My Favourite Current Music

When I saw that this week’s link-up was all about favourite current music, I initially thought, hmmm… Oh, I don’t really have a favourite type of music.

And as far as what I’m currently listening to, well, it really depends on my mood. I’m a mood-listener kind of gal.

I go with my mood.

What I listen to can change completely depending on where I am, what I’m doing, and whether I need calming down or cheering up. And all of that can change in the space of one day! Maybe I’m like the weather – changeable.

So here is a little look at what’s currently playing on the soundtrack of my life.

Calm and Chill

When I’m home alone, I love putting on something chilled-out. It could be ambient, lo-fi, jazz or anything calming. I listen to it on TV through YouTube Music, and the bonus is that it comes with a beautiful scene. So I can choose whether I want to be in a swanky New York apartment, a cosy coffee shop or a little cottage somewhere in the countryside. And I don’t have to leave home.

I love having it playing in the background while I’m getting on with chores around the house, cooking or having a cup of tea. I can also pretend I’m in one of those calm Nordic slow-living YouTube videos.

My husband, however, absolutely cannot stand it. To him, this music is total auditory torture. Whenever he hears it, he practically has a seizure.

So I tend to save it for when he’s not home.

When I Need a Pick-Me-Up: Latin Music

When I need some energy, give me some upbeat Latin music, and I can usually shake off a funk (usually). Latin music makes it almost impossible to sit still. The beat is too contagious and, as Gloria Estefan says, the rhythm is gonna get you!

80s Music Will Always Have My Heart

And then there’s the 80s.

No matter how much new music comes along, the 80s will always have a very special place in my heart. I especially love the new wave era — Duran Duran, OMD, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, Tears for Fears, The Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode.

These are the songs that can come on, and boom, instantly transport me back to my teens. That’s one of the best things about music, isn’t it? One song can take you straight back to a particular time in your life.

I am 100% convinced that the 80s was the best decade EVER!

When I Want to Travel Without Leaving Home

I also have playlists for my trips to the USA and Japan, and I love putting them on when I feel like reminiscing.

USA: A Bar Song (Tipsy), Counting Stars, Blinding Lights, A Sky Full of Stars, Alive, Heaven is a Place on Earth, Walking on a Dream, Titanium

Japan: Tokyo Drift, Blue Monday, Just Can’t Get Enough, Smalltown Boy, Hit That Perfect Beat

I used these songs as the soundtrack to the videos I made of the trips, so I think that’s why I associate them so strongly with those holidays. Whenever I put these playlists on, bam! I’m back on that road trip through Utah or walking around busy Tokyo.

There was actually a time when I couldn’t listen to these songs because I had the post-trip blues so badly, especially after the US trip. I’d hear one of them and actually start crying. Dramatic? Maybe. But I really loved that trip! I’m OK now, though, and can listen to them without crying. Haha!

And Then There’s Preschool Music…

Last year I discovered Stephanie Leavell, and she is an absolute godsend with a voice that will calm a room full of wild preschoolers. Her voice is so beautiful and soothing, so any educators out there, take note! She’s on Spotify, and I kid you not, she saves my sanity weekly.

Sometimes the children are behaving like they have been playing in a windy playground for six hours.

Everyone is talking.

Everyone is moving.

Someone is calling out.

Someone is poking someone

Someone else is running around.

I play Stephanie Leavell and… calm.

So, What’s My Favourite Current Music?

Well, I’m not sure I have one.

I have chill music when I want peace, Latin music when I need a lift, 80s new wave because it will always have my heart, travel playlists when I want to revisit some wonderful memories, and Stephanie Leavell when I need to restore order to a room full of… ahem… excited children.

I think that pretty much sums up what I’m listening to. And it all depends on my mood.

Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Joanne and Jen