AS WE ARE
This playlist follows four emotional acts.
ACT I: The Happy Times. A celebration of good nights, karaoke songs, and the kind of found-family joy that happens over drinks and laughter. Think upbeat, pop-forward, and late-night club vibes.
ACT II: The Darker Times. The cracks begin to show. These songs still carry energy, but there’s tension beneath the surface—moodier lyrics, sharper edges, and a rising sense of imblance.
ACT III: The Sad Times. Everything unravels. Heartache, betrayal, numbness, and emotional exhaustion define this act. These are the songs for when nothing feels okay.
ACT IV: The Restorative Times. Slowly, things shift. Not everything is fixed, but there’s clarify. These tracks hold space for reflection, growth, and learning to carry on—changed, but stronger.
LISTEN HERE
SHENANGAINS (FROM “AS WE ARE”)
Meant to listen to on shuffle ONLY!
I wanted to give Shenanigans some heart—this is more than just the dive bar where Jaidon, Joseph, and Katy spend the majority of their time. It’s where friendships are tested, secrets are spilled, and lives quietly fall apart under the hum of neon lights and the weight of last calls. I debated for a while what kind of soundtrack this place would really have—should it lean 2000s punk? Should it go full gritty rock bar? In the end, I went with my gut: loud, raw, emotionally chaotic rock that feels like sticky floors, late-night lock-ins, and too many cigarettes out back. This playlist is messy, loud, and strangely comforting—just like Shenanigans.
As I Was
This playlist begins with “Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root (a nod to Matilda), but after that, it’s meant to be shuffled.
Every track was carefully chosen with Jaidon in mind. I wanted the entire playlist to feel like a lullaby: soft, aching, and gentle, with nothing ever getting too loud. There’s a quiet kind of hopelessness threaded throughout, interrupted only by the faintest flickers of childlike hope. The result is a soundscape that feels like the tender, unconditional love a child offers to a parent—earnest, forgiving, and devastatingly pure. It’s music for a boy who believes his mother loves him.
YOU CHASE I CHASE
This playlist is designed to be listened to in order, start to finish.
Each song was chosen not for how often I play it, but for how well it mirrors the emotional trajectory of You Chase I Chase. It begins in a haze of hope—those early moments of chemistry, lightness, and anticipation. From there, the tone slowly shifts: affection gives way to tension, infatuation to confusion, connection to chaos. The middle pulses with games, silence, and unraveling. And finally, there’s anger. There’s reckoning. There’s clarity. The last song—“Carry You” by Ruelle & Fleurie—is not a resolution, but a quiet offering. A final love letter that says, I was here, and I am still here if you need me.