If you know me, you know I love a list and I love a challenge so I decided to do an Instagram 30 day music challenge. So on brand.
I started this on Monday, May 11 and have to say, I’m proud I kept it up. I mean, what better do I have to do than home-school two boys, keep a giant house clean and cook more than I ever have in my life? Ha!! But it’s not like this was hard. Social media consistency is not one of my strong suits but I just uploaded this template (apparently from @eggtaurus, so thanks) to my stories each day with the correct day circled and added a song as described for that day.
I did take several days off a bit before Blackout Tuesday and when the protests around the world were a bit intense. Posting frivolous content didn’t seem timely.
However, I love music so much and this little music challenge helped me feel more centered. I had been in a really bad mood when I decided to start this and keeping track of these songs was a great project to redirect my focus.
Here are the songs I picked for my Instagram 30 day music challenge (find them here on my Spotify playlist):
Day 1: A song you discovered this month
“Something Sweet” by Chelsea Williams
These lyrics, “I believe something sweet will come for me / I soak my teeth in make believe / He said come with me.” I mean, come on. Her album dropped last month so she is very new to me but I dig her vibe.
Day 2: A song that always makes you smile
“Easy Street” by The Collapsable Hearts Club
Yes, this song makes me smile because I’m a psycho. It was featured on The Walking Dead in 2016 as Daryl’s obnoxious torture tune and I have loved it ever since.
Day 3: A song that makes you cry
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Rait
I get all the feels when I listen to this. This is my ultimate unrequited love song. You can pick up the emotion in her voice with your hands, it’s that thick and deep. Sigh… all the feels.
Day 4: A song you know all the words to
“Don’t Fight the Feelin” by Too Short
This song has all the cuss words. All of them. What can I say? I’m a heathen.
Day 5: A song that proves you have good taste
“The Seed (2.0)” by The Roots featuring Cody Chesnutt
Probably one of the coolest songs on this list. It reminds me of when I worked at Urban Outfitters and it would play in the store on heavy rotation. Oh, sweet memories of Mockingbird Station in Dallas, eating Burger King Whoppers and Starbucks espresso brownies for lunch, and weighing 125 lbs soaking wet. Oh, and being propositioned for a threesome – I’ll have to tell that story on the Podcast. Those were the days.
Day 6: A song title that is in all lowercase
“everything i wanted” by Billie Eilish
Sure, it drives me crazy when people don’t capitalize but I guess it’s art and I like art so Billie gets a pass. Plus, I cannot get enough of this song. It’s been on repeat for several months and I don’t see that ending soon. I just love her voice and the arrangement/beat of this song.
Day 7: A song title that is in all uppercase
“XXXO (Fulton Yard/WaltBoogie Remix)” by M.I.A.
So the parentheses don’t count ok! This is my jam. It actually features Jay Z and is a great party tune. Can’t wait until I get to have parties again…
Day 8: An underrated song
“Forget Her” by Jeff Buckley
Admittedly, I didn’t know much about Jeff Buckley until recently. Then I went down the rabbit whole of his story and death and listened to a bunch of his songs. He was a great writer but “Forget Her” is by far my favorite song of his. I love the lyrics and his emotional vocal performance.
Day 9: A song title that has three words
“I Was Wrong” by Chris Stapleton
I read a comment on YouTube where someone said “Only Chris Stapleton can make “I” into a 7 syllable word.” Ha! I mean, his voice is just incredible. You can feel the soul with your bare hands (kinda like Bonnie Rait, I suppose). He’s my favorite artist right now. I had tickets to his concert this past March in Arlington that unfortunately didn’t happen because of the new coronavirus. I cannot wait for another chance to see him live. Oh, also, I just really love it when a man apologizes.
Day 10: A song from your childhood
“Tom Sawyer” by Rush
This song reminds me of my dad, of whom I do not have the best memories of, but I do remember him playing this song often when I was around 3 or 4 years old and I like this song a lot. So there’s that. That’s all I got.
Day 11: A song that reminds you of summer
“Hot in Herre” by Nelly
Man, does this remind me of summer – summer 2002 specifically. It was a really fun summer! The summer before I actually got my life together and started officially adulting. This was the song at all ‘da clubs and it’s got longevity. Brings up some good nostalgic memories for sure. Love how music does that.
Day 12: A song you feel embarrassed listening to
“Gimme More” by Britney Spears
Listen, I’m actually not embarrassed to like this song because I can stand on my own two feet with what I like and don’t like, okay! But… since I had to pick one, it had to be this one. Now that I think about it, it actually makes me feel more guilty than embarrassed because it was recorded when Britney was in the thick of her mental health issues. Oh, well…
Day 13: The first song that plays on shuffle
“Let’s Make It Baby” by Bon Jovi
I love me some Bon Jovi so I was glad this popped up on my shuffle. I would call this more of an obscure song as I’m sure most people don’t know it. But it’s a sexy tune and it got me in the mood to listen to rock for the rest of the day.
Day 14: A song that someone showed you
“The Truth” by Handsome Boy Modeling School
My brother introduced me to this song when it came out way back in 1999! I knew of Moloko’s lead singer Róisín Murphy and I love her voice. This particular song works because it’s sampled from a jazz song but looped to make it moody and just a cool head-bobber. Reminds me a lot of the first Potishead album.
Day 15: A song from a movie soundtrack
“Brand New Key” by Melanie
This is from the Boogie Nights Soundtrack and I loved this song. It’s Rollergirl’s song, of course. I loved it so much (and I am so old) that I had it on my voicemail greeting for probably a year. I’ve always been a controversial woman.
