Sounds of the season: Panthers’ favorite music from the summer

Photo collage by Easton Clark, Photo Editor

As Panthers return to campus and take on school-year responsibilities, one thing never fails to set the rhythm of our days: music. 

With the semester in full swing, it’s easy to get swept up in classes, clubs and the rush of another school year. For Chapman students, school marks a departure from free time —  trading hobbies for homework and calm days for chaotic classrooms. 

“Music in the summer is akin to a maraschino cherry on a banana split,” said The Panther’s Photo Editor Easton Clark, a senior graphic design major.

One constant remains no matter the time of year: our appetite for media, particularly music. As we enter a new academic season, music simultaneously carries us through commotion and allows us to reminisce on more laid-back times. 

Let’s take a look at some of our “sweet escapes” released this summer, which will hopefully keep us afloat come fall. 

“The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1” by Lord Huron and “Essex Honey” by Blood Orange were some of the most anticipated albums released this summer.

“(The album) makes me feel like I’m driving out into the great beyond, uncovering the mysteries of the universe,” Anika Yip, a junior creative writing major and The Panther reporter, said about the former. 

Dev Hynes, known as Blood Orange, hadn’t released an album in six years, which made listeners appreciate it all the more. 

“This album draws from grief from the loss of Dev Hynes’s mother, but it doesn’t make the listener feel mournful,” said Katelyn Ko, a junior psychology major. “(The album) makes me feel a lot of different emotions that are unexplainable.” 

“Doggy” by Geezer — Kevin Abstract and Dominic Fike’s joint band — featuring Love Spells and Truly Young, was senior strategic and corporate communications major Caroline Kundahl’s favorite song of the summer, which she called “an ethereal listening experience.” 

“The changes in tempo feel like a roller coaster,” Kundahl said of the single.

Students found music not just to be effective background noise, but essential in setting the tone for days spent under the sun. 

Sophomore English major and The Panther News Editor Britney Henderson said, “I love being able to listen to new music with a clear mind, and that’s what summer provides for me.” 

“I also love being able to hear a song and have it remind me of an event or good day I had over the summer,” she added.

Junior creative producing major Allie Byrne loves that summer releases coincide with her favorite time of the year: “I find music important especially in the summer because summer is my favorite season. Having great music during summer really adds to that love of summer for me.”

Of course, nostalgia counts for something, too. Managing Editor Caleb Otte’s favorite release of summer was Travis Scott’s “JACKBOYS 2.” 

“I remember loving the original ‘JACKBOYS’ album when it came out,” Otte said. “It was pretty short but every song was legendary. Travis Scott got all the best rappers on it, so seeing him come back with a second — and longer — version was sick.”

Of the album, Otte, a senior communications major, said, “It probably isn’t as good as the first one, but I love it.”

Panthers also got to attend live shows of some of their favorite artists over the summer, including The Lumineers, Men I Trust, Coldplay and local bands.

Music is more than just a connecting factor; it’s a comfort in days spent alone, extra sunshine in hours by the beach and a companion on any adventure. As we settle back into the rhythm of the school year, let’s not forget the comfort we found in our music tastes over summer and the connection we find in sharing these sounds with others. 

“Good dance albums make me excited and happy, and make me want to share them with others so they’ll dance along with me,” said junior sociology major Isabel Gomez, whose favorite releases were “Thirteen Months of Sunshine” by Aminé and “Don’t Tap The Glass” by Tyler, The Creator. 

As a maraschino cherry sweetens a banana split, summer’s music colors our memories. As fall begins, these songs bring us extra sunshine, even during long days on campus. Summer may have ended, but for many panthers, its soundtrack plays on.