There’s been no shortage of Instagram story challenges going around, and I jumped on the bandwagon. Starting April 6, I shared songs in my Insta story based on the prompts in the 30-day song challenge to the left (if you know who created this, let me know so I can give credit!). Having nothing else to do, and in the spirit of being millennial-level extra, I also created a Spotify playlist you can listen to below.
As I was putting my stories together each day, I realized I had more thoughts to share about each song and why I chose it. So, now that I have successfully completed the challenge (I’m writing this on day 2 – ha), here’s a roundup of the songs I chose and why!
| Day | Prompt | Song | Why I Chose It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A song with a color in the title | “Better in Color” by Lizzo | I started off by bending the rules – oops! I’ve been on a Lizzo kick lately, and this is one of my favorites from her. |
| 2 | A song with a number in the title | “7 Days” by Alessia Cara | Alessia Cara is an incredible artist. “7 Days” is a creative, prayer-like song where she questions why the world sucks sometimes. I know I’ve asked those questions. |
| 3 | A song that reminds you of summertime | “Saltwater Gospel” by Eli Young Band | When my husband and I were dating, we took a trip to Gulf Shores, AL. For the trip I made a playlist called Beachy and added all my fave summery songs. |
| 4 | A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget | “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line | I don’t have anyone I’d rather forget, so instead this is the first song I danced to with my husband when we were dating. Not the most romantic choice, but it’s what was on! |
| 5 | A song that needs to be played loud | “Blood // Water” by grandson | I got into rock music in college, and while I can’t remember rock song names for the life of me, this is definitely one that needs to be played loud. |
| 6 | A song that makes you want to dance | “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO | This song brings me back to my senior prom! |
| 7 | A song to drive to | “My Church” by Maren Morris | This is the album that brought me back to good country after I got sick of all the bro country crap that gets played on the radio. (I think women make better country music.) |
| 8 | A song about drugs or alcohol | “D.R.E.A.M.” by Miley Cyrus | There is a plethora of songs about intoxicants out there, but this is the first one that came to me. Miley Cyrus is an enigma and I love her. |
| 9 | A song that makes you happy | “Sweet Tennessee” by Judah & the Lion | This band is from the town where I went to college, and I got to see them for free right as they were getting big. Tennessee drives me crazy politically, but it is a beautiful place to live. |
| 10 | A song that makes you sad | “Lonely” by Noah Cyrus | I kind of like sad songs (thanks to my high school country music obsession?), so I had to work to find one that legitimately makes me sad, but this one fits. It’s so raw. |
| 11 | A song you never get tired of | “Slow Burn” by Kacey Musgraves | Kacey Musgraves is one of the few artists I discovered in high school that I still listen to regularly. She is amazing. The last time I was in Nashville I got to see her exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and it was everything. |
| 12 | A song from your preteen years | “Flood” by Jars of Clay | We listened pretty exclusively to Christian music growing up (with a little classic rock thrown in). In my view, the 90s and early 00s was when Christian music peaked. |
| 13 | A song you like from the 70s | “Dancing Queen” by ABBA | This is just a classic, and I’m pretty sure I was introduced to it via the movie Mamma Mia, so there’s no going back for me now. |
| 14 | A song you’d love to be played at your wedding | “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John | Fun fact: We made a whole wedding reception playlist, and forgot to play it. That’s the only thing I would change about our wedding. |
| 15 | A song you like that’s a cover of another artist | “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” by Miranda Lambert | Remember when I said I think women country artists make better music? That’s especially true when multiple powerhouse artists collab on an amazing cover like this one. |
| 16 | A song that’s a classic favorite | “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana | There are way too many great songs that would fit this. I chose this one because of this video where 1000 people get together to play this song. Rockin1000 is the group that organized it, and they also did “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters. If you need a quick pick-me-up, go watch those! |
| 17 | A song you’d sing in a karaoke duet | “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus | Who doesn’t love this song? I first heard it on country radio before it got taken off of country radio (such a shame). It’s a great song, everyone knows it, and it’s relatively easy to sing even if you’re not a great singer. (Now to convince my husband to do karaoke with me. Ha!) |
