The weather is getting warmer and the flowers are blooming, so it’s time to put winter to rest. And as always, I like to mark my adventures with music. And yes, I know it’s ridiculous to call this a winter playlist, given that I spent the majority of it in Miami’s 85 degree weather. Just let me. Here are the songs that jammed this “winter.”
This song reminds me of New Year’s Eve, which I generally hate. I’ve enjoyed just a handful of NYEs and I was on vacation for all of them. But this year, I had a pretty fantastic time with friends back home in Miami. After many hours of drinking and eating and reveling, I heard “Starman” on the drive home. And it felt like the perfect song to cap off a New Year’s Eve that was uncharacteristically excellent. It was comforting, like Bowie was personally watching over us to make sure we got home safely that night. And it gave me hope that 2017 would be amazing.
This song is all kinds of trouble. It’s so fun and so sexy that it spiritually possesses me every time I listen to it. Though I’m usually more of a homebody, “Hot Stuff” just makes me want to go out and get a little crazy. And when you’re on vacation in Miami, you oblige. And this is one area where Miami really brings it. One wild sleepless night and a stolen car later, I realized that my inner Donna Summer needed to calm the fuck down.
All memorable adventures need a good sing-along song. And “Sweet Caroline” has been part of a few of my favorite travel memories from Boston to Munich. Most recently, I heard it during a good friends’ wedding that I attended on my last night in Miami before returning to Prague. There’s something about an entire room of people bursting into song that just fills me with joy.
Ennio Morricone – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Theme
When I was a little girl, I watched every Clint Eastwood western ever made with my grandfather at least 5 times. So when composer Ennio Morricone came to Prague, I had to go. I didn’t… but with some of Morricone’s best works blaring through my headphones, I had an intense hour-long standoff with the scalpers outside the O2 Arena. Just me, the sweet Middle Eastern guy that was trying to help me out, and the shitty fucking Russians. I may not have gotten to go to the concert but I walked out of there with a fistful of dollars and my head held high.
Fat Joe and Remy Ma – All the Way Up
Thanks to a few friends, this song will oddly always remind me of Paris. It’s the sound of four girls glamming up to go out, drinking champagne and being outrageous. It’s the sound of us motivating each other to climb five floors to our apartment every time we got home for the night. And it’s the sound of us breaking it down in a Paris nightclub. Because you know… when you’re in Paris, you gotta keep it classy.
Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars
I thought La La Land was wildly overrated, but damn, that song is catchy, and everyone I know is obsessed with it. And sometimes when you’re walking around in France, you just can’t help but sing it. The song is especially memorable for me after I heard a girl walk past me while humming it to herself while I sat on a bench watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle one night. And in that moment of shared collective consciousness, I kinda felt like I was in a real-life musical.
The Weeknd – Starboy ft. Daft Punk
Since I basically live under a rock, this is a rare instance of me liking a song that is currently popular. It’s everywhere and I’m obsessed with it. It’s suitable for every mood. Whether you want to chill and be pensive or you’re feeling sexy or you want to be petty and smug. But mostly I love this song because it’s a great beat for when you’re really feeling yourself. And for me, that’s always.
Two Door Cinema Club – Are We Ready? (Wreck)
Though it’s been a relatively calm winter, it looks like it’s going to be a busy spring and summer. And something about the way the tempo of the song changes from really laid back verses to a crazy hyper chorus mirrors the difference between my calm, quiet life in Prague and the insane rush of visiting a new place. This song is the soundtrack to planning five trips at once. And to me headbanging in my living room (in case you’re wondering what a travel blogger does on her down time).
So let’s press play on spring, shall we?
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