Around this time every year, there’s much debate over the “song of the summer.” Was it the song that topped Billboard’s “Songs Of The Summer” chart? Something from the soundtrack of a summer blockbuster? Was it something new and exciting? Or was it just “the vibe,” whatever that may mean to different people? Oberlin students offer their takes on the matter.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Daniel Pike, College third-year: “Gnarly” by KATSEYE

KATSEYE is what is hot right now. They are exploding onto the scene, and I’m telling you, they’re gonna be everywhere. They already got that Gap commercial. They’re gonna be the next One Direction, honestly. When I first listened to the song, I was like, “Dang, this song sucks.” I really hated it the first few times I listened to it. But it was just one of those things where, the more you hear it, it’s camp. Just a little bit. At a certain point, I just couldn’t escape from it.

Nathan Greeley, College third-year: “This Sound Got Old” by Billy Cobb

It’s ridiculously catchy. It’s off of his new album, Bart. It’s experimental for him. He branches out in a lot of different areas. There’re hyperpop influences. “This Sound Got Old,” specifically, is ironic in how earworm-y it is, because it’s making fun of how he keeps making these catchy, earworm-y pop punk songs.

Sam Thiel, College fourth-year: “Alien Threat” by RIOT

It’s a little strange. It’s part of this album The Machine. I think “Alien Threat” is probably my favorite song on the album, just because it doesn’t really pull punches. It is going for broke throughout the entire song. This is a very heavy song with a lot of heavy noises, a lot of very angry sounds. Right when it starts to pick up, it just goes straight into the drop. I remember I was walking back from a friend’s house when I opened my phone and saw that the album had been released, and then I listened to it on my way home at midnight.

Nick Bernstein, College first-year: “New Threats from the Soul” by Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band

I went to Cape May over the summer. “New Threats from the Soul” is this country song, but it’s kind of progressive, and it’s so long and so epic, and so peaceful and calming. While we were at the beach, it was just such summer vibes to listen to this song, walk down the beach, lie on the beach.

Juliet Shaywitz, College third-year: “About Hunger, About Love” by Pearla

I found the album, which is called Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming, in the spring, and I listened to it a bunch, and that song just sort of stuck with me. I can listen to it in the car; I can listen to it lying facedown in my room. It’s very “sunny weather,” but also “bored out of my mind.”

Leo Rainey, College first-year: “Lover Girl” by Laufey

I’m a big fan of Laufey, and I’m really glad that she’s finally released A Matter of Time. One of the singles that I listened to on repeat was “Lover Girl.” I would just wake up, put in my headphones, and it would change my perspective of the day. In terms of tempo and musical tone, it was very uppity in a way that got me excited about what I was doing. If I was going on a walk, it would add that extra pep in my step.

Owen Neaman, College third-year: “Frownland” by Chat Pile

I started listening to them on the recommendation of a friend around the time that school ended, and I just fell in love with Chat Pile as a band. And this song is so relentless, yet at the same time so catchy. It’s one of those songs that I fixated on and would play five times in a row, back-to-back-to-back, and just never get sick of. There was a certain anxiety around getting a job. I was afraid that it would be the soundtrack to unemployment — but I kept playing it when I got an internship. I love listening to really, really heavy music walking around the city, and it just energizes me. Anything heavy or sludgy is awesome. It makes me walk faster. It makes me focused. It makes me look alive.