Over break, I had more than five weeks to do whatever I wanted. Which, to be fair, consisted mainly of watching hours of Netflix, reading a few books, and sleeping in later than my mom would prefer. But, I also decided to compile a series of songs, ranging from pop, to bluegrass, to rock, to alternative, that I either discovered during break or became my favorites over time. These are not all of the songs that I could have listed, but they are the ones that feel powerful and speak to me.
Music holds different meanings for every person who hears it. Songs invoke emotions from anger, to grief, to happiness, to tranquility. Not all of these songs are happy and upbeat. Many have a somber tone; many talk about more serious matters, such as poverty, racism, and politics. That's one of the many beauties of music: multiple meanings. One song can mean a thousand different things depending on who's listening. So, here are the 50 songs of my break that stuck out to me the most.
1. Wings - Birdy
2. Life In The Dark - The Felice Brothers
3. Ship To Wreck - Florence and the Machine
4. Daisy Child - Brave Baby
5. Wolfman - The Front Bottoms
6. Smithsonian - The Avett Brothers
7. Talk - M.I.A
8. Centred On You - Atlas Genius
9. I Saw The Wolf - Tigers Jaw
10. Call Me In The Afternoon - Half Moon Run
11. Apple Cider, I Don't Mind - Modern Baseball
12. Tennis Court - Lorde
13. Land Locked Blues - Bright Eyes
14. Nevermind - Foster The People
15. Jj - Priests
16. A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
17. The Brightest Lights - King Charles, Mumford & Sons
18. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron
19. Michigan - The Milk Carton Kids
20. Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
21. Kokopelli Face Tattoo - AJJ
22. Cairo Walls - Joe Purdy
23. Salvation - Langhorne Slim, The Law
24. 22 (OVER S∞∞N) - Bon Iver
25. Thin Blue Flame - Josh Ritter
26. Sleeping Sickness - City and Colour
27. 101 - WALLA
28. Nation of Heat - Joe Pug
29. Intervention - Arcade Fire
30. Let the Light In - Honeysuckle
31. Too Much Time Together - San Cisco
32. House - M&0
33. Mississippi - The Griswolds
34. Goat's Milk - Ezra Bell
35. Bunch of Fries - Brvnks
36. At Last - Etta James
37. Neptune - Sleeping At Last
38. Thousand Eyes - Of Monsters and Men
39. Ophelia - The Lumineers
40. Lost In My Mind - The Head and the Heart
41. Jungle - X Ambassadors, Jamie N Commons
42. Waves of Nature - Willow
43. Laser Eyes - Liyv
44. Good Grief - Bastille
45. In A Week - Hozier, Karen Cowley
46. Believe - Mumford & Sons
47. Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes
48. Miracle Mile - Cold War Kids
49. All I Ever Wanted - The Airborne Toxic Event, The Calder Quartet
50. Destruction - Joywave
If you would like to listen to these songs instead of just read the titles and the artists, great news! I made a playlist, which you can listen to here, with all 50 of these songs. Music is such a beautiful, wonderful, unique experience, and I hope that I have shared some songs that will inspire you.
