Hey frat boys, here’s what people actually want to hear
Calling all frat guys, it’s time to retire the EDM mash-ups of throwback and overplayed rap songs because it’s just not what the people want.
I conducted a survey asking what people from each class wanted to hear at a frat party if they had a choice and here are the results:
Class of 2024:
With the pandemic, the class of 2024 will probably not be able to experience feeling the sticky floors of a frat house and listening to the questionable song choices by the DJ. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise, but nonetheless, there was a common thread in what the freshman would want to hear if they could attend a frat party.
The majority of the freshman surveyed really wanted to hear pop music. Some of the songs include “Like a G6” by Far East Movement, “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz and, probably one of my favorite submissions, “Naturally” by Selena Gomez.
The majority of the freshman didn’t want to listen to recently released music and instead listen to throwbacks, mainly from the 2010s.
Click HERE for the class of 2024 playlist.
Class of 2023:
From looking at the class of 2023’s responses, they want to walk into a frat party and hear something fast and upbeat.
They want to listen to a mix of rap and pop, but the majority of the responses preferred more underrated rap music.
“A lot of EDM is typically played, but female rap is seriously the best! I think guys are resistant to playing female music as well, so I would honestly like to see some more representation,” said one sophomore who believes frat DJs should play some songs by Flo Milli.
Click HERE for the class of 2023 playlist.
Class of 2022:
The juniors are all over the place to what they want to listen to. There was a mix of pop, rap, country, rock, and even a request to play a song from a movie soundtrack – “The Sound of Music” to be exact.
Juniors want to be surprised when they step into a party. You never know what’s going to happen when you walk into a Cal Poly party and the class of 2022 want their music to reflect that.
Many of the juniors cited wanting to travel back to when they were freshmen, so songs like “Mo Bamba” and “Sicko Mode” were heavily requested.
Click HERE for the class of 2022 playlist
Class of 2021:
The class of 2021 has had about four years to experience what Cal Poly has to offer. They’re tired of the typical party music and instead want a complete 360 in what is played.
Seniors want the pop and rock genres that they feel has been heavily underrated and not played enough.
One senior suggested that if they were on AUX they would play “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith.
“It’s time to switch up the tempo and bring in a new frat age – a post-covid age. The days of Rae Sremmurd, Kanye and Amine can be buried in the past, along with covid [once we vaccinate the frats], and a new wave of eclectic frat music consisting of rock and metal can enter the party,” said an anonymous senior.
A common theme in how the class of 2021 responded, was that, overall, they wanted that nostalgic feeling right when the next song comes on. They want to jump around singing all the lyrics at the top of their lungs instead of just casually swaying trying to figure out what the artist is saying.
Click HERE for the class of 2021 playlist
Overall:
Looking at the data as a whole, students want to listen to rap, pop, EDM, and rock. While frats and parties in general play already rap and EDM, they are missing out on the genres a lot of people are looking for.
Another big takeaway is that the earlier the song was released the better. A common trend from all classes is that they wanted to be taken back to a time in the past – whether it be when they were growing up, a mere few years ago or when we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic that has ceased all frat parties as we currently know it.
