Music Musings | The Joy of an Album

This summer I made playlists for each of our children -- they got to choose what songs went on and in what order. It was a fun way for them to cultivate their preferences and have some ownership, and it also served as a practical tool for helping them shift moods when needed. Record Player (with AJR) by Daisy the Great became a quick favorite, and I'm pretty sure we'd win top 1% of listeners for that song. I made my own summer playlist too, which included stupid song by Olivia Rodrigo, Run Run River (Angles Above Me) by David Duetta and I Knew It, I Knew You - Piano Version by Taylor Swift. An eclectic mix! 

My latest listening has been myopic in scale, fully zoomed in on Sara Bareilles. I've been fangirling over her Good Grief album and will be singing along with her in concert on October 20! My favorite tracks are Just a Kid, Heartland, and Capsize Me. I also love the backstory of Home and watched the original interview between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper that inspires the song. The associated documentary Good Grief about the making of the album is also excellent! But my obsession hasn't stopped there -- I've been watching interviews and even listened to her audiobook Sounds Like Me -- the credits section with her outtakes is worth five stars alone. I was literally laughing out loud.

I've had little bursts of Sara Bareilles in my life -- when I saw her perform in 2022 as the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods on Broadway, and again in 2025 when I fell for the songs she wrote for her musical, Waitress. It's been fun to have a little revival and dig deeper into her backlist of songs and albums. Chasing the Sun is a gem :) 

All of this playlist-making and artist rabbit-holing has me thinking about a scene from the movie Vengeance. Every time I open Spotify, Quentin Sellers' commentary comes to mind: 

"When some computer recommends you a bunch of songs based on your favorites...You're not hearing other people's voices. You're just hearing your voice get played back to you."

One of my former neighbors had a hobby I always found intriguing: listening to entire albums. Not skipping around, not building a playlist—just putting on an album and listening to it from beginning to end. I loved the intentionality of it, and I've started doing more of it myself in recent years, often when an album drop is big enough to make it onto my radar :) I actually listened to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl, and Benson Boone's American Heart. 

While I'll always cherish the joy of finding a favorite song you want to play on repeat, my deep dive into Sara's process reminded me of the art behind it all. I'm hoping to revisit some bands from my youth, giving myself the chance to listen to their albums from beginning to end rather than cherry-picking the songs I already know and love. Regina Spektor and Reliant K are at the top of my list. 

We can always be chasing the sun,

- SJW