Sound and revision

The exam period looms and the daunting thought of sitting in an exam hall staring blankly at your paper is an imminent reality. Concentration seems to be an impossibility. Sitting in your bedroom, other people’s bedrooms, the living room, the common room and kitchen has all failed. So you have the ingenious and original idea of heading to the library where the silent study area will be pressure enough to finally get that revision done…
But then your phone vibrates and you are notified of that picture she promised not to put on Facebook. Sigh. In a world of instant messaging smartphones and regularly tweeting no more than 140 characters, long-term concentration seems impossible. You are not alone; this epidemic has swept across the student population many times before, and will continue to do so in the future. Regardless of where the blame falls (whether it be our addiction to social media or simply last night’s antics) we need a solution…
Our aged parents will tell us that silence is golden, and for some of us, this will undoubtedly be true. But for others, the ringing in your ears that has resulted from too many nights by the speakers at the SU has to be crowded out. These revision albums are the perfect study buddy! Not only do they keep you company, but they shut up whenever you want, never mock your employment prospects and they might even keep your attention off of the fittie sitting opposite you. Yeah. That’s right. We at the Boar know what most “library time” is spent doing – and we don’t approve.

**A Winged Victory For The Sullen – S/T**

We all know that, as a general rule, classical music is for people over the age of fifty, along with The Archers and the Chelsea Flower Show, however, in this case, you should be willing to make an exception. This is a great album for those whose jowls quiver with excitement as the lead vocals come in. There’s no singing here to distract you. Besides, you don’t want to get into your exam and find you learnt all of ‘Someone Like You’ in five weeks, but absolutely nothing about Romantic Poetry.

**Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix**

You know how every so often you just have a craving for some French music? No? Well I guess it’s ok these boys sing in English, then, and produce the most bouncy, pop-filled nuggets of joy I have ever had the pleasure of digesting. If the revision blues are getting to you, Lisztomania is bound to cheer you up. Side effects include the uncontrollable urge to dance and kiss the person sitting next to you (regardless of their sex and your sexuality).

**Sufjan Stevens – Illinois**

Contrary to popular belief, songs about cancer, UFOs, serial killers and predatory wasps are actually surprisingly good to revise to. These lush orchestral pieces will transport you to the beautiful Illinois, where exams are easily forgotten about. Also, you can probably waste a good few minutes just trying to work out how to say “Sufjan”.

So there you go. Three albums to fuel your revision and buoy you when you are at the most crippling of your exam apathy. Of course, don’t blame us if you listen to these and still fail. That’s nothing to do with the music. You’re just stupid.