Leaving Lamont: A 2 a.m. Fall Playlist for Midterm Season

By midterm season, the walk back from Lamont Library has become a nightly ritual. At 2 a.m., the air has an edge, the leaves crunch with every step to your dorm, and the only company is the hum of the streetlights. Whether you are closing your laptop after a completed paper or an unfinished problem set, here are 10 songs to carry you home.

‘October Passed Me By’ by girl in red (2022)

Released as a standalone single, this song is the sequel to girl in red’s 2018 hit “we fell in love in october.” Produced alongside Aaron Dessner of The National, it opens with a swift acoustic guitar before billowing into atmospheric sound. The title alone fits the fall months: As midterms swallow the days, October really can slip by without you. It’s the right track for the first step out the door, when the cold hits and you realize how long you’ve been inside.

‘zombie girl’ by Adrianne Lenker (2020)

From Lenker’s solo album “songs,” “zombie girl” is a gentle, stripped-down folk track with a title that doubles as a description for anyone walking home after a long night. Lenker’s music tends to sound like it was recorded in a quiet room, which is exactly the energy you want at this stage of the walk. It’s the song for when the adrenaline has worn off and all that’s left is the pull of your bed.

‘India Rubber’ by Radiohead (1995)

A B-side to “Fake Plastic Trees,” “India Rubber” is one of the stranger corners of Radiohead’s early catalog. It’s quirky, which makes it ideal for that giddy, delirious stage of sleep deprivation when everything feels slightly funny. Consider it a detour from the more serious songs on the list — a reminder to not take the walk too seriously.

‘Boyish’ by Japanese Breakfast (2017)

From Japanese Breakfast’s sophomore album “Soft Sounds from Another Planet,” “Boyish” is a slow, swooning ballad of yearning. Michelle Zauner’s voice carries a vulnerability that hits harder when you’re exhausted, since sleep deprivation has a way of turning small feelings into big ones. Its nostalgic warmth suits the first stretch of the walk, when the library’s lights fade behind you and your mind finally wanders.

‘nothing’ by Steve Lacy (2026)

Track seven on Steve Lacy’s most recent album “Oh yeah?,” “nothing” is an acoustic-guitar-led ballad about an obsessive, one-sided crush. At about two and a half minutes, it works as an intimate breather among the album’s heavier synth arrangements. Its quiet acoustic sound feels like the warmest thing on a cold fall walk, and the feeling it conveys of not being able to stop thinking about someone suits a mind that won’t switch off at 2 a.m.

‘How Can I?’ by Mark A Mitchell (1983)

A slow jam, “How Can I?” from Mark A Mitchell’s 2-track discography runs just over five minutes. Its glowing synths feel like neon reflected on wet pavement, a bit of warmth against the autumn chill. The long runtime also helps, since it can play through the whole stretch of a walk across the Yard without reaching for the phone.

‘Romulus’ by Sufjan Stevens (2003)

On his debut album, “Michigan,” Sufjan Stevens writes about the abandonment of his mother. “Romulus” keeps the album’s hushed, sparse feel, with intimate vocals that sound like they’re being whispered close to your ear. It fits an empty campus at night, when the quiet makes you more reflective, and the bare trees match the song’s stripped back sound.

‘The Moon Song’ by beabadoobee & Oscar Lang (2017)

This lo-fi cover of Karen O’s “The Moon Song” — which she wrote with Spike Jonze for the 2013 film “Her” — is one of beabadoobee’s earliest releases. Oscar Lang, a longtime collaborator, joins her on the track. Hushed and intimate at just over two minutes, the song sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom at night, a cozy counterweight to the autumn chill. With the moon being the only thing still shining at 2 a.m., it’s the right track for the first steps out of the library.

‘Jesus, Etc. - 2022 Remaster’ by Wilco (2002)

Featured on Wilco’s album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Expanded Edition),” this song was remastered for the album’s 20th anniversary. Jeff Tweedy’s gentle vocals, with soft strings and acoustic guitar, make it a consoling listen, like a hand on your shoulder telling you the night will pass. At 2 a.m., when an exam feels bigger than it will in daylight, this is the song that reassures.

‘(dream)’ by salvia palth (2013)

From the artist’s debut album “melanchole,” “(dream)” is a short lo-fi track that lasts a bit over one minute. It sounds like a thought half-formed at the edge of sleep, which suits the last stretch of the walk, when your eyes are heavy and your bed is near. Its hazy, muffled quality also feels like the warmth from the sun peeking through the window against the cold fall air, and it ends before you have reached your door, as if the dream is only just the beginning.

—Staff writer Leah Choi can be reached at [email protected].