I’m FINALLY done my EE (very very cathartic feeling), and I can finally write something creative. With that being said, the following songs all deal with (in one way or another) the feeling of joy. To be quite honest, some of these songs may fall in a similar vein to my last music article, but my joy persists and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
21. Kali Uchis – After the Storm (feat. Tyler, The Creator & Bootsy Collins
“The sun will come out / Nothing good ever comes easy / I know times are rough / but winners don’t quit, so don’t you give up”. These lyrics perfectly describe the state of mind I default to any time I have a summative. I think it’s human nature to take life too seriously, and there have been points (there still are!) where I forget to slow down and take life in. And it brings me a lot of joy to remember that while life can be difficult and annoying, it can also be unserious and blissful.
22. Lorde – A World Alone
The idea that this song is a happy one may be a debatable opinion (especially if you read the song’s lyrics), I love its central idea of just… being chill with life. I love the ambient noise (especially near the end), and something feels really authentic whenever I hear the song. Lorde is such a talented musician (I’m honestly shocked that I haven’t used her yet in my song lists), and even better (and fun fact), she was an IB student. I remember reading somewhere that she wrote RIBS (maybe her best song tbh) for an HL English assignment, and that is truly shocking to me.
23. Jamie xx – Baddy on the Floor
Now this song is just fun. Shoutout to Mr. Small for the album recommendation. I love the chorus here. I wish I had taken music so I could properly dissect what instruments are featured here, but I’m going to guess there are some trumpets (or some other brass-esque instrument) that let out this really funky, joyous noise. Not much else to say, it’s just quite fun.
24. Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi
Similar to the Lorde song, I don’t even know if I would describe this song as bringing a sense of joy (it’s about how we’re destroying our planet..), but if the song was about any other topic, it would be up there. It’s such a beautiful message and it’s ironic to me how it’s played in such a silly manner (with the big guitars and drums), but if I heard an instrumental of this song I would be very joyous.
The Blue and White 