7 songs getting me through these two weeks

So I have a test tomorrow in one of my math classes, and the final in said class is nine days after that. A week from Friday. I have an eventual paper in one of my classes, two other cumulative finals, a unit test, and then some homework/readings more or less every day until then. This isn't me complaining about it, this is me just saying what I have to do. It's a lot, don't get me wrong, but everyone has a lot to do this time of year. So what happens then? Music. Music, and blogging, in the face of studying for said math exam. Here are seven songs that are getting me through the last two weeks. Not necessarily going to help you, just me. Maybe you'll find something you like! But I want to think about good music for a while, instead of math.

1. Little Smoke - This Will Destroy You. As you know by now, I'm a sucker for instrumental music. This is more or less white noise layered over some kind of synth bass. The hell I know what it is, but I end up habituating to this song after three minutes, which is great to read to.

2. O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi Trio. When I think about hosting a fancy Christmas party, with everyone in ugly sweaters, eating crackers and cheese by the fireplace, this song will be playing.

3. The Second Coming - Julez Santana. Look, I have to get motivated for finals, right? Nothing like my high school basketball pregame playlist.

4. Down and Out - Tantric. Eighty percent of the reason why I still love this song is that it's Evan Longoria's walk-up music. Boss.

5. Joker and the Thief - Wolfmother. This makes me miss baseball so much...and will somehow be relevant to me in the same way that "The Second Coming" is.

6. The Sky Above, The Field Below - Explosions in the Sky. It's something about staying on one chord for five minutes, but being able to do so much around it. This is a great song on its own, but listening to it just gives me a sense of peace.

7. Dirty Water - The Standells. After my last final of every semester, I play this song on the walk back to my residence hall. God, that feels good.

This pretty much sums of what kind of music I listen to at the end of the semester. Motivation music (despite being initially used for sports), instrumental music, and some semblance of ass-kicking music. I planned on coming up with ten, but I think these songs represent a decent subset of the music I'll be playing over the next two weeks. Oh, and The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. Bonus points if you read through this blog post and were surprised that I didn't mention it in any of the seven songs. That's because it's a complete given that I'll listen to the album several times.