13 Tumblr Albums & Their Berkeley Counterparts

The year is 2015. You are 14 years old getting ready for school and looking for your pair of Doc Martens. Your parents come in and you quickly hide your pack of cigarettes. Your room is filled with posters of Lana Del Rey and Sky Ferreira. This is the Tumblr era of the early to mid-2010s. It was a curse in the sense of how unbearable it probably made you to the people around you. But it was also a gift because of the phenomenal music that came out of it. 

So I was thinking: I am a freshman at UC Berkeley and have gotten used to mostly everything around here. I still love and listen to a majority of the Tumblr albums, so why not categorize these quintessential Berkeley locations as Tumblr albums? Let us get into it.

Photo of the Campanile by Chao Kusollerschariya via Shutterstock

1. The Campanile Was Born to Die

Perhaps the pinnacle album of the Tumblr era, and what I think kickstarted its aesthetic, Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die (2012). This album is iconic with just the opening production alone. It is cinematic and feels like it comes straight out of a movie. Lana had Tumblr teens by the throat, and for good reason. The way this album has aged and inspires countless musicians today is the definition of awe-inspiring. And what is more deserving of the most iconic place at Berkeley than the Campanile? It is the highlight of UC Berkeley, just like how Born to Die was to moody colored Tumblr posts. And it is not the only Lana album on this list.

Photo of Lorde by Paul R. Giunta via Getty Images

2. Dwinelle Hall and the Minds We Had

The first class I ever had at UC Berkeley was in Dwinelle Hall. I remember going to the back of the building because that was where the directions on my phone took me on my first day of school. In three years when I graduate from this university, Dwinelle Hall will still mean something to me. It has a sense of longing and nostalgia that only Pure Heroine (2013) by Lorde can match. I walked through Dwinelle Hall one time listening to “Ribs”; I do not recommend it unless you want to feel hopelessly sad as you climb up the stairs to reach level E of the building. 

Photo of BAMPFA by Iwan Baan. Courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro and EHDD.

3. BAMPFA: I See Things That Nobody Else Sees

Cry Baby (2015) by Melanie Martinez. This album still has the same chokehold it had on me when I first listened to it. “Pacify Her” is that song, and I still listen to it on a weekly basis to this day. I can write an entire essay on how nobody has managed to perfectly mimic this album, even seven years after it was first released. The visuals for this album are, in my opinion, the best out of all of the Tumblr albums. The pastel colors and the childhood themed concept of the album is unique to say the least. This is why it has to be the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). In what universe would Cry Baby not be associated with an art museum. A universe full of cry babies who do not get it, that is for sure.

Photo of The 1975 via slatethedisco.com

4. Memorial Glade…You Look So Cool

If Matty Healy from The 1975 sang “You look so cool” to my face one thousand times, I would not stop him. In fact, I would ask him to do it one thousand more times. The 1975 is a band that holds the distinction of making one of my favorite songs of all time, “Somebody Else.” However, before that song was created, they released their self-titled album The 1975 (2013). The album quickly catapulted the band into the Tumblr scene. If you went back to late 2013 and looked up The 1975, I am certain that there are pictures of parking lots with the band’s lyrics plastered in an artistic font. Memorial Glade is The 1975 by The 1975. I have no thoughtful reasoning behind this association other than its vibes, but I am right so do not disagree. Matty Healy would most certainly be smoking weed on the glade at sunset, do not fool yourself. 

Photo of Oski by Brittany Hosea-Small via UC Berkeley

5. Oski Only Calls Founders’ Rock When He’s High 

You know the heading is true. Oski would of course only call Founder’s Rock when he is high. Now moving on to Arctic Monkeys, who are known for their mob-inducing line “But I crumble completely when you cry”. Years after that perfect lyric dropped, they released their fifth studio album AM (2013). Like The 1975, they were one of four bands on this list that had supplied Tumblr with an endless amount of songs to make edits to. I am pretty sure I saw an edit to The Perks of Being a Wallflower a few years ago. That event alone makes me associate AM with Founders’ Rock. This rock is alone in a city obsessed with the idea of fast pacing. Founders’ Rock needs a hug, and the Arctic Monkeys can give it the affection it rightfully deserves. 

Photo of Sky Ferreira via sidewalkhustle.com

6. Sky Ferreira: Perform at the Greek Theater (This Is A Plea)

Someone had to ask. And it is something most certainly worth asking. Night Time, My Time (2013) is the only studio album released by Sky Ferreira, and honestly it is kind of a serve. To have this album be your only album is reminiscent of the time I won the spelling bee in fifth grade with the word ‘vegetable’. Both the spelling bee and Ferreira’s album occurred within a few months of one another, therefore making them connected. The Greek Theater is also connected with Ferreira, due to her album title alone. Night Time, My Time is literally the definition of The Greek Theater. You can see the night there. I rest my case. Also, one last time, Sky Ferreira please come to Berkeley. The girls and the gays would greatly appreciate it.

