With graduation and new opportunities to dive headfirst into upon us as the worldwide pandemic is dampened by mass vaccination, I put together a playlist for everyone sick of working their awful service job and ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Personally, I recently left an awful job at Target where I had a terrible relationship with most of the management and more than enough encounters with “Karens,”  and I can tell you almost nothing felt as good as exiting those sliding double doors for the last time. The viral posts going around on Twitter about service jobs being closed due to workers demanding higher wages and better conditions really inspired the direction of this column entry.

the workers at this chipotle said no more exploiting us pic.twitter.com/a99FHWc5vq

— brands getting owned (@BrandsOwned) May 8, 2021

I do not want to only spread negativity or speak poorly about service jobs. I have been working customer service jobs since I was 18 and will continue to, but I wanted to look at some of these songs as motivation or personal anthems to inspire people to finish strong and get that new job, so they can finally leave the places where they are not appreciated enough.

‘Break Shit’ – Jasiah

I want to ditch the formalities at the beginning of this playlist and start with a song that I am sure most people have felt is relatable. The song is called “Break Shit” by Jasiah, and there really is not much more to be said about the song; it is aggressive, a minute and a half long and what plays through my head while I am excusing myself to the bathroom to yell about a terrible customer I just had.

‘Square Up’ – Zack Fox, Kenny Beats

This second song is dedicated to all the terrible management and specifically middle management that try and act like they do not know what it is like to work a job like ours. In no way am I condoning violence, but a little comic relief with the same vibe of the first song felt like a perfect thing to slot in.

Zack Fox has been making satirical rap songs for years now and “Square Up” and its music video is what played through my head at Target as my annoying manager would call for me on my walkie talkie to “check in with me” for the third time that hour.

‘Guerrilla Radio’ – Rage Against The Machine

Next on the list is an automatic inclusion with Rage Against The Machine. There is not a band that rushed to my mind faster than them because they are perfect to listen to while sticking it to the man. “Guerrilla Radio” has such an iconic intro riff that is impossible to listen to without feeling a little angsty.

This song spurs a ton of memories for me, most significantly hearing it for the first time in “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” back in the days where I would have to fight my brother over time on his PlayStation.   

‘Quicksand’ – The Story So Far

Following Rage Against The Machine is never an easy task, so I decided to start leaning into a different theme in regard to the songs. Pop-punk as a genre of music is notorious for being about leaving your hometown and getting away from the monotony of everyday life. “Quicksand” by The Story So Far fits the bill for a song to remind us that we can make it past stagnation.

A specific line that makes “Quicksand” fit right into the playlist is during the end of the song where the singer is yelling “Trying hard, real hard, every day not to lose my temper,” and that’s almost exactly how it felt during the tail end of most of the service jobs I’ve had.

‘Money’ – Pink Floyd

Slowing things down a bit, “Money” by Pink Floyd is a song that everyone can listen to while leaving their job for greener pastures and feel good about it. Whether it’s money that you’re after or a better work environment, this song has that catchy bassline that gives you that certain swagger needed to walk out and know you’re doing something better with your time elsewhere. 

‘Stronger’ – Kanye West

The last song I wanted to put in the playlist to create a well-rounded theme was a good self-driven motivational song like “Stronger” by Kanye West. 

Like with the song before, I want to hype you guys up. I want you guys to want better things for yourself, and I want to provide the soundtrack to help you get there. I want all of us moving forward to be ‘‘harder, better, faster, stronger.”