Hey y’all!

So I’ve decided that I will be posting on Tuesdays, and on the first Tuesday of each month, I will be doing what I would like to call…

*drum roll*

The Playlist Series!

Okay so here’s the plan. These posts will go through a few of my favorite songs off of a playlist I have made and flesh out a larger theme through all of them. Alright? Cool, let’s start.

Upbeat Happy!

So preface for this post: I have like 18-hour playlists so I’m going to only use my absolute favorites 😀

1. Brand New – Ben Rector

This one is probably my favorite on this playlist at the moment just for its danceability alone that’s not a word but I made it one. It’s really upbeat and has got this cool offbeat thing that happens as well.

I love this song because it’s not necessarily telling a story. It’s more of someone describing their feelings in terms of other good things that can happen. I don’t know about you, but when someone is singing about the feeling you get when you roll down the windows and it’s put with peppy instrumentation, it’s kinda hard not to feel good.

Favorite lyric:

“I feel like new sunglasses, like a brand new pair of jeans. I feel like taking chances, I feel a lot like seventeen.”

2. Burn Like A Star – Rend Collective

Okay, this song will always have a special feeling that it produces in me. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Rend Collective a number of times and actually will be seeing them soon on their Good News Tour (I’m so excited). But for those of you who haven’t seen them in concert, this is the song they will use (for the most part) as their opening number because of its tempo and quality to make you jump up and down.

It’s written as a plea of sorts to God that is basically saying “God, you created us for so much more than what we are doing. We need more of you here. Burn like a star; light a fire in our hearts!” This song also has some amazing lyrics like dude they’re pure genius.

Favorite lyric:

“Send revival stark in us, set your holy spark in us. Send us out in resurrection power. History’s about to change, we are rising once again. Send us out in resurrection power.”

3. Dancing in the Dawn – Jake Scott

This song is fabulous. If you haven’t figured out by now, I like folky sounding music. This isn’t any different 😀 There’s a cute little whistling melody at the beginning and that was the first thing I immediately fell in love with. The second thing I love about this, music-wise, is you can very clearly hear guitar but then there’s some nice mandolin in the background!!

Theme-wise, it’s a realization that the singer has no idea what is gonna happen because he didn’t (and can’t!) plan the future. Now Jake Scott, as far as I know, and I could be wrong on this, isn’t a Christian. But as a Christian, this song is honestly really heartening. God is always gonna be right with me, and he is holding both my future and my hand. So I don’t need to worry about my future because God has it and is taking care of it! Might as well dance unafraid.

Favorite lyric:

“Don’t know if I will make it, maybe I should be anxious, no matter where I go, I’m dancing in the dawn of the unknown.”

4. Another Believer – Rufus Wainwright

I don’t know if you’ve seen the Disney movie from 2007 called Meet The Robinsons, but this is kinda the main character’s theme song (of sorts). Lewis is an amazing inventor who is an orphan (don’t worry he gets adopted in a tear-fest conclusion to the story) but his projects, at least for the time being, don’t work. During this song/montage, his teacher Mr. Willerstein helps him and encourages him to keep trying.

The theme of this one is really uplifting. The person in the song is asking for help and kinda saying “hey just give me a chance, I can prove I know what I’m doing, just help me along the way.” It’s a really sweet song. The music is great too. It’s sort of a mix between techno and singer/songwriter and it makes for a cool sound! Also, it starts and ends with these wind-chime sounds that are really calming.

Favorite lyric:

“Hello, I’ve got something to tell you. But it’s crazy, I got something to show you. So give me just one more chance, one more glance. And I will make of you another believer.”

5. Home – Phillip Phillips

What did I say about folky? *sigh* can’t be helped I’m afraid. This one has always been a favorite of mine because of the trashcan in the background during interludes message. Once again, I don’t think Phillip Phillips is a Christian, but the song presents some very positive things. To me, it always seems like Jesus is the one talking here. Promising comfort; promising joy through everything.

Personally, I like to put this one on road-trip playlists and friendship playlists. It has a driving beat and sounds country-ish, and most of the time when I am going on a road-trip I opt for country for some reason. And I’m gonna care for my friends this way and hopefully, mine will do the same 😉 plus Jesus is my friend so it works that way too.

“Settle down, it’ll all be clear. Don’t pay no mind to the demons that fill you with fear. The trouble it might drag you down, if you get lost you can always be found. Just know you’re not alone, ’cause I’m gonna make this place your home.”

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Well, I hope y’all enjoyed the first installment of The Playlist Series!! And just a reminder, this will be every first Tuesday of the month. The rest of the Tuesday’s wanted to be normal so I approved their request 😀

Now go forth, mi amigos and amigas, and smile. Your day is just beginning. Make the best of it. Don’t procrastinate. Work hard. Make me proud. 🙂

Love you all,

Madeleine