Welcome back to another #FiveOnFridays segment here on Introverted-Insight! Let me start off by saying that I’m really stoked to have you here in my little space to creative. As you know, (or should know) Friday is my day to provide you with my take on all things music.

And at last, the time has come for yet another edition of Playlist Chronicles! And for those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept, here’s the gist:

(So basically, I delve into my personal music library on my phone, scroll through all the tracks until I come up with a playlist tailored to a specific theme or topic, then I write about it.)

(I feel it’s great a way to introduce you all to a lot of new music, give you a better idea of my musical palette, and remind myself of what’s actually in my library. Therefore, every song on this list, along with the honorable mentions are exclusively from my personal library.)

Explanation aside, this week I’ll be looking at 5 songs that always make me scream my lungs out during a car ride with close family or my best friends. These are tunes that have etched themselves into my heart and are basically gods in my music library.

No matter what I’m going through in life, each of these songs puts me in an infinitely better mood after I’ve butchered them vocally with my favorite handful of humans. Their lyrics are known by heart and their melody and flow are second-nature.

Brace yourself, as I’m about to take you on a ride with these 5 sing-along songs!

#5. Fun. – We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe

For starters, this song rightfully dominated the 2011-2012 music period. I remember its very witty and storytelling lyrics filling me with a strong sense of intrigue. Lead singer, Nate Ruess muses calmly “Give me a second I, I need to get my story straight/ My friends are in the bathroom/ Getting higher than the Empire State”.

Immediately the imagery comes to life, speaking profoundly to anyone who has ever had a wild night out with friends. Whenever I hold the power of the AUX cord in my hand and want to get everyone howling, I’d play this song. Everyone gets to choose excitedly between lead, ad-libs, and mimicking the instrumentation.

It’s a track that effortlessly breathes a good time and loosens you up to embrace the uncertainty of the night ahead. It admonishes you to live in the moment with those you love and to carry them home safely after they’ve had one too many. It challenges you to put aside all that’s currently wrong in your life and appreciate the sweet gift of the present “Tonight-i-i-iii-iiii-ight”.

Oh, and Janelle Monáe’s soothing vocals on the interlude add yet another layer of enjoyability to this already roiling song. And for these reasons, it’s one of my faves to scream along to.

Genres: Pop, Rock, Adult Alternative

#4. 5 Seconds Of Summer – She Looks So Perfect

I recall hearing this entry back in the day on MTV, in the morning time while getting dressed for high school. And I wondered who these young guys were. This was my intro to 5SOS and yes, I’ve been a fan of their music ever since, this and ‘Amnesia’ especially.

From the track’s inception, there’s this energized cheering that naturally nudges you to listen on. “Hey, hey, hey, hey/ Hey, hey, hey, hey hey”. Then sooner or later you find yourself head-bobbing along as the first set of instrumentation paired with the vocals enter the scene. They’re whiny, a tad angsty, but appreciated.

“Simmer down, simmer down/ They say we’re too young now to amount to anything else”, Luke pines smoothly. The lyrical content speaks about a young love figuring itself out in a setting that doesn’t serve it any justice or give it room to blossom. But as you brave the very lively, rock ‘n’ rage chorus, you can’t help but surrender and be won over.

“You look so perfect standing there/ In my American Apparel underwear”, is a pair of lines that is arguably very goofy in diction, but oh so sticky in song. The words just lend themselves to the song’s overall bravado. Undoubtedly, whenever ‘She Looks So Perfect’ starts booming in the car, I get a burst of nostalgia and feel reconnected with my younger, more juvenile self.

Genres: Pop, Rock, Punk Rock

#3. Azealia Banks – 212 ft. Lazy Jay

Okay, so this entry is more so a Rap-along than a sing-along, but it’s more than deserving of a spot on this list. Similar to the artist, this song gives absolutely no fucks. It burned the fucks, poisoned the fucks, and spread a plague onto the village of fucks.

212’s very catchy and disrespectful lyrics amp you up like none other. It allows you to embody the hidden badass that delves deep in the well of your soul. Not to mention, it contains one of my favorite epithets, “KoolAid Dude”. Just using this phrase in or out of context of the song makes me laugh because people normally can’t source the reference and remain at a complete lost.

Additionally, after you’re mid-breathless rapping along to Banks’ unmatched flow, you come to the cleverly crafted bridge. “Ayo-ayo” brings things to a momentary calm as you find yourself now harmonizing, preparing for the song’s energy to crescendo!

Then, in the final leg, you lose your mind every single time, shaking spasmodically and chanting barbarically to the chorus. “What you gon’ do when I appear?/ W-W-when I premiere?/ Bitch the end of your lives are near/This shit been mine, mine!”. It’s the ideal song to get you in the zone for an outing or for a much-needed release of profane language. It’s Banks at her cuntiest and even after all these years, it still slaps.

Genre: Rap

#2. One Direction – Best Song Ever

This song, this song right here, was, and will always be One Direction’s best song ever. I mean the proof is in the title. In fact, this is one of the only 1-D songs sitting astutely in my music library, based solely on its sheer awesomeness. There’s so much to love about this song.

The wild screams at the end of every other verse, the playfully tumbling noise brooding throughout the track, and the fun, cheeky lyrics. With words reminiscent of a time when members of the band met this special girl and subsequently danced to the best song ever, you find yourself further captivated by the track.

The endearment factor is boosted as the group tries to remember the melody and words to this song they alluded to earlier. “I think it went oh, oh, oh/ I think it went yeah, yeah, yeah/ I think it goes”. Nonabrasive production and uncomplicated lyrics aside, the best part lies within the song’s final chorus.

This is the part where my best friend Mia and I brace ourselves. Hell, I recall practicing for weeks on-end to be able to hit and hold Zayn’s high note on “Best song ever!”. (Yes, it’s that serious.) This song continues to lighten my mood and strain my already fragile vocal chords, but I’m perfectly content with putting myself through such pain.

Genre: Pop

**HONORABLE MENTIONS**

  • Lorde – Homemade Dynamite
  • twenty one pilots – Tear In My Heart
  • Walk The Moon – Anna Sun
  • Gotye, Kimbra – Somebody That I Used To Know
  • Sia – Chandelier

#1. Grouplove – Tongue Tied

This song will definitely live on in music library until thy kingdom come. The amount of howling, belting, and crooning conveniently packaged into this one track is absolutely spectacular. Peppy guitar strings emit a sense of wonder at the start of the song, gauging your interest within just a few seconds.

Transitioning you deeper into this wonderland is this manly groan that introduces more vivacious instrumentation. But what I think engages me most with this tune is the relatability of its lyrics. “Take me to your best friend’s house/ Going around this roundabout, oh, yeah”. It fits perfectly whenever Mia would turn the corner and head down the lengthy village strip in our neighborhood to take me home after hanging.

Verse 2 introduces the female singer of the band and I’ll usually let Mia take the reigns on her vocals as I provide back up vocals and mouth the instrumentation. Grounded in these lyrics are the genetic make-up for a debauchery-filled night of epic proportions.

And after wrecking the remnants of my chords, I still have to summon some Super Sayian power to hit the very elongated “Don’t” note near the song’s end, which kills me every time. It’s like squeezing the last speck of nothingness out of a tube of toothpaste. Nonetheless, it’s a feeling that’s unparalleled to any other sing-along joy.

Genres: Pop, Synth Pop, Indie Rock

Did you enjoy the list? Which songs do you love to sing the most during a car ride? Let me know in the comment section below.

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Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you next time on Introverted-Insight!

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