Bonus list! I’ve already told you 29 things I’ve learned and 29 things I hope to learn, but there’s one more list I wanted to share: 29 songs for 29 years.

So honestly, I just love an opportunity to share music with others. I adore music, have had the Spotify Premium subscription for years and everything! But if you ask me what sort of music I like, my brain goes utterly blank.

Basically, this list is that summary of what sort of music I like. I like music that makes me feel something. That hums inside me and meets some resonant frequency of my soul. That’s not exactly a genre, but I doubt it’s dissimilar to the way a lot of people listen to music.

So here’s my list. 29(ish) songs for 29 years. Also, I made it a Spotify playlist if you wanted to check any of the songs out! (Note: Some of the songs are explicit. If you navigate to the Spotify playlist, Spotify will note which ones specifically.)

Link: open.spotify.com/playlist/0L9RsdJf0wTevwabzcbLWl?si=ce13cee9ae964947

1. The music of Hadestown (esp. “Flowers” by Eva Noblezada (Eurydice))

I haven’t actually seen Hadestown yet but I am planning on going to see it next year and I’m PUMPED. You know, to have my heart broken. It is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, after all. The song in particular I’m recommending here is immensely melancholy and I adore singing along to it.

I never claimed to be normal.

2. “Be Strong and Hit Stuff” by Jeff Williams, Casey Lee Williams (RWBY Vol. 8 Soundtrack)

This song has the lyric that’s been my motto for the last year: “in time you will grow/but that doesn’t mean you’re not already whole.” Also, it’s from RWBY and about the character of Nora and so I love everything surrounding this song as well.

3. The music of The Last Five Years (esp. “The Schmuel Song” by Jeremy Jordan (Jamie))

This musical is just really cool storytelling. But if I have time to just watch one scene (in the film version), it’s Jamie singing “The Schmuel Song.” It’s joy and it’s fun and it’s love.

4. “Welcome to the Internet” by Bo Burnham (better yet, just go watch Inside on Netflix)

This special is utterly brilliant. And brutal. Watch the whole thing if you haven’t (though it does cover some heavy topics which may not be suitable for all viewers). But “Welcome to the Internet” somehow encapsulates what it feels like to have grown up in such a tumultuous time of change for this technology.

5. “It’s My Turn” (feat. Casey Lee Williams) by Jeff Williams (RWBY Vol. 3 Soundtrack)

There are a handful of songs from RWBY that I know most if not all the words to. I think this is one of my favorites among them.

6. The music of Hamilton (esp. “Satisfied” by Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler))

I’m certainly not the first person to say Hamilton is phenomenal. If you have Disney Plus, go watch it. The storytelling presented through the music only gets better and better with each listen. “Satisfied” is particularly powerful but in a musical full of phenomenal music, it’s impossible to pick favorites.

7. “Endless Possibility” (cover by NateWantsToBattle) (originally trailer theme for Sonic Unleashed)

The music of the Sonic the Hedgehog games in the 2000s was a huge reason I became a fan. With Sonic Adventure 2 starting with the absolute BANGER of “City Escape,” which even non-Sonic fans will start screaming the words of, I was hooked from the start.

But you’ll notice that’s not the song I’m recommending here. Instead, “Endless Possibility” was the background music for the Sonic Unleashed trailer. I spent years trying to figure out how I could buy the song. Even when a buch of Sonic music dropped on iTunes and later on Spotify, this song was missing, even when other music from the game was present.

Then, recently, I happened across a cover of the song by NateWantsToBattle. The rendition of the song is just as good as the original and fills me up with joy in the same way.

8. The music of Finding Neverland (esp. “Stronger” by Matthew Morrison (J.M. Barrie))

My undergraduate thesis was on the story of Peter Pan so its no wonder that I was so excited to see the musical Finding Neverland shortly after I graduated. Even better, the focus of the musical is so much on finding your voice in writing and being unafraid to use it. Since I saw the musical at a time of intense imposter syndrome, that was especially important. The song “Stronger” especially encapsulates that.

9. “Lung” by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

I had this song pretty much on repeat when I was working on the third book of my first original trilogy. I’m not sure particularly why this song, other than the vibes.

10. “I Love You, But I Need Another Year” by Liza Anne

When I was writing my first original novel, my friend challenged me to better understand the relationship between two of my characters. This song is that relationship. I will never be able to listen to this song without thinking about them again.

11. “Collapse” by Anchor & Braille

Anchor & Braille I discovered at a time when I was writing a very particular book, a sequel that will now logically not happen in the series, after the first book was dramatically changed. But I will always connect this band with that book and that series as a whole now.

