Sheffield students: Here are song recommendations for the ultimate November study playlist

The gloomy dark skies are a real parallel to the daunting deadlines heading our way. Uni students all around can agree that November is a sorrowful struggle – seasonal depression at its finest point in time. Why can’t it be December already? The Christmas Markets are practically carolling our names, yet we are still stuck inside the dreaded library, finessing our essays and cramming our assessments until November finally says goodbye.

So to hopefully lighten the mood and help us relish in our revision, I have crafted the ultimate November study playlist to help you become the utmost academic weapon. Deadline season doesn’t have to be the dreaded season, if it’s academic validation you’re craving for Christmas, it can be achieved. Dark academia galore, these tracks are bound to comfort your silent cries over yet another impending task on your to-do list.

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) – Taylor Swift

The Swiftie in my soul can sense the leaves crisping and the gloomy dark skies clouding and she knows that the Red (Taylor’s Version) season is upon us. So steal back your scarves, and focus the heartbreak left over from your October situationship into your studies. No more crying in your notes, channel your excruciating emotions into the productivity needed for the nearing deadline season; turn on noise cancellation and press play on All Too Well (10 Minute Version), to provide you with an intense bliss and concentration for the next lengthy essay you have creeping up on you. 

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That is the plan at least but be warned it could have the opposite effect and you may start singing or worse crying to the autumnal heartbreak anthem, disrupting the serenity of Western Bank Library.

Suddenly I See – KT Tunstall

If it’s the frazzled English female winter you are aspiring for, Suddenly I See, by KT Tunstall is the anthem of choice. Energy boosting, self esteem winning, suddenly you see that this is where you want to be – the IC. Well, at least that’s what you are trying to convince yourself; either way this song is the ultimate confidence boost you need, giving you the support and resilience to embark on the next reference search. A musical Red Bull, some may say – at least that’s what I call it.

Bridget Jones approved of it, so throw your hair into the messy claw clip hidden in your miscellaneous drawer, smudge out your eyeliner, and fully embody the frazzled figure you wish to become when you finally click submit.

Experience – Ludovico Einaudi

Now, despite lyrics often being the pivotal part that makes a song what it is, they can often be the downfall when it comes to studying. You get lost in the lyrics and suddenly you go from typing the chemical formula of your latest class practical to reciting the words being fed through your ears. Even worse you start singing them out loud, and then you’re being shushed and shunned by the academic weapons that you are trying to imitate. 

Therefore, sometimes an instrumental is the way to go, whether it’s a pop charting classic turned Bridgerton, or white noise and rain droplets to remind you of the outside world that awaits for you post revision. These are guaranteed to offer zero distraction, blocking out the outside noises of chatter and munching in the supposedly silent study area; and instead provide complete comfort, a warm hug, giving you the strength to keep typing. 

A specific favourite of mine is Experience by Ludovico Einaudi, it’s the epitome of ethereal escapism and the dark academia soundtrack to your studies; a sanctuary of solitude to lower your heart rate after racing to meet your deadline.

Eyes on Fire – Blue Foundation

As the November fog creeps in, it is beginning to feel like hoa hoa hoa weather outside and it’s suddenly time for the annual Twilight rewatch marathon. But that can only be rewarded once your essay is submitted. So dig out your decaying wired earphones and retreat back to the year 2008, Sheffield is the new Forks, and it’s time to romanticise the rain whilst we listen to the fantasy thriller soundtrack accompanying our hard work and academic literature.

To truly immerse ourselves into the song and embody Bella Swan, I suggest pulling an all – nighter complemented with a hot black coffee and a dim lit candle to complete your work. The Cullens don’t need sleep so neither do you.

How to Dream – Sam Phillips

It’s time for an academic comeback, no more Freshers’ Week, no more Halloweekend, November is here and it’s official, you are back at university and bombarded with deadlines. So of course it’s time to personify our inner Rory Gilmore, the ultimate academic weapon and study star. You’ve already made it to Yale, well Sheffield’s version at least, and knocking back five pound rounds in Tigerworks every Wednesday is not the reason you are here (at least that’s what I’m telling myself). So put down the VK and pick up the pen – time to write. 

Sam Phillips perfects the wholesome autumnal aura uni students need to bring us back down to earth and remind you that you are more than just a silly fresher, so press play on the la la las and retreat to the library. Because who cares if you’re pretty if you fail your finals?

Stuck on the Puzzle – Alex Turner

Now would it really be a Sheffield uni student’s playlist if we didn’t hear Alex Turner’s passionate, indie rasp captivating our attention? Of course I had to include one of Sheffield’s own tracks; outside of Arctic Monkeys, Turner’s solo music, specifically ‘Stuck on the Puzzle’, written for the original film ‘Submarine’ is truly one to add to your queue. 

The wistful longing that this song curates, completes the misty gloom that covers the November skies, and accurately portrays the soul crushing feeling of being stuck on the puzzle – in your maths coursework. Either way, it’s an underrated song in Alex Turner’s vast catalogue, that is guaranteed to give you your main character moment, looking out the window with melancholy at the pattering rain that awaits you on your walk home.