Curated Study Soundtrack: My 2 Picks for Music to Study to!

Mix of Animal Crossing music from different games!

I grew up playing the Animal Crossing game series, from Wild World (2005) to New Leaf (2012) then eventually a bit of New Horizons (2020.) Though I’ve put aside my DS consoles for the most part, upon turning on the old gaming devices during a lethargic school break, it’s almost as if nothing has changed. My espadrilles would fall to the living room floor as I curl my legs onto the couch and see the title screen pop up — Animal Crossing, it reads. It was always an escape from reality, my body frame much too big yet somehow effortlessly fitting into my childhood memories. In this world, all one had to do was to garden, fish, banter with my friendly animal neighbors, and stargaze with any friends that may be visiting over the Internet; it was so, immensely carefree, and so nostalgic now for me now that I’ve reached adulthood.

Anyway, the games are characterized by different hourly tunes, purely instrumental. In these recent years, more and more frequently, I would hear an array of different content creators put Animal Crossing music over their videos, may it be vlogs or more informative films. With the release of New Horizons back in 2020, there’s also been an abrupt increase in amounts of “cozy animal crossing music” playlists being uploaded onto YouTube. They are, of course, great for accompanying studying or working. Maybe not everyone has the same sentimental reaction when they hear these songs, though, treating them just like any other “vibey” playlist or even choosing to resort to their average “lofi” playlist instead. For me, however, hearing these music fills me with significant amounts of nostalgia, never too sickly or syrupy, the sweetness never lingering too much at the back of your throat. I savor it, eating it all up (typing away on my high school essay, akin to the five-year-old version of me clicking on the buttons on my 3DS.)

Then I swallow, packing the glimpse of my childhood into my back pocket tightly again.

Sling – Clairo

This album isn’t instrumental (apart from one track — Joanie,) but in my opinion Clairo’s voice is soothing enough, almost like ASMR. A proof that should be convincing is that during the sleepless nights of summer 2021, the faint music and lyrics of these songs would be the last things I hear before I drift off into sleep. Of course, this doesn’t mean it necessarily makes you drowsy and unable to work. The album’s uniqueness, simultaneous with its gentleness, in its tunes and lyricism makes it perfect to work and study with.

In addition, the messages in all of these songs are actually subtly extraordinary. As Clairo herself said about Blouse, the single released before Sling was completely, “Blouse describes a kitchen table conversation: you’ve hung your coat, scarf, combed your stray hairs back, and sat down. The table is set, you are equipped and prepared for a professional conversation, and all of a sudden- you see a male colleague staring down your shirt while you’re halfway through a sentence. […] What’s even more defeating- is the feeling of, ‘Well, if this is what it takes for him to hear me, then I’ll allow it.’” Another song that I love off the album is Reaper, which discusses feeling of ambivalence, mostly negative, towards motherhood. As a Reddit user interprets, “Now faced with the reality of motherhood, Clairo feels an almost sinister pressure from society to adhere to this prophecy that all women are born to be mothers, born to devote themselves to someone else.”

Clairo expresses things through such meticulously drafted lyrics and melodies, and all of her songs are absolutely blissful to listen to; I always feel like I’m levitating when I hear any song from Sling.