Library Listens: The Gateway Building

Though the management building is technically for the arts students studying management, the building reminds us of the school of science, not only because of its proximity to the science buildings but also be- cause the architecture and design of the building more resemble that of science rather than your typical, old- er arts buildings. Not many people choose to study in the Library at the Gateway, but those who do provide a comfortable ebb and flow of people going in and out of classes every hour.

The lack of windows calls for a playlist that will provide the light and color that this study space lacks; however, the lack of natural light should not be a deterring factor to the refreshingly quiet and productive vibes this space has. On that note, we included some fast paced songs to match the productive energies of this space as well as a bit more slowed down songs for those who prefer a slower tempo whilst they work. If you think about it, the Gateway building is an arts building on the outskirts of the science part of campus, sort of a meeting point for students of both sciences and arts. It makes sense that students from all departments would converge here to study; it kept making us think of the song “Campus” by Vampire Weekend, which quite literally is a song about a college campus, so for some reason the vibes in this building align with this song to us.

As we were researching for this playlist, we kept getting space- ship vibes from the circular architecture of the building. So we have included “Open Your Eyes” by STRFKR, which is about an alien abduction. Hopefully, you might even be scared into studying harder.

The management building feels to us like the hip, younger cousin of the Main Library. This space is so dynamic in the way that there are multiple different study setups you can choose from both upstairs and downstairs, we thought it would only be fitting to create a playlist that is equally as dynamic as the management building study spaces; all of the students who study here seem to all be working on various different things, from math, to management, to Arabic. Since this building seems like a converging point for students, everyone here probably has a favorite genre of music to listen to while they study, which is why we made it a point to add songs that have a broad range of musical styles in this playlist.

The space is largely adorned with various reds and blues, so we tried to echo this with songs that provide alternatively hot and cold vibes — echoing again the range of people that come here to work. Some cold songs include: “Borderlines” by Vraell and “Migration” by Bonobo. As for hot songs, we have pulled the ever popular Glass Animals hit, “Heat Waves,” of which we think the title is fitting of the warm vibes, and “Uncertainly Deranged” by Bayonne.

Though everyone here is hard at work, there is hardly any chatter in the building. The space has a calm energy, which is why we add- ed tunes like “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, “Flashed Junk Mind” by Milky Chance, and “Soulless Friends" by Peter Cat Recording Co.

We ended up keeping the playlist mostly chill, just because the management building is more chill than spunky, but no good study session playlist is complete without a few tunes to get your blood pumping. Of course, we can’t publish this playlist in good faith without including at least one Taylor Swift song, which we gladly did with the addition of “Only The Young.” This tune speaks to the work ethic and passion our generation has, perfect for some mid-study sesh inspiration.

Every time we walk around the management building, we also get a few notes of beauty vibes, probably due to its relative proximity from the beach, about a ten minute walk to West Sands. To pay tribute to this, I added “Brazil” by Declan McKenna and “Midnight Cowboy” by Surf Curse. These songs remind us of the beach and summertime, which is perfect since bonfire season is coming soon.

You can find this playlist and other "Library Listens" on The Saint's Spotify account: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2g1rnY8FtMEsOQMxqDaMkX?si=cf34db7285604ba0