteen).”

No matter the occasion, Mac students find a common theme in making memories with and leaning on their friends. Aidan Reynolds ’25 reflects on his senior year in The Muppets’ “Movin’ Right Along”: “As I approach my senior year at Mac, I turn to Kermit and Fozzie for their sage advice… Thanks to Ally Hurd (’24) for being the Fozzie to my Kermit and vice versa!”

In addition to friendship, Mac students had several special experiences during the summer, reminiscing about their holiday songs and sharing memories related to those songs.

“I got to go to an Orville Peck concert with all my favorite people—my girlfriend, my best friends, my sisters,” recalls Zoe Frank ’25, whose song of the summer was Orville Peck’s “Blush.” “At his concerts, Orville Peck brings a bouquet of roses and gives them out to people he likes, and we were having such a blast to that song that he noticed us!

We came home with a few roses.” Similarly, several songs have accompanied Mac students on their journeys around the world. Georgia Gayle Kretz ’25 recalled her time abroad with Chappell Roan as the soundtrack of summer: “I listened to this on repeat on a train ride through the Moroccan countryside. It was about 85°F and windy, and Chappell Roan really is the star of summer.”

The summer of 2024 has seen the release of several high-profile songs and the rise of pop icons like Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter’s fan base continues to grow as she announces a tour in support of her August album, Short n’ Sweet, which features hits like “Espresso” and the recently released “Taste.” Carpenter fan Skye Raymond ’28 spoke with Mac Weekly on choosing the song of the summer, “Please Please Please,” from Carpenter’s new album.

“This song needs no explanation. I was absolutely obsessed with the song and video when it first came out,” Raymond said. “I had it on loop non-stop while I went about my daily life.”

While Carpenter has made waves in the music industry this summer, all eyes have been on Chappell Roan, who recently won Best New Artist at the 2024 VMA Awards. Her song “HOT TO GO!” was one of the few repeats mentioned by many Macalester students, trailing only Charli XCX, whose “brother.” has taken the music world by storm this summer. “365,” “Apple,” and “Guess” were all mentioned in the poll, with Billie Eilish’s performance on the latter highlighting the musician’s incredibly successful summer. Her song “Birds of a Feather” topped the charts, and the album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the upcoming Grammys.

A link to a shared playlist of all the summer songs can be scanned using the QR code in this article. As Macalester looks to the future, and radio shows, on-campus concerts, and choir/band rehearsals begin, student tastes are sure to change with the seasons, and Mac Weekly We can’t wait to see how they welcome fall!

*Colette Lawler is a web editor Mac Weekly

• (email protected)

• (email protected)