2 YEARS OF UNI IN 6 SONGS
From left to right: Lana Del Rey, Scott Walker, Olivia Rodrigo, Arik Einstein.
Almost six years ago, I was sitting in a hallway in my high school. My friends and I were going through our final choices for university. Back then, I planned to study law since it was a logical continuation of my education. I went to the High School of Economics and had classes in different types of law, such as labour, family, and administration. My second choice was journalism but I did not take it seriously until that moment in the hallway. Back then, I didn’t have any connection with that field and I didn’t even grow up having newspapers around the house. Very last minute, I changed the order of my choices and put journalism in first place. I don’t remember thinking too much about it, I just put it. At that moment, I had a glimpse of a conversation I had had with a girl from my hometown whose choice was journalism. A few hours later, I couldn’t change it and that was it – journalism was in the first place. Months after, the results of my so-called matura exams came together with university results and I learnt my wish for the first choice was fulfilled. In Fall 2019 I became a student of journalism at the Faculty of Political Science.
It would be my biggest lie if I wrote it was love at first sight. The whole first semester I was deeply confused and I was questioning my choice every single day. Everything was formal, professors would act like we were fully grown-up people, atmosphere made me feel nauseous. It took me months to realize what I was actually studying, I didn’t understand a single thing. At the beginning of the second semester I slowly started understating it and genuinely enjoying the lectures. During my bachelor’s degree, especially during the second year I finally, to be cheesy, fell in love. Since then, I claim that studying at the Faculty of Political Science is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It is partly because some professors gave me so much room for creative and intellectual development. They were my Virgil as I like to call them because of their generous mentoring and guidance.
As I wrote earlier, the idea for underlined. started developing in the last year of my bachelor’s. I wanted space where I could write whatever I wanted. Most importantly, I was not dependent on the editor-in-chief’s mood. All I wanted was a space where I could let myself write about topics I deeply care about. Last Friday, I did my master’s thesis defence and I graduated from my Faculty. For some reason, after one period of my life is finished, I like to look back at it through music. I did the same thing at the end of my bachelor’s when I wrote the article “Three years in nine songs.” It seems appropriate to do the same thing for the master’s.
The only logical way to start a musical walk down memory lane is with the musician who affected me that much I wrote my thesis about his family and their musical heritage – Dudu Tassa. The first song I heard was a live version of the song “Basof Mitraglim LeHakol.” Tassa’s music was completely foreign to me but I wanted to know more. Curiosity and lack of knowledge were the main motivations for discovering his music world and everything around it which was beyond my ken. That afternoon in March when I found the song on YouTube, I must’ve listened a billion times just because I couldn’t get enough of it and still can’t. For months and months, I was listening just his discography with band The Kuwaitis. The next song that made a mark in the first year of my master’s was “On Your Own Again” by Scott Walker. It was a time of much guilt and grief so moments of pure happiness felt like the last words of the song - I was so happy I didn't feel like me. Walker is one of my favourite songwriters and his voice always leaves me speechless. I adore his half-singing half telling style of singing. One more Israeli musician I discovered and can’t remember how is Arik Einstein. His most famous song from 1970 “Ani Ve’Ata” (translates as “You and I”) has a Beatlesque melody and feel to it. I looked up the translation to English and once I found it, I loved it even more: You and I, we’ll change the world / You and I, by then all will follow / Others have said it before me but it doesn’t matter / You and I, we’ll change the world.
The second year or should I say last, started with a broken ankle. I was stuck at home for 3 weeks. It is safe to write I was losing my mind. One thing close people know about me is that I can’t be still. It is a real challenge for me to sit for 45 minutes let alone three weeks. Around the time I broke my ankle, Olivia Rodrigo realised the record “Guts.” As a part of promoting it she covered Noah Kahan’s song “Stick Season” on BBC’s Live Lounge. I had never listened to his music before so gave it a spin. I didn’t like his voice at all so that’s why I was listening to Rodrigo's version for weeks. Fast forward to the spring, I travelled to Florence. For the first time, I travelled by myself. However, I was not alone in the city and had a wonderful company. One night I was listening to “Margaret” by Lana Del Rey in collaboration with Bleachers. I am not the biggest fan of hers but I have an enormous respect for her work. My friend sent me this song a couple of days before and I didn’t fully hear it until one night in Florence. I couldn’t stop singing When you know, you know and I felt like that – I knew. Another song that kept me company during these months was “Fog” by Radiohead but the version with piano and voice from Le Réservoir in Paris. There is also a studio version of this song but I never listen to it. Nothing can’t compare to Thom’s voice and a beautiful piano part. I would catch myself singing Somethings will never wash away / Did you go bad? subconsciously trying to find the answer. I still have not found it. I will.
