Songs That Make Me Feel Alive Again

Music is a direct line to my soul. Follow the notes into my ears through my brain and down into the very core of me. It fuels me. It is the moving force, the tide of my ocean of emotions. It can open my eyes, soothe my soul, conjure my laughter, conjure my tears.

These distinct feelings and vague emotions are what remind me that I’m here, I’m human. Here are ten (10) songs that make me feel something and what exactly that feeling is, described to the best of my ability (which isn't always easy).

1) Thunder by Boys Like Girls

Nostalgia plays a big role in music for me. I’m the kind of person who loves to look back at the past with fondness and reexperience all that I was feeling at the time. Anything that can take me to another place, offer me a beautiful distraction, is something I take pleasure in. While I was a mere six years old when this song was released, it still takes me back to the 2000s, when my older sister was a teenager in her prime. I always thought that my sister listened to the coolest music, and I was so glad that we shared an iTunes account. Listening to it now takes me back to a carefree time and slides me right into my sister's shoes, which were probably distressed black converse with lyrics Sharpie’d on them, as a teen in the golden age of the 2000s punk scene.

2) Clean by Taylor Swift

It's no secret that Taylor Swift creates some iconic music, but I believe that this song is among her best work. The lyrics, while concise, say so much and are incredibly relatable, even though I have never gone through a romantic situation like Taylor relays in the song. She makes me feel as though I have dealt with these troubling times through the beauty in which she describes her pain and her freedom from that pain. This song makes me want to stand in the rain and throw my arms out to my sides as I yell the words with reckless abandon. Yeah, it's that moving.

3) Something Great by One Direction

This isn't the first song that comes to mind when you mention One Direction to most people, myself included. In fact, most probably don't even know this song exists. 13-year-old me in the prime of my One Direction craze hated this song. With a deep passion. I thought it was boring and lacked in comparison to the other pop anthems on the album. But then I listened again as a 20-year-old and took notice of how my perspective had shifted. As someone who has a lackluster love life but loves love, the message of this song cuts deep as I get into my “golden” era. My “when are you getting a boyfriend” era. My “running out of time” era. One Direction really hit the nail on the head with this one. Is it too much to ask for something great?

4) Best Days by Lissie

Best Days is an underrated 2018 acoustic pop song that has all the vibes of a coming-of-age film making a love child with a rom-com. It gives me a serious '13 Going on 30' feeling, which is always a lovely feeling to have. The song discusses feeling ultimately free and present in these days and the ones to come. It really helps me to understand that there are other people who feel what I feel -- I am not alone and neither are you. We make mistakes, we take risks, we feel pushed and pressured and unsure but the best days of our lives are waiting on us! We don't have to rush ourselves or tailor ourselves to fit a certain narrative; all we need to do is realize who we are and then there we'll be, right where we need to be. And if we feel nostalgic for the 'good ole days' or believe we've already hit our peaks, all we have to do is reach for more, create more best days. Also, this song is incredibly fun to belt in your car on a summer day, just a tip.

5) Cut You Off by Selena Gomez

Imagine a song to empower women, about strong ladies doing what's best for them and their health, but in a slow, chill, drama-free, guitar-solo-inclusive jam by Selena Gomez. Imagine no further -- Cut You Off. This song is Selena freeing herself from the physical and emotional weight of this long-term relationship gone stale. She is overwhelmed by the mental games, the manipulation and she fixes these issues in the simplest of ways -- she dips out. While I've never been in a 4-year-romantic-relationship-turned-toxic as described in the song, I can relate to the relief of starting clean, finding yourself, and freeing yourself by cutting off people who hold you back, harm you, wish to change you to fit their needs. It can be mentally taxing and downright exhausting and sometimes the only thing to do is admit that you need to move forward for yourself.

6) Grace by Lewis Capaldi

If Lewis Capaldi sang absolute nonsense throughout this entire song, it would still give me shivers. Heck, he could sing it in Simlish and I would still sing its praises. The musical content is just incredibly moving and builds and falls in exactly the right ways. It uses all of its elements to create the perfect little music smoothie. However, Lewis doesn't sing absolute nonsense in the lyrics. He, instead, sings a beautiful, heartbreaking truth of a story. He sings of finding a saving grace, a relief from his hurting, an almost painful love, and he begs to keep it. This isn't a love he can let go of easily and his one-of-a-kind voice and tone make it hard to look deep and find the harshness and fear of the words he sings. While it speaks on an undeniably powerful love, Capaldi hints at the dependence upon it and the harm it does. His vocal performance is haunting and wonderful, and the song has one of my all-time favorite bridges from any song.

7) Evacuate the Dancefloor by Cascada

Okay, listen, I'm not all beautifully composed ballads and violins and heartbreak; I appreciate a good dance club banger. Cascada does this better than anyone in my opinion. This number could've easily housed another few of her contagiously energetic hits, but Evacuate the Dancefloor, in particular, grasps that dance battle, late-night sleepover playing Just Dance, big-finale-prom-scene-in-a-teen-movie feeling so well. The nostalgia, the hypnotic beat, the dissonance, (the Pitbull-esque rap by Calprit) is magic.

8) Take Me Along by Miley Cyrus

And back to the sad longing. Miley's Can't Be Tamed album is still my favorite album of hers and it's because of hidden gems like Take Me Along. This song paints such great imagery of a story without bogging it down with details or a heavy storytelling voice. I can picture Miley and where she is in these scenarios, how she feels, the front she puts up before the ultimate breakdown in the chorus where she questions and pleads to her lover to not stay behind with her but to take her along. Not only does she feel cast aside and unwanted in the relationship but she is also just deeply lonely in this city, in herself. I relate to this song because of the desperation and longing that doesn't come off as whiny or leave her without dignity. It's just a girl in love pouring out her heart and what she feels and hoping that it's enough. I love this song even more now that I'm older and can comprehend the complex feelings of confusion and hurt that she experiences.

9) i still talk to jesus by LANY

LANY has the uncanny ability to never write a bad or unrelatable song for me. Even when our perspectives or situations may not be identical, they still make me feel what they're feeling with ease. This song in particular is very special to me because of my relationship with Christ and the shortcomings I, and many Christians, experience when trying to pursue a relationship with God. This song paints a picture for believers and non-believers alike and tells you that even though some poor choices were made and some things feel like they are embedded in us and will never change, you can still be a believer, you can still be someone who speaks to Jesus with no shame, no matter who you are or what you've done. I love when artists speak out about relationships with God so this one holds a special place in my heart and soul.

10) Sister Golden Hair by America

There's absolutely no other way to end this list than with my life end credits song. This IS the driving into the sunset, beaten-down but ultimately content-and-carrying-on song. Equal parts rock anthem and poppy somber tune, I don't ever know exactly what to feel when I hear this song but you can guarantee that I'm always feeling something. Sometimes it's resolution and sometimes it's new beginnings. This is the ultimate soundtrack song, and I will forever throw my hands out the window and into the wind as I zoom down the highway blasting it.

I hope you listen to these songs and I hope they make you FEEL, even if that feeling has no correspondence to mine! Music is a gift and I hope you can find the songs that you cherish most, wishing to wrap and unwrap them again and again.

Happy listening. Or sad, angry, discontent...it's really up to you.