Another Autumn, another Spotify playlist to listen along to the falling leaves with.

I’ll Be There | Overcoats

How this song is delivered lyrically and musically reminds me of what 'solidarity’ truly means. We all need someone who will be this for us. We don’t need many, but those select few matters.

“The world wants to break your stride, but you are worth every star in the sky….”

Blessings Everywhere | Elevation Worship, Brandon Lake

In a time when this world is more divided, taking time during the autumn season to recognize the good, the blessings and all that is well is a refreshing and healing move. I find during autumn; I crave these reminders.

The Phantom of the Opera | Prague Cello Quartet

I have a secret and deep passion for the Cello. I began learning it years ago but had to return my rental for practical reasons. I am eagerly awaiting the window in life where I see a margin to jump on learning more Cello again. In truth, it is more me than the piano. The Phantom of the Opera is the first musical that I believe I was able to master on the piano with efficiency. Although rusty from being packed away, this specific rendition has inspired me to revisit the sheet music I had in storage.

2:20 - 2:40 gives me the shivers EVERY SINGLE DANG time.

Just Fine | Desiree Dawson

A calming reminder of something more profound. I love finding new voices that speak truth and beauty into the world.

Cheers | Shakey Graves

Another encouraging tune with those deep thoughts backing them.

Carefully curating music to carry with me throughout a season is a way I connect with my goals, intentions and overall mindset.

Here is a sampling of the songs that stick out to me the most in this Summer collection I have made:

For the full playlist:
check it out on Spotify

Elastic Heart | Sia

Something about Sia’s raw voice, lyrics and how she puts together her music videos to represent her songs get me every time. She is a prolific artist.

Electric Love | Borns

Something about this song brings me back to electric pop in a nostalgic yet modern way. I love this song playing as I practice rollerskating.

Now I’m In It | HAIM

I have loved HAIM for many years, and this song reminds me of that young 20-something in me, with wide open summers, car windows down, wind in my hair and my best friend in the passenger seat.

august | Taylor Swift

august is one of those tracks that will keep coming back with each generation. T-Swift really gave the world a beautiful nostalgic piece to capture something so many of us understand.

”slipped away into a moment in time.”

I Think We’re Alone Now | Tiffany

I’ve been saying it before the cool kids realized. 80’s music is one of the best eras for music. Lyrics, musicality, beats, rhythms, energy, heart, soul…you name it. Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” captures a summer date night feeling that I love to be reminded of. Heat making the air thick, sun setting, waves crashing against the shore, bare legs skipping along… chasing each other down the beach.

Carefully curating music to carry with me through out a season is a way I connect with my goals, intentions and overall mindset.

Here is a sampling of the songs that stick out to me the most in this Winter collection I have made:

For the full playlist:
check it out on Spotify

Rondo in F Minor for Piano and Orchestra | Nicholas Britell

If this track isn’t a moody vibe for work, I don’t know what is.

Unstoppable | Sia (feat. Pusha T, Oladum)

These lyrics rev me up. Simple as that. New Year, new anthems.

I AM WOMAN | Emmy Meli

I continue to have to come back to the truth that societal constructs of what being a woman is has been written on me that I am ‘one thing’. Being woman and being me is many many things. Women are called to inhabit their full selves. This anthem anchors me back into the space I am supposed to be.

AUATC | Bon Iver

Over the past two years within a pandemic and huge societal / cultural shifts, I continue to be burdened by the lack of understanding that we continue for the ‘others’. Using divisive language that separates us against them. This song reminds me of something I once heard : “Wherever you draw a line between us and them, you can be sure that Jesus is on the other side of that line.”

Godspeed | Paravi

Not the exact track, but close enough. This song says what I cannot.

Be Thou My Vision | Audrey Assad

There is usually a traditional hymn slipped into any of my seasonal playlists. Poetry in the highest sense. They anchor the season and remind me of what truly matters.

Here is the playlist for this summer 2021

Summer of Now - James Blake

Around 1:22 this song picks up in a way that gets me in my inner core. There is something about a nostalgic song regarding summertime that adds to those reflective moments. Roll down the windows and turn up the volume on this baby.

Cigarettes and Coffee - Otis Redding

This tune makes me think of every good feeling that a couple could experience rolled up into one tune. Bare feet, two mugs, sitting on countertops late at night while cooking, deep talks and the sounds of good music in the background.

This Will Be - Natalie Cole

Blame it on the 98’ remake of The Parent Trap, but this song for me says summer. I would binge this film during my childhood summers. The end credits rolled to this track. The opening chords get me every time.

Gratitude - Brandon Lake

I love this thankful prayer. Sometimes words are best said heavenwards.

Spring has arrived and it has teased us with sprinkles of snow before settling into the purely Nova Scotian winds and rains that we are all used to.

The overlap of winter and spring.

With a new season,

a new playlist.

