“There was no warning.”
First line in The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Okay, so this isn’t technically book-related but it IS a tag and it’s about music so the laws of nature say I have to do it. Also, Maria @The Character Study was kind enough to tag me so I’d have an excuse. Thank you, Maria!
The tag was originally created by Sophie @Me and Ink so remember to head over there if you want to see all the prompts. The rules say I can pick as many of the 17 prompts as I want and choose 1-5 songs per prompt. Inspired by Maria, I might have gone a little overboard so don’t feel pressured to listen to all of it. I just want to share all the music I love!
Shut Up and Dance – Favorite songs for dancing
I can report that Push-ups is ideal for the kind of dancing you do while cooking.
Always Remember Us This Way – Songs that remind you of your childhood
I was about ten years old when this song was released and it’s the first proper song (not kids music) that I remember loving. Pretty dark for a ten-year-old and in hindsight, it was probably foreshadowing something in my music taste.
This song is from the Danish version of Eurovision for kids, and I think pretty much every Dane my age would choose this song for a category like this. It’s pretty iconic and is still played at clubs today despite it being from 2006. And really, a song performed in a kids show had no business being this good.
In my early teens, I was a huge fan of the German band Tokio Hotel. Like, I lived and breathed Tokio Hotel until I was about 16 so a list of music from my childhood wouldn’t be complete without them. I think I was the only one in my class who was actually excited when we finally started learning German, and I used the band’s lyrics to remember complicated German grammar rules. Do I listen to the band today? Nope, not even a little.
When I wasn’t listening to Tokio Hotel, I was listening to Dúné and Stages is my favorite song of theirs. They don’t exist anymore and I kind of felt like my life ended the day they announced their break up because their concerts were just out of this world and I would never attend one again 😭
Cry With You – Favorite sad songs
I’ve often listened to the last half of this song with tears in my eyes because of how beautiful it is. I could have shared his entire album Behold for this but I had to pick one.
I once made the mistake of listening to If I Could Fly after finishing a very sad book and I was a mess 😭
Three words: Matty Healy’s voice 🥰
As someone who has lost a grandmother to dementia, there are too many lyrics in this song that hit way too close to home.
Sing – You just HAVE to sing along to these songs
I’ve shared First Like before in another post but it’s too fitting for this prompt. It’s a song made entirely out of fan comments (those fans primarily being 14-year-old girls), which in and of itself is hilarious, but at his concerts, it’s also primarily a song the crowd sings. It’s always my favorite part of his shows and listening to the song on my own just triggers that natural response which is to sing along.
Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, you can probably still feel the summer vibes of the song, and listening to it just transports me to outdoor summer concerts and I gotta sing along.
I know I’m not the only one!
Favorite Record – The albums you couldn’t live without
I could have picked any of the last three One Direction albums but Midnight Memories means the most to me personally because it was the album that taught me not to care what other people thought of my taste in music. I listen to whatever the fuck I want. Favorite songs are Through the Dark, Diana and Best Song Ever.
It’s so hard to pick these albums but I obviously can’t live without my favorite album from my favorite artist. I love the many different sounds they’re experimenting with because they might be pop songs but they don’t sound like anything else I’ve heard. The lead singer also really shows his range and the lyrics are exceptional. I adore this album! Favorite songs are Good Together, Deja Vu and Limbo (and Unreliable and Reflection and White Rose).
I’ve already talked about my love for Dúné and their Enter Metropolis album has too many gems to not be mentioned here. Favorite songs are Please Bring Me Back, Time to Leave and Heat.
I was simply obsessed with this album when it was released and I wouldn’t even call myself a huge fan of the Jonas Brothers. I just love so many songs on this album! Favorite songs are Love Her, Rollercoaster and Strangers.
Comfort Crowd – Songs that make you feel calm
That guitar combined with Louis’s voice is the cure for stress.
I actually didn’t like Harry’s latest album – except for this song which I adore! I feel like the chorus is meant to be listened to with your eyes closed and it’s so calming.
Motivate – Songs that simply motivate you
Let’s be honest, a lot of Little Mix songs could work for this prompt.
I think I’m in love – Your latest musical obsessions
Writer in the dark – Songs with your favorite lyrics
It takes a while for the lyrics to kick in but when they do, they’re absolutely ridiculous and I love it. It’s basically about a wedding but the lyrics are almost like a conversation so it’s unique and it works.
Part of the lyrics for this song feels like the theme song for introverts by asking for space and anything else is “mentally, physically stressing me out”. It’s so relatable and I really love everything else about the song too.
This took forever to do because I constantly got distracted by songs and artists I’d forgotten about and had to listen to entire albums because it had been ages since I last did that. But I had such a great time and if I’m not mistaken, I managed to get six different languages into this post so I feel very accomplished. I hope you had fun reading it! Do you know and like some of these songs too? I know there’s a lot of Danish stuff in here too so let me know if you discovered a new favorite.
