I’ve been listening to music recently less for motivation or noise, but listening for feel and lyricism. I’ve been paying more attention to texture through the rhythm section, to the body and punch of a good guitar, and to the soul you hear from singers. Music for me is more than most people think; each playlist is a different mood, each genre is a different era. These are a few songs that have been resonating with me recently.

“Smooth” – Santana (feat. Rob Thomas)

This song just feels good to me. The groove from the rhythm section is locked in, with the warm guitar tone, everything moves together without feeling rushed. Beyond the guitar and groove, the lyrics are what make this song. Rob Thomas’s voice is as punchy as it always is, the lyrics raw without being complicated. The writing and phrasing capture heat and intensity in a really direct way. There’s no wasted space; every line feels deliberate. This song is one of Santana’s many influential love songs.

“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – Radiohead

This song feels like a lucid dream, the slow build, the repeating drums, the droning background guitar overpowered by the spiraling arpeggios in front. Radiohead is known Thoms Yorkes grainy, untouched vocals. His lyrics always feel unfinished, with each repeated phrase feeling like more than filler. The slow fall off feels like you’re slowly being woken up from your dream, with the final words “escape” with the quick build following is that final shake that makes you open your eyes. 

“Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” – Stone Temple Pilots

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve always loved Stone Temple Pilots. Plush was the first song my dad taught me on guitar. I’ve always had a soft spot for their music.

But this one specifically has a hold over me right now. The riff hits immediately, and there’s this restless energy the entire time. Scott Weiland, yet another punchy pure grunge performance, Robert DeLeo with perfectly fitting bass licks, and a masterful, gritty guitar solo, smacked right in the middle of the song. This song encapsulates the idea and feeling of grunge so pure that it’s so surprising they’re not considered one of the big three of grunge. 

“Dire Wolf” – Grateful Dead

Being a part of Gaia, we always listen to a lot of Grateful Dead before practice.  This song is simple, steady, and a light-rock folk classic. Its body is nothing mindblowing. It just feels relaxed. This song doesn’t try to overwhelm with notes or flashy stacked parts. The storytelling here is subtle but layered. On the surface, it feels like a simple narrative, underneath, it plays with folklore and tension in a way that feels timeless. The lyrics create an atmosphere without heavy-handed drama. It’s conversational, but there’s depth hiding in the simplicity. Truly one of the many simple peaks of Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia’s writing.

“Mansion on the Hill” – Bruce Springsteen

I just recently started listening to Bruce Springsteen again. This song, one of the many greats from “Nebraska,”  feels reflective without being dramatic. There’s distance in it, like observing something from far away. Springsteen’s strength has always been perspective. The lyrics in this song feel cinematic, each phrase a new scene. He captures longing without exaggeration. It’s detailed but restrained, which makes it hit harder. Springsteen has never needed complicated metaphors to make the listener think. 

“Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Bob Dylan

This one is the opposite: Dyalns wrote a fast, sharp, almost chaotic classic blues walk folk-rock tune with lyrics that move and change so quickly that they blur right together. It feels like motion, like flipping through headlines or scribbling ideas before they disappear. At points, it feels like someone dared him, “I bet you can’t remember all these lyrics,” so he tried to make it as hard as possible for anyone to cover this song without a lyric sheet. The rhyme patterns are intricate, and the phrasing pushes the rhythm forward. It’s rebellious, clever, and completely intentional. With the last chorus changing the blues walk from 4121  to a 5121 for just the one rotation. And then, of course, in the classic Bob Dylan way, there’s WAY too loud harmonica out of nowhere.