Erika’s Music for the Soul

Last year I listened to 44,421 minutes of music. That is 740 hours of my life last year that I spent only listening to music: music genres ranging from soft pop, rap, and rock (this statistic only includes Spotify and does not include Youtube or other third-party apps). That said, I feel like I am qualified to give music recommendations. Each column, I will bring you a monthly update on what I’ve been listening to along with a few themed playlist.

To give you a taste of what I like, for my first column I’ve made a playlist including my top 5 songs. Now my favorite songs and my music taste change very frequently but these songs will always have a special place in my heart:

Don’t Stop Believin’ By Journey

• Any time this comes on I feel on top of the world. This has been my favorite song for as long as I can remember because I have so many nostalgic memories associated with it. A memory that specifically stands out the most happens in the fourth grade. It was a cold winter in Wisconsin, school had just been canceled due to a blizzard, everything was laid with a thick coat of snow so that meant only one thing: sledding. Me and all my friends met at the abandoned construction site at 8 o’clock sharp. Snow pants: zipped, mittens: secured, socks: in layers of three. Today was the day we were going to climb the tallest hill in the lot. It towered over all the houses in the neighborhood and was so big even the sun hid behind it before dawn. My friends and I took one final look from the bottom and started taking off for the journey. We walked up the hill until our feet became numb and our faces flushed red. We were finally almost to the top. Just a couple more steps we were there. On top of the world. The view was the most beautiful thing we’d laid eyes on in our nine years of being alive.  All of us were speechless. Until one of the boys screamed out “Just a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world”. We all let out a laugh and sang along. We screamed the lyrics at the top of our lungs as we were ready to finally take off for the ride of our life. We crashed into a couple of trees on the way down, tipped over a few times but we did it. Any time Don’t Stop Believin’ comes on I think of that little moment where I was on top of the world.

Dreaming of you By Selena

• This is one of those songs where there aren’t too many words to describe it. It’s an art piece within itself. Selena has such a powerful voice. All of her songs are great but I resonate with this one specifically because it was my mom’s favorite. We don’t have much and common and we aren’t the closest but this is where we find common grounds. Any time it comes on we sing it as loud as we possibly can and forget our differences for just a couple minutes.

Melting (Cover) By Cuco

• This song gives me a very nostalgic feeling inside and has me reminiscing over memories of a summer romance that never happened. The singer did an amazing job remaking the whole tone of the song and you can feel the yearning he has for the person it’s for through the complimentary sounds he pairs together. Unfortunately, this song is only released on Soundcloud and Youtube but it’s definitely worth the listen.

Such Nice Sounds By Atlas

• Any time I am stressed or overwhelmed I get under all my blankets, close the blinds and turn this song on as loud as I possibly can. It begins with the sound of rain and a soft ukulele and continues with Atlas singing about his own struggles. He reassures his listeners that they are not alone and talks about the concept of seizing the day in times of distress. There are countless times where I have been at my breaking point and this song has swooped in and saved the day. If you’re looking for a go-to sad song that doesn’t make you even sadder I highly would recommend searching it up on SoundCloud.  

Mr. Redundant By Rainbow Kitten Surprise

• The second this song came on I knew it would be one for the books. It’s one of those songs where at first listen, the lyrics spill out of your mouth. It’s so upbeat and happy and I can’t hear it without smiling. It’s a feel good song.