12. “What If It Doesn’t End Well” by chloe moriondo

I’m very much a person who looks for music to help me write. Lately, this one has been helping me with the most recent novel I’m editing. It’s hopeful but pessimistic which feels so much like my protagonist.

13. “Persephone in the Garden” by Aidoneus

Oh, look! Another song that enabled me to write! This is for the novel whose first draft I most recently finished. That novel is a bit inspired by the myth of Hades and Persephone so a song like this being an inspiration was inevitable.

14. “Say It Louder” by Panic! At the Disco

This is one of the newer songs on this list. A fantastically triumphant song, this one I love because it reminds me so much of finding my voice in writing.

15. “Tip Toes” by half-alive

This one I have a very distinct memory of driving home from work and really paying attention to this song and its lyrics. In particular, what resonated with me was the idea the song proposed of pushing past ego to find what is really of greatest value in life.

16. “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” by Hayley Williams

This a beautiful song about comparing yourself to others that I first heard when I was unlearning just that. I come back to it every time I find myself falling into the black hole of comparison.

17. “Carnivore” by Bear Attack!

I allowed myself to have a single angry song on this list. This is that single angry song. A song about being hurt by someone and learning to walk away. I like to scream along with this one in the car (sorry to any nearby drivers, whether or not my windows are open). Also, it’s super influential to the same story as I mentioned when bringing up “What If It Doesn’t End Well.”

18. “marjorie” by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift dropped this beautiful song about the same time my grandmother went into memory care. I helped sort through my grandmother’s three rooms of clothing. And when Taylor Swift called her own grandmother’s closet “a closet full of backlogged dreams,” I broke.

I still break.

But then I start to understand.

19. “Atonement” by Anberlin

This is the song that contributed the lyrics I used on my college graduation cap: “I love where I’ve been [...] but my heart’s where I’m going.”

20. “Locking Up the Sun” by Poets of the Fall

I wouldn’t know about the band Poets of the Fall if not for being part of the Sonic fandom, even though the band literally has no relation to Sonic. Instead, being part of a fandom in the early 2000s, I made friends online. Since I was a middle schooler as well, this coincided with a time period when I was trying to define the type of music I liked. And I was struggling to find music that I truly loved. So when my online friends brought up music they liked, I would look it up too. Poets of the Fall was one of those bands.

This was actually the first song of theirs that I listened to, though certainly not the last.

21. “Arms Unfolding” by dodie

This song is a careful breath, a second chance, being hurt and unfolding your arms once more. This is me relearning myself after the angry songs.

22. “When” by dodie

There are days when I listen to the words in this song and relate to so many. Always a good reminder.

23. “The Lightning Strike” by Snow Patrol

Do you have about 16 minutes? Then have I got a song for you! The storytelling in this song is unlike anything else I’ve ever heard.

24. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” by Taylor Swift

I told myself I could only pick one song from Midnights since it’s my current obsession. So this is that one (technically, it’s from the 3 AM version). The turns of phrase are both unpredictable and inevitable which is my favorite sort of writing.

25. “Part II” by Paramore

This song is actually a continuation (response?) to an earlier Paramore song “Let the Flames Begin.” I loved that song to start with, was especially obsessed with this song in high school, so when “Part II” dropped as a more vulnerable version of the thought, I paid attention.

26. “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” by Snow Patrol (the rendition from Up to Now)

Just gorgeous. Pure feeling. A great song to melt into.

27. “The Last Time” by Juniper Vale

Juniper Vale is such a cool music project where all the songs are intended to tell a story of a particular character, a character designed for this specific project. There’s art associated with it that’s really beautiful. Definitely worth digging into.

28. “Amen” by Amber Run

Oof, this song is a brutal listen. I won’t pretend it’s a happy one. But it is raw emotion and beautiful storytelling.

29. “The Hearse (Stripped)” by Matthew Maeson

Another song with beautiful vibes.

…

Again, I’ve got a playlist on Spotify built if you wanted to listen along. Try one or two of the songs or listen to the whole thing to figure out which songs you might want to snag for your own playlists!

Works Cited

Anberlin. “Atonement.” Lowborn, Tooth & Nail Records, 2014. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/7N2uDrFW4OtxfWLuP96XQV?si=32bf8cb648094e12.

Swift, Taylor. “marjorie.” evermore, Taylor Swift, 2020, track 13. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/12ntTeqEeTg7GAVpe8Mhpl?si=1c15b8dd236b4c20.

Williams, Jeff, Various, and Casey Williams. “Be Strong and HIt Stuff.” RWBY, Vol. 8 (Music from the Rooster Teeth Series), Rooster Teeth Productions, 2021, track 3. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/11utxTIgUfJaqpePfiVcdz?si=33f78c6a2e444927.