All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem. 

Right off the bat, one of the most acclaimed electronic-dance-pop songs of all time. The music itself is so crazy creative, starting with just a single piano note and revving up from there, while the lyrics grow increasingly depressing, about, what I interpret at least, to be increasing loneliness as you get more famous. Where will your friends be? It’s always stuck with me.

Ribs - Lourde. 

Sorry, another depressing song. The music is amazing, but the lyrics describe the continuity of change, the fear of getting older.  When I first listened to it I cried. I was graduating college and I had those exact fears. What happens now that those 4 years flew by so fast and are just a memory now?

We’ve Got Soul - Chapel. 

Now for something a little bit more uplifting. Chapel is an amazing indie-alt band and this is their best song, in my opinion. It simply describes how they’ve got soul, how they’d rather be poor living their dream than living in their parent’s basement (a lyric which I’m sure was written before the current economic state and everyone lives with their parents now). A banger, no-skip for sure.

Praying - Kesha. 

There’s a lot of context here, mostly the Dr. Luke scandal. It’s a powerful song, and even without the context shows how Kesha is both angry and empathetic. It’s a ballad in one of its best forms, and when she hits that high note, I try to hit it as well, probably damaging my vocal cords in the process as well.

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight - The Beatles. 

So my favorite song changes about every single month. This month it’s the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight combo, meant to be played as one song as on a record, one would immediately lead into the other. Again it’s kind of a sad song, written about their legacy as a rock band and how they can never go back to what they once were, but I also think of it as how you can never go back to being a child, you must carry the weight of adulthood and everything that comes with it.