Highlights from the list:

Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone

I first heard this song sung by Nicole C. Mullen and have always found a certain amount of joy, revelation, inspiration and insight in it. A song that seems to resurface over and over again through the generations.

It’s You I like - Fred Rogers

This song is a comfort. As a family we have been sinking into Fred Rogers words since the early days of the pandemic. There is a deeper message in his songs and episodes that translates even to the youngest of hearts. His songs make me a better person, parent and better to even my inner self.

Manhattanite - Frook

Gives that pep to my step. I have loved hearing it when starting a drive or my day.

I Know Things Now - Lilla Crawford

I wasn’t aware of Into the Woods as a musical until my early twenties. The entirety to of it speaks to me deeply. In part, because I think we all can relate to being in a season of confusion at one point in our lives or another. The awareness this character sings about although from a child’s perspective is a beautiful window into what it means to become self-aware and the revelation it can bring.

After a hard year, it seemed fitting to me that the tracks on this winter seasons playlist were both hopeful with a few reflective tones.

Winter 2021 Playlist

Stand Outs

New Kind of Beautiful | Lindsey Rey

Opening with Lindsey Rey. I first heard this song in December when the last episode of Greys Anatomy aired before the Christmas break. As always the amazing Alexandra Patsavas brings a greys episode to a close with epic tracks. This one felt so timely for the world, for the families, for the souls, for the singular person.

“A new way a new road, to a new kind of beautiful…..not like it was before.”

Want | Birdtalker

This is another soul cry track moving into the new year. We have seen division, terror, systemic racism and endless pain. When I heard this track a few months ago, it moved me. This is my heart cry for my work, my family and how I move through the world.

“I don’t wanna have a dagger tounge. I dont want my words to be a weapon, but a healing balm.”

Vincent | Ellie Goulding

This song has always been a favourite of mine. I first heard Josh Groban sing it when I was a teen and fell in love. It was around the time I began learning how to figure skate and how every song to me, was an opportunity to dream of choreography. Ellie’s rendition brings me back to that feeling of limitlessness I felt in those days and how much pain I was coming into the realization that the world was holding. A bittersweet tune full of bittersweet memories.

“Now I think I know. What you tried to say to me. And how you suffered for your sanity, how you tried to set them free.”

High | Miley Cyrus

Miley’s voice gets me every time. That genuine rasp she’s had since she was a kid, that rebel heart. Sometimes I have to roll my eyes at her antics, but there is no denying when she lays down tracks with her vocals, she has something that is unique to her and this is one of those for me. Oh, there is Miley putting beats and vocals to something I can feel my heart respond to.

“And you, like a rolling stone, always building cities on the hearts that you broke.”

Compiled here on Spotify is a playlist I made for this autumn.

After committing to a subscription, I have been revamping my playlists, which already feels old.

It was a compilation I put together in September.

Stand Out Tracks

ily (I Love You Baby) | Surf Mesa

There is something about this cover that makes me find motivation in the corners of the day.

Forever Young | Rhiannon Giddens and Iron & Wine

This track is special to me for many reasons. In part, it was made for the finale of Parenthood, a show that helped shape my marriage and desire to continue developing healthy relationships with my family. Forever Young was the opening title song, and this rendition happens to be my favourite. It reminds me of why it’s worth it to be there for those you love.

Summer is a time of road trips, driving to the beach, and parties.

Although drives in our province can happen, we find ourselves in a season of planning and preparing. A huge part of that is having our child enter primary school. A huge stepping stone for her and us.

While creating a playlist I found joy in adding a few tracks that reflected summer like films while also adding tracks that felt reflective of a summer full of shifts, pandemic restrictions and hopes for the future.

Summer 2020 Playlist <——

*Standouts

In the Waiting | Kina Grannis

This track has given me a lot of hope, peace and reminder to stay present in the moment and day I am in.

Revival Anthem | Rend Collective

It’s no secret that I ADORE music from the British Isles. Rend Collective has a tone similar to Mumford and Sons while also highlighting their faith in creative ways. Seeing them play live last year was a highlight. Their energy is terrific. (It didn’t hurt that they said Nova Scotia of all the provinces in Canada reminded them of the same music energy / atmosphere they see in Ireland.)

La Vie En Rose | Lady Gaga

A Star is Born tore my heart in two. I found it beautifully done to the point of feeling the ache of it’s echo months later. Always loving this song, I found Lady Gaga (Stefanie) rendition of it reaches new heights.

Water | Kanye West

As polorizing as Kayne can be, I find his creativity fascinating. Over the years I have resonated with his work that highlights the desire to connect with a higher power.
I initially found peace in this song when this couple captured the physicality of the song.

Seasons | NEEDTOBREATHE

This song hit me in the gut and was an instant purchase. I think music connects us as humans and ultimately I would argue that it’s a way that we connect deeper with that which made us.

