Few things warm my heart like Cornell references in popular media. I think it’s cute when people quote Andy from The Office, even as stupid as he sounds. When I re-watched American Pie (embarrassing) and realized that Tara Reid’s character went to Cornell I was amused. I instantly liked Up in the Air more when Natalie Keener talked about Cornell. And the short scene from Maid of Honor where Patrick Dempsey had a flashback to his Cornell days was downright adorable.
While fictional Cornellians are all over the small and silver screens, rarely do I hear any songs that make references to Cornell, unless they’re performed by Cayuga’s Waiters. But now that “the Cornell kids ”Jeremy Dussolliet ’09 and Tim Sommers ’10 are taking over the music scene, Cornell references stand a chance in your headphones.
Kinetics & One Love, as they more commonly go by, have just released their latest song “The Kinetics & One Love Graduation Song ft. Wynter Gordon” which gives plenty of shout outs to the place where the musical collaborators first met and developed songs like the infectious “Airplanes” which is now a hit B.o.B. song.
The lyrics of the song make numerous references to my beloved list of the 161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do Before They Graduate including skinny dipping in the gorges, sex in the stacks, and sake bombing. They also make references to the good and bad of Cornell — things like dreadful 8:40 a.m. classes and the glorious Palms. Even the bells from the clock tower are referenced as the song opens with a snippet of the Alma Mater.
Despite the plethora of Cornell references the song will be easily appreciated by scores of college students who grew up on songs like Vitamin C’s “The Graduation Song” and are looking for a far more fun, hip-hop version. There is something undeniably appealing about graduation songs and when you can genuinely relate to the feelings in the song — the debauchery hockey fans feel during the Harvard game and the pain of studying for your wines final — it only makes the song that much better.
Graduates of the Class of 2010, including myself, will relate to the general references of partying and classes in college as well the desire to make sure you keep in touch with the people you’ve spent the last four amazing years of your life with. The song is already stuck in my head and is the perfect soundtrack for my last two weeks in Ithaca. While I may have said that TV shows cannot capture college properly, I now believe that music can. Definitely listen to the song and download it.
Original Author: Cara Sprunk