WILT

What I’m Listening To: May 2021

Karley

May was a good month musically. Not only are artists releasing major bops in anticipation of summer vibes and charts, but a lot of songs fit well into this emotional midpoint of my life where so many things are ending, maybe beginning, or waiting. We’re still in our depressing lyrics, upbeat rhythm phase, still holding out on favorite artists, and still finding new music every month to obsess over. Once again, it was difficult to narrow this down to only 20 tracks but I made it happen. We cover a lot of musical ground across this month’s playlist, but come out of it richer, excited for summer, and lyrically inspired.

Our usual rules are in effect (thankfully): no more than 20 songs per month, no more than 1 song per artist (not counting features), and no more than 3 songs per compilation album. At the end of the year, only songs from each of these monthly lists will be eligible for the Best Of list. My music, as always, is culminated from Spotify, recommendations from friends, other music platforms (such as YouTube), and devotion to some of my favorite artists and the content they put out.

With that said, let’s lean in and listen to May…

  1. “Top Again” by AUDREY NUNA feat. Saba ~ ‘Cause it’s rainin’, your favorite, grass is green
  2. “Bite Marks” by Au/Ra ~ I gave you the knife and let you carve
  3. “On My Way” by Alex Lahey ~ I’m gonna cross state lines in my first car
  4. “Your Power” by Billie Eilish ~ Does it keep you in control? (In control) / For you to keep her in a cage?
  5. “Trailer Trash” by carolesdaughter ~ And my savings went to liquor
  6. “BIJIN” by CHANMINA ~トイレに女神はおったんかい？
  7. “Astronomy” by Conan Gray ~ You’re pointing at stars in the sky that already died
  8. “Soul Mate” by flora cash ~ We’ll fall deeper in love every day
  9. “Body and Mind” by girl in red ~ I’ve been seeking solace in the strangest of things
  10. “Mess It Up” by Gracie Adams ~ When I told you “I’m fine”, you were lied to
  11. “The Walls Are Way Too Thin” by Holly Humberstone ~ The same old sad songs I cling to
  12. “I Lied” by Lord Huron feat. Allison Ponthier ~ Told you I could never live without your love but I lied
  13. “Buy Your Own Flowers” by María Isabel ~ Not used to me without you here
  14. “jealousy, jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo ~ I wanna be you so bad, and I don’t even know you
  15. “Zombie!” by Orla Gartland ~ All of this rage in your hands / Passed on down from your old man / And now somehow it’s my fault
  16. “Two” by Sleeping At Last ~ I will love you without any strings attached
  17. “this is me trying” by Taylor Swift ~ They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential
  18. “strawberry cheeks” by Ūla ~ If I hold you tight, won’t you always be there?
  19.  “I Think I Like When It Rains” by Willis ~ I dreamed of things you said to me
  20. “Transparent Soul” by WILLOW feat. Travis Barker ~ All your little fake friends will sell your secrets for some cash

You’ll notice we’ve transported back to folklore vibes for Miss Swift as that song hits new resonances emotionally at this point in my life. We had some great albums this month, too, as girl in red’s if i could make it go quiet and Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR were on repeat. I’ll admit that sometimes I’m captured by an aesthetic music video and find music that way but, at the end of the month, if the song hasn’t been on repeat then it doesn’t make the cut (sorry “She Gets the Flowers” by Beth McCartney). Through my wide network of music, I love so many of the songs, artists, and albums I discover every month (plus old favorites), but—I’ll admit—I still spend a good amount of time listening to the same songs rather than always finding new ones.

With that in mind, I don’t know what June will hold. More Olivia Rodrigo, obviously, and perhaps new singles by artists with upcoming releases, but I can’t predict the genres my moods will choose accurately. Maybe some bluegrass. Maybe some French or Italian. Maybe some depressing jazz. You can never tell when the taste is as eclectic as mine.

But isn’t that exciting? Until next time, x

You can listen to the entire What I Listened To in 2021 playlist here.