HUDS Dhall Music: A Critical Perspective

Just as Alpine villagers awake to the sound of morning yodelers, Harvard students awake to the sound of Top 40 songs as they groggily shovel hash browns onto their plates at hot breakfast in Annenberg.

The infectious tunes haven't gone unnoticed by students, with Kyle Whelihan '17 remarking in a recent Facebook post: “Petition to hold an impromptu rave in the kitchens of Annenberg since the music they play in there is already better than any real dorm party.” Kyle, we couldn't agree more. But even among the stellar line-up, some songs stand out from the rest. Here's a breakdown:

Most Educational: “Roar” by Katy Perry
Not only does this song have a great message of self-empowerment, it also warms up English concentrators for their lit seminars with a plethora of literary devices: “Now I’m floating like a butterfly / Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes / I went from zero, to my own hero.” Quick, is that a simile or a metaphor? In a similar vein, “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry features Juicy J’s inventive food imagery, perfect for the dhall: “She's sweet as pie but if you break her heart / She'll turn cold as a freezer.”

Most Uncomfortable When Standing in Line Next to an Attractive Person: “BedRock” by Young Money
Although this song was released in 2009, it has made a recent comeback on the HUDS airwaves. Lyrics don’t often get more incongruous than hearing “my room is the g-spot / call me Mr. Flintstone / I can make your bedrock” as you fill your plate with scrambled eggs. With a plethora of explicit verses featuring the likes of Nicki Minaj and Tyga, this is the song you hope will not be playing when you reach for the ladle from the tomato basil ravioli soup pot and accidentally touch the hand of the hot guy in your Ec section. A close second goes to “Talk Dirty” by Jason DeRulo featuring 2Chainz, whose main hook features the statement “been around the world, don't speak the language / but your booty don't need explaining,” though this song’s international theme might have been appropriate at the World Street Foods brunch last week.

Most Validating of Harvard's Complaining Culture: “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne
This song has been channeling the inner turmoil of angsty teens for over a decade, and it’s still as relevant as ever. The first chorus lyric perfectly channels the beginning of a classic Harvard dining hall conversation: “Why do you have to go and make things so complicated, [insert professor name here]? Ugh, I have no time to do my p-set and write my five papers because I have to go to meetings for my 134838 extracurriculars and write applications for a few super-exclusive international non-profit internships this summer. I am like, so busy!” Alternatively, Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” functions to validate the stress while moving in a more positive direction, making it the perfect song for a post-LS1b midterm Brain Break.