If you are going to listen to music all the time (and be affected by the “feel” of the music and the message of the words), put some songs in there that build you up, reassure you, encourage you to make a difference and realize your potential. Find songs to keep on your playlist that help you rise above. If you are too cool to be passionate about something (not pissed off, not cynical or critical; PASSIONATE, showing excitement for something) it’s gonna be a long, hard road ahead Dude. (And, be careful. The music you listen to says something about you.)
One more thing. Don’t be hatin’ on my playlist. If these don’t do it for you, find something that leaves you feeling hopeful and positive by the end of the song and make sure you play it, often. (Drop me an email about songs that help you stay positive.)
Updated: 4/24/21
See what you think of some of these.
The Big D
The Feels
Really? Seriously!
Rock and a Hard Place
Awkward!
Futureworld
1-800-273-8255 (Logic)
All We Are (Matt Nathanson)
All Will Be Well (Gabe Dixon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn5jVp-jrVE
Beautiful (P.O.D.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wquq4DTbC9E
Beautiful Day (U2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6WMzDOh1o&ob=av2e
Beautiful Girl (Sara Bareilles) You better believe it girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhOe59IFLIo&feature=player_embedded
Belief (Gavin DeGraw)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duE9Di-_z30
Better Days (Breaking Benjamin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVj6991WVRM
Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45aRMPsOrKM
Bounce Back (Stacy Orrico)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQQqufxUmUY
Brand New Day (Joshua Radin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUfVcLLvjo
Brand New Year (SHeDAISY)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsNCswjxE0U
Brave (Sara Bareilles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTr_CRw3GY
Breathe (India Arie & Erykah Badu)
Change Your Mind (All American Rejects)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqa14H9EsFc
The Climb (Miley Cyrus)
Conversations With My 13 Year Old Self (P!nk)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLMVdZC-9vs
Dare You To Move (Switchfoot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTcr9wKC-o&ob=av2e
Don’t Stop Dancing (Creed)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As8gVOUzLCc&ob=av2e
Don’t You Worry Bout A Think (Stevie Wonder)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RngZwvk4S9s
Dream On (Aerosmith)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ynrSEjHyRI
Everyday is a winding road (Cheryl Crow)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khrx-zrG460&ob=av2e
The Fighter (Gym Class Heroes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxV-OOIamyk
Fight Song (Rachel Platten)
Flames (David Guetta & Sia)
Forget you (Cee Lo Green) I know this is really about getting over being dumped but I just like the attitude.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MRC8wNSpq4
Happy (Pharrell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM
Hold On (Good Charlotte)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2hqENAlL5A
Hold On (Wilson Phillips)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHwvM8Lw4v0&feature=related
OK, I had to put that one in. Here is the REAL version.
Hold Your Head Up (Argent)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8i500NGJsw&feature=player_embedded
Hold Your Head Up (Macklemore)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2qwDD9va6U
I have confidence (Sound of Music) You know you are tapping your feet! Go on, bust out a chorus of “I feel confident in me!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMFVnlxRlJw
I’m Alive (Garland Jeffreys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWH7tw8gOo4
It Gets Better (Fun)
I Will Not Be Broken (Bonnie Raitt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnPEDLo5XQE
I Will Not Bow (Breaking Benjamin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjwFe6okyUw
Just the way you are (Bruno Mars)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk&ob=av2e
Keep Holding On (Avril Lavigne)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLEiQJgr2k&feature=fvst
Keep Your Eyes Open (NEEDTOBREATHE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91iXRMkmFbs
Learn to Fly (Foo Fighters Rocking 1000 version)
Life Goes On (Leann Rimes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmVbEDLGIr8
Live (Lenny Kravitz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnn75W9nOrg
Look for the Silver Lining (Leslie Odom, Jr.)
