So, if you’re like me and you try to get breakfast occasionally, there is the morning trek to Peirce. The sun is blinding even on a rainy day, and once you get to the doors they are somehow stuck again. This is the problem we face at Kenyon: how do we capture the emotions of a particular experience? The feeling of walking in the fresh air from the first year quad to Peirce and the immediate drowsiness of the dim yellow light of the entrance? The sudden entrance into the liminal, timeless and clock-less space that is the servery? Well, boy do I have the playlist for you.

1. Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra: This song perfectly matches the walk from the uneven sidewalks near the first year quad to the Upside Down Tree™, and I usually find myself uplifted by the wholesomeness of addressing the sky himself and asking w h y he has forsaken us for soooooo loooong (soooo long!).
2. Chasin’ Honey – Wild Party: So, first off, it’s a bop. Questioning if we’re chasin’ money or chasin’ honey(s) at a semi-ungodly hour before my 9:10 class is bound to make you tired, and it’s almost like the song knows this. It even admits it, “Some parts of my brain are probably still sleeping” is the first line of the song. We all know, and we accept it.
3. A Bit Out of Time – Mainland: Peirce is a liminal space, generated that way by Graham Gund himself, Kenyon’s favorite sugar daddy. He really just wants us to ~immerse ourselves~ and who are we to deny him our suffering? The singular transparent clock on New Side? Never heard of her. Live in the moment.
4. Pogs & Slammers – Coast Modern: POG = passion orange guava juice on the side of the servery with the salads and bowls. Passion orange guava, that body’s hot as lava, pogs and slammers. Just…amazing.
5. Talk Too Much – Coin: The title. The servery and New Side are just echo chambers that we goblins happen to sit down and shove food into our faces in, and sometimes people just need to shut up. Then again, the song is entirely about a kiss to shut someone up, and if that’s what you want someone to do to you, Peirce is probably not the place you want to be for that. PDA is gross, y’all.
6. Move – Saint Motel: Most of this song is just a bopping beat and urging people to move, and I think that’s just The Essence of Peirce Hall.
7. Passionfruit – Drake: Another reference to passion! There’s a lot of that in the dining hall. Then again, Drake is also saying a lot of meaningful stuff here. For example, seeing this girl is ritualistic and it’s harder buildin’ trust from a distance. Drake himself is urging us to stay close and follow routines. Drake said Peirce rights.
8. Lost – Frank Ocean: Lost. But also, the song is about a girl who is a drug mule and Frank Ocean is placing himself in the shoes of a drug dealer/boss. So, take that as you will, but it’s a bop I enjoy in the servery.
9. Nothing’s Wrong – Echosmith: This is the perfect outro for your time in Peirce, honestly. That flood of people leaving at the same time for their large collection of classes, the walk to Ascenscion or Smather or back to the first year quad, we’re all guilty of walking like there’s nothing wrong. That’s the Kenyon Way, isn’t it?

I hope y’all have enjoyed this curated playlist, and no, you don’t have to make it yourself! It exists, and I want you to have it. A sincere gift from ya boi.