I feel like I am having the absolute worst time finding new music to fall in love with lately. Is my brain full? Is this the end of The Music List??
Well, no, but I definitely love some of these January songs with a lot more of my heart than others. I didn't want to kick the more "average" ones off because I did still listen to them on repeat, out of stubbornness if nothing else, because they were still enjoyable and that's an important part of my musical history. Maybe I will try an emoji mark by the really special ones? I finally learned I can do that on Windows 10!
NEW THIS YEAR: I am finally going to be sensible and list the songs in "title - artist" format, instead of the other way around. I only did it that way for so long because I thought it was convenient to be able to see if I was talking about one artist/singer for a long time if you wanted to skip, buuuuut now I have no readers but me and this format makes it easier to copy-paste the list and share it in other forums.
Not in the CD recs, though. :P
CD Rec: Lauren Alaina, "Road Less Traveled" (2017)
I was feeling bad about not listening to full albums, so I took a shot at this one while I was in a "I wish this country music were better" mood from the album below, and scored a hit! I have previously recced my favorites Doin' Fine and Road Less Traveled, but after entirely adoring her on "Beyond The Edge," I was more open to this and now I think I like every song on this album. Other favorites include Pretty (all the other girls are thinner / so you skip another dinner / tell yourself it's for your health...), Next Boyfriend and My Kinda People for fun and upbeat tracks, but I also wanna highlight the lyrics on Three (six years of missing home / for three minutes on the radio). I absolutely HATE everything about this album cover though -- how did you go from the beauty of Wildflower (which I still haven't tried) to this??
CD Rec: Dolly Parton, "Run Rose Run" (2022)
It's not...not really a whole-hearted rec so much as a "if you've read the book, or want to read the book, or actually like Dolly Parton's music it's worth listening to," because this is very twangy/bluegrass and I have to be really prepared for/in the mood for it, but it has some charm. "Big Dreams and Faded Jeans" and "Snakes in the Grass" are probably my favorites; I don't like the slow songs or the gross-titled "Love or Lust" much; the rest are okay.
Actual Songs
To kick off the year, I took a whirl on the Spotify "you may also like" algorithm and accidentally built a pretty solid inspirational-sounding playlist (not necessarily religious, more like, optimistic/excited-to-do-things inspiration). I could make a mix CD out of this, probably.
1.
Where The Adventure Begins - Tim Halperin 😍
Here we go
All we need is an open road
And a chance to see
A never-ending world that's beautiful
ROAD TRIP!! (that may also be the theme of this playlist, tbh) Makes me happy every time it kicks off.
2.
It Only Gets Better - WILD 😍
My mind's been stuck in the in-between
Been tryin' to find an answer for the last three weeks
Despite the lyrics I've picked, which initially caught my ear because I thought this might be a song about the pandemic/quarantine, this is the epitome of optimism!
3.
Me To You - Tim Be Told 😍
Went looking for a sign
But every single line
Led me to you
A very sweet song about a guy pledging his love to someone. I forget what it sounds like when I'm not listening to it, tbh, but as I'm listening to it now I'm doing the heart-eyes. Thinkin' about fanvid possibilities. That kinda thing.
4.
Moments We Live For - In Paradise
I've seen this perfect picture in my head
And after drivin' all night now here it is
I can finally feel the sun kissing my skin
And I just wanna take it in
Another one I forget about when not listening to it, but when I play it and the bass drum starts pounding out the beat, I get it.
5.
Best Day - Loomin
The sun woke me up today
And now it shines so bright in every way
And I won't go back to sleep again
'Cause I know that today, today will be the best day
Acoustic guitar, whistlin', tambourine, all the good stuff. A bit cheesy in a church-youth-group-esque way, as I'm listening to it now...but I can't kick it off.
6.
Gimme That Sunshine - Animal Island
I will scream from the highest mountain
I will love like there's nothing in my way
I believe in the heart inside me
I believe in the hope that conquers hate
This has a little more 2010s radio-esque sound -- it vaguely, vaguely reminds me of Echosmith despite being all guys. IDK. If I had readers I could ask them to help me figure out what's appealing about some of these songs...
