September 2025
Every month, Mood Ring Radio curates a playlist that reflects the mood of the moment—whether it’s the shifting seasons, cultural waves, or the energy of major events.
Co-curated by Tricia Chérie and Reilly Marie, this column bridges generations, mixing the new, the nostalgic, and the unexpected. Unlike algorithm-driven lists, we go beyond trends, pulling from any era to fit the vibe.
Because when it comes to music, feeling is everything.
This month’s playlist leans into that back-to-school energy—the excitement, the nerves, and the bittersweet feeling that nothing will ever be quite the same. Curated by Tricia Chérie and Reilly Marie, Class of Forever blends songs about change, nostalgia, and the friendships that shape us, pulling from every era to soundtrack the messy, magical process of growing up.
Tame Impala: End of Summer
Kevin Parker has a way of stretching time, and with End of Summer, his first solo release in five years, he proves it again. At just over seven minutes, the track drifts between acid house pulses, trance atmospherics, and EDM peaks that somehow feel both endless and fleeting. Its kick drum pounds like a reminder to tie up loose ends before the season slips away, pulling you into the promise of making this summer the best yet—at least until the next one. -Tricia Chérie
We’re Going To Be Friends: The White Stripes
As the semester begins, the nerves of making new friends return. This song captures that mix of vulnerability and hope: the innocence of friendship and the longing to be seen.
Written by Jack White and first released on White Blood Cells in 2001, “We’re Going to Be Friends” is a tender outlier in The White Stripes catalog, stripped of distortion and irony, beautifully simple. From the perspective of a boy befriending Suzy Lee, it imagines childhood as it should be, walking to school, chasing bugs, and believing kids aren’t cruel. White has said his own school years were far tougher, but this song let him dream of a gentler version of growing up.
The track found new life in 2004’s Napoleon Dynamite, drifting over the now-iconic credits of tater tots, Trapper Keepers, and ChapStick. It sealed the song as an anthem of awkward innocence—and in many ways, Napoleon mirrors Jack White himself: quirky, misunderstood, bursting with oddball talent, and impossible to forget. -Tricia Chérie
Money: The Drums
As any creative student knows, feeling broke at some point is practically a rite of passage. Even the biggest artists have their grimy origin stories if you zoom in close enough. Money, the first single from The Drums’ second album Portamento, leans right into that struggle. Frontman Jonathan Pierce has said the lyrics came from wanting to give everything to someone you love and realizing you can’t always afford to. Released in the UK back in 2011, it’s both autobiographical and universal—because whether you’re in art school or selling out shows, you’ll eventually face the question of what really makes you valuable. And somehow, when you hear it, you can’t help but feel just a little bit British.-Tricia Chérie
Sweatpants: Childish Gambino
Sweatpants are a rite of passage, whether you’re shuffling through high school hallways or pulling all-nighters in college, they’re practically the uniform. Childish Gambino leans into that mix of comfort and defiance on Sweatpants, a 2014 single from Because the Internet that’s part flex, part comedy roast. With bars full of pop culture name-drops and the unforgettable hook, “don’t be mad ‘cause I’m doing me better than you doing you,” Gambino tears down critics while proving his rap chops. It’s witty, brash, and a little unhinged, like stand-up performed over a bass-heavy beat. -Tricia Chérie
Where’s My Head At: Original- Basement Jaxx Remix: 100 gecs
100 gecs take Basement Jaxx’s iconic chaos and crank it into overdrive with a glitchy, bass-heavy remix that feels like the internet having a sugar rush. First teased during a Boiler Room set that fans instantly crowned legendary, their version turns a 2001 club classic into a hyperpop fever dream. It’s loud, unpredictable, and almost too much—in other words, exactly what you’d want from 100 gecs. -Tricia Chérie
Broken Social Scene: Lover’s Spit
“Grow old and do some shit.” Adolescent love and lust are one of impurities, overly dramatic feelings, wrongdoings- but never false emotion. Being a teenager means wholeheartedly feeling every person, every occurrence, every opinion, with every fiber of your being. The entirety of the world is spinning around us, attempting to weave college decisions, future aspirations, and moral changes into our brains. ‘Lover’s Spit’ reaches out to those swarmed with societal pressures, unrequited love, and the inevitability of growing up. We remain wrapped within the pain of love and getting older- the questioning of who we are to become, the image of them smiling that we cannot seem to shake, the never-ending jealousy engulfing our hearts. -Reilly Marie
The Head and the Heart: Rivers and Roads
“Been talkin’ ‘bout the way things change.” A year from now, our lives won’t look the same, reshaped by the choices we make and the things we chase. Savoring the present used to feel optional, almost cliché, but lately it feels less like advice and more like a responsibility we can’t afford to ignore.
Storytelling the passing of time and circumstances through cozy lyrics and bass chords, ‘Rivers and Roads’ wraps us up in the terrifying changes occurring, “A year from now we’ll all be gone, All our friends will move away, And they’re goin’ to better places, But our friends will be gone away.” The people we have known since Elementary school will soon pave their own pathways to success. We will no longer linger in the school parking lot before the bell rings. The stands beside the football field will be replaced with those younger than us. There will soon be rivers and roads standing between us, the place, and the people we call “home.” -Reilly Marie
Harry Styles: Matilda
“You don’t have to be sorry for leaving and growing up.” Through the ever-changing confusion of growing up, one thing remains constant- the glimmering sense of fear. The fear of being disliked, the fear of feeling out of place, the fear of morphing into someone you cannot recognize, and the fear that you are making the wrong decision. Often, we feel confined within a minuscule box of who we are “supposed to be” and feel obligated to withhold from fulfilling familial duties and traditions. There is a weight of knowing your ideals are brighter, your opinions bolder, and your wishes lie farther than anyone with your last name has ever taken them. Styles soothes listeners through heartfelt lyricism and raw finger-picked chords. As he softly glides through a journey of pain and acceptance, he lets us know that when we let go, we can no longer be hurt. “I know they won’t hurt you anymore as long as you can let them go.” We cannot let utter fear keep us looking back at what we are leaving behind. -Reilly Marie
Lorde: Ribs
“And laughing ‘til our ribs get tough.” Lorde’s infamous timeless quality continues to resonate with today’s youth. Somewhere, there is a frightened teenager on the cusp of leaving behind the carefree nature of adolescence and entering adulthood, blasting this song in their AirPods or in their car on the way to school. ‘Ribs’ undoubtedly embodies the power of nostalgia with a strict, upbeat tone and emotionally raw lyrics that highlight the ever-changing nature of relationships and personalities, demonstrating the gut-wrenching fear that things will never feel as beautiful as they do at this moment. “I want ’em’ back, I want ’em’ back, The minds we had, The minds we had.” These changes are inevitable, and it seems all we can do for now is let this magically emotional anthem soothe our growing pains. Reilly Marie
Djo: Crux
“Somethin’ special’s happenin’.” High school often feels incredibly dreadful – the seemingly never-ending drama, conflicts with those we trust, and the fear that comes with being uncertain about the future. It is now the last year and we have begun to recognize the specialty of it all. It is the time of “lasts.” The last first day, last football game, last pep rally, last lunch period, last conversation with your favorite teacher, last period of time in the place you have known all of your life. Djo implements a stripped-down, yet simple sound in “Crux,” which effectively reflects the overall theme of change. The diverse nature of the tune highlights the pivotal moment when you realize that these moments will be vital in determining the type of individual you will become: “Let it be what it is, let it out from inside you.” –Reilly Marie
