Welcome to the final Strawberry Skies Weekly Jams show of the fall 2021 semester! It's crazy to think that I'm about to go home for winter break tomorrow, but I couldn't be happier with the experience that I've had here at Quinnipiac so far. Today's show is dedicated to the friends I've made and the memories we've made together over the past few months here.
If you're reading this between 3:00 and 4:00 PM EST on Thursday, December 16th, you can listen live right now here. If you're not reading this during that timeframe, you can listen to what I played using this week's Spotify playlist here!
"IGOR'S THEME" - Tyler, The Creator
I decided to start out with this song this week because I have been obsessed with Tyler, The Creator's album "IGOR" for the past few days after my friend Connor played it for me. It's no surprise because the cover art is pink and I'm, well, pink, but listening to this record made me want to check out more of Tyler's stuff for sure. Just an absolutely flawless album.
"mirrorball" - Taylor Swift
This song is for my friend Ella who lives right around the corner from me in our building. We initially bonded over loving Taylor Swift, so it makes sense that when I asked her what song she wanted me to play for her, this was what she chose. Ella is one of the most energetic, passionate people that I know and she sets every room she walks into on fire (metaphorically). I can't wait to see what she accomplishes in the future.
"Cough Syrup" - Young the Giant
This song is for my roommate, Emily, who asked me to play the original version of the track and not our beloved "Glee" version of it, sadly. I'm an only child, so Em is the closest thing I have to a sister and I definitely cried like a baby when she had to leave this morning. I am so beyond grateful for her.
"We're Going To Be Friends" - The White Stripes
This next track is for Matt, who is probably my best friend here at QU and one of my best friends in the world. Matt and I met at orientation in June, talked all summer, and have been inseparable since we got ice cream together on our first night here. I don't know how I would have survived this semester without our daily snack breaks before First-Year Seminar and COM 120.
"The Story Of Us" - Taylor Swift
There is no shortage of Taylor Swift fans in my friend group, and this song off of her best album "Speak Now" (yes, I said it) is for my friend Lindsey. Lindsey and I started talking months before we stepped foot on campus, and he has remained one of my closest friends here during our first semester. I will never forget our table read of her baseball/softball romantic comedy in our storytelling class - we deserve Oscars for that one.
"Ghosting" - Mother Mother
This song is for my friend Grace, who is roommates with Ella and also lives right around the corner from me. Grace and I bonded almost instantly - I've called it platonic love at first sight. She will try anything once (including coming to a hardcore show at a VFW with me) and her positive attitude lifts all of us up.
"Wait a Minute!" - WILLOW
This next song is for my friend Julia Merolle, who you may remember from last week's show when she talked about her favorite Outkast songs on air with me. Merolle understands me in a way that no one else does, and I can truly talk to her about anything and everything. I'll miss our late-night bathroom dance parties while I'm home over break.
"Young And Beautiful" - Lana Del Rey
This song is for Julia Schnarr, who lives with Julia Merolle right down the hall from me. Their dorm has become the hub for all of our movie nights, pizza making, cookie decorating, video game playing, and more. I couldn't be more grateful to call their room one of my favorite places on campus.
"INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow)" - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow
This is a song that I will forever associate with my first semester of college. It was released a little over a month before move-in day and it was all Emily and I played on our speaker for the first few weeks. We sort of forgot about it for a few months, but I'll never forget blasting it on full volume in Merolle's car one Friday night in November on our way to get TGI Friday's for dinner. This was also the night that Schnarr tried broccoli for the first time, and we will never let her live it down.
"Suffer Through" - Movements
The first show that I went to after moving in at QU was Movements at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT. I somehow convinced Merolle to come with me, despite her only knowing me for a week, and she was the best possible concert buddy ever, taking videos of me crowd surfing and letting me sing every song to her. I'll save the story of how we got back to our building in the wee hours of the morning and how we ran after multiple university shuttles for another time.
"Lone Star" - The Front Bottoms
The second show that I went to this semester was The Front Bottoms at College Street Music Hall, also in New Haven, CT, but this time I dragged Grace along. We had the absolute time of our lives at this show, jumping around and singing to every song, and I even got Grace to crowd surf for the first time during "Twin SIze Mattress." I think this night was when I knew Grace would become really special to me.
"Seventeen Going Under" - Sam Fender
This isn't a song that I associate with a specific person or memory, but I've listened to it while walking to class nearly every morning this semester, so I felt like I had to play it. It evokes these feelings of nostalgia but also hope for the future, which is what the past few months have been about for me.
"Magic" - Coldplay
This is a song that I heard for the first time in January 2020, and I prayed that one day I would know people who made me feel the way that this song made me feel. I can finally say that I've accomplished that. This song is for all the friends that I've mentioned earlier, friends like Mikela, Saniya, Charlie, Ronnie, Kusmenko, the Jacks, Peyton, Mike, Taylor, Melina, Aidan, Maeve, Ryan, and anyone and everyone else who made this semester as amazing as it was. I can't wait to make more magic with you all.
What songs do you want to hear me play next week? Let me know by tweeting me at @JENSESSlON or the blog at @StrawbSkiesBlog! The blog can also be found on social media @StrawberrySkiesBlog on Instagram and Strawberry Skies Blog on Facebook.