Playlist Spotlight: "guttural sobbing"

The best playlist to listen to on the worst days.

My friend and I love making playlists. We got really good at making them for very specific reasons, like a road trip to Parkland, Oregon (more on that in a future post...) a good old-fashioned screaming session, or my personal favorite: "guttural sobbing" a playlist made for just that: cathartic crying.

This playlist is artfully crafted, with tracks by singers from Taylor Swift to Matt Maltese to Lorde. It is the perfect conglomeration of moody music with heartbreaking vocals and little piano riffs.

Here's a look at some of my favorite tracks on this playlist.

"terrified - demo" by Isaac Gracie

Isaac Gracie's music is so insanely heartbreaking, it's impossible to listen to it without a lump in your throat.

"terrified - demo" (this version, specifically) is haunting. Gracie's voice is isolated in a room that sounds like an echo chamber as he belts out lyrics that express how truly terrified he is to be in a committed relationship with someone he really, truly loves.

Even if you can't relate to his commitment issues, "terrified - demo" by Isaac Gracie is sure to make you sob your eyes out.

"All I Want" by Kodaline

This song has been a staple on all my moody playlists ever since I heard it in The Fault In Our Stars, underscoring Augustus' heartbreaking revelation that his cancer has returned (spoiler alert... sorry!)

This song doesn't rely on vague lyrics to carry it's point across: "If you loved me, why'd you leave me?" are the most devastating lyrics known to mankind. They're universally understood; anyone who has ever been loved and left can feel understood by Kodaline's stunning vocals. Need a good cry? Play this song.

"Glue" by Gigi Perez

I found Gigi Perez on TikTok, where she played her deeply personal track "Celene," dedicated to her late sister. The song immediately brought me to tears; something no other song has ever been able to do so instantaneously.

"Glue" has the same effect. It's a deeply personal song about being unable to move on, about being constantly surrounded with reminders of someone you love. The song is heartbreaking, and Perez's powerful vocals do an incredible job of truly piercing your soul. She belts out the chorus in a way I wish I could replicate, but I always butcher, behind the wheel of my car. "Glue" deserves all my praise, and more.

"tolerate it" by Taylor Swift

evermore by Taylor Swift deserves so much more hype. Every track I've heard on this album is so outside of her comfort zone as an artist, but she does a gorgeous job regardless.

"tolerate it" is a demonstration that Taylor Swift is a masterful songwriter, every lyric in this song can be analyzed and dissected for hours and hours. The song is Swift's way of expressing her disdain for a lover who, at the end of the day, simply tolerates her, rather than adoring her, respecting her, or praising her. Her performance of this song on The Eras Tour illustrates this message perfectly; she spends a few minutes carefully and artfully setting the table for a man who sits across from her, totally detached.

"tolerate it" is only one of the many Taylor Swift songs that have left me bawling my eyes out.

"Would've, Could've, Should've" by Taylor Swift

Another Taylor Swift song? Yes.

I will never forget what it felt like to first listen to "Would've, Could've, Should've." I was on my way to class when I saw that Taylor had surprised us with 7 additional tracks 3 hours after releasing Midnights, and I immediately started listening to "Would've, Could've, Should've" after hearing praise about it via TikTok.

"Would've, Could've, Should've" is one of Taylor Swift's most gorgeous tracks, it is brutally honest and it reveals a side of her we don't see often; her most vulnerable side. "Would've, Could've, Should've" joins "Dear John" and "All Too Well" as one of her most heart-wrenching songs that are deeply personal and also relatable to anyone who has been left heartbroken after wasting the best years of their life to someone who was not worth it. What would your life look like if you had just stayed away?

"You Should Know Where I'm Coming From" by Banks

My older sister loves Banks. She was a staple in all of her playlists, and for good reason. Banks has the most gorgeous breakup anthems, with cathartic vocals and meaningful lyrics.

"You Should Know Where I'm Coming From" is one of Banks' more understated songs. It relies heavily on her own vocals rather than instruments which makes it stand out as one of the more heartbreaking tracks on her album Goddess.

"You Should Know Where I'm Coming From" is Banks' way of telling a lover that they should have known that she wasn't ready for love yet, that the relationship was doomed to fail from the start. It is a gorgeous song that will get you from belting out lyrics to bawling your eyes out.

Listen to these tracks, and more, below!