Music That Makes Us Feel Alive

Whether you only listen to music once in a blue moon, or you always have to have a song playing in the background of every task you complete, we can all agree that there is a song out there that makes us feel utterly alive. What makes us feel alive when listening to a song? Is it the chills we get through our back, the tears that well up in our eyes, or the feeling that we are unstoppable in this world? 

What defines the feeling of “alive” is completely subjective. However, when asking “What song makes you feel alive?” on Instagram, people seemed to share an unspoken and common knowledge of what alive means to them. What is most interesting is that every song was completely different to one another, in genre, decade, and overall energy.  

Everyone has a different tune that gives them that seemingly Costco family-sized amount of serotonin! So let’s take a look at some of these songs that people can’t get enough of. 

“Crash My Car” by COIN

“‘Crash My Car’ makes me feel alive because the lyrics and production evoke a sense of carefree spontaneity that only feels possibly in one’s youth. It’s a song that makes me feel immensely grateful to be in a stage of life when unplanned late-night adventures and shenanigans with my loved ones are still easily accessible. I’m reminded of some of my own favorite memories, especially nights spent walking around downtown Chicago with my friends or aimlessly driving around while blasting music. The song makes me feel alive by making me think about the moments in which I feel most alive. When I listen to “Crash My Car,” I feel as though I’m living out my own coming-of movie: it encourages me to romanticize my life.”

@grace.lee

“Knocks Me Off My Feet” by Stevie Wonder 

“I love this song because it reminds me of my parents and my childhood. My parents would play this album a lot so it’s sentimental, but also as I have gotten older I have noticed the words are so beautiful. Just Stevie repeating I love you so many times. Love is what life is about” 

“On My Way to Harlem” by Gregory Porter 

“‘On My Way to Harlem’ is one of my favorite jazz songs ever. It makes me feel alive because you can tell that it was recorded with a live band, and the improv has so much personality. I play music too, so when I hear really amazing musicians having a jam session it makes me really happy. The words also have a lot of significance to Black culture and roots and different Black historical figures. 

“You can’t keep me away from where I was born! I was baptized by my daddy’s horn.”

Music is really integral to Black culture, especially for older generations and getting through hardships. The lyrics have a sense of pride too. It makes me feel proud and empowered.” 

“I Like That” by Janelle Monae 

“‘I Like That’ is one of my favorite songs ever not just because of the really interesting and funky track but the message! Every time I hear it makes me want to get up and dance. There is a monolouge/rap in the bridge where she talks about her hair discrimination and the bullying they experienced when they were younger. But, despite it they still knew who they were. Black and beautiful and powerful. The song overall is really celebratory of difference, and really difference is such an important and sometimes tense part of life. It’s difficult to accept yourself but this song makes it fun.” 

@rachiebhabie 

Aguas de Marco by Antonio Carlos Jobim

“It is about the little things that make life worth living. It makes me feel exactly what they’re talking about when it comes to what makes someone happy at their base…even with the cuts and bruises. It’s ‘as long as you had fun!’ type of song and it’s bumpy n’ playful!” 

@mcdoodleberry 

Green Light by Lorde 

“‘Green Light’ makes me feel alive because of the piano back track as well as Lorde’s vocals. It feels like a group is yelling, which makes me feel like I am part of something and that makes me feel alive. Furthermore, the repetitive rhythmic piano and drums makes it easy to dance to this song and to really feel the beat. Lastly, I always associate the green light with hope (thanks 11th grade english) so whenever I go into listening to this song, I’m already feeling hopeful. So from there, it’s easy to jump off and feel alive” 

@amrix259

“Archie, Marry Me” by Alvvays 

“‘Archie, Marry Me’ makes me feel alive because obviously the instrumentals are super hardcore but also the lyrics and the idea behind the song has always related to me. This concept about marriage, youth, and spontaneity being an adventure, really encapsulates the vivaciousness that life has to offer, which I find inspiring” 

@amira.buckly 

“Can’t Deny My Love” by Brandon Flowers

“‘Can’t Deny My Love’ makes me feel alive because it’s the kind of song that you can blast and sing along to and lose yourself in. It’s a song I turn all the way up and dance around to without a care in the world. ALSO THE THIRD CHORUS GOES SO HARD. It’s just good vibes overall.” 

@maddyhigdon

“Carey” by Joni Mitchell 

“Blue by Joni Mitchell is one of my favorite albums, and she wrote it when she broke up with her boyfriend and moved to Europe alone. I left behind a broken heart or two when I moved to Switzerland for 9 months, and it felt very relatable and meditative. “Carey” was the song I listened to on repeat while I was in quarantine in Geneva when the pandemic broke out — I was truly alone in the country, and daydreamed of a return to normal, to the people I love, to a place that felt like home. “Carey” is about traveling and realizing you need to go home, but enjoying the moment—my favorite line, my mantra as I imagined a post pandemic life, is, “let’s go down to the Mermaid Cafe, and I will buy you a bottle of wine, and we’ll laugh and toast to nothing and slam our empty glasses down. It’s upbeat, and makes me smile and cry and dance and wish I was around people I love!”

@katelarso

Human Sadness by Julian Casablancas 

“The song itself is really long, like 10ish minutes and in that time there are a lot of tempo changes (I think it’s called that, similar to bohemian rhapsody) and each is so dramatic yet catchy so the whole thing keeps you engaged. It just makes me feel ‘something.’ It’s not a particular emotion I can link it to, more so that every time I listen to it, I always find myself just hella grooving to the song, singing along, and getting into it so much.”

@natmsandoval

“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba 

“‘Tubthumping’ is a slightly ridiculous yet HIGHLY energetic babble of nonsense that puts me in a mood where I can break my neck dancing and it’s okay because in the moment you feel like nothing bad is ever going to happen.”

@supermeg678

“Jane” by Laundry Day

“I really like songs that create movie-like montages in my head. The chorus of “Jane” just feels like nighttime and sleepy doe eyed love. It feels like the safe kind of scary, as if someone you admire is looking down at you, holding your face in their hands and marveling at how lovable you are.” 

@mollytaterobbins

“Too Many Colors” by Twin Shadow

“Lots of songs focus on a feeling that is specific and fits a moment. I think that this one can fall into so many of those moments at once. It reminds me of how I exist in so many ways and how I am constantly evolving.”

@maddiecondra

“It’s Not a Fashion Statement” by My Chemical Romance 

“This song makes me feel alive in a way that I feel words don’t do enough justice. I was 11 when this song became my first time delving into 2000s emo and post-hardcore. I was in such awe, so excited to scare my parents by blasting it in my room which then began my teenage angst early. Nothing beats that feeling of becoming an emo pre-teen who insists “it’s not a phase” (which it apparently wasn’t because i still listen to mcr almost daily)

This song inspired me to play guitar because I wanted to be able to play it live  myself since I would never be able to see this broken-up band live (before they announced their reunion haha). I still watch the live performance in Mexico City religiously because of how addicted I am to the adrenaline rush it gives me. Its role in mcr’s three-part album storyline, ray toro’s insane and near-impossible guitar, the part where gerard way screams “from the razor to the rosary”, everything about it still awes me and has remained a constant life-source and source of inspiration throughout my teens.”

@nothisismaya

“Dionne” by The Japanese House

“It feels like a moment when you care so much about someone else and just kind of tunnel visioning it all with them. I think there’s so much life in caring deeply about someone else, because you also end up trying to see yourself in their proximity. It’s kind of like tapping into the two best versions of yourselves and getting a +1 on your life force.”

–Silayan Camson