The Middle (Jimmy Eat World)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsxPW6i3pM&ob=av2e
Move Along (All American Rejects)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XleOkGsYgO8&ob=av2e
Moving On (Good Charlotte)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHt-1T_2BwY
Oh The Places You Will Go (Dr. Seuss/Burning Man)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahv_1IS7SiE
Open Arms (Gary Go)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Oky177PeM&ob=av2e
Praying (Kesha)
Problem Girl (Rob Thomas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY_UCLOM0bs
Roll to Me (Del Amitri)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suzwkw0dYmM
Same Love (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert)
Someday (Rob Thomas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6pODq8_FxE
Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) (Kelly Clarkson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ihGCj5mfCk8#!
The Sun Will Rise (Kelly Clarkson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DsU6Ws5Qd4
Sweetest Angel (Jonatha Brooke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U9kDQZ-oX0
Through Smoke (Needtobreathe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-y7Yd6g2s8
Try Everything (Shakira)
Twist and Shout (The Isley Brothers) Get up and shake it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTaqn8_gMR0
Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI&ob=av2e
We Can (Leann Rimes) This is another of her anthem songs. Don’t just write these kind of songs off because they aren’t saying F@*K YOU WORLD (or Let’s get f@*ked up and f@*k!).
Wonderful (Gary Go)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNKb82CgafI
Young At Heart (Landon Pigg) Not childish at heart, looking with wonder at things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmapPenhG1o
You’ve got the music in you (New Radicals)
Alive in the World (Jackson Browne)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb8Hc22-Nzk
Boy on a String (Jars of Clay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omUtX9-jyQE
Boy Who Never (Landon Pigg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WujP1VFnHXo
Catch My Disease (Ben Lee)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EstY-8NWSgE&ob=av2e
Death by Perfection (Maia Sharp)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ync_usba9c
Don’t Look Back (Amarante)
https://soundcloud.com/amarantemusic/dont-look-back
Flying on My Own (Celine Dion)
I Am Not My Hair (India Arie)
I Choose (India Arie)
I’m Not Perfect (Laurie Berkner) This is your song. You know it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoKvs5a-fQ
I Wanna Be Like Me (Sara Bareilles)
King of Anything (Sara Bareilles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7-AUmiNcA&feature=relmfu
Let Go (Nora Jane Struthers and The Party Line)
Let It Go (Idina Menzel) That’s right from the Disney movie Frozen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk
Live Your Life (T.I. feat Rihanna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koVHN6eO4Xg
Love Myself (Tracee Ellis Ross)
Mean (Taylor Swift)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYa1eI1hpDE&ob=av2e
My Way (Frank Sinatra)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vafrsflot3k
Outsiders (Eric Church)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_P-YNJIdNc
The Outsiders (Needtobreathe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmOo_xmiQ84&feature=related
Prototype (Viktoria Modesta)
Respect Yourself (The Staple Singers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1II2nPmBZJk
Shine (Anna Nalick)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOZ5L5hHYv8
Sing (My Chemical Romance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgnDLWeeaM&ob=av2e
Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves (Eurythmics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pu0Fn1oRN4
So Awesome (Shy Glizzy) (explicit)
Something to Be (Rob Thomas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_JmPj9fRS8&playnext=1&list=PL2E84D19DA937F892
That I Would Be Good (Alanis Morissette)
This is me (The Greatest Showman Cast)
Unpretty (TLC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gy1Evb1Kg
Better Days (Goo Goo Dolls)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-kHleNYIDc&ob=av2e
Change Your Mind (Sister Hazel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdtdP9AQmVA
Climb Ev’ry Mountain (Sound of Music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoCPuhhE6dw
The Cup of Life (Ricky Martin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP2D-km89pA
Dive (Steven Curtis Chapman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXqXIicm8uU&ob=av2n
Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NQIPVqLMUg&ob=av2n
Getting Late (Rob Thomas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoVd4tEw9TU
Ill Mind of Hopsin 5 (Hopsin) Opposite of Making a Difference. Harsh but needs to be said
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRVOOwFNp5U
Imagine (Jack Johnson) OK, so I’m not a purist. