Ten Songs To Get You Through Finals Week

It's finals week. We know you're burnt out. You're most likely to respond to anything anyone says to you with unintelligible grunts. Your brain is full. So: How to keep motivated while cramming for that communications exam that you had the whole semester to study for, but didn't started getting...
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It’s finals week. We know you’re burnt out. You’re most likely to respond to anything anyone says to you with unintelligible grunts. Your brain is full.

So: How to keep motivated while cramming for that communications exam that you had the whole semester to study for, but didn’t started getting cracking on till tonight?

We’re here to help. With the help of some actual college students attending the University of Texas at Dallas, we’ve compiled a list of finals week theme songs — music to study to, and, OK, some music to rejoice to once the whole mess is finally over (minus the obvious; we intentionally left out “School’s Out” and “The Final Countdown”).

After the jump, have a listen. And remember: The end of the semester party will be so worth all this nonsense.

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Jay-Z — “99 Problems”

This song’s like sonic Adderall, a classic that still gets the adrenaline up. Plus, that calculus final only has 50 problems, so consider yourself lucky.

The Black Angels — “Young Men Dead”

Heavy, heavy riffs reminiscent of Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” make for a thunderous sountrack to slogging through those last 12 chapters of reading.

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Children of Bodom — “Hellhounds on my Trail”

Is it just me, or does death metal make for great studying music? I suppose anger suffices when motivation wears thin.

Johann Sebastian Bach — “Brandenburg Concerto”

If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it!  Does classical music really make you smarter? Better to be on the safe side.

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Procol Harum — “A Whiter Shade of Pale”

Relax and let the crunchy grooves soothe your frazzled nerves, man. Plus, the lyrics don’t make any sense, so it’s basically no distraction from that psych text.

MC 900 Ft. Jesus — “The City Sleeps”

We know you want to burn down the school right about now. Instead, torch vicariously through this track about a gleeful arsonist.

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Megadeth — “I Thought I Knew It All”

A classmate who just graduated magna cum laude sent me his Last.fm playlist from finals week. It’s all Megadeth. It’s a fact, you guys: metal + studying = success.

Meat Loaf — “Bat out of Hell”

Listen: You know you love Meat Loaf — especially when he blows his top off at Gary Busey like you want to blow up at your professor, your classmates, and everyone who tries to speak to you during finals week.

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Raphael Saadiq — “Stone Rollin'”

Retro grooves provide the perfect soundtrack to finishing up that all-nighter. Wow, is that really the sun coming up? It is! The good news: Just a few more hours, and that test will be over.

Dan Deacon — “Snookered”

Calm down. No, seriously, stop freaking out. A couple deep breaths will help. So, too, will this soothing electronic track. Trust us: You’re gonna be OK.

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