Day 16: A song with no words
“Anthropocene” by KR3TURE
I came across this song via @saralyn_vimana on Instagram. She was belly-dancing with a large pregnant belly and was so gorgeous. I loved her movements to the music and the song is beyond cool. Kind of like a twangy downtempo sex song, if that makes sense.
Day 17: A song about being 17
“Seventeen” by Ladytron
This song also reminds me of my time at Urban Outfitters. They played some good music at that store back in the early 2000s. Anyway, it has the simplest of lyrics: “They only want you when you’re seventeen / When you’re twenty-one, you’re no fun / They take a Polaroid and let you go / Say they’ll let you know, so come on”. But they certainly are true words so we get the point. Honorable Mentions: “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks and ‘Let’s Go” by the Cars.
Day 18: A song that reminds you of somebody
“The Beautiful Ones” by Prince
This is probably my favorite song of all time and is certainly my favorite Prince song. It’s said to have been written for Susannah Melvoin (Wendy’s twin sister) to get her to leave her then boyfriend. Apparently it worked because she started seeing Prince. It was subsequently featured in the movie Purple Rain. The passion in his voice is almost overwhelming at times.
Day 19: A song to drive to
“If My Name Was Whiskey” by Carly Pearce
Okay, okay. Pick your mouth up from the floor. I’m admitting full stop that I like certain country songs. Country music has grown on me in the last few years, I discovered Carly Pearce, and I enjoy her music. This song about whiskey and unrequited love is very on brand for me. It begs for singing in the front seat gaining awkward stares from people in cars next to you. This song makes my heart spasm a bit. I feel it.
Day 20: A song with a number in the title
“2 On” by Tinashe
This is my jam because I am always down to party and dance until my knees give out. I would consider this one of my hype songs in the soundtrack to my life.
Day 21: A song you listen to at 3 am
“Unfold” by Alina Baraz & Galimatias
Downtempo with an R&B feel – check. Moody, low, feminine voice – check. All about love – check, check, check. The collaboration between Alina Baraz & Galamatias, Urban Flora, is one of my favorite albums in recent years – no skips. And this song is just pure enjoyment, especially when I have insomnia.
Day 22: A song with a long title
“Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” by The Flaming Lips
The album from which this song derives, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, is all the way good and is one I listen to every few months. “Ego Tripping…” is a song that is not only easy to listen to and enjoyable melodically, but it’s lyrics are genuinely thought provoking and meaningful: “I was wanting you to love me / But your love it never came / All the other love around me / Was just wasting all away.” Flaming Lips 4evah!
Day 23: A song with a color in the title
“Green Eyed Love” by Mayer Hawthorne
Some say Meyer Hawthorne, the Clark Kent-esque soul singer, is talking about weed in this song and others say he’s talking about Absinthe. I’m going with a literal spin because I have green eyes and I’m a Leo so I’ll take any chance I get to make a song about me…
Day 24: A song that you’ve had stuck in your head
“Country Girl” by Luke Bryan
I first heard this song on Zumba with Mallory Hotmess’s Youtube Channel and thought her choreography was so cute. Of course, the song is super catchy and one of the first “country songs” I claimed to actually like. It came up on my shuffle and was stuck in my head so there ya go!
Day 25: A song in a different language
“Ai Du by Ali Farka Touré (with Ry Cooder)
This cool, sexy number from 1994 gained popularity after being featured on the Unfaithful soundtrack, and that movie certainly made me take notice. The folksy, bluesy guitar collab is really genius. Both Touré and Cooder have been named as one of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine.
Day 26: A song that helps you fall asleep
“The World Forgetting, by the World Forgot” by Through & Through
I usually sleep with white noise or sleep sounds from an app, but sometimes when I need to really clear my mind, I’ll play my “Dreams” playlist, of which the song is in the number 2 spot. It relaxes me and connects me with Mr. Sandman. Fun fact: the title of this song is taken from Alexander Pope’s epic poem Eloisa to Abelard, published way back in 1717. It’s a beautiful poem (if you’re into classical poetry) based on a tragic medieval story. Google it sometime – it’s fascinating. Here are a few lines from the poem:
How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! / The world forgetting, by the world forgot. / Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! / Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d;
Day 27: A song that describes how you feel right now
“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and the Wailers
There is a lot going on in the world and especially here in America. I’m choosing to be hopeful and feel that the pandemic, racial tensions and the current political climate will change us for the better. There are so many people out here doing good things and I hope the hearts of men are inspired to be less selfish. I choose to believe that “every little thing is gonna be alright”!
Day 28: A song you used to hate but now love
“Yummy” by Justin Bieber
Real talk, I thought this song was so dumb the first few times I heard it. Then my three year old starting singing it and I started to appreciate it for that cuteness alone. I take it for what it is – R&B/Pop that you don’t dissect. I mean, not every song can be a deep dive into an existential crisis.
Day 29: A song you have/want to download
“Keep Calling” by SHAED
Sometimes I live under the proverbial rock and I am really late to the party with music. I don’t often listen to the radio so that doesn’t help me stay in the know. So, while SHAED’s EP Melt has been out for almost two years, I just discovered them on Spotify and am truly obsessed. I love this R&B tinged Dream Pop number and their sound is easy to get lost in. It’s just cool music.
Day 30: A song you want to share
“Midnight in Harlem” by Tedeschi Trucks Band
My love for Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks and the Blues knows no mortal bounds. I feel this song through my eye lashes. Tedeschi’s voice will bring you to tears if you’re in the right mood. TTB is a true band, with horns and several background vocalists. They are legit. Derek Trucks is a guitar legend and he needs to be recognized as such. I just want everyone to love them as much as I do.
30 songs, y’all! Writing this blog post was more difficult than the actual challenge. Here’s the Spotify playlist again. I hope you enjoyed this list. If you do this challenge on IG – tag me @keepingitmille.
Peace and love!!