Your Top 5

Songs To Write To

Your Top 5 has returned this week with a long-delayed top 5 collab with Stanley C. of If Ever You’re Listening. I know Stanley cares deeply about music like all of us and especially writing about it. Check out his Stack for some great pieces and interviews. Today we are discussing our top 5 songs to write to. While this may vary from session to session, there are some that, for me, always make the writing playlist. Let’s get started with Stanley’s picks:

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Stanley C.’s Top 5

Intro

When I write, I almost never listen to music. I find it distracting and a barrier to the corners of my thoughts that I need to grasp in order to write creatively and diligently. Therefore, this piece is more about the music I listen to to get MOTIVATED to write.

Before writing, sometimes I don’t have the motivation or drive to work for hours on a subject or song. If I want the ideas to stay fluid and my original intent intact in the piece, I usually push myself to do at least a lot of structural writing in one session. Therefore, I need some musical Red Bulls to push me in that creative direction. Every week, these songs change because my favorite songs change, new music comes out, and I’m in a different space.

Therefore, as of this week, the below five songs have been good drivers of my creativity. I listen to them when I need to remind myself how influential music has been in my life and why I do what I do. Below, I’m sharing why the songs are impactful to me and how they stand up firm on their own merit.

5 Songs

1. Abigail by Soccer Mommy

“Abigail” is the quintessential soccer mommy. The song features 90s-inspired alternative rock riffs, dreamy vocals, and love woes that resonate deeply. In this glowing single, Mommy discusses her unmatched love and adoration for someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Unfortunately, it looks like Abigail doesn’t share the same intensity of emotions as Soccer Mommy, so the song has this sadness, like Mommy knows what they’re asking for is sure not to happen.

I turn on this song before writing because it gets me fired up. It is the wind beneath my sails as I concentrate and enter the state of mind I need to write at a high level. Released in 2024 not too long ago, “Abigail” is one of the best songs Soccer Mommy has ever made. As a longtime fan since 2018, her ability to improve with time is inspiring. In conjunction, every time I begin a piece, I believe my best article is my next one. Songs like “Abigail” prove that it's possible to accomplish that as a creative.

2. Sweet by Dave Matthews Band

For me, Dave Matthews Band is one of the greatest rock bands ever. They can jam with the best of them and go soft when there is a need for more sincere and vulnerable moments in the music. “Sweet” is a prime example of this dynamism. On its surface, the song is a warm-hearted and intimate moment captured between Dave and his young kid. Upon closer inspection, Dave also gives the listener advice on how to age gracefully and live a more humble, honest life. It's a gorgeous tune with an explosive crescendo that only improves after repeated listens.

I play this song when I need to regain perspective. Sometimes, when working full-time or doing this writing thing, I get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and schedule. In those moments, I forget to think about the bigger scheme of what I’m doing or why I started doing it. One of the lines from the song that sticks with me the most is “I’m too high, I wanna come own, I’m too old to wanna be younger now” because it reminds me to keep pushing forward, find new goals, accept the moment for the gifts it presents in real-time. “Sweet” helps keep me present, which I must do to write my most thoughtful and unique work.

3. Nightingale by Lapsley

“Nightingale” is an album highlight by British R&B singer Laplsey. Lapsley’s music has long had this late-night texture, where she croons about bitter old loves and personal life tragedies. While “Nightingale” is slightly more optimistic, she’s still describing murky waters and fighting for her life, just this time with her love. I also love Lapsley’s transition from spacious Lofi R&B to a more beats-centric style that prioritizes rhythms and airiness. “Nightingale” springs to life thanks to its groove and the conviction behind Lapsley’s vocal delivery.

I often listen to Lapsley and this song before I start writing to get my heart pumping. The beat helps me think about pacing and building my articles towards something. The song has particularly short verses and many instances where the hook returns, and that aligns with my belief that it's essential to reassert the article's thesis in your writing. As a writer, when I restate the thesis in many parts of the article, I find that the reader has an easier time finishing the piece.

Apart from having consistency within a song, Lapsley is also an artist whose sound is constantly growing and changing with time. Over the course of my writing career, I want to have the same ability to shift and alter my writing to meet the times.

