Which student Musical Tribe are you in? (part 1)

The perfect playlist for your student musical tribe

Going out is a tad over-rated, so why go out at all? Sure ‘out’ seems fun when you’re getting ready with your pals. But then it’s 3 hours later and you’ve spent half the night queuing to get into a packed club or stuck at the bar behind the guy who’s ordering tequila shots and pints of Guinness for 800 of his closest friends. Now you’re trying to persuade a skeptical taxi driver that ‘that friend’ is perfectly fine to get in the backseat, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Sod that. One of the best things about living off campus, is that you can stay in, get in the nibbles, grab a bottle of cheap wine and set up the perfect playlist with your housemates.

Guest blogger Ben Wheatley has taken the bold step of dividing up the whole student population into a number of  student musical tribes and created the ultimate playlist for a student night in. Listen to the playlists for each student musical tribe on Spotify playlists that he’s created especially for your big night in!

Do you recognise yourself or any of your friends? Any belters that got missed?

Chart Supremists

There’s always one. Chart music reins supreme over all other music, but they often find out about the track 2 months after everyone else is sick of it. They don’t know the lyrics, but insist on singing along, normally making up words on the spot that sort of fit in with the melody. (This is normally ‘that friend’ you end up having to pour into a taxi on a night out, so at least you escape dealing with that.)

B-Town Fanatics

If you have come from anywhere outside the West Midlands, then this group of people will be something of a new discovery. Despite the genre being past it’s heyday, the style and music is still very much part of Birmingham’s culture. Usually found roaming Digbeth or hiding in the basement of The Sunflower Lounge supporting their cousin’s-friend’s-sister’s-boyfriend’s new band, B-Town Fanatics live for the vintage Pinterest life. The music isn’t half bad, so don’t mention that you thought Birmingham’s influence on music reached as far as your mum’s UB40 CD.

Rave Revivalists

The daylight is not a friend to this musical tribe. To a Rave Revivalist, pulling an all-nighter means something completely different than looming essay deadlines. Instead, they’re often found in dingy warehouses, partying till 6am and two stepping their way through life. This tribe lives for the 90s era of house and techno. Don’t say that the music sounds repetitive and boring. Embrace the hidden art behind the music and save them the price of the £15 ticket it normally costs them to get into a dirty warehouse with pop up bars on cheap plastic tables.

Drag Dreamers

More than likely avid fans of the fabulous Ru Paul’s Drag Race, this group can only dream of wearing it as good as the man himself. Totally in love with the big, the brash and the downright sassy, this tribe is more than often larger than life, and is an explosion of feather boas and cheek bones. With sass levels needling off the scale, expect some big lip-synching and misty-eyed emotion, just like their idols Madonna and Mariah. Unlikely to refuse a night out, but on the rare occasion you can convince them to stay in, it’ll be for a glass of classy chardonnay, a Meryl Streep movie on Netflix and these top tunes.

The I-Like-Everythingers

Less of a musical tribe and more a musical butterfly. When asked, they apparently ‘like all music’. This does that the benefit that they can get along with almost everyone as a result. They can go to a grime concert one night, attempting to spit out all the words to Stormzy, then the next they will be down the local club singing their heart out to the latest release by Little Mix. The best people to take to festivals, because you get complete control of which bands you see. And, yes, they will pretend to know everyone and awkwardly try to sing along. Basically, they’re the only person you know who like’s every single song on the latest Now complication album.

You can read (and listen to) part two on the blog, so if you’ve not made this list, don’t feel left out…

About Ben

Ben is in his final year studying Media and Communication at Birmingham City University. He’s also the Station Controller for Scratch Radio, as well as hosting the Monday Unwind.