Welcome to Binghamton University, new freshmen. You’re starting the next chapter of your life as a college student, and the first step is orientation. It can be overwhelming and a bit hectic; you’ll probably be busy running around trying to follow your schedule instead of getting a feel for the campus. Luckily, we’re here to help. We’ve compiled some songs that showcase your new home and some of its notable features. Here’s a playlist to get you acquainted with Binghamton’s many quirks:
It Will Rain — Bruno Mars
How could we not start off this playlist with a song about rain? Binghamton is one of the cloudiest cities in the country. Like it or not, you’ll be experiencing rain and its various frozen forms for the majority of your time here. At least you’ll have this song to listen to in your dorm while you lament your woes. Bruno Mars will help remind you how you took summer’s warm weather for granted. “What [you] used to have,” you definitely “don’t have it anymore.” You better be prepared, because “there’ll be no sunlight,” “there’ll be no clear skies” and “every day it will rain.” For a long, long time.
Empire State of Mind — Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
If you ask any international student why they came to Binghamton, this song describes what they’ll probably tell you they had imagined before getting here. Unfortunately, Binghamton students are not surrounded by Brooklyn or Tribeca, nor can they go off campus to see a Nets or Yankees game. However, they can definitely see the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Downtown or hit up the bars on State Street. Fortunately, the international students can pull up to Lost Dog Cafe nearby in their “off white Lexus,” like Jay-Z, to make up for their mistake.
EDM remix of How to Save a Life — The Fray
A Binghamton classic, you will hear this song at least once in your four years while out on a Friday night. Coming off your adrenaline high after moshing to Mo Bamba in a sweaty living room, you expect the DJ to follow up with a song that is just as exciting. You’ll hear the intro to what sounds like an EDM song, and then it hits you: “Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend.” You’ll look around, see all of the other people at the frat house fist-pumping to The Fray, and be genuinely confused. Who on earth made an EDM remix to this depressing song? Why does this exist? Feeling uneasy, you’ll just go along with it, and then talk about how bad the music was with your friends after leaving. Nobody knows why they keep playing this song — it’s a real Binghamton mystery.
Magnolia — Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti was the headliner for this year’s Spring Fling, leaving the audience with quite a memorable performance. He closed his setlist with his most popular hit, “Magnolia,” making the student crowd go wild as they shouted along to the iconic line “in New York, I Milly Rock.” Until next year, when a new artist takes the stage, this song will be circulating around frat houses, bars and all your friends’ pregame playlists.
The Hat — Ingrid Michaelson
Finishing off our playlist is a song by a famous alum, Ingrid Michaelson. Michaelson graduated from BU in 2001 with a degree in theatre, performing in the a cappella group Binghamtonics and the improv group Pappy Parker Players in her free time. She released a love song reflecting on her time at BU called “The Hat” in her second album, “Girls and Boys.” The song includes fun references like “I knitted you a hat all blue and gold / To keep your ears warm from the Binghamton cold.” Not many schools can say they have a song written about them, but the premier public Ivy can.