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What Am I Listening To?
If you know me at all, you know I am always listening to music. Whether it's a sparkling new hyperfixation or an oldie-but-goodie from my playlists of years past, I typically categorize my seasons by what I'm listening to. So, for my fellow music-lovers, I wanted to share my seasons with you and maybe give you something new to add to your current rotations.
Late Winter 2024/Early Spring 2025
I have noticed lately that the overall sound I'm listening to is almost old-school in a lot of ways - very R&B, jazzy, just easy-listening. Not all, but quite a lot lately!
Dancing Alone by Axwell /\ Ingrosso
Not much to this, I just love it.
Me & Mr. Jones by Amy Winehouse
I just love the sound of this song. She was uber-talented, RIP.
Mr. Love by Wise John
I have loved this song since 2023, but I find myself listening to it a ton lately for some reason. I rarely skip it when it comes on rotation.
Trip Around the Sun by Kenny Chesney
I thought this was going to be a cover of Jimmy Buffett's and Martina McBride's song "Trip Around the Sun," which made me a bit annoyed (I love that song and listen to it every year on my birthday). But this was a very pleasant song and not at all what I thought it would be. So I actually listened to this all day on New Year's Day and I think it gave me good vibes for the year ahead ✌.
Everybody Wants To Rule the World by Tears for Fears
This song is so good, and I don't know if I can understand you if you have an issue with it. It's so easy to listen to!
I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen
This might be one of my current favorites for at least this season of life. There's no bad time to listen to it, in my opinion.
Waves by Luna Shadows
This song is actually probably one of my ALL-TIME favorites. I discovered it in 2016 and listened to it all summer long. I still listen to it a ton (clearly!).
The Giver by Chappell Roan
Okay, so I have been a fan of Chappell Roan since 2021, when she probably only had about 70k followers on anything. I played "Pink Pony Club" all day on my birthday that year and I remember telling my best friend that "this girl is going to make it big, mark my words." I have loved watching her get as big as she is now! She's unhinged, but she's authentic! I wanted this song as SOON as I saw her perform it on SNL.
Hard To Be Happy by JONES
This is the quintessential sound I like these days for just hanging out around the house and getting ready in the morning. My Spotify put together a "Sensual Evening Mix" playlist and this was from that list and I love it 😂
Turn Me On by Norah Jones
Pretty much same thing as above ⬆
Reminisce (lost time) by DIVEBAR YOUTH
There is something weirdly euphoric about this song for me. I listened to it one night driving home under a full moon and listened to this and just LOVED it.
Tangerine Dream by Maya Delilah
This was on a playlist my Spotify made for me in the evenings (might have mentioned it above) and the overall sound just fits like the ambiance I'm trying to exude in my 30's (I think?). Love it, and love this vibe.
Fall/Winter of 2024
So this list is going to be a bit more varied than summer's. I found a little less music overall, but got really into the few that I found, as well as some oldies that I've always loved.
Hurts Me by Tory Lanez
This is a song that was on my Top 5 Spotify Wrapped songs from this year. I don't have any sort of special connection to it, I just love how it sounds!
NEVER GET USED TO THIS by Forrest Frank ft. JVKE
THIS song. It's so good. I heard snippets from the artist before he released it and I was dying for him to put it on Spotify. I'm a fan of both singers on this, and you can really tell where their influences are in the music if you know their stuff. (P.S. It's a Christian song, but WAY more upbeat than most I hear, so I jam to it often.)
Can't Get Enough of You Baby by Smash Mouth
I won't lie, I'm embarrassed about this one for some reason (lol). It really just became an earworm for me, and I indulged. I mean, I don't think I'll ever grow out of Smash Mouth fully.
Who's That Girl by Camryn James
I love this guy's music. There is something that feels so familiar about it. I think it sounds a lot like Kid Rock's music, rock with some country influences. I have listened to a decent bit of Camryn James' stuff lately, but this is my favorite. It's a perfect "sunny day, windows down" song.
Cloudbusting by Kate Bush
This is one of those songs I got really into so much that I researched what inspired it. The perspective it's written from is interesting: the son of Wilhelm Reich, a 20th century scientist in Austria that was taken away by the government for his unorthodox experiments. One was the "Cloudbuster" which was supposed to create clouds. It's unusual in both subject matter and sound, but I really like it.
The Door by Teddy Swims
If you had your radio on the top songs this summer, you've heard this. I love the more fast-paced R&B sound of this song. Simple instrumentals, and Teddy Swims' voice is really well suited for this kind of music.
See Her Out by Francis and the Lights
I LOVE this song. It was featured in the new series "Nobody Wants This" on Netflix, which I got several people to watch and love. It's the song that plays the very second the two main characters have their first kiss after a moment of build-up (which is one of the best first kisses in a TV series ever - beaten only by Nick and Jess in New Girl - and I will die on that hill). This song just felt perfect for the moment, and it's great in its own right.
Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac
I've been into Fleetwood Mac lately, and I cannot believe I had not heard this one before. It's easily in my top 5 favorite Fleetwood Mac songs ever now, maybe even top 3.
Juno by Sabrina Carpenter
Okay so this song is......not for everyone 😂😅 There's a whole trend on TikTok with this song and Sabrina Carpenter's concert performances. I can't lie, I just love this song. It feels like it was written in pink glitter gel pen. I wish I could set a better example than this, but I like it and I gotta own it.
Can't Stop Talking by The Struts
This is the first release by The Struts in the last couple years that I really loved. Something about it felt very Halloween-y to me, too, which is fitting because that's about when I was listening to it the most.
Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol
This is one of those songs that I love so much, and I forget how much I love it til I hear it. I played it a ton during my junior year of college on a burnt CD and have hardly listened to it since. I heard it out somewhere and immediately added it to my "All Time Earworms" playlist and wore it out.
Breathless by The Corrs
This song's chorus is low-key euphoric to me. Not only that, but I have mastered singing this song so much that I'd feel mostly confident doing karaoke to it....in my car or apartment....alone (lol).
Killing Valerie by Vitruvian Soul
This is another from the Instagram algorithm that I initially really liked, and it continues to grow on me. The build up in the second verse makes me feel weirdly giddy. It's a short one, but I just love the sound.
Hard Habit to Break by Chicago
I have gotten really into Chicago lately, which is funny because I got really into them one other time back in 9th grade. This song did something to me back then, and I had no idea why. It was one I wasn't familiar with at that time, and I just found myself listening to it so much. I hadn't listened to it in years, and I went on a deep dive on one of their albums a few weeks ago and rediscovered it. It packs a harder punch being older, but I love it. It's a lot more layered to me listening to it now, and it can still make me feel a little sad, but it's one of my favorite Chicago songs, and the one I listen to most often.
Summer of 2024
Summer is typically when I find the most new music or really dive into stuff I already know I love. For this season, my Instagram ads have been really killing it. I've been in an electro-pop mood for a little while, but this is a little less so:
Fool For Love by Lord Huron
This song is on my brother's "Pool Party" playlist that he's been playing primarily this summer (whether we are in the pool or not). I am OBSESSED with this song right now. The chords reminded me a little tiny bit of "Volcano" by Jimmy Buffet, which was one of my favorites as a kid. It's a really summer-y song, and I have a feeling it'll be at the top of my Spotify Wrapped this year.
When It's Over by Sugar Ray
I am a small fan of Sugar Ray for a long time, and this is one of the three songs of theirs I used to listen to every time I went to the beach. I don't know why, but I've begun listening to them again. It's kinda weird when a song sounds upbeat but is a bit sad lyrically, but you truly get the best of both worlds with this one (lol).
Steve's Going to London by AJR
AJR is a band I forget I like until I hear one of their songs. They are pretty niche, and this song is a pretty good example of that. It's just a fun song both musically and lyrically (I actually really love the part where they get kinda meta before the final chorus), because it's truly a song about nothing.
Bleed It Out by Linkin Park
Lol, I know this one is pretty old. But I heard it out somewhere a couple of weeks ago and forgot how much I like it, so I've been listening to this one a good bit lately.
A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay
This song is so fun and ethereal, and it makes me feel excited to be hopeful. Coldplay is also one of my all-time favorite bands if you look at the volume of songs of theirs that I consistently like. Honestly, I think they should be playing in the Vegas Sphere because the shows would be out-of-this-world, but that's just my opinion.
Bittersweet Symphony by Deco
If you like the original, this is probably not for you. This is by a band that covers classic songs in an 80's synth kinda style. I personally love the key they put this in, and I've always loved both 80's synth and rock, so this is just my speed.
Hello It's Me by Todd Rundgren
This one is super old-school. I love the 70's organ sound in this song, and it's just mellow. This one is newer on my list, so I'm just enjoying it.
She Calls Me Love by Banda AL9
Like I said, my Instagram algorithm is pretty solid these days when it recommends music. This song has a real early Beatles sound to it, and if someone had shown me this song with no context, I would have sworn up and down that it was from the 60's. It can get a little old after a while, but I keep coming back to it.
❤ (Human Heart) by Coldplay
Y'all thought I was kidding? This is a really new one to me, and it's a long-road-to-a-little-house kind of story of how I discovered it. This is NOT a summer-feelin' kind of song. This is a feel feelings song. But I love that it's acapella and the harmonies strike me deeply (particularly the ones in the line, "Night and day, light and dark," in the chorus, oh man). Basically, it's beautiful, if that's your thing.