I know I’m not alone when I say that music has always been a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are related to certain songs or artists. My first cassette tape was Michael Jackson’s Bad and I played that thing incessantly. I distinctly remember helping my dad wash dishes in the kitchen when I was very young, and after Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” came on the radio I asked him in all seriousness where Ventura Boulevard was. If there were vampires moving west down it, I wanted to make sure we were east. Being chosen to play the xylophone in elementary school music class was a huge honor at the time, just as being accepted into Master’s and Jazz Choir my junior year of high school was. I was also lucky enough to have parents that introduced me to a wide variety of artists and genres. My music library is broader and deeper today than it was even a year ago, and I aim to continue that trend.
Much like most people, I lean towards different styles of music depending on what I’m doing or the mood I’m in. I have music for driving to work before the sun comes up, music for cleaning my house, music for when I need to sing at the top of my lungs, music for when I’m feeling low, and music for everything in between. Below you’ll find a few sample playlists I’ve made over the years for different situations. Some are longer and some are shorter depending on what I need them for. I hope you find a few songs you love already and a few new ones you’ll add to your repertoire.
I have one final word on the nature of some of the songs. Some of my playlists are more family-friendly than others. In order to avoid any uncomfortable conversations with your children, I’ve marked some songs that may not be so great for kids to jam out to by adding (E) after the title of the song.
Happy listening!
Songs for when I’m sad
I listen to sad songs when I’m sad. More accurately, I sing at the top of my lungs to sad songs when I’m sad. It seems to help melt the sadness away and quicken the road back to a good mood. Does that seem counterintuitive? Perhaps, but if it works then I’m going to stick with it.
- Something Corporate- Konstantine (E)
- Sarah Bareilles- Gravity
- Seal- Don’t Cry
- Great Big Sea- Yankee Sailor
- Eric Clapton- River of Tears
- Tracy Chapman- Baby Can I Hold You
- Josh Groban- Si Volvieras A Mi
- Mario Winans- I Don’t Wanna Know
- Sam Smith- Leave Your Lover
- Adele- Don’t You Remember
- Ne-Yo- Do You
Fun to sing along with
Sometimes I just want to sing for the sake of singing. I don’t need to attribute anything deep or meaningful to it, but I still want to sing. These songs let me do that.
- Colbie Callait- Bubbly
- Journey- Lights
- Andrea Bocelli- Con Te Partiró
- Jim Sturgess- I’ve Just Seen A Face
- Ne-Yo- Part Of The List
- Finn Gruva- Overwhelmed
- Usher- U Got It Bad
- Fugees- Killing Me Softly With His Song (E)
- The Commitments- Mustang Sally
- Santana- Maria Maria
R&B
I love R&B. I love how soulful, raw, and emotive the music is. For some reason, I feel connected to the music in a way that I find hard to come by with other genres. Here are some of my favorites.
- Joe- I Wanna Know (E)
- Trey Songz- Heart Attack (E)
- Usher- Nice & Slow (E)
- Ginuwine- Pony (E)
- Shai- If I Ever Fall In Love
- T-Pain- Say It (E)
- Whitney Houston- I Will Always Love You
- Alicia Keys- Fallin’
- Mariah Carey- One Sweet Day
- All-4-One- I Swear
- J. Holiday- Bed (E)
Latin
If you’ve taken any of my classes, you’ve definitely been introduced to my love of Latin music. It’s hard to keep yourself from moving your hips to the rhythm, even if you don’t understand the language. One of my Spanish teachers in high school gave me a CD full of music from different artists after I told her how much I loved our “fill in the missing lyrics” auditory tests. I still have that CD in my car to this day, and I credit that for my continued love of this music. ¡Muchísimas gracias, Profesora!
- Jon Secada- Otra Día Más Sin Verte
- Silvestre Dangond, Nicky Jam- Cásate Conmigo
- Cali Y El Dandee- La Estrategia
- Carlos Vives- Robarte Un Beso
- Juanes- Lo Que Me Gusta A Mi
- Manuel Turizo- Una Lady Como Tú
- Bacilos- Caraluna
- Enrique Iglesias- Experiencia Religiosa
- Maná- Eres Mi Religión
- Alejandro Fernandez- Sé Que Te Duele
Rock out
Every now and then I just need to rock out and let my brain rattle around in my skull for a bit. I honed my love for pump-up music in high school. When my teammates and I were driving to a rugby match after school, this is the stuff we’d put on to get us pumped up. There’s some rock, some electronic, some metal, and some other genres sprinkled in. The songs below are a decent sample of what I use to get my blood moving.
- Skrillex- Make It Bun Dem
- Three Days Grace- Home
- Breaking Benjamin- Breath
- Metallica- Enter Sandman
- Daft Punk- Robot Rock / Oh Yeah
- System of a Down- Toxicity
- Rammstein- Du Hast
- Rob Zombie- Dragula
- Godsmack- I Stand Alone
Gorillaz- White Light
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