Immerse Your Ear Buds
Published: Friday, March 1, 2013
Updated: Friday, March 1, 2013 14:03
With 1 in 10 students at Holy Cross participating in the Spring Break Immersion Program, it is only fitting to dedicate an article to the musical aspect of the experience. For those unfamiliar with the program, there is a lot of driving from point A to B, and music in these car-rides serves as a catalyst for the group morale. Majority of the groups on go to the Appalachian region, being brought to simpler times on the countryside. Therefore, music that can help get you there mentally and spiritually is a quite the achievement.
To get in the mindset and immerse your musical taste buds with the flavorful countryside, look for music that brings back the roots of the explorative American drive for western expansion. As most of these groups drive further from the coast and closer to the heart of this country, the music should also reflect this.
Now, I hate using the word “folk” because it has lost its entire derived meaning with the inception and commercialization of bands that have banjos and are dubbed this genre. But this is the opportunity to digest inherent folk music during this endeavor: music that is born from hardships of the working class heroes and experiences away from skylines.
Here is a list of 10 songs to add to your trip as you head to a simpler place, so that your mind can also experience an auditory, simple place that embeds this American fortitude of exploration for your own journey.
- “American Hearts” by AA Bondy
-“How Low” by José González
- “Bad Luck” by Langhorne Slim & The Law
- “Adventures in You Own Back Yard” by Patrick Watson
- “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” by Sufjan Stevens
- “Liner” by Justin Vernon
- “Oh No” by Andrew Bird
- “Goin’ Home” by Dan Auerbach
- “Upward Over the Mountain” by Iron & Wine
-“Philharmonics” by Agnes Obel



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