First Line Reader 
I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this comment way shorter than I would like because I’m about to drop dead on my feet – I now have very deep sympathies for my former teachers who accompanied our class trips because the reality of not being able to go to bed until all your students are FINALLY asleep is way more exhausting than I ever would have thought 😅 They’d better be tired by tomorrow because I am too old to make it through a week of this! 😬
But anyway – I LOVED this and don’t care at all that it had nothing to do with books! 🤩 Although, just so you know, the remnants of teenage me are judging you so hard for having liked Tokio Hotel 😜 My hatred might partially have been influenced by peer pressure, though, because we once had this huge class feud over whether we should hang up a life-size Tokio Hotel poster in our classroom and the logical sixth-grade compromise ended up being hanging up only the bottom half of the poster. Staring at the band’s legs for an entire school year was enough to put me off their music forever, I guess 😅
I am willing to forgive you, though, because so many of your other choices are so on point! Especially the sad ones 😭 If I Could Fly is one of my favorite One Direction songs ever, and I can’t even imagine listening to it after a sad book. I’m already a mess without any previous reading!
Also, I’m relieved to hear I’m not the only one twirling around in my kitchen while cooking 😁 Thanks for providing me with a playlist for next time! 🥰 Because I definitely intend to listen to all of these in full – just maybe not in the middle of the night when I have to get up early the next morning (some of the kids need supervision to go for a sunrise jog and I’m seriously questioning their sanity 🤯) and spend lots of time at orchestra practice… So ask me again next weekend and you might get more opinions!
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You can’t bully me for my “short” comments when this is you cutting it short 😂 But what a lovely time it sounds like you’re having. Have fun with that 😄
And you know what? I was actually pretty confident you had something against Tokio Hotel – I just didn’t know it involved the weirdest compromise I’ve ever heard of! Their legs?!? It could have been anyone then! But I do remember them being very polarizing back then so one either loved or hated them and I just didn’t picture you in the former category 😅
But I’m glad you also appreciate If I Could Fly and that it redeems me a little bit. I don’t know what I was thinking about listening to that song at that time. It was even one of the few books that actually made me cry! 😭
And dancing when cooking is just the best time to be dancing 😁
Good luck with the insane kids and I hope you get some downtime at some point in the future so you can listen to the songs 😄
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Well, this was about music! I always have a ton to say where music is concerned, so there are different standards for shortness in this case 😁
Don’t ask me how we reached that compromise, though 😂 In hindsight, I don’t think anyone was happy with it, but since neither side wanted to back down, removing the poster completely or hanging up the second half was not an option. But yeah, even regardless of the legs, I’m afraid I was never a big Tokio Hotel lover…
And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that downtime – although I doubt I’m going to get it before this weekend 😂 Still, I’m actually having a ton of fun, too! You really get to know the kids this way, and I love being so involved in all the music stuff 🥰
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I’m sorry but that poster story made me CACKLE because I once hung up a life-size Bill Kaulitz (when he had the huge spiky hair) poster in our bathroom with the sole purpose of scaring my dad. It is, to this day, my most brilliant idea ever.
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That seems like a way better poster usage than those legs we hung up! Why didn’t I ever think of anything like this? 🤔😂
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That’s hilarious! 😂 The best way to use a poster!
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Thank you so much for doing this tag! It is always so fun to get some new music recs! I love little mix and I agree that many of their songs could be used for an energy boost, Power is great. I love many of their slower songs too!
I don’t know too many of one direction’s songs that aren’t the singles, but I will have to listen to If I Could Fly (I love a good sad song)! But I recently “discovered” Love You Goodbye, such a good song!
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Well, thank you for creating it! I love music tags and this just allowed me to share so many of my favorite songs!
And I actually considered Love You Goodbye for that prompt because I really love that song too but it just didn’t beat If I Could Fly in sadness.
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Ooooooh, Bring Me To Life is such a great song, I was also obsessed with it!! I didn’t know you were such a directioner 💕 I really liked the band’s first two albums but then I kinda stopped listening. I adore Harry solo stuff though! 5sos’ Wildflower is an addictive song (that whole album is, in my opinion), so I love seeing your love for it!
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It brings me such joy to know you were also obsessed with Bring Me To Life! 🤗 And I do really like One Direction! Their songs are kind of my comfort music so they always feature rather heavily in my Spotify wrapped. I did like Harry’s first two albums a lot but something about the third had me feeling a bit bored 🤷♀️ With the exception of Little Freak obviously!
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I feel the same way, but the first two were brilliant!
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I love this tag and your answers. It was lovely to listen to a lot of songs that were totally new to me. I’m off to track down the original post now 😍
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Thank you! 🤗 It’s just an amazing tag!
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