I am a huge fan of music. It is the energy that gives force to my life. It is the thing that keeps me going with enthusiasm. I have a tendency to become freakishly obsessed with songs. I will listen to a song all day, every chance I get, for like at least four days straight. I will shamelessly retreat to this vice to get me through anything I am going through, be it stress from school or financial struggles, to apprehension, to sluggishness. Music is the one thing that can not only alter my mood, but shape it as well. If I need to be in a particular headspace, the right music can easily put me there. Music is my legal, safe, cheap and accessible drug. I need it. If I have access to my favorite songs, I can get through anything. So, here before you, I present to you 10 songs that encapsulate 10 moods you may come across some this holiday season.
1. Song: “So Many Details”, Artist: Toro Y Moi, Mood: Somber and groovy
It has this cool, sleek, airy energy to it. This song breaks out almost from the get-go into a super groovy and infectious syncopated drum beat. This beat just makes you want to go for a car ride. The song is about him reflecting on a former relationship he once held so dear. If you’re in a mood that is lonesome and gloomy, I suggest giving this tune a listen.
2. Song: “Skywalker” Feat. Travis Scott, Artist: Miguel, Mood: Sensual playfulness
Like many of Miguel’s biggest hits, this song possesses a smooth, warm and playful energy to it. It makes me want to teleport to a beach with a few beauties and live lavish. This song has a subtly psychedelic feel to it. It’s like waking up new dimension where water consists of pina coladas and your front yard is a private Caribbean resort.
3. Song: “Crew”, Artist: Goldlink feat. Brent Faiyaz and Shy Grizzly, Mood: Reflective
This song plays and you feel some kind of way. When I listen to this song, I get a feeling of both humility and honesty. The beat just keeps you grooving and keeps you going, gives you that fire you need to keep going, and go wild if you want. It’s hype, mesmerizing. The eerie, piano that dances with the looping bassline keeps growing and growing and has the pleasantly disorienting feel of a lucid dream. Shit’s just a vibe. I don’t know how else to say it.
4. Song: “Appletree”, Artist: Erykah Badu, Mood: Cool Vibe
You ever see/hear someone say something that made you feel like you can do whatever you want and say whatever you want in a way that is just so cool, calm, and collected? In a way that is so sly and second nature it oozes out with a natural born, laid-back confidence? That’s what this song is. Just plain cool. Cool as in the cool kid, cool as in slick, cool as in groovy, cool as in uniquely badass, cool as in sexy AF. Erykah Badu approaches the mic with a smoldering aura that is cripplingly sexy. I, to this day, look for a woman who I feel possesses this level of raw sexual aura. Give this song a listen while you’re with bae with some candles and incense burning. You might just get lucky.
5. Song: “This Velvet Glove”, Artist: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Associated Vibe: Contemplative
I say the vibe to this song is a sunset in SoCal because that’s what it is: A sensual and intimate experience pausing you in your steps to admire how beautiful it is. I recommend listening to this on a sunny fall morning, basking in the wonder of all the colors around. It encourages me to take a moment to slow down and admire beauty in my life wherever it may appear.
6. Song: “Upper Echelon”, Artist: Travis Scott feat. T.I. and 2 Chainz, Mood: Rowdy
This song makes me go wild. I jump and dance till I can’t breath anymore. This track is pure mischief. This is the song your parents don’t want you to listen to for fear you might burn down a government building or something. This the song you’ll want playing when you walk into a party. The energy that drives this song is dark, demanding and dangerously boastful. For four minutes, you are not yourself when you listen to this tune, you are possessed by its raw and unadulterated energy. Try to stay still when you listen this song. I DARE YOU!
7. Song: “Gucci Gang”, Artist: Lil Pump, Mood: Straight Ignant
This is Lil Pump’s ( I know the name is ridiculous) biggest hit yet. This song is great for forgetting all your adult responsibilities and be a dumb, (oh so very dumb) and rebellious teenager, granted Lil Pump is barely 17 years of age. The vibe to this song is one of being dumb and braggadocious. Very dumb, but yet simultaneously infectious and catchy. You’ll find yourself repeating the phrase “Gucci Gang, Gucci Gang, Gucci Gang” on end feeling like a dumbass, but a shameless dumbass because this song is now your guilty pleasure. Oh well…..Gucci Gang, Gucci Gang, Gucci Gang…..
8. Song: “Plain Jane”, Artist: Asap Ferg, Mood: Hype Asf
This song makes me wanna set off a tidal wave in the pacific. There is SO MUCH ENERGY!!! Without a doubt, hands down the best song to workout to in my music library. I have been listening to this song almost non-stop for the past four days….not sure yet when I’ll get tired of it. For now, this shit is a banger. Straight up. No doubt. This song is a musical equivalent of a line of cocaine. If you are feeling down, sad, mad, gloomy, happy, anything honestly, this song is an instant-picker upper. It will send you to that happy place of no f**ks givenland. It is so boastful and commanding you might go accidentally say “f**k you” and like, totally mean it, to your best friend….and not know why. Shit hype asf.
9. Song: “Told You So”, Artist: Miguel, Mood: Playful
Miguel made it on the list twice….I mean shit….this song is fire. This song is triumphant and joyful and delightfully confident. This track would be a perfect wedding reception song. It is warm, kind, inviting and yet at the same time, attractively pragmatic. Miguel’s vocals are polished and fluid as they glide over the chords with charming and seductive ease. The bright and colorful synth pad complements the funky, scratchy guitar. “Told You So” is liberating and freeing. It’s like having a 1980’s dance party with 2017 twist and you can like, actually dance well, and everything is like Hollywood and you are pleasantly intimate with a special someone.That’s the vibe this song has.
10. Song: “Uber Everywhere”, Artist: Travis Scott (Remix), Vibe: Upbeat
Travis Scott, I must say, is one of my favorite artists. This simple two minute song means so much to me, it’s quite ridiculous really. Nonetheless, “Uber Everywhere” is like a dream you had where you finally knew peace, if only for a few seconds. It reminds me of a pursuit of happiness kind of feeling. The kind of feeling that you are, like, close….close to something great. It makes me appreciate my life more…it gives me life. I dance and I’m free from the anchors of my reality and ascend into something higher. Simply put, it is an uplifting song.