A Playlist with a Purpose
Playlists can have any variety of reasons for being put together. A party mix, a road trip jam, wedding songs, maybe it is a collection of your favorite songs or even all songs by one artist because it is easier then searching every time to listen to Jon Bellion. Below I worked on a playlist for 30 days with a specific theme for a song each day. I’ve complied them all here with a short explanation for each.
The day specifics are shown. Each day I selected a song that I think meets the criteria proposed. Plus, I tried to make it a little more difficult by only selecting an artist once for the playlist. If I did not, half the playlist would be songs by the same 3 bands.
If you want to listen to the playlist:
Day 1: A song you like with a color in the title
The Black and White - The Band CAMINO
Color in the title? Ha. I got two. It’s about choosing what is wrong and right (black and white). The Band CAMINO is a great band and I first discovered them and fell in love listening to them while walking on campus late at night.
Day 2: A song you like with a number in the title
Sk8r Boi - Avril Lavigne
Number in the title screams punk to me similar to the early 2000’s texting where you have abbreviations for everything. Avril Lavigne is the ideal product of it. And Sk8r Boi is a feel good song that captures the aesthetic.
Day 3: A song that reminds you of summertime
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
This was probably the first “Song of the Summer” I remember. Being stuck in the car going all the places summer can take you and hearing it come on the radio. It’s innocent and fun and has the summer warmth.
Day 4: A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget
You and Me - Lifehouse
Suffice it to say, it was a about a girl.
Day 5: A song that needs to be played loud
DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love - Usher
A classic song from the early 2010s. The Dance/Euro Pop song makes you want to sing loud and jump around. Really any club song from this timeframe would be good.
Day 6: A song that makes you want to dance
Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire
With boogie in the title, you already know what’s happening. Earth, Wind & Fire has a bunch of songs that get you grooving. The funk and disco songs get you on the dancefloor and the soft lyrics make everyone feel welcome to move their hips.
Day 7: A song to drive to
Ridin’ Solo - Jason Derulo
Cruisin’ round town. You, the boys, windows down. All about being free and independent. The song is about driving. If this comes on you when you are driving, you already have the mood set. And Life is a Highway is overplayed.
Day 8: A song about drugs or alcohol
Intoxicated - The Cab
Everyone know that love has been compared to drugs so much. Love and chocolate release the same chemical into your brain. But the Cab takes it a little different with the Pop-Punk song. It gets you moving with the orchestra blasting in the background, solidifying that in love feeling.
Day 9: A song that makes you happy
I Wear Glasses - Mating Ritual
Is it because I wear glasses? Or because at their concert everyone lost control when this song came on? Maybe. But the real reason is the groove within the song, that little bassline pushes you to the chorus, when everything comes together. The message of wanting to be closer to them makes you feel great every time.
Day 10: A song that makes you sad
Forever and Always - Parachute
Choosing a song for sadness but different than Day 27 (see below). This doesn’t break the heart because although the song ends quietly and softly, the imagery is beautiful and romantic. Even the title is hopeful, helping to swallow that large lump forming in your throat when you listen.
Day 11: A song you never get tired of
Love Drunk - Boys Like Girls
I had listened to my parents music but hearing this felt like it was my own. And it got me started on the Garage Pop genre. It’s feel good and now it’s a classic. Anytime I feel down I know this gets me in the mood.
Day 12: A song from your preteen years
Replay - Iyaz
This is a song I remember hearing on the bus going to school. It puts me back in the young stage, with all the sounds of autotune and electronic beats.
Day 13: A song you like from the 70s
Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra
Something about this song resonates with me. Maybe it is the sadness of trying to reach someone and not getting anything. Electric Light Orchestra was also one of the bands my parents enjoyed so I grew up hearing them a lot. I really love the bigger production that goes into it, from the backup vocals to the full band and strings.
Day 14: A song you’d love to be played at your wedding
Drops of Jupiter - Train
Train used to be my favorite band, and this song hits me in all the right spots. It has the right speed for a slow sway. Even though the lyrics aren’t for a first dance, it is a great mother-son dance, about me finding myself but her always being with me.
Day 15: A song you like that’s a cover by another artist
F**k You - The Downtown Fiction
Straight up - I don’t typically listen to covers. Then I went through my music and found a bunch. Who knew? This cover doesn’t change the song but it does it justice. And I enjoy The Downtown Fiction music in general.
Day 16: A song that’s a classic favorite
Don’t Stop Believing - Journey
It’s a classic with the piano intro. For the longest time, whenever this song came on the radio my dad would ask the name of the song. I could never remember until the chorus but I always guessed wrong because of the line “Streetlight People” and that always sounded like a song title. The song is uplifting and makes you feel good as it builds to the chorus.
Day 17: A song you’d sing a duet with someone on karaoke
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
A normal karaoke song? No but I think it would be fun because half of the song is random sounds, the range isn’t crazy and is common enough you can get a little crazy with it.
Day 18: A song from the year you were born
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
1999, right before Y2K. It seems like everyone likes the Red Hot Chili Peppers no matter their styles. And this song talking about how Hollywood can break people in pursuit of fame is poetic and beautiful without even knowing the lyrics beside Dream of Californication.
Day 19: A song that makes you think about life
Hey Ya! - OutKast
The first time I heard this it was a fun pop song. But this video by Middle 8 changed my viewpoint. The lyrics hide the darker meaning, where everything falls apart so why is love special? Andre3000 even says “Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance”. Even when he is dealing with a deep issue, no one wants to listen.
Day 20: A song that has many meanings to you
Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) - The Alan Parson Project
The soft vocals cooing, the rising and falling synth, the background echoes. The surface level meaning is obvious. But I first discovered this song, the album, and the artist from my Dad driving home one day. And my entire obsession with The Alan Parsons Projects was because he said “this is a really well made album” and then we didn’t talk and listened for the rest of the drive.
Day 21: A song you like with a person’s name in the title
Check Yes, Juliet - We the Kings
By now my enjoyment of pop punk and alternative in general is pretty apparent. This is a staple in the genre. It’s young and wholesome and budding with promise of a modern Romeo and Juliet. You and me against the world.
Day 22: A song that moves you forward
still feel. -
half•alive
This song moves me with its lyrics and its music. The groove and bass get you moving while the lyrics preach about how you still feel alive and you start to realize you can do more than you thought before. The music video also is very appealing.
Day 23: A song you think everybody should listen to
Angels On the Moon - Thriving Ivory
A little angst, a little growl, all passion. About the brevity of life and holding on to the best parts of it. I like the imagery of angels on the moon, looking down on us. The fleetingness of life is something more people should think about and understanding the importance of right now.
Day 24: A song by a band you wish were still together
All The Pretty Girls - fun.
fun. How I miss them. The music is a perfect capsule of the time, apart from the heavy club mixes that dominated the charts. It was wholesome and fun, cute and deep, with enough energy to pick you up and waltz you around. This song in particular gets to me. I love the little trills and guitar solo in the middle. Even the lyrics get to me, about trying to find someone else but falling into the same rut.
Day 25: A song you like by an artist no longer living
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson is one of my favorite musicians, because of the way his style is the definition of pop. He’s the King of Pop. Every beat is right, the sounds blend and his vocals cut through with the right punch and noise. Even the little extra tee-hee’s and breaths are perfectly added. And P.Y.T. is one of my favorite displays of this style. It gets you going the way MJ always does.
Day 26: A song that makes you want to fall in love
All About Us - He is We
The perfect love ballad. It is cliché and stupid but that gets my cheeks wet. The duet nature adds both perspective and deepens the mood. All about us, nothing else in the world matters. If you are feeling loving after this, you need to get yours out of the freezer.
Day 27: A song that breaks your heart
Cat’s in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
This is a song that hits most people really hard. The imagery is hard to not hear and feel somber. The line that hits me the hardest is “I’m gonna be like him” and the ending of “My boy was just like me”. I love my dad so much and this song reminds me to not give away the moments I get to enjoy with him. Extra context if you want to feel sad: Wait but Why blog post.
Day 28: A song by an artist whose voice you love
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons
Frankie Valli has superpowers and uses them to the fullest here. His voice pulls you into the setting and entice you into the song. The song gets out of the way and lets him lead, supporting him in the right places with backups in the right places.
Day 29: A song you remember from your childhood
Rubberband Man - The Spinners
I had a short phase of being obsessed with rubber bands. I was building a rubber band ball and my Uncle pointed out this song to me. The driving bass got me moving and the fun imagery of a Rubberband Man had me hooked. I even made a tissue box guitar to strum along to this song.
Day 30: A song that reminds you of yourself
Flowers on the Grave - The Maine
A song that reminds you of yourself. Most songs do this anyway when I project myself into them. But The Maine has an ability to get to me better than any other artist. Leaving your old self for the better is something I do in my own life. And the ending reminds me of my friend Max, (his blog), and how I was nowhere the person I am now when I met him. I might write a whole post on this in the future but for now this will suffice.
Very Close Honorable Mentions
Day 5: Don’t Trust Me - 3Oh!3, I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At the Disco
Day 6: Lose Yourself to Dance - Daft Punk
Day 8: Beautiful Drug - Zac Brown Band
Day 12: Fireflies - Owl City
Day 14: Can’t Smile Without You - Barry Manilow, I Would - COIN
Day 15: The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
Day 23: Love It If We Made It - The 1975, Ever After - Marianas Trench
Day 28: Hopeless- Khalid