I fear I’m the epitome of the “can’t cross the street without looking at their phone” Gen Z stereotype. My phone stays in my hand 24/7 on every walk to class, lunch, or to my friend’s apartment. God forbid a girl is obsessed with a perfect queue of songs to accompany her on every walk and drive and must be able to change it at the drop of a hat.
My massive playlist with over 50 hours of music was simply becoming too much for me to sift through when I was in a specific mood or situation. So, after many attempts at organizing my music tastes, I think I’ve found three playlists I genuinely can’t live without and keep going back to!
- Millennial Optimism
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There’s been a recent trend across social media of millennials posting their photos from the early 2010s that makes me want to transport back in time and grow a man bun, desperately. They’re always so bubbly and hopeful, all excited for the future, and wow, I need some of that in my life.
I’ve been able to discern that it was the music of the time that largely contributed to this mindset. Indie and folk pop were huge genres at the time, and the upbeat lyrics mixed with the blare of trumpets and the ease of a guitar fueled a genre of music that inspired hope and community among many millennials.
Now you may feel a little cringey listening to these songs as you walk to class or just on campus in general. However, let me tell you, never have I climbed the mountain of Diffenbaugh as fast as with the dulcet tones of “Safe and Sound” by Capital Cities playing in my ear.
With a millennial optimism playlist always strapped on you, you can whip it out anywhere and instantly be transported to a time when a Waffle House employee could buy a house, and everyone wore fedoras for some reason. The good old days.
- Doom and Despair
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What can’t Phoebe Bridgers do? Never have I heard a song of hers that didn’t send me crying in my bed for hours on end. I know we all need that good emotional release, especially after hectic exam weeks or tense visits back home.
I believe every college student needs an angsty playlist full of sad acoustic guitars. It’s simply in everyone’s best interest.
I also use my playlist of doom and despair for sleeping, studying, or when I take dramatic walks around campus at night. A soft playlist of sad music can be so versatile and can even be therapeutic to listen to and experience. Though I take no responsibility if you listen to yours in a public setting and start crying, we all need to experience that at some point in time.
- 2016
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This is my Gen Z equivalent to a millennial optimism playlist. Something about the generic synth-pop they were pushing out in the mid-to-late 2010s was simply too iconic. These songs can be curated as more of a hype playlist, a nostalgia playlist, or even just a get ready to face the day kinda playlist.
With Zara Larsson’s resurgence, so many 2014 to 2016 era songs are making huge comebacks, and I love it so much. These songs just remind me of a time when everything was selfie-worthy and trying the Unicorn Frappuccino from Starbucks was my biggest worry. 2016 pop is perfect for all scenarios, I believe, and can be used or interpreted in so many ways.
There’s no wrong or right way to create a playlist. Just get out there and start expressing yourself through music, and everything else will fall into place!
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