30-Day Song Challenge - Part 1 (10 Days)
A few months ago, the 30-day song challenge started circulating on Instagram, and I got through about half of it. I started off too strong, listing more than one song a day at first, but ended up being unable to get through the whole month… probably a metaphor for a lot of the things I try to start in my life. Anyways, the challenge came back during quarantine, and a few folks have asked me to post my songs for it again. Instead of one song (or more) a day, though, I decided to post them in groupings of 10 songs and strictly keep it at one song per day.
The full 30-day song challenge is shown below:
Day 1: A song you like with a color in the title
“Red Hands” by Dear Hunter
“Oh my God, what have I done? / Now my darling put your clothes back on / ‘Cause you can’t be caught red handed if you’re not red handed”
Starting off the list is one of my favorite songs of all time, though I haven’t given it as much play time in recent years. I remember discovering The Dear Hunter back at the end of middle school, and I immediately fell in love with the lyricism and storytelling that went into the concept albums that Casey Crescenzo created. There’s something about the orchestration in this song that builds up into the climax that always gets me. I highly recommend checking out the full story of the Act I and Act II albums.
Day 2: A song you like with a number in the title
“Come and See Me @ 2AM” by PARTYNEXTDOOR ft. Drake, remixed with SZA
“Why you gotta start, girl, why you gotta start? / I know we make time for the things that we want / I know you got another — tryin’a play the part / Just ‘cause he got a heart doesn’t mean he got heart”
This one is a bit of a stretch, since it’s actually an unofficial mash-up between two songs, “Come and See Me” by PARTYNEXTDOOR (ft. Drake), and the SZA remix of the song, “2 AM”. I really like this version that combines all three singers, and there’s something about the mood of it that captures how I often feel. I play this song more often that I’d like to admit, and I maybe like Drake’s verse a bit too much.
Day 3: A song that reminds you of the summertime
“Free Lunch” by Isaiah Rashad
“Meal ticket ticket, meal ticket ticket, comma, ugh”
There are a ton of songs I could have picked for this, but I’ll never forget Isaiah Rashad’s explanation on Sway in the Morning for naming his album The Sun’s Tirade, which described the feeling on a hot summer day when you’re in your car and the sun is just beating down heavy on you. That imagery always sticks with me when I hear this song, and when those hot summer days come around, I always gotta play “Free Lunch” in my car. It’s a whole conditioned response now. Zay, where your next album at, though?? (By the way, my favorite Zay song is “Modest”, and if you haven’t heard it yet, I highly recommend giving it a listen. The instrumental alone is one of my favorites of all time.)
Day 4: A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget
“James Dean & Audrey Hepburn” by Sleeping with Sirens
“They say that love is forever / Your forever is all that I need / Please stay as long as you need / Can’t promise some things won’t be broken / But I swear that I’ll never leave / Please stay forever with me”
I don’t think I’d want to forget this person, but I also think that all of our memories make us who we are, and that comes with both the good and the bad. (I could go on a whole rant about memory and why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind always fucks me up.) This song came out at a time right before I met someone super important to me, when we immediately bonded over our love for Warped Tour bands and middle school emo glory days. I haven’t listened to this much since 2012 and early 2013, but I’ll always associate this whole EP with that specific time period and person, especially since we both listened to this album constantly at the start of our relationship. I think back to how sometimes I felt like this was our soundtrack at the time (though we’d end up listening to a lot of other stuff down the line). We didn’t end up liking the SWS albums after this, though, and this is still my favorite SWS project hands-down.
Day 5: A song that needs to be played out loud
“Losing Sight” by Memphis May Fire (feat. Danny Worsnop)
“How could I crave this? I used to hate this! / I tell my stories as a form of release / I need them as much as they need me”
Definitely one of my favorite songs from my post-hardcore days, and it just hits so hard. I honestly could have picked any number of metal or screamo songs, or anything with just an incredibly heavy breakdown (like “Mr. Highway Meets The End” from A Day to Remember or “Ludens” from Bring Me the Horizon), but I wanted a song that I always turn up immediately whenever I hear the first notes. There’s just such a great blend of singing, screaming, and that infamous Rise Record (“risecore”) drum pattern that it’s hard not to get completely amped when hearing this song, especially since I got to hear it live while in the pit a few times. There’s no China breakdown in this one (a particular type of breakdown that utilizes the China cymbal while playing in half-time), nor are there death growls (which I personally love), but the heaviness and energy of the entire track as a whole always just gets me.
