Six Picks: September
happy september! six picks has returned - here's a refresher:
Music is a key part of healing and self-soothing for me.
I'm like a musical encyclopedia sometimes. I love reading and watching interviews from artists sharing how they created their art. I’ll try to mix up some different genres to fit all of your tastes, but keep an open mind. ;) welcome to my musical brain!
here are this month’s six picks.
tiny
dynamite
- annika rose
“You don't treat me like a person,
As somebody you know at all.
I'm just tiny dynamite
That you don't know how to light.”
Annika and I are on friendship-bracelet level, y’all! So I’m a bit biased here - but I think this song is really beautiful.
Connections with people change over time, and we don’t always see how they’re impacting us and how we feel about ourselves until time has passed. Have you ever felt like you always had to be perfect for someone?
why is this resonating with me right now?
I’ve been called larger than life before. But yeah, not in a good way. Someone once told me to my face that they were terrified to be having lunch with me. (Funny enough, because I thought it was going really well!)
I actually really like myself (when I’m not being a jerk to myself), but I know that I’m a lot. I don’t actually think it’s a problem, but sometimes other people do. Different personalities blend in different ways, and I’m not a good fit for everyone. that’s okay! My only regret is putting effort, love and time into relationships where it just really wasn’t a good fit. Because in the end, I only end up feeling worse about myself.
use me
- charlotte sands
“What's it like to be someone
Whose always right and never wrong?
I guess I'll never be your perfect centerpiece.”
Charlotte is an incredibly dedicated artist - so let’s start there.
As an independent artist, she fights harder than any other artist that I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing growth in. I’ve been around since the early days, and I’m so proud to hear her share how this power (!!) anthem came to be.
“…We wrote this song about finally realizing I can't please everyone and I never will. All I can do is my best and when I can do better I do better. I'm no longer holding myself or other people to this impossible standard of perfection and I think we could all try a little harder to do that for ourselves and for everyone else. I know it's cliche but we're all like icebergs, we don't know 90% of what's actually going on below the surface so maybe we can all try to be a little more gentle with one another when it comes to forming opinions on that other 10%.”
why is this resonating with me right now?
Over the past two years, in more than one instance, I’ve had to work hard to accept that no one else knows the entirety of my intentions and moral compass. I’ve messed up, but also messed up in environments where the grace to make mistakes and learn from them is not there.
There comes a point where you have to let go of the need to have someone else understand you and see you. I’ve been there more than once, and I think this song really helps.
stupid big teeth
- EMMY
“You know I've been getting my steps in
You know I've been in therapy sessions.
I've been working on me, but it ain't
working on you.”
Ahhh what a fun way to explore such a complicated dynamic. (This song only has vocal layers, finger snaps and a groovy synth. That’s it!)
When we change, everything around us changes. People, environment, intentions… it all flows differently when we do. Sometimes there are folks out there that struggle with watching you change - and that’s what EMMY is talking about.
why is this resonating with me right now?
I’ve been changing at a rapid pace over the past few years, and you might notice that about yourself, too. Sometimes people don’t have the patience for your transformations and the good that comes with change. I know that sometimes I don’t understand any of it! Change is hard!
But this is my anthem for when I need reassurance that my growth is important. (Whether it’s getting my steps in, or just actually getting out of bed!)
i don’t
feel alive
- chelsea cutler
“The water goes downhill, and still
I swim against the current with two arms that cannot fly
And I don't feel alive”
I think this song is beautiful.
It’s incredible when lyrics can relate amongst such a large group of people. And in this song, Chelsea is definitely connecting with our friends struggling with mental illness (i.e. ME).
Chelsea touches on so many shared experiences for those who have been trying to improve their mental health. More than one therapist? Done it. Journaling even though I didn’t actually enjoy it? Oh yeah.
why is this resonating with me right now?
The line where Chelsea talks about coming up for air and choking on water - that has been this common theme over the past few years. In my desperate, depressing hours - I really struggle with the feeling that I’ve been treading water for such a long time on my own and really just need the rocky waters to settle a bit.
Believe it or not, I think I’m finally getting there. But this song is here for the days when it doesn’t feel like that.
where do all the good kids go?
- maddie zahm
“I was always way too young
To be that good at growing up
Does anybody really know
Where all of the good kids go?”
OHHH BOY! The grand finale that I’ve been waiting for. Think Whitney Houston and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” - but with the theme of having no idea what you’re doing with your life!
And does the universe need this kind of message, or what? None of us know what the heck we’re doing! And there are no right choices, truly, there are just choices. But naturally, we spend a lot of time thinking about what other choices could have been made, and how that would have made a difference in our lives.
And, as for the future, most of us have no idea where we’re going. Might as well dance our way there?
why is this resonating with me right now?
My therapist shared with me the idea of “gifted kid syndrome” recently, and I love it. The idea that you were a bit more ahead emotionally than your peers at any given age and that’s made it a bit more difficult when you struggle with normal milestones/challenges in a developmental stage.
I WAS the therapist friend. I WAS the trauma holder, in my late teens. I did it all, and now that I’ve been struggling more than I know what to do with over the past few years - I feel lost. I feel angry that I can’t figure it out.
It’s been a big journey of breaking down the expectation that I need answers, and need them quickly. It was only when I took a step back from that expectation that I started to find them.
cheating on myself
- cxloe
“Yes man, how'd I go and turn into a yes-man?
Showing up for everybody else,
Only way I've ever known.”
Well - if you’re here, then you’re probably one of us: the cheaters, the absentees. But we’re only ever hurting ourselves!
This song also does a really good job of bringing together the people pleasers and highly sensitive folks. Let’s join CXLOE in an important reflection together:
“For so long I believed that my happiness should come second and that I was actually capable of fixing the problems that plagued the people I love. Was the hell I put myself through in my 20’s worth it or did I just cheat myself out of the best years of my life?”
Hm, sounds a bit familiar maybe.
Why is this resonating with me right now?
I think I’m going to save us both the time and assume we all understand why this song is important to me. :D
Until next time, my friends!