7.
Moments to Memories - Adeline Hill 😍
So I sit back and watch the sun paint us gold
For a moment we feel like we rule the world
Slow it down for a piano feature (though other instrumentation kicks in with the chours) and some genuinely solid lyrics! If I'd heard this in high school or college it would have been a personal anthem. Possibly of crying, despite its happiness. But still. In the moment it makes me think of Instagrammers posting artistic pics of their life to encapsulate this feeling, but maybe it would work for personal experience too.
8.
Who I'm Meant to Be - Anthem Lights
I know I was made with a purpose
To reach past the surface
To live life fearlessly
Solid 4-part harmony. This one feels more definitely Christian than most of the list; I refuse to do any investigating to find out whether that's true or not, just saying. Take that as you will. It's peaceful and lovely, though.
9.
I Know A Place - The Nor'easters [MUNA cover]
And I can tell, when you get nervous
You think being yourself means being unworthy
And it's hard to love with a heart that's hurting
I've actually been holding onto this since 2022 -- the playlist was built around this and the previous song as Spotify Recs that I wasn't quiiite sure about -- but I've sampled them so many times now that I guess they're part of me. I've tried listening to the original version of this and it doesn't work for me, so that's how I know this is officially one of My Songs. I absolutely love the backing vocals, it's almost a church-like choral experience at points. I also didn't realize how poignant the lyrics are until just now. (I also didn't realize my interpretation of the lyrics was still not quite there and it was written "to be like a contemporary anthem for the queer community." Oop @ me assuming it's just about supporting your friend who's in or recently out of an abusive relationship.) (This paragraph has been A Journey)
10.
I Will Make It - Julen
I'm guided by sunlight
And the stars are bright at night
And if the wind is on my side
Yeah, I will make it
This might have been on that list too, actually. I just love this chorus a lot.
11.
Send My Love - Jacob Fox 😍😍😍😍😍
On the open road I'll find my freedom
I have played this one specific song on loop for like, two hours, on multiple occasions. And I still love it. I love the lyrics, his voice, the music, the nice fast pace. Even the thumbnail image looks like the cover of a book I'd read about this exact plot. I made
a Tumblr Post about it.
12.
Wildflowers - Maddie Poppe 😍
When I hear thunder, I sing along
'Cause I'm the daughter of where I'm from
A starlit sky will always guide me home
I come from where the wild wildflowers grow
This one is another on-loop kind of song. It got stuck in my head one day and I found myself humming it all afternoon while I was out window-shopping.
13.
Cool With Being Crazy - Willow City
I'm a little bit crazy
And you're a little bit weird
But we love the best in us and the worst of us just disappears
IDK it's just fun.
14.
Tidal Wave - Ciaran McMeeken
Inhale red and exhale white
Ignore the yellow, give in to the night
So this is definitely about getting high, I realized only as I was picking lyrics ("inhale green to exhale blue," "my eyes have grown to the size of the moon"...). But too late! I already fell in love with the melody and the color imagery! What if we say it's just a metaphor for being high on LIFE.
15.
Always You - Ava Bryant 😍
I asked you, "Who do you love?"
You said, "My darling
Just one touch
I knew I was falling for you.
It's always been you, my love"
I'm never sure why this one is on the list, and then I hear the beautiful sound of that chorus and I go, ahhh yes. It's taken a long time, but I'm rapidly falling for it.
16.
Tightrope - Nia Hendricks
One step after another
Keep holding on to each other
Don't look back
Move on and let go
That's how you walk on a tightrope
This sounds a little like it could be on the radio too, upbeat and catchy. Particularly convenient that I listened to it while reading We Walked The Sky, about two generations of tightrope walkers in the circus.
17.
Time To Go - Jillian Linklater
Is this noise or is it music?
You've got a voice so use it
Cute. Pretty sure the beautiful thumbnail is most of what's selling this song, though. It's not unlike the one for Send My Love. MAYBE IT'S THE COMPANION NOVEL!!
18.
This is Home - Cameron Ernst
Home is wherever you make it
Might not be what you expected
Raise your glass and take a moment
Look around you, this is home
I dunno. It just seems like a decent closer for now.
AND FINALLY, one that is NOT from the playlist, and was actually the first song I fell in love with this year, but I'm putting it last for the month so that my playlist set would be in proper order instead of one aggravating number off.
19.
Cinderella - Play 😍😍😍😍
I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
An ONTD music-nostalgia post brought me this INCREDIBLE, DELIGHTFUL Swedish-pop preteen girl group from the 2000s, whose every aesthetic reminds me of M2M, if they'd started younger and been given a commercialized makeover. I haven't explored much of their work yet, but I am obsessed w/ this song and music video and how I need to find all the middle grade or YA novels about a 4-person friend group immediately. (and no, I never heard the song when it was apparently made popular by a Cheetah Girls cover either)
February
(nothing new, content w/ the stockpile I created last month)
(also I'm dispatching with the emojis to indicate "not an average listen," assume I love all following songs as is normally required for this list)
March
20.
Ceilings - Lizzy McAlpine
But it's not real
And you don't exist
And I can't recall the last time I was kissed
I almost crashed the car (not really) when I heard this, upon realizing I was NOT on the indie station. How is something this delicate and beautiful on the Top 40 station?!?! I mean, the subject matter is a little dicey, but then that final verse comes in and just socks you. (also apparently it's mega-popular on TikTok? which came first?) (also I hate every TT trend I've ever seen but I love this one. keep it up girlies!!)
21.
Dancing Barefoot - Patti Smith
She is benediction
She is addicted to thee
She is the root connection
She is connecting with he
Daisy Jones theme song of awesome for the win (I don't like the spoken part talking over the background chorus on repeat, but the rest is great). I haven't unlocked the actual DJ & The Six music yet, but...soon.
22.
About Damn Time - Lizzo
Turn up the music, turn down the lights
I got a feelin' I'm gonna be all right
You know what, sure, this is catchy enough to land at last. Title speaks truth. And it's one of the few things that isn't actively bad or desperately boring on the radio these days.
23.
Arcade - Duncan Laurence
Loving you is a losing game
Oh 100% a TikTok about Loki watching Those Scenes in the first episode of the TV show is responsible here (can't find it again right now cause I saw it on my phone, but stay tuned), but truly it's a haunting and beautiful song. (bonus lyrics itching to be used in other contexts: I'm afraid of all I am / My mind feels like a foreign land)
==============
Honorable Mention: the ONLY good insurance commercial ever -- the Liberty Mutual "nostalgia" ad that runs on Spotify featuring the 90s boy band style song. I am genuinely addicted to that sound. "Hey girl..." + "And I'm the one everybody forgot about. Just happy to be here!" Spotify should get on the trend of letting you choose which ad experience you want, and I would choose to hear this on loop for all of my commercial time always.
Dishonorable Mention: look I am trying SO HARD to love "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, because I love the idea of it and the fact that it's not full of garbage like every second musical era she goes through, not to mention that it's far better than most of the songs that get played to death on the radio, but every time I hear it my brain just goes, "No. This is a patchwork copy of like seven already-existing songs. Incorrect." In particular, "I can buy myself flowers" just sounds like a barely-altered version of "I should have bought you flowers" from the...Bruno Mars? song, and something about the music sounds like a 70s song I can't place, and I'm sure more things would hit me if I ever listened to it in full again.
Confusing Mention: I have FLUNG myself away from "Exile" on T-Swift's folklore album, because it fills me with Rage when I hear that absurdly deep-voiced MAN from Bon Iver barge into the middle of my beautiful delicate female-focused disc of enchantment, but I could have sworn I heard a different version on the radio where she started?? And it's way better, although unfortunately I still don't think it's a solo. Taylor please grant me this. Failing that, Mary Desmond with the magic Taylor-matching voice please grant me this the way you did Out Of The Woods! The lyrics are so pretty before it falls apart at the bridge (and the melody briefly but clearly turns into "Just Haven't Met You Yet" on "so step right out / there is no amount"? MESS).
this is the closest I've come (Ria Arora)