“Music makes us,” according to the new podcast from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with that name, and most high school students would agree. From the band and chorus concerts to the Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get It Started” before every home game, high schoolers are surrounded by song. I am no different, so here are some of my recommendations based on my current playlist.
“Dancing on the Wall” – MUNA
“Bought your favorite ice cream, left it in the backseat, just another sweet thing you let go bad”
From the synthy intro to the elevator ding in the final seconds of the track, “Dancing on the Wall” is unique. The electric, upbeat ode to an apathetic, undeserving partner is the titular single from the upcoming album by MUNA, a queer indie pop band that I admittedly need to listen to more. Summer seeps out of the song in vocalist Katie Gavin’s voice that is both ocean-deep and breeze-soft. It’s a banger meant to be enjoyed at one of MUNA’s famous concerts, or if not, blasted through a speaker in an open field.
“drop dead” – Olivia Rodrigo
“It’s feminine intuition, ‘cause I always had a vision of us standing like this”
After teen pop star Olivia Rodrigo’s 2021 rise to fame with the album SOUR, I personally loved her album GUTS even more. Her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is set to release on June 12, 2026, and “livies” (fans) like me could not be more excited about the lead single, “drop dead.” Starting off slow and ethereal but picking up big-band energy, Rodrigo explores the “in love” side of the album, celebrating the wonder of a new relationship that was once only a dream.
“Phoebe” – Audrey Hobert
“It’s a birthday party, these people aren’t my friends”
Audrey Hobert is an artist I discovered via her louder songs, like “Sue me” and “Wet Hair.” She is the best friend and co-writer to the highly popular folk/indie pop singer Gracie Abrams. In 2025, she launched her own music career, and all of her songs are fun, messy, and relatable. “Phoebe,” a reference to the Friends character, is a soft and candid yet catchy and funny reflection of success, insecurity, and hesitant self-acceptance. Its bittersweet lyrics will resonate with you as you tap your toes.
“Silver Springs” by The Beaches
“You can never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you”
I have loved The Beaches, an all-girl indie rock band from Canada, since my eighth-grade science teacher, Ms. Amanda Donahue at Lincoln Middle School, recommended them to me. On February break, I was lucky enough to see them live at Brixton Hall Academy in London! They performed a heart-wrenching cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs,” complete with Jordan’s exquisite vocals and a crowd-pleasing guitar duo from Kylie and Leandra. After the concert, I was delighted to find out they released the recording of the song as a single!
“American Cars” – Noah Kahan
“You’ve been drivin’ all day / but you’re here and we’re so glad that you are”
Noah Kahan’s massive success with his third album Stick Season left fans waiting for more. Finally, The Great Divide is out, and although the whole album feels like a ray of sunshine representing healing after the devastating gray of Stick Season, “American Cars” is my favorite track. Like many of his other songs, it explores family dysfunction and mental health as it implores a sibling to return home to help after the singer’s own will to live declined. While it sounds terribly dark and does occasionally non-graphically reference being suicidal, it is a hopeful song about healing and asking for help, not to mention the sort of folk-rock song you can’t help but dance to.
“Run Run Brother” – from The Outsiders
“I hate to make you go / But there ain’t no other way / Even though it kills me to say”
To switch it up, let’s talk about my favorite song from my favorite musical. Recently, The Outsiders, based on the 1967 coming-of-age classic about family, friendship, and social class, was at the Providence Performing Arts Center, and one song in, I was hooked. “Run Run Brother” comes just before intermission, opens with a few dramatic lines of dialogue, ends on an intense note, and is made memorable by both the haunting voices of the lead actors and the rambling chorus. The percussion and string sections of that live orchestra make it a song that theater kids and people who have never seen the musical alike will appreciate.
“My Regards” – Maisie Peters
“Tell the rest of the world that he’s with me / The only air that he’ll breathe is my perfume”
Starting off slow and gaining momentum, this single and “song of the summer” from British alt-pop singer and profound lyricist Maisie Peters blooms like a flower. From her upcoming album Florescence, “My Regards” is one of the first love songs Peters has released following her breakup album, The Good Witch, which is my all-time favorite album, full-stop. The song expresses some healthy possessiveness towards the first highly-sought-after person someone dates. It’s cheeky, stylish, and whimsical in a way you can only understand if you listen.
Celebrate (ft. AJR) – Ingrid Michaelson
“This is the music that makes me better”
On my first listen to this track featuring remixed wind chimes and cheering, I didn’t know if I could take it seriously, but I have listened to this carefree melody about growing up and living authentically enough times to know it’s simply supposed to be fun. Ingrid Michaelson’s sweet nectar of a voice pairs perfectly with AJR’s indie, electric, orchestral style to create the kind of song you scream in the car with friends, windows down, on the first day of summer.