*always tacked on the playlist is a few tracks from the Outlander season / book I am re-reading / rewatching. Summer 2020 is Book 1 & Season 1.

As I look at the songs that I have gathered for this season’s playlist, I was hit with the realization of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected my choices. I was already in the process of curating the list when COVID hit our country and my province. In knowing that, there are many songs on this list that I may not have otherwise included. The few from Mary Poppins and Into the Woods, being from musicals would have been songs I would have nixed before the list was completed or left just one. But the words in those musicals, the point they are making seemed to say something to me. About unknowns and uncomfortable places.

Spring 2020 Playlist <——-

Standouts*

Clearly | Grace Vanderwall

A cross between a cover of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash and a new song, Grace’s words in Clearly give hope in times when life is uncertain. Where can we find hope today? How can we accept what we cannot change?

8 | Billie Eilish

I love these few songs from Billie that sit on the surface of your skin and make you listen deeper.

The Blessing | Kari Jobe

I have always found peace and rest in traditional hymns and songs. This was sent to me by my Dad amidst the grief of a loss in the family and the following shock of the effects of COVID.

A Spoonful of Sugar | Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins)

With the adjustments and inability to hug those we care about, the words of this song hit me as we introduced it to our almost five-year-old. These lessons are invaluable.

Winter is one of my favorite seasons to curate a playlist for.

It could be the way that snow lingers, leaving the world covered in something mystical and wonder like. It could be the way the wind bites at you as you leave the house and tries to lick your lips with frost. It could be that mix between romantic ambiance and barren land.

Winter 2020 Playlist

Stand Outs

Dreams | The Cranberries

This is a marker song for me. I remember it playing when I started finding new purpose through figure skating as a teenager. I remember skating in the early morning on empty ice and this song made it all feel possible. Now, this song seems to find it’s way back to me to remind me of those free-flying moments and remind me of that sense of hope and elation.

Always Good | The McClures

I fell into this song by accident recently and fell in love with it. I think we can all struggle with feeling at peace and at rest in what is going on in our lives. I find peace in believing and trusting in that which is bigger than me.

Miss You So Much | Miley Cyrus

Miley is brilliant. I don’t love everything she has done. I think some of it has been produced and created out of rebellion of her own self-hatred and that in and of itself creates some very worn and tired material. But this new side of her that is coming out (while she still remains her completely edgy self) is filled with brilliant musical choices.

Being a lover of music means I adore so much of it. With more and more access via streaming services, I have needed to find ways to curate my listening so I don’t get overwhelmed by it.

You can listen to this seasons curated playlist on Spotify.

Stand Outs:

Lover by Taylor Swift

Because ‘Lover’ might one of Taylor’s best albums yet & I love everything about this song.

Succession by Nicholas Britell

Because Jeremy & I have loved getting into this television series & everything about this opening song is perfection. A classical and modern mash up. The piano in this is so on point. #chills.

Problem by Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox

Because this band brings me back to my swing dance/blues class days (always started in the fall) & I the lyrics may be a great sassy wink.

Dunes by Alabama Shakes

Because this song has such deep grit and soul. love preparing for a weekend brunch with this playing in the background.

I LOVE ALL THE MUSIC…

that’s no secret.

although I have struggled to organize the amount of music I have accumulated over the years. Scads of old favourites, groupings of new ones. Some come out through my childhood and others have been found in my adult years.

Starting to gather it all for a quarterly playlist to put on my iPhone to be one the go with me has begun to grow on me and work for me.

I have also begun mirroring that playlist on Spotify so I can use the ‘songs like these’ feature to explore more music in that mood I have curated.

A few notables:

She’s Always A Woman - Josh Groban : turning 30 with a stronger sense of my womanhood.

Songbird - Eva Cassidy : Walking in faith and singing over those I love.

Extravagant - Amanda Cook & Steffany Gtretzinger : Heading into Easter with an open heart in faith.

Find the full playlist here:

On Spotify

Being a 90's kid, I grew up with that mixed tape concept.  

I also grew up in a pentecostal church.  My exposure to music started from day one and although it was predominantly praise and worship music, music of all kinds became my love language and how I still connect with that secret place in my spirit.

Unbeknownst to my parents (at least I think they were unaware?) I spent endless amounts of time making my own mixed tapes from the radio.  Country, rock, pop, classical.  I borrowed CD's from the library tasting everything from Enya, Billie Halliday, Avril Lavigne, Soundtracks from The Princess Diaries to Titanic, broadway musicals....  I had a thing for Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Doris Day, Duffy, Solitudes series, Lifehouse and Disney...

As I live my life, there will always be a mixed tape/playlist to go along with the season.

Here is my latest.  

Winter 2018 Playlist
 

Summer 2017 Playlist

Click the link for what I have been listening to this summer.
Less than a month left of summer!