4. Tape and Tissue by Cassandra Jenkins

Cassandra Jenkins knows how to create a miraculously smooth and comfortable sonic world and let the listener just soak in it. From the early 2020s on, she reassembled her sound around atmospherics, long notes, breathy vocals, and dreamy drum patterns. The results are songs like “Tape and Tissue” that leave you wondering and floating like a cloud in the sky. I play this song whenever I need to heal or recenter due to its themes about trauma and how to deal with it.

“Tape and Tissue” may be the only songs that I would actually listen to while writing. It positions itself well in the back of my mind as I focus on my writing. It’s a free jazz tune with shimmering drums and melodic keys that help me zone out the rest of the world before I start writing. I need to clear my mind beforehand to write at my most clear-headed and inspired. “Tape and Tissue,” over the last couple of months, has been magnificent at getting me to that imaginary island in my mind where I can go digging for my greatest ideas.

5. Nobody Knows My Struggle by Future & Metro Boomin

Future has a solid argument for being called the greatest and most influential hip-hop artist of the last 15 years. While I find the Big Three arguments tired and a misnomer, the skit before this song starts on the album fits Future’s true stature in hip-hop. In the skit, Charlemagne tha God applauds Future’s influence. He argues that his existence defeats the use of Big Three because one has to INCLUDE Future in the conversation to discuss the most impactful hip-hop artists since 2010. “Nobody Knows My Struggle” features Feature describing that muddy, ugly, drug-infused climb to the top of hip-hop royal class and the God complex it gave him. I find the anxiousness of the song intoxicating and in line with Future’s discography of dizzying, confidence-boosting tunes.

When writing, I need to feel like I’m the best at what I do. I need that mindset because I want to be proud when I finally finish the work. The art has to be something that I feel only I could have made and something people are excited to read. Future’s music immediately puts me in that headspace. “Nobody Knows My Struggle” reminds me of my long and quiet grind in the music-writing community. For the first 5 years, I had been writing to no one, and now that I know people will read the moment I click publish on a piece, I take their opinions, feedback, and attention exceptionally seriously. If I want to make the reader happy, I need to be in the right mindset to repeatedly create the best product for them.

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My Top 5

One thing I like when I am writing is to have longer and more epic songs playing. This eliminates distractions because I am a serial skipper both on my computer and in the car. One of the reasons I love vinyl so much is that it forces me to listen to whole albums front to back as the artist(s) (probably) intended. Here are 5 picks that I hold near and dear:

The Dripping Tap—King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

18 minutes of pure KGLW magic. This song really locks me in and focuses me when I am writing. It goes through several phases, none of them very slow, but almost a manic pace with the harmonica wailing in the background. For some, this song may not be very conducive to writing, but when I am locked in after drinking an americano, this song is perfect to write to.

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts—Bob Dylan

I am listening to this song right now as I write. I consider this to be one of Dylan’s best storytelling songs as well as being on one of the best Dylan albums, Blood on the Tracks. The way Dylan spins this yarn is so in-depth, you almost feel like you’re an innocent bystander to the whole drama as it unfolds. I gotta say, whenever I make a stab at writing any sort of fiction, I let this one play on repeat for inspiration.

Easy Plateau—Ryan Adams

I have said it before a few times here, Cardinals era Ryan Adams got me through much of law school. In a period of my life where the anxiety was high and the pressure was on, having this song, moreover, this entire record—Cold Roses—on while studying, taking notes, and writing helped me greatly. This song, much like one I will get to later, gives me a feeling of peace and centeredness.

Anything by Art Pepper

I am not a huge jazz guy, but the same person that got me into audiophile culture as well as record collecting generally, also introduced me to Art Pepper. He is a bit of a divisive figure amongst most music historians. This is due to his repeated prison stints and heroin addiction. Curiously, the heroin never really had an effect on his musicianship. Like Ryan Adams above, I prefer to separate the art from the artist because Art Pepper was a hell of an alto sax player, but just a terrible person all around. I like to play his music while writing because it provides a smooth and less manic background noise. As you can tell from my previous picks, I have two speeds when I write, and it all depends on my mood.

Thinking of a Place—The War on Drugs

In the same vein as “Easy Plateau”, this song is 11 minutes of smooth jamming that pairs well with a steaming cup of green tea and a blank page. I know these days people love their machine created lo-fi jams that require an internet connection to stream, but nothing really compares to dropping a needle on this song. Give it a listen sometime, if you have the LP, you already know what I am talking about.

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