7. Telegraph Avenue Is A Saturated Sunrise

Photo of Telegraph Avenue by Urban on Wikimedia under Creative Commons License

BADLANDS (2015) by Halsey is another album of the Tumblr era known for its aesthetic. Turquoise and reddish-pink captivated this album, which has one of my favorite songs of all time “Colors” as a track. I will never get tired of this song, most likely due to its catchy melody, which gets stuck in my head all the time. And the bridge of the song is the meaning of leaving an impact on Tumblr. Halsey had everyone on Tumblr saying “Till you decided purple just wasn’t for you” as if it was their religion. For the bridge alone on “Colors,” I would say BADLANDS is Telegraph Avenue. From the various thrift shops to the colors filling the street, Halsey’s first studio album captures the variety on Telegraph Avenue. 

Still from the “Sweater Weather” music video via SME (on behalf of Columbia)

8. Main Stacks = “Sweater Weather”

The impact The Neighbourhood has had on bisexual culture is something not to be diminished. Every bisexual knows the first few seconds of track four on The Neighbourhood’s I Love You (2013). It is a staple, and for that, this rock band deserves its flowers. This is why I Love You by The Neighbourhood is Main Stacks Library. I have actually never been inside of this library, but based on the images I looked at on Google, this album matched its vibes. Out of all of the libraries I hear about at Berkeley, Main Stacks seems to be the go-to. It is a classic that you can never go wrong with. Just like how you can never go wrong screaming “All I am is a man” while wearing cuffed jeans and holding out a peace sign.

Photo of Strawberry Creek via creeks.berkeley.edu

9. Welcome to the Life of Strawberry Creek

Strawberry Creek is a river that runs through the entirety of the UC Berkeley campus. From the HAAS School of Business to BAMPFA, which is literal irony if you ask me. In fact I learned a while back that it was one of —  if not the main —  reason that this area was chosen to be a university campus. Strawberry Creek is a hidden, but reliable, gem of the university. Electra Heart (2012) by Marina and The Diamonds radiates this same energy. The second studio album by the Welsh musician is a concept album dealing with the character of Electra Heart. It had numerous classics such as “How To Be A Heartbreaker” and “Primadonna”, and I would say is one of the Tumblr albums that aged the best over time. Strawberry Creek will always be there for me, just like the lyric “He made my doll heart light up with joy.”

10. Sproul Plaza: Stop Stressing Me Out!!!

Photo of Sproul Plaza by Mark Zheng via The Daily Cal

Walking through Sproul Plaza is like playing a video game. You have to know which routes and ways to take so you do not have to deal with people. I am really sorry but I am just trying to go to my R1B class; I do not want to join your acapella group. I literally have to stop for a few seconds and analyze how I am going to get to my class. For this reason, I am rewarding Blurryface (2015) by twenty one pilots as being associated with Sproul Plaza. Am I only doing this because the song “Stressed Out” is on the album? Yes. I never really listened to this album so I am not at liberty to connect certain themes to a specific part of Berkeley, but I do know one thing. And that one thing is that I make sure to wear headphones while walking through Sproul Plaza.

Photo of Troye Sivan via EMI Music

11. The Social Sciences Building Drives Me Wild

Blue Neighbourhood (2015) by Troye Sivan is my favorite album of all time, and if you know me that is all I talk about. The way this album got me through high school is something I will never not appreciate. “HEAVEN” is a track that still means the world to me as it did when I was 16 years old. Okay, enough with the emotional stuff. The Social Sciences building is this album because it is blue. I would be joking if that was not a reason, but the main reason is something more endearing. This building was where I had my discussion section for my sociology class last semester. It was the second building at Berkeley I went inside of, and is one of the more comforting buildings out there. It is never crowded when I go there for a class and brings me solace in a relaxing way. Similarly, Troye’s album has calmed me for countless years.

Photo of Lana Del Rey via neilkrug.com

12. Down On the West Coast There Is Amoeba Records

Lana Del Rey is back again because that is what an icon of the Tumblr era does. Ultraviolence (2014) was released two years after Born to Die, which is of Campanile relation. Ultraviolence is my second favorite Lana Del Rey album of all time because it was something she has never done. This album takes inspiration from ‘70s rock and does so beautifully. “West Coast” is still one of the best songs she has ever made, and is part of the reason why I associated this album with Amoeba Records. There are only three Amoeba Record stores, and they are all in California, thus being on the west coast. I also recently bought my Ultraviolence vinyl from the Amoeba Records store in Berkeley.

One of Taylor Swift’s 1989 polaroids via Big Machine Records

13. Rasputin Music Never Goes Out of Style

1989 (2014) by Taylor Swift was the most reblogged album of 2014. To everyone who says this is not a Tumblr album: you are wrong. How can an album be the most discussed on Tumblr, and not be associated with Tumblr culture? Make it make sense. This album is widely left out of the conversation when albums during the Tumblr era are brought up. This is most likely due to the fact that the album is mainstream pop, and Tumblr teens think they are too cool to listen to this sound. Well, they are wrong, because how could you not listen to “Style” ten times in a row without feeling enlightened? 1989 was Taylor Swift’s first studio album to be pure pop, and she executed it perfectly. I could name all the hits that came from this album, but that would be half of the track list. This is an iconic album, and should be viewed as such. Also if you understand why this album is number 13 on this list: I love you.

Written by Adrian Ceja.

Featured Image via 8tracks.com