The 2021 Soundtrack

Good Day – Greg Street feat. Nappy Roots // Someone posted this song on Inauguration Day and it was just perfect.

Beginning Middle End – Leah Nobel // This features prominently in the Netflix movie To All The Boys: Always and Forever, the final adaptation of Jenny Han’s Lara Jean books. It came out around Valentine’s Day and I really enjoyed it.

Levitating – Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby // IN THIS HOUSE we dance to everything Dua Lipa produces.

Cut to the Feeling – Carly Rae Jepsen // I don’t know why it just hit my radar years after its release, but if I was driving by myself this spring, I was usually jamming out to this.

Midnight Sky – Miley Cyrus // I think it was in 2019 that I began liking Miley unironically.

Together – Sia // My “becoming a family of three” song.

Good 4 U – Olivia Rodrigo // I took to this song instantly, and didn’t realize why until I heard the mashup with Misery Business (Paramore is my all-time favorite band). My mind was blown.

Rookie of the Year – Moneybagg Yo // A good addition to my running playlist, written about our Grizzlies star, Ja Morant.

The Business – Tiesto // Newborn C3 fell asleep or got distracted almost every time he nursed. Many times, I told him it was time to get down to business, then had this song in my head for an hour.

Be Alright – Ariana Grande // A mantra.

serotonin – girl in red // I too was running low on serotonin for most of 2021.

Solar Power – Lorde // A more Brenda-esque song has never been written.

Making a Fire – Foo Fighters // IDK, every few years Foo Fighters puts out a new lead single and I always like it.

All I Know So Far – Pink // I join Pink in thinking of this as a message to my child.

Happy Endings – Mike Shinoda feat. iann dior and UPSAHL // I’ve considered Shinoda an underappreciated genius from my first listen to Hybrid Theory in 2001. This is the first song I’ve heard that was obviously written in the pandemic.

3 O’ Clock Things – AJR // You definitely obsess over a lot of weird things at 3 am.

Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish // The moment I finally got Billie Eilish, whom I had previously left to the youths. The second part of the song rocks so hard, and her SNL performance last week was AMAZING.

I Am Woman – Emmy Meli // As heard on TikTok.

The Mother – Brandi Carlile // You were not an accident where no one thought it through / The world has stood against us, made us mean to fight for you. *crying emoji*

I Have a Dream – Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia! // I love this movie, which came on TV a few times during my maternity leave. At some point I decided this song was a nice addition to C3’s bedtime playlist, and for a while it was what I sang to him every night while putting on his pajamas. Eventually I took it off the list, but I will always associate it with this time. It’s also a nice sentiment going into a new year.

Previous Years: 2020 // 2019 // 2018 // 2017 // 2016 // 2015 // 2014 // 2013 // 2012 // 2011