The holidays are just around the corner, and the festive spirit is on full display just about everywhere. Well, everywhere except college. A different season is on the horizon here — exam season. While the holidays are a time for cheer, exams can be quite rough, to put it lightly. As the rest of the world busily decorates and sips eggnog, students must buckle down and study. With the holidays seeming so close, yet so far away, you might not be ready to turn on Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey just yet. Here is a short study playlist I put together to lift your spirits and get you through the next few weeks.

1. “Scholarships” – Drake & Future
“Scholarships” is the perfect song to get you started on your studying. Drake and Future’s collaboration reminds you of how hard you’ve worked all semester and advises you to stay away from distractions. A good motivator, you’ll definitely want this on rotation.

2. “Chamber of Reflection” – Mac Demarco
This is a great study song, slow and dreamy. Mac Demarco, asks you to “spend some time alone” hitting the books. Make a Frost A Level cubicle your “Chamber of Reflection.” This peaceful song should let you crank out practice problems in a jiffy.

3. “Pick up the Phone” – Lupe Fiasco
After spending five hours in self-imposed solitary confinement, it may be time to pick up the phone. Take a break from studying, and call a friend.

4. “So Good at Being in Trouble” – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
OK, so by “take a break,” I didn’t mean “watch the whole ‘Stranger Things 2’ in one sitting.” You should probably get back to work. You might be panicking, but don’t worry; you’ve been in trouble before. You might even say you’re good at being in trouble. You work best in crunch time. This peaceful song should calm your nerves enough to get you back to studying.

5. “Dang!” – Mac Miller feat. Anderson Paak
Did “So Good at Being in Trouble” not quite calm you down? But it’s so smooth! Anyway, your heart rate is pretty amped up because it’s already 7 p.m. and you’ve barely started studying. Or maybe it’s those three cups of coffee you drank. Dang! We’ll never really know. Nothing to do now but to find a song to match your adrenaline levels. This up-tempo jazzy collaboration from Mac Miller and Anderson Paak is perfect!

6. “Buried Alive Interlude” – Drake feat. Kendrick Lamar
There’s just too much work to do. You really should start prioritizing now. Only bother with the important stuff.

7. “I Need Some Sleep” – Eels
“I need some sleep, I can’t go on like this.” At this point, it’s probably better to get a good night’s sleep instead of trying to cram in more vocab words. “You just got to let it go.” I mean, your brain will probably sort everything out for you by the morning. Right?

8. “Close Your Eyes” – The Bullitts feat. Jay Electronica & Lucy Liu
Even though it’s pretty late, you’re probably going to have trouble falling asleep. Equations and theorems float around in your head. You just need to close your eyes. Let Jay Electronica tell you how far you’ve come. You’ve got this! “Never let the seed of doubt deter you from your lofty aims … Close your eyes and dream big like Faith Evans.”

9. “Words I Don’t Remember” – How To Dress Well
Well, it’s exam day. Now you admit to yourself that maybe you should have put just a little more time in. It was kind of ridiculous that you thought you could get a whole semester’s worth of French vocab memorized in one night. That’s OK. It probably won’t be on the exam anyway. Let this soothing R&B get you in the zone for the exam.

10. “Mad” – Solange feat. Lil Wayne
That exam was kind of bonkers. There was material from the readings not discussed in class, and there was definitely not enough time for the two blue book essays. And, of course, there was that one person who finished 50 minutes early. Yep. They’re the worst. You’ve got the right to be mad. Exams aren’t everything though. Lil Wayne has a “mass account” and “didn’t wear a cap and gown,” so one bad exam can’t hurt you.

11. “Life Goes On” – Lil Yachty feat. Cook LaFlare
Life goes on. A bad exam is nothing to worry about. Yachty himself was once a “college kid lost just like everybody else.” You’ve made it through your exam. Forget about it, and enjoy break.

Check out the playlist online on The Amherst Student's Spotify account.