| 18 | A song from the year you were born | “Colors of the Wind” by Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas) | Growing up, “The Little Mermaid” was my favorite Disney princess movie, but my sister and I both loved “Pocahontas” (historical inaccuracies and all). When I was in high school, a group of my band friends got together for an enesemable of our own and played Disney songs and other pop tunes. I don’t think we ever played this, but this was in my song book and was a fun one to play at home. |
| 19 | A song that makes you think about life | “Praying” by Kesha | This is one of Kesha’s songs from her first album after she was able to stop working with Dr. Luke. It’s an incredible song but every time I hear it it gives me all the feels about women in the music industry and in society as a whole. |
| 20 | A song that has many meanings to you | “Love Myself” by Olivia O’Brien | I’ve written quite a bit about my insecurities over the years. Part of me wishes I had had this song when I was in high school, but I don’t know that it would have hit home. Regardless, this is a good reminder at any life stage. |
| 21 | A song with someone’s name in the title | “Jolene” by Dolly Parton | This might be a cliche choice, but how could I, a native east Tennesseean, not rep Dolly Parton for this one? Dolly is a treasure. For only one example, see the Imagination Library. |
| 22 | A song that moves you forward | “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift | How did I get 22 days into this challenge without a TSwift song? I have never lived in or wanted to live in New York, but this song has such a motivating vibe. It’s kind of a bittersweet one at the moment, given how hard NYC has been hit by COVID-19, but I think also speaks to the city’s vibrancy even in crisis. |
| 23 | A song you think everyone should listen to | “I Believe You” by FLETCHER | This song was written in the wake of the #MeToo movement. It’s poignant, powerful, and highly, highly important. If you only listen to one song from this list of mine, make it this one. |
| 24 | A song by a band you wish were still together | “Whiskey Angel” by the Black Lillies | I don’t think I’ve ever had a band I’ve really loved that has broken up. My sister, however, has seen the end of several favorites. This is one of her picks. |
| 25 | A song you like by an artist no longer living | “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone | I’ve heard this song many times, of course, but it hit me most when someone I follow put the song on her story as part of a #bodypositivity post. |
| 26 | A song that makes you want to fall in love | “Can’t Stop” by Leeland | This prompt was difficult for me as I’m not that emotive, but in searching through Spotify for a song for this one I remembered this band, which I loved in early high school. I had forgotten they existed but they had a nice sound and I always liked this song. |
| 27 | A song that breaks your heart | “Somebody Else” by The 1975 | I had the same issue on this prompt as the one above, but I really like the sound of The 1975 and this is a sad, depressing, heart-breaky song. (I do feel like all of The 1975’s work sounds the same, but it’s a good sound. If you’re gonna do one thing, do it well, I guess.) |
| 28 | A song by an artist whose voice you love | “Ordinary Man” by Ozzy Osbourne | Do I even have to say anything on this one? It’s Ozzy! And this song is so, so, so good. Pay attention to the lyrics if you’ve never really listened to them. (That advice is for me actually – I’m bad about liking a song and not paying attention to the lyrics, and then my feelings about the song change once I finally listen to them.) |
| 29 | A song you remember from childhood | “Simple Things” by Amy Grant | I could have spent hours finding the perfect song for this one just by going back through those old WOW Hits CDs. As I mentioned above, we listened to a lot of contemporary Christian music growing up, so that’s what I kept thinking of. Since I didn’t want to spend all day going through Spotify, I picked this Amy Grant classic. |
| 30 | A song that reminds you of yourself | “Oh What a World 2.0” by Kacey Musgraves | This was the hardest prompt by far, but I picked this because I’ve always had an appreciation for the natural world and love to be outdoors. (I really tried not to repeat artists, but Kacey Musgraves is just too amazing.) |
I really enjoyed doing this challenge. It was a fun few minutes of every day and reminded me of a lot of songs I’d forgotten about. I’m actually impressed with myself for making it all the way through, to be honest. Below is the Spotify playlist I put together with all my choices. If you decide to do this challenge, drop your Instagram (or wherever you’re posting) in the comments so I can follow along!
NerdyWordyBirdy 