There's a song that embodies every emotion—happiness, rage, sadness, anxiety, love, lust, and every combination in between. Music heightens and carries us through our feelings, sometimes magnifying them and sometimes bringing us to resolution. Needless to say, music has a profound power to express emotion.
What better way to channel and deepen these emotions than through music? I've rounded up a few of my favorite artists and the top songs from their latest releases to celebrate Women's History Month.
Tate is a hometown favorite for me. Her song "Calgary" on Think Later pulls me back home from Bologna, but on her latest release, So Close to What, what speaks to me is Signs.
A song that illustrates perfectly the frustration of being misunderstood and the vulnerability that comes with asking or demanding what we want in relationships. While some might argue you need to just say what you mean instead of having people read the signs, people aren't as simple, and being understood beyond the surface of words is a feeling that we can all find comfort in. In Signs, Tate is able to melodically sing a situation many can't even put into words. She conveys the idea that communication is beyond the verbal, that being known and understood is in the ability to read your mind- however impossible that might seem.
If you love me, you should know me better, see the signs
Shouldn't have to tell you or whatever, read my mind.
There are no skips on Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of Midwest Princess, in my opinion, but one particular standout is My Kink is Karma. What's life without romanticizing and dramatizing certain aspects? Sprinkle in a little vengeance or karma, and you'll never be bored. This song explores the confusing and complex feelings after a breakup and, my personal favorite, female rage. It's the perfect anthem for moving on to bigger and better things. My Kink is Karma, which explores the satisfaction of seeing those who have wronged you get their karma.
People say I'm jealous, but my kink is
Watching
You crashing your car
You breaking your heart
You thinking I care
People say I'm jealous but my kink is karma
Recently named Billboard's Woman of the Year and the third woman to ever win Best Rap Album at the Grammy's, Doechii is simply that girl. Her lyrics are cutting and honest, pulling in iconic pop culture references that add indescribable layers to her music. Her latest re-release, Anxiety, was initially released in 2019. It samples "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye and Kimbra, and in 2023, was sampled in "A N X I E T Y" by Sleepy Hallow. Re-recorded and re-released this past month, and it's been on repeat in my head ever since.
The song builds, mirroring that feeling in your chest when Anxiety and frustration try to take over. The transition to the chorus embodies that exact feeling, the tightness in your chest, or as Doechii refers to it, the elephant on her chest. Her layered voice and the growing instrumentals peak and then slowly taper down, echoing the same feelings of Anxiety- and its fallout. And then she does it over again, through the bridge, because when does anxiety go away after only one wave?
I get this tightness in my chest
Like an elephant is standing on me
And I just let it take over
Anxiety keeps on trying me
Released in 2023, Pretty isn't Pretty, from Olivia Rodrigo’s second studio album, Guts, is the most introspective song on this tracklist. The music sounds like it fell out of early 2000s coming-of-age teen movies. It sets a feel-good tone until the lyrics start, and the inner turmoil of insecurity is unleashed. Rather than focusing on romantic relationships with others, the song dissects our relationship with ourselves. The internal and external forces that nag and drag us from our bodies to our clothes and thoughts feed insecurity. The song calls into question the absurd standards women are held to and oftentimes hold themselves to, despite their detriment. And by the song's end, we're guided through this realization that we'll never be enough- at least in the eyes of the external world, but in the end, none of that matters.
You can win the battle, but you'll never win the war
You fix the things you hated, and you'd still feel so insecure
A desire to be understood, anxiety, rage, and insecurity are emotions that merely scratch the surface of the complex feelings that ebb and flow daily- not only during Women's History Month. Women in the music industry constantly reinvent themselves. They put out music that hits our emotions, regardless of gender. The lyrics and the music reflect these emotions; insecurity, anxiety, vengeance, and many more, carrying the listener through their own complicated reality.
