Sometimes it feels like the world is falling apart. While I could offer you a list of songs that inspire hope and positive vibes, sometimes what you really need is a bunch of songs that capture that world-ending feeling. Who wants to hear songs about the mood they wish they were in? It’s much better to jam out to songs that embody your current state of mind. And that is exactly what I have attempted to compile. (Also, almost all of these songs are on my workout playlist so… multipurpose Weekly List?)
1. “Doom Days” – Bastille
This song was my most-listened-to song of 2019. And while a large part of that is my love for Bastille as a band, the other reason is that I found the lyrics very powerful and timely.
2. “OPTIMISTIC” – X Ambassadors
This is a song that was very clearly written in 2019 with some targeted lyrics that pick out some of the lowest points of the year. As the title suggests, “OPTIMISTIC” is about the struggle to stay positive and hopeful in the face of struggle and tragedy.
3. “Savages” – MARINA
“I’m not afraid God / I am afraid of man” because human beings are almost always responsible for our world-ending feelings. MARINA is always one to include powerful and meaningful lyrics in her songs and this song is no exception.
4. “PYRO” – Shinedown
This song is always the first one I pick when I’m at Yates doing cardio. It gets me really fired up to push through an activity that I hate doing and is also great to scream along to when you’re feeling particularly fed up with the world.
5. “The Fire” – The Last Bison
Sit and listen to these lyrics. All of them. The Last Bison manages to capture the desire to change a bad situation as well as the exasperation of being lied to.
6. “War of Change” – Thousand Foot Crutch
This song is aggressive, it captures the anger you feel when everything around you is going wrong. Yet at the same time, it also hints at the healing nature of change.
7. “Where Butterflies Never Die” – Broken Iris
This song is creepy, like really creepy. It is a very stare-out-of-the-car-window-watching-the-rain-fall-at-night-and-pretend-you’re-edgy type of song. So, naturally, it fits into this playlist very well.
8. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Lorde
This song was on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) movie soundtrack. Need I say more?
9. “What’s It All For?”- Evaride
That’s the question, isn’t it? While this song doesn’t offer any answers to the age-old philosophical question it is very fun to sing along to.
10 “The Times They Are A-Changin’”- Fort Nowhere
This cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” is hauntingly beautiful. Sometimes what you really need is to close your eyes and let your emotions wash over you. Let this song turn your frustration with the world into hope for change.
