When life gets too loud, I like to drown it out by clicking on the Spotify app and entering my world of many curated music playlists. A playlist for every feeling or moment I could encounter. A song that perfectly encapsulates what I’m feeling through many lyrics and instruments being woven together to create music.
One thing in common about my many playlists are the four current female artists that lay out the groundwork for my playlists. I call these my core four, consisting of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde and Phoebe Bridgers.
If there’s anything constant in my life, it’s the way their music has continuously made me feel seen. And yes, I do listen to tons of other musicians and lots of oldies, but I think these four deserve recognition for not only their music, but their current day strides as women in the music industry.
Starting this list with Swift is symbolic for where my love for music began. 6 years old, sitting in my basement, watching her music videos on YouTube, she was officially the first musical artist I fell in love with. I remember getting her “Speak Now World Tour Live: CD/DVD” and listening to it every day before my mom dropped me off at school and watching the world tour live absolutely in awe of her glistening dresses, hoping I could be just like her when I grew up.
I’m lucky enough to say I’ve seen Swift live twice. “The 1989 Tour” was my first ever concert and I sat proudly in those seats screaming the lyrics to every song. I once again saw her for the iconic “Eras Tour,” this time as a 16 year old girl.
As I grew up, Swift grew with me, her cute songs about crushes turned into songs in “Folklore” discussing mental health challenges. My favorite song is now “Mirrorball” as I completely understood the lyrics “I can change everything about me to fit in.” Swift will forever be the artist who understood me first and has remained constant since my love for music began
Discovering Del Rey’s music in middle school was immediately addicting, not only was I obsessed with her voice, but her old Hollywood, Americana aesthetic and style was suddenly what I strived to have in my closet. She felt like a modern-day old Hollywood star with her big hair and Priscilla Presley-like makeup. I remember first listening to “National Anthem” and romanticizing myself as an old Hollywood star living a lavish life.
I saw Del Rey live when I was 15 years old and went dressed in a coquettish white dress paired with the red heart shaped sunglasses that she has worn multiple times when performing live. Hearing her poetically beautiful lyrics live was genuinely like being baptized, and hearing the “Ride” monologue and song live is a moment I could never forget, as everyone screamed “I’m tired of feeling like I’m f*****g crazy.”
Nobody has ever been able to capture the complex feelings of growing up quite like Lorde has. “Ribs” is a song that perfectly describes growing up through both its lyrics and melancholy beat that feels almost nauseating as the bass consistently beats in the background.
Similar to how we never really know when growing up ends, as it feels like you’re walking on a tightrope, not sure if what you’re doing is really the right step. When she sang “This dream isn’t feeling sweet” I completely understood what she meant as a teenage girl growing up.
Listening to Lorde has always felt like an out of body experience to me, her music always leaves me contemplating if I should be dancing or if I should be crying, and I think that’s what makes Lorde stand out from the others.
I saw Lorde at the perfect time, first semester of college freshman year. I was crossing the bridge from high school to college, leaving home and experiencing the fleeting moments that Lorde continues to discuss throughout her songs. Being a college freshman, hearing songs like “Ribs” live, was a life-changing experience I’ll never forget.
Bridgers has a song for just about any sad feeling you could experience, and that’s what makes her so special. Hearing “Funeral” for the first time, made me feel so understood as she sang about how she’s so self-absorbed in her own sadness, yet there’s parents losing their children, and an array of other problems in the world.
This is definitely one of the most brutally honest songs I’ve ever heard as I’ve spent many nights in my room crying to the lyrics, “Wishin’ I was someone else, feelin’ sorry for myself/ When I remembered someone’s kid is dead.”
I saw Bridgers just this past month and you can read about it here.
I will forever thank these artists for being my guiding sound throughout life!