Tickets are booked. Suitcases are packed. With fall break near on the horizon, many Cornellians are eagerly anticipating their escapes from Ithaca. The Anthony Bourdains of the university await new journeys, traveling to parts unknown. Others seek the familiar as they return to their childhood homes, wherever they may be.
This playlist is for the latter. It is for the homesick who will (or long to) take the beaten path back home. If this follows your desired travel itinerary, fish your headphones out of your overpacked bag and enjoy a complementary sonic trip through the three stages of a homecoming — the initial journey, the reunion and the nostalgia as your voyage comes to an end.
1. The Rolling Stones: “Wild Horses”
Yearning, loyal yet free. The opening strums of acoustic guitar gently trace the rolling fields of upper New York through the bus, train or car window. This classic Stones hit encapsulates going back to the place and people that you love — because your heart never really left in the first place.
2. Dominic Fike: “Pasture Child”
A light-hearted praise to the structure of childhood. Upbeat and rhythmically catchy, it recalls simpler times graced with innocence and parental guidance.
3. Bob Dylan: “Girl from the North Country”
To me, travel = Bob Dylan. He is the folk voice of long car rides and contemplative window-gazing. His song is the one that hits you halfway through the trip, once you have gotten bored of mindless scrolling and have instead resorted to replaying memories you couldn’t properly dwell on in the daily rush of college life.
4. Digable Planets: “Where I’m From”
You’ve made it home! You lay a foot on the ground and your mood immediately brightens. This 90s hip-hop essential celebrates the “we” built in your hometown.
5. Loverboy: “Working for the Weekend”
Optimistic motivation to remember your Wednesday due dates. In typical Cornell fashion, I couldn’t forget the part of fall break that is confined to your childhood bedroom as you complete essays and problem sets due the week you return.
6. Morcheeba: “Small Town”
Chill, electronic, mysterious. Morcheeba knows that being home can make you feel stuck, back in a box. Maybe it’s time to listen to the forward-moving groove and lyrics that call on you to “run while you can.”
7. Faye Webster: “She Won’t Go Away”
And yet, as you make your way back to school, you wish you never left home. Ethereal and definitely not over it, this song affirms that people and places don’t necessarily leave you while you’re gone.
8. Men I Trust: “To Ease You”
Like a loving parent, a comforting electropop lullaby that reassures you as you return to undergraduate quasi-independence that “you’ll be just fine.”
9. Neil Young: “One of These Days”
A nostalgic and grateful acknowledgement of friends, family and home. It appreciates those you visited back home whose love has wholly contributed to who you are now. Without them, there is no you.
10. George Harrison: “All Things Must Pass”
The ultimate song of acceptance. Written after the death of his mother and the infamous breakup of The Beatles, Harrison infuses hopeful mantras throughout the work. He values enjoying the past while simultaneously accepting its end. Just as fall break began, so too must it pass.
You can find the playlist here.
Hazel Tjaden is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at hlt43@cornell.edu.
‘Solar Flare’ is a weekly playlist column where Sun contributors spotlight a slice of musical taste with the campus community. It runs every Monday.
