There are many times when I really feel my age - but this last weekend, I really felt it on account of taking my daughter to look at her first few prospective universities. It's a long time since I trod that path (there'll be a playlist on that very soon) and I can only vaguely remember what a big step this time can be
And never one to let a tenuous link pass me by, I thought I would dig up ten songs for you, that all have (often fairly loose) links to going to college or university. Here is your Going To College playlist, with quite a few different styles and tempos for you to get stuck into. As ever, hopefully something for everyone.....
1. Blink-182: Going Away To College
Let's start with something nice and lively! This one was primarily written by Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus, for their 1999 album Enema Of The State. It explores lovesickness and heartbreak through the eyes of an adolescent boyfriend, as everyone graduates high school and goes their separate ways to university. Although, like much of their work, there is probably an autobiographical element, this one was also inspired by the 1998 teen comedy film, Can't Hardly Wait.
Blink-182: Going Away To College (Live at Big Day Out, Sydney, 2000)
2. Beyonce: Schoolin' Life
Okay, I am on tenuous ground already, as this one isn't strictly about college - but it is an upbeat R&B track, and it's Beyonce! There is a distinct 80s feel to it, with many noting its strong Prince vibes. The songs finds Beyonce passing on the life lessons she has learned to people of all ages.
Beyonce: Schoolin' Life (Live in Atlantic City)
3. Steely Dan: My Old School
Now this one definitely has a strong college connection. This was the second single from 1973s Countdown To Ecstasy, and it tells of a drugs bust at Baird College in Dutchess County, New York. Steely Dan founders, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were both students at the college, where a female student sold a bunch of students out to none other than G Gordon Liddy (later of the FBI, and who would be convicted of wiretapping etc. as part of the Watergate scandal) the local assistant District Attorney at the time. This led to 44 students being arrested (around 10% of the college's enrolment at the time). Fagen was among those arrested, and suffered the ignominy of having his long hair cut off while in Poughkeepsie jail.
Steely Dan: My Old School (Live on The Midnight Special, 1973)
4. Townes Van Zandt: Fraternity Blues
Looking at Townes Van Zandt's life story, I definitely see a future feature - very interesting and way more than I will go into here. While fellow country troubadours Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard brought his work to wider attention when they covered Pancho And Lefty in the early 80s, the travelling barroom singer has been an influence on many across the years; including Lyle Lovett, Norah Jones, Steve Earle, Counting Crows and Jason Isbell. This song was recorded as part of his Live At The Old Quarter (Houston) set from 1973, although the album was not released until 1977.
Townes Van Zandt: Fraternity Blues (Live audio only)
5. Throwing Muses: University
With this being a more genteel instrumental track, I wasn't sure where to add it in - so it is right in the middle. It is the title track from the bands sixth, and last, major label album - they were dropped by Sire for low sales, despite the album reaching UK number ten, and containing the relative hit single Bright Yellow Gun. Although the album was recorded in 1993 and early 94, it wasn't released until early 1995, because in the meantime Ivo Watts-Russell (founder of 4AD) persuaded Kristin Hersh to release her debut solo album first (Hips & Makers - 1994).
Throwing Muses: University (Audio only)
6. The Specials: Rat Race
Always nice to have a reason to add The Specials into a playlist. Rat Race was having a go at over-privileged students whose parents ensure they land on their feet no matter how they do, while ordinary kids have nothing to look forward to. Me Wan' Fi Go Rave by Jamacian-British dub poet Linten Kwesi Johnson was used as a starting point for the tune, with Jerry Dammers adding a piano part apparently inspired by a John Barry piece from The Ipcress File soundtrack. And for another link to the playlist subject, the video for the song was shot in Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University), where Dammers and Horace Panter had both studied.
The Specials: Rat Race (Official video)
7. Third Eye Blind: Graduate
Third Eye Blind are a San Francisco rock band, formed in 1993. Although having a university theme to the title, this song from their eponymously titled 1997 debut album is more about the band's struggle to get signed. Frontman Stephen Jenkins explained, "Graduate is about after we got signed, and it's the process of getting signed. I'm still standing in front of some suit at a record company asking permission. I felt like some kind of lap-dancer, some student again, like I was still in high school. Can I get my grade on my paper? What it's really saying is "I'm not really asking if I can graduate. I'm not asking for your permission. I'm beyond your permission. I'm beyond your control."
Third Eye Blind: Graduate (Official music video)
8. Vampire Weekend: Campus
This one is from their debut album, Vampire Weekend, and was produced (like all of their first three records) by the band's own Rostam Batmanglij. The album was apparently considered by some to be very similar to Paul Simon's Graceland, although Simon himself dismissed that particular idea as nonsense. The album cover is a photo of a chandelier in St Anthony Hall at Columbia University (a semi-secret society).
Vampire Weekend: Campus (Live at Reading Festival, 2008)
9. Nada Surf: Popular
Another slightly tenuous effort, interesting because it is quite different to much of their subsequent output, and with an odd lyrical reference point. The song is more generally aimed at teenagers, so I am going to say it could be about high school (where the video was shot) or perhaps about college kids. The song consists of frontman Matthew Caws sarcastically delivering verses in spoken word, that are made up of advice from Penny's Guide To Teenage Charm And Popularity by American actress of the 1950/60s, Gloria Winters.
Nada Surf: Popular (Official music video)
10. Pixies: UMASS
Charles Thompson IV (who would become Black Francis - and Frank Black) met Joey Santiago at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, but they dropped out to form Pixies. Santiago recalled that the riff for this song was written while they were still studying there. Trompe Le Monde (1991) was the last album before they split, somewhat acrimoniously it seems, as by then the recording process appears to have become dominated by Francis, with bassist Kim Deal getting less of a prominent role - with AllMusic later noting that they felt it was pretty much Francis' debut solo album.
Pixies: U-MASS (Live in Boston)