What Terps are tuning into as the seasons change
By Karianne McKenna
November 18, 2025
Photo Credit: Karianne McKenna
Despite the University of Maryland being a school of 40,000 students scattered across a diverse campus, Terps seemingly have a mutual love for music.
It is common to see the majority of students walking around campus with some form of headphone in, adding a personal soundtrack to their day.
For many, an artistically crafted playlist romanticizes what may seem to be mundane tasks. Freshman finance major Mira Harp shared her current artists on repeat while she goes through her school days.
“I’ve been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young. My friend recently put me on The Favors too,” Harp said.
While the average student can usually be found jamming to a song or soaking up a playlist, the kind of music that appeals to each individual is constantly evolving. Specifically as the seasons change, preferred genres of music do as well.
Junior government major Claire Kilbourn shared her shift in taste as a result of fall’s debut.
“I like to be very in tune with the weather outside… I want my music to also follow that. I feel like in the fall, I’m always looking for something cozy and nostalgic,” Kilbourn said.
Harp similarly shared how her music taste changes with the weather. She noted that in the summer months, her favorite genre - country - is very upbeat, led by artists such as Toby Keith, John Hardy and Morgan Wallen. Whereas in the fall, she finds there to be a shift to folk-country, with her preferences veering toward Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan.
While the emergence of the colder, quieter months call for calmer music, the gloomy days can heavily carry over into Terps’ music choice, causing the top picks to be sad songs.
Kilbourn noted that she listens to Fiona Apple, Mazzy Star and Phoebe Bridgers to align with rainy, cold days in the fall.
“There’s some sort of comfort in [sad music]... it’s cozy to me,” Kilbourn said.
The appeal of sad music despite the potential of bringing listeners’ moods down is a topic that surpasses UMD’s campus; the National Library of Medicine shared a research report written by professors who reviewed the pleasures of sad music.
The article introduced the “tragedy paradox,” which is “the contradictory idea that humans work to minimize sadness in their lives, yet find it pleasurable in an aesthetic context.”
This concept could be an explanation for Terps choosing more slowed down, sad music when the sun sets earlier and the air becomes brisk. The dimmer, chillier days may serve as inspiration for students to click on a sad playlist to accompany them on their walk to class, but the tragedy paradox may be why they come back to those songs every gloomy day.
Whether there is a psychological reason or it’s simply personal preference, most Terps’ preferences are constantly developing in order to fulfill the desire to enjoy music every day.
It is common to see the majority of students walking around campus with some form of headphone in, adding a personal soundtrack to their day.
For many, an artistically crafted playlist romanticizes what may seem to be mundane tasks. Freshman finance major Mira Harp shared her current artists on repeat while she goes through her school days.
“I’ve been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young. My friend recently put me on The Favors too,” Harp said.
While the average student can usually be found jamming to a song or soaking up a playlist, the kind of music that appeals to each individual is constantly evolving. Specifically as the seasons change, preferred genres of music do as well.
Junior government major Claire Kilbourn shared her shift in taste as a result of fall’s debut.
“I like to be very in tune with the weather outside… I want my music to also follow that. I feel like in the fall, I’m always looking for something cozy and nostalgic,” Kilbourn said.
Harp similarly shared how her music taste changes with the weather. She noted that in the summer months, her favorite genre - country - is very upbeat, led by artists such as Toby Keith, John Hardy and Morgan Wallen. Whereas in the fall, she finds there to be a shift to folk-country, with her preferences veering toward Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan.
While the emergence of the colder, quieter months call for calmer music, the gloomy days can heavily carry over into Terps’ music choice, causing the top picks to be sad songs.
Kilbourn noted that she listens to Fiona Apple, Mazzy Star and Phoebe Bridgers to align with rainy, cold days in the fall.
“There’s some sort of comfort in [sad music]... it’s cozy to me,” Kilbourn said.
The appeal of sad music despite the potential of bringing listeners’ moods down is a topic that surpasses UMD’s campus; the National Library of Medicine shared a research report written by professors who reviewed the pleasures of sad music.
The article introduced the “tragedy paradox,” which is “the contradictory idea that humans work to minimize sadness in their lives, yet find it pleasurable in an aesthetic context.”
This concept could be an explanation for Terps choosing more slowed down, sad music when the sun sets earlier and the air becomes brisk. The dimmer, chillier days may serve as inspiration for students to click on a sad playlist to accompany them on their walk to class, but the tragedy paradox may be why they come back to those songs every gloomy day.
Whether there is a psychological reason or it’s simply personal preference, most Terps’ preferences are constantly developing in order to fulfill the desire to enjoy music every day.