Welcome to Ear 2 Da Sky! Over the past year, I’ve been reviewing EPs and albums across genres, eras and artists that were submitted by readers like you, and listeners of my radio show, ear 2 da ground, every Wednesday at 11 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM!
For the final installment of Ear 2 Da Sky, I’ve decided to do something a little different. On the submission form, I received a question: “I guess like what albums or songs do you think are gonna be your college nostalgia in the future? It would be cool to write about perhaps.” I do think it would be cool to write about, so I’m going to do that instead of rate old albums if that’s okay with you, reader.
With graduation season coming around each year, I tend to find myself reminiscing about a lot of different things. Whether that’s who I have become versus who I used to be, my relationship and friendships, how my graduating/graduated friends have been doing, who I will become in the future or how younger Hayden would think of my current accomplishments. Therefore, getting the chance to look back on the moment I’m living in fits the bill.
Starting off, I’d like to give flowers to Eddie Kendricks. I think “Intimate Friends” will forever be stuck with me. I feel like I have found the song at the right time. At the time when I realized I really liked this one girl more than anybody I’ve ever met. We clicked almost instantly, we became close, she friend-zoned me, then we became more than friends but less than partners. It was an odd time for me. I heard this song for the first time and the way it sounded; from the lyrics to the way Kendricks sang, it perfectly translated my feelings into song. The slow, mellow and drab opening creates a build-up throughout the song, until it ultimately slows back down and plays out.
In addition, Dreamer Isioma released a song called “Valentina” in 2019 that would also add to this soundtrack of my time at UConn. That track would ultimately lead to this girl becoming my girlfriend and we even got to see them perform it live at WHUS’s Mischief After Dark in 2023, which was pretty cool. See guys, you can turn your situationships into relationships, I did it! You can too!
An album that I think will be extremely nostalgic of my time at college 10 years from now would definitely be 454’s “FAST TRAX 3.” I found 454 through Frank Ocean’s jewelry website playing his 2021 project “4 REAL” that had just come out at the time. I’ve stuck with him ever since then. I’ve had “FAST TRAX 3” on repeat throughout my time at UConn. Studying, working out, in class, between class, eating, walking, I always have it playing on my headphones. I think for at least a month, it was the only album I listened to. One of my favorite songs off that album is “WONDERRR,” the Wayne Wonder sample is just so cool to me. “LOVE ME, HATE ME,” also does it for me. 454 and Pig the Gemini are always great teammates, not only because they’re siblings, but because they both have such an interesting and unique sound.
I’ve also spent a lot of time studying while I’ve been here and I literally cannot study to anything besides house/electronic music. During my freshman and sophomore year, I spent long hours in Homer D. Babbidge library listening to “Wingdings” (Four Tet’s alias). There was a lot of Rochelle Jordan being played too, more specifically her 2021 “Play With The Changes” album. Track one, “Love You Good” and track 11, “Dancing Elephants” have a special place in my heart.
I think hearing “Colors” by Chenayder ft. MAVI in about 15 years will instantly transport me back into my room in Garrigus Suites. I had that song on repeat for like the entire back half of my 2024 spring semester and the summer after that. Ravyn Lenae is somebody else whose music will take me back to sitting on the grass by Mirror Lake. I’ve loved her music since high school, but I feel as though a lot of momentum in her career snowballed during my time here. Her 2022 album “HYPNOS” is a beautiful project that I have tied to my transition from high school to college, with “Venom” and “Satellites” standing out the most to me. That period between your senior year of high school, summer and your first semester on campus are probably the weirdest five to eight months of your academic life. A time where you think everything is supposed to change instantly and outwardly, but you learn that instead, it’s slow and invisible.
Laila!’s “Gap Year!” and Clairo’s “Charm” are both very synonymous with my college career in my eyes (and ears). I write them into the same paragraph because of the parallel points in their career. “Gap Year!” is Laila!’s first ever album, filled with a bedroom pop/RnB sound, with extremely smooth vocals. “Charm” is Clairo’s third album, who also started with the bedroom pop sound. But her sound ultimately evolved into what it is now, seven years later. I’m excited to see how they both grow with their sound, respectively. I also threw them in the same paragraph because both of their dads are also pretty involved in the music industry, one more than the other though (Not saying they’re products of nepotism!)
An artist that has been a staple in my college career has easily been MIKE. During my three years and six semesters here, he has released five — soon to be six — different albums. But the two that have stuck with me the most are “Beware of the Monkey” and “Burning Desire.” These have held the most gravity because they cover dealing with loss and ultimately triumphing. MIKE’s music is a celebration of Black art and culture and after spending a lot of time at a predominantly white institution like UConn, that is something I’ve come to really appreciate.
Thank you to those that read my column and to those that submitted to it! I will be spending a lot of my time next year as the Daily Campus’ business manager making sure that the newspaper doesn’t go broke, so wish me luck, thanks.
Rating: 5/5