As the decades comes to a close, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on how the music I have surrounded myself with has shaped who I am as an individual. All of the experiences music has lead me to, and the people I’ve met is truly astounding. At the beginning of the decade, I was just eleven years old, that is around the time I started realizing my love for music. Now, at the end of the decade I am twenty one and am still learning so much about myself through the music I listen to. It has allowed me to access the contrasting sides of my personality and express them. I’ve decided I want to do something a little different with this review and dive into the ten songs I feel that have influenced me the most this decade. Disclaimer, not off of these songs came out this decade, I had to make some exceptions, but this was the decade that I felt the influence of these specific songs on me the most. In no particular order, those ten songs are as follows.
10. Robbers (2013) – The 1975
I know no other way of starting this off than starting with the song that lead me to discover music, especially live music, as one of my true passions. ‘Robbers’ was one of the first songs I have ever heard from The 1975. I was fifteen, struggling with my mental health, high school, and home situation. I had heard ‘Chocolate’ by the group only weeks before and had become obsessed (even that is an understatement). Naturally, I wanted to see what else they had up their sleeves, and discovered the deep cut that was ‘Robbers.’ This track hit me like a ton of bricks, the nostalgia it brings me to this day is incomprehensible. Up until that point, I had no idea one song could have that much of an impact on someone, or that music could even sound like that. It truly opened my eyes to so much. I remember having it on repeat for a solid month. I would listen to it everywhere, at school, in the car, even in church. It opened my eyes to a new world entirely. I saw everything differently after that.
9. Video Games (2011) – Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey, my first love in the alternative music scene. I was introduced to Lana at the age of fourteen, when my best friend (who is still my best friend by the way, shoutout Nikki) got me hooked on her. She was so sultry, mysterious and mature compared to what I was used to listening to, but still had that bad-ass, feminist-no-bullshit-confidence way about her too. My mom always thought her music was “boring,” and lucky for me, because if my mom knew what she sang about she probably would have forbid me to listen to it, but I’d like to think I turned out okay. Lana has this magical essence in her music. She is elegant, timeless and has paved the way for alternative female artists to follow. Video Games was recently named best track of the decade, and rightfully so, I still listen to it at least once a week.
8 She Will Be Loved (2002) – Maroon 5
For me, this one goes way back. With it’s release way back in 2002, I was just a meres four years old, but some of my fondest memories are tied with belting this song out in the car with my mom well into my teenage years. For me, as a pre-teen Maroon 5 was the first band I truly fell in love with, shortly following my die hard Taylor Swift obsession. Believe it or not, this was the band that lead me into listening to some more mature music, and allowed me to branch out to music outside of the radio pop hit realm. I remember being so obsessed with them, especially all of their music pre 2012, that I just sat down and watched every single interview, music video, old unreleased tracks and researched as much as I could possibly find out because I was so captivated by them. I remember listening to ‘She Will Be Loved’ when I was very young and when the line ‘beauty queen of only eighteen” would play, I’d always think to myself how old it must feel to be eighteen, and now I’m well past it. That has always resonated with me and become somewhat of a time warp in my mind.
7. Teenagers (2006) – My Chemical Romance
I never had an “emo phase” per say, but I have definitely always been interested in the alternative rock/pop/punk scene, and one of my earliest memories of being introduced to it is through MCR. I first discovered this song when my aunt gave me her old ipod nano and this was one of the many songs on there I quickly became fixated on, along with some iconic Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco and Avril Lavigne tracks. My little brother and I would listen to ‘Teenagers’ together and sing, dance and for hours upon hours. It felt just as freeing empowering to me even at ten years old as it does now.
6. Star Shopping (2017) – Lil Peep
This one hurts to talk about, in a very short period of time Lil Peep became a staple in my music discography, not only his music but I felt connected to him as a person as well, without even meeting him. I had only been listening to Peep for a couple of months before he tragically passed in November of 2017. ‘Star Shopping’ has always resonated with me since the first time I ever heard it. As sad as the song sounds, it has this paradox where it’s also extremely uplifting. It makes you feel as though you aren’t alone in what you’re going through, it sort of became my anthem for a while. Mentally, when I am struggling I listen to Lil Peep to help pick me back up. He was, and continues to be such an inspiration, being hardly a year older than me, his extremely sudden passing really hit home. It can happen to anybody at any time. It taught me to always appreciate those you have around you, and never take anyone for granted.
5. 505 (2007) – Arctic Monkeys
For anyone who is familiar with Arctic Monkeys, you know that 505 is a bit of a cult classic. It’s so uniquely crafted, and has so many twists and turns throughout the song. This was my ultimate teenage angst anthem, 15 year old would me would blast this as loud as I could and just lay on my back in my twin bed staring at the ceiling, real dramatic indie movie style. It was always one of those songs that was an outlet for me, every time I listened to it, it felt both like a cleansing, and a spiritual awakening. I have been an Arctic Monkeys fan for seven years now and just got to see them in concert last year, hearing 505 live was a very liberating moment for me. You don’t have experiences like that one too often.
4. I Will Follow You Into The Dark (2005) – Death Cab For Cutie
I don’t think I could name any other Death Cab For Cutie track besides this one if my life depended on it, but I have so much love and adoration for this song. For me, it is the ultimate love song. It perfectly depicts blind devotion, in such a hauntingly beautiful and simple way. I’ve never heard any other song that can compare in quite the same way. Whenever I find a track like this that resonates with me so profusely, I feel like it gives me insight into another layer of myself that I wasn’t aware of, and that is one of the many things I love about music and the power it has. One day I will have this song playing at my wedding.
3. A Car, A Torch, A Death (2009) – Twenty One Pilots
As someone who has always struggled with my stance on religion, and what I believe, this song has always been strangely comforting to me despite its chilling lyrical visuals. It’s one of the most brilliantly written tracks I have ever heard. Coming from a die hard Twenty One Pilots fan, they truly will never be able to top this song in my opinion. It was released in 2009 and I’ve yet to find another song, from them, or another artist that is quite like this one. But that’s the beauty in it. It’s so perfect that its impossible to duplicate. This is one of those songs you listen to when I’m having a mental breakdown or crisis of some sort to give myself some perspective. The concept is so unique, and so relative as to things I am often struggling with that it helps me through them.
2. Control (2015) – Halsey
I have touched on this subject slightly on some other songs, but this track truly highlights struggling with mental illness, especially as a teen or young adult in the world of constantly comparing yourself to those around you. The whole track ‘Control’ is an analogy of battling mental health demons such as insecurity, anxiety and depression and lack of self worth. It sheds light on how these things, however out of your control they can be, can make you hate yourself. The best part about this song is how it reclaims all of those things, and takes “control,” if you will. Finding this song as a teen was insurmountable to me, and even now at 21 years old I still need the reminder that “I’m bigger than my body.”
- Ribs (2013) – Lorde
A lot of these songs I am reviewing hold a great deal of nostalgia for me, but this one takes the cake. Ever since I can remember, I have been absolutely terrified of growing older, of change, and adapting to that change. To me, this song just feels like growing up, and learning who you are. It’s the ultimate coming of age song. Lorde’s ability to capture this fear and turn it into something beautiful and comforting is incredible, and the fact that she did all of this at the mere age of 16 is even more astounding. I mentioned my best friend, Nikki, earlier and if we had a song it would be this one. I owe so much to this song, that I had to save it for last even though there was no particular order to this list, it just felt right.
I know none of these tracks are “underground” or “obscure” or anything, most of them are actually incredibly popular, but if there are any of these songs you’ve never heard, or have but haven’t stopped to take a deeper listen then I highly suggest you do. Each one holds a different lesson and takeaway for me, lessons that I will carry with me into the next decade, and probably for the rest of my life. I credit these ten tracks to shaping who I am today, and I can’t wait for what the music waiting to be discovered in 2020 will bring me.
Modernity Vs. Music with Kylee 