Day 6: A song that makes you want to dance
Any old school hardstyle song, really, but the song below is “Stereophobia” by Dark Oscillators
I had a hard time picking which direction I wanted to go with this song, because there are songs like “Swag Surfin’” or “Computers” that 100% will always get me off my feet and dancing. Generally, if there are hip hop songs with specific dances, I like to join in on them… I also Milly Rock far too much, to just about everything, for all sorts of songs where it really doesn’t make sense to Milly Rock to. I was also debating picking ball songs (stuff to vogue to and all that). In the end, I wanted to do a throwback, though, and acknowledge that for the longest time ever, I was extremely into hard shuffling. In terms of dancing, footwork stuff always was the most interesting to me, and even to this day, if I hear a hardstyle song, I’ll just subconsciously start to want to shuffle (even though I really don’t know how to anymore, so please don’t ask me to hard shuffle / Melbourne shuffle / C-walk… especially not C-walking because we really aren’t about that life and I’m tired of seeing white and Asian folks being messy like that).
Day 7: A song to drive to
“Skrt” by Kodak Black
Picking songs to drive to is definitely an art form. You have to consider what kind of drive you’re going on, what tracks hit different in the car, and whether you’re driving yourself or with others. There are so many factors that go into it — if you’re on a road trip with friends, you likely want music that’s high-energy that you can all sing to. If you’re going for a late-night drive alone, trying to clear your head, you need something that’s more low-key and sub bass heavy. You have to remember that some things will be too distracting on the road, and others will be totally lost from the sound of the road. Some songs amp you up when you wanna drive fast, some songs are just perfect when you’re cruising along the highway. But there’s also a difference between a song that happens to sound good on the road and a song that you know you gotta play on the road, like “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton or “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi for those long car trips. Personally, though, I find that my music hits the hardest when I’m out for a night drive on my own, which is often what I do when I’m feeling really down, lost, or stuck in my thoughts. For that, I usually pick songs that are a bit more wistful, not too involved in terms of the melodies and beats, and something I can feel more than think about. So no songs that are too overly lyrical (plus if you’re with other people, you’re likely having conversations, not intently listening to the storytelling in “Sing of Me, I’m Dying of Thirst”), and you want something that utilizes subwoofers in cars, especially things that make you feel surrounded by that subby bass. I don’t like tracks where the bass is too punchy, either. When I’m in my car, I want this sort of really deep, ambient bass that’s sustained. Tracks with lots of reverb and muted drum beats also work well. Though he’s extremely problematic, I still find myself going back to “Skrt” by Kodak Black time and time again to fulfill just this feeling. Lately, the slowed and reverbed edit of “Hold On” by The Internet is also something that I’ve been playing on repeat in my car, though it features an actual bass guitar line versus a subby synth bass.
Day 8: A song about drugs or alcohol
“D.R.U.G.S.” by Ab-Soul (feat. Mac Miller)
“I can’t help myself, I think I need some help”
There are an endless amount of songs I listen to about drugs or alcohol, but ever since Mac’s death (RIP Mac), I’ve had this song stuck in my head repeatedly. There’s something so haunting about the instrumentals and the message of the song, all while you hear Mac saying “I can’t help myself, I think I need some help” over and over and over in the song, with us knowing now how he passed. Sometimes I’ll just wake up and hear the piano line in the song in my head, and I’ll have to go back and listen to it. It was never my favorite Ab-Soul song (and still isn’t), but that haunting quality will always make this song stick out, out of his entire discography.
Married to marijuana, addicted to cigarettes
Codeine's my concubine, cocaine confidant
Adderall Admiral, absolutely, give Danny credit
Perc' 30 flow, exactly how Saudi said it
Season pass to Xanny land, Hennessy in my piss
Can't forget I'm psychic off them psychedelics
And for the kids lookin' up to me for what I've seen
No, I don't need any of these things to do anything
Day 9: A song that makes you happy
“BIRDIE” by KOTA the Friend
You believe in me as much as I believe in you
And you do not belong to me
And I do not belong to you
We free to be and do what we born to be
Assume the high position as a king and queen
I love an underdog story
I'm happy you is my shorty
I realize, most of the time I listen to songs that either get me really pumped up, or match a sort of sadness or wistfulness that I’m feeling, but rarely do I have songs that are just happy. Even if I find songs that are a bit more playful or upbeat, they usually are in service of a different energy that I wouldn’t just say is “happy.” The songs that are just straightforwardly “happy” usually really bother me, which is also why I don’t end up listening to a lot of radio play pop music. I know it makes me sound like a huge music snob or grouch, but ultimately that’s just how I honestly feel when it comes to my personal song selection and musical preferences.
Anyways, for this pick, I ended up going with a song that makes me feel happy in a wistful sort of way. Like a sort of nostalgia for something I never had (with someone). The music video teaser (which is only the first verse of the song!) does make me smile (while tearing up a bit), and I think rather than it being a song that directly makes me happy, it’s a song that makes me long for a type of happiness. KOTA the Friend is absolutely underrated, by the way, and I highly recommend the entire FOTO album to anyone who enjoys this track.
Day 10: A song that makes you sad
“Living Single” by Big Sean (feat. Chance the Rapper and Jeremih)
To the one girl guys who claim they don't need more
Like my — Henry, he married at 24
I'm like why —, why?
You supposed to be with her longer than your ass been alive?
He like, "Ahhh"
Fuck it, we about to do therapy
Aye, at least when I hit the doctor I'm carefree with no plan B's
You probably never got tested and have that type of clarity
I'd rather live my life with that Lifetime guarantee
But I'm down to hear the stories about what your hoes do
It’s probably more entertaining than me talking about my wife down in Whole Foods
Or how when I'm with her I feel whole too
Go on, keep living that life you — know you too old too
Fuck it, I started laughing and pretend like I ain't listen
Even though he on target with everything I've been missing
The closest thing I had to that came in at 4 AM and out at 8 for work
And I'm the reason we ain't make it work
That's what makes it worse
Damn
I have an endless amount of songs that make me sad, or that I go to when I’m feeling sad to amplify the mood. I could easily have gone with any number of songs here, and lately some of those are “Jocelyn Flores” by XXXTentacion and “IF Only” by Gemini Aaliyah. Some older ones include “I’m Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket (Alternate Version)” by Pierce the Veil and “I’m Kicking Myself” by As Tall As Lions. But in the end, I went with “Single Again” by Big Sean, mainly because it was one of my most played songs for a few years and a song whose final verse always really gets me. I could honestly make a whole 100-song playlist just from songs that make me sad. But this one, especially the closing bars of the final verse… hits maybe a bit too close to heart.
Anyways, if you made it this far, thank you for reading (and listening)! I spent a good few hours just listening back on lots of my music in order to make these picks, and it was really difficult narrowing each down to just one song. (I’m working with a library of nearly 15K songs, after all.) It was really nice being able to hear these songs for myself, while writing a bit about each, and I hope some of you were able to discover some good new music or artists from them.
I'‘m not sure when I’ll come back to do the next ten, but I’m going to try to promise myself to finish the challenge this time, even if it’s done ten-at-a-time as opposed to daily.
Also, since I created a Spotify recently, I decided to put these 10 songs in Spotify playlist form, since I know a lot of ya’ll use that to listen to music. I had to switch out the “Come and See Me @ 2AM” remix for the original “Come and See Me”, since it’s the version you can actually find on Spotify, but everything else is the same.