It’s finally here. I’ve been a terrible blogger since I’ve gotten mixtapEmotion off the ground. The first year that I wrote my NewYearsDayProject blog, I had new content every day, but the second year I found that I could start reposting. With my new blog, I thought the very least I could do was to post my playlists on time. But after goodbyes to my family in North Carolina on January 31st, I arrived in Korea on February 1st at 6 p.m., exhausted. I’ve been exhausted ever since.
Excuses aside, I’d like to explain this year’s February playlist. Last month’s playlist devolved into angst-ridden rock music. This month we start with one of my least favorite Anberlin songs from their classic album Never Take Friendship Personal. The sugary, down-on-your-luck pop-punk sound of “Stationary Stationery” embodies a playlist that is hopeful at times and spiteful at others. I wanted to leave the desperation and hopelessness in January and focus on what we can do about the current situations.
Next, to represent Groundhog Day, more specifically, the Bill Murray/ Andie MacDowell classic about being stuck in a time loop, we will hear Olivia Rodrigo’s “deja vu.” When in Rome’s “The Promise” follows, sweetening the “strawberry ice cream” from Rodrigo’s SOUR break-up song and attempting to celebrate love as a build-up to Valentine’s Day.
My original version of the playlist had Mary J. Blige’s “Therapy” as the fourth track, but during a commercial break at the Grammys, Lady Gaga premiered the music video for her new music video from her upcoming album Mayhem—“Abracadabra.” Mayhem seems to be the key word for 2025, so maybe the zeitgeist album of the year?
I wanted to make a better attempt to celebrate Black History Month, especially when it has never been under attack in my lifetime, so I made a greater effort to include songs in the playlist from Black artists from TLC’s “No Scrubs” to Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” at the end of the month. I recognize that any effort I make is insufficient and controversial, but I think in 2025, we have to do what we can.
This month’s playlist is a mixture of old and new, like always. The ‘70s is represented more than I usually include them with songs like Led Zeppelin’s synth ballad “All My Love” and Diana Ross’s cover of the 1967 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Every decade after the ‘70s is represented as well with several songs from the ‘80s including Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” and A Flock of Seagulls’ “And I Ran” (So Far Away), the ‘90s with The Fugees’ cover of “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” the ‘00s with “Mutemath’s “Picture,” the ‘10s’ Paper Routes’ “Love Is Red” (With Every Shade of Blue), and several songs from the ‘20s including last year’s “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar who won record of the year and will perform at this year’s Super Bowl Half Time Show.
Because the playlist is not stationary, but rather under constant threat of revisions, I will write down the original playlist and the February 8th edited version. I update my playlist as I become aware of new releases or another song’s relevance superseding the planned song. This doesn’t always make the playlist better. Last month’s addition of Tom MacDonald and Roseanne Barr’s “Daddy’s Home” was a blight on the playlist, but I felt that it added to the story of what January was. So here’s this month’s playlist before it goes crazy:
- “Stationary Stationery” by Anberlin
- “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo
- “The Promise” by “When in Rome
- “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga —originally “Therapy” by Mary J. Blige
- “No Scrubs” by TLC
- “Picture” by Mutemath
- “drinks or coffee” by ROSÉ
- “Bed Chem” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
- “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins
- “All My Love” by Led Zeppelin
- “Love Is Red” (With Every Shade of Blue) by Paper Route
- “Your Love” by Tyson Motsenbocker cover of The Outfield
- “a thousand years” by Christina Perri
- “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
- “Hallelujah” by Shawn Mendes
- “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone
- “Archangel” by Olly Alexander
- “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins
- “And I Ran” (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls
- “JUPiTER” by Coldplay
- “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” (A Man After Midnight) by ABBA
- “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
- “Smooth Operator” by Sade
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Diana Ross (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell cover)
- “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees (Lori Lieberman cover)
- “Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan
- “All Night Long” (All Night) by Lionel Richie
Check out the AppleMusic version.
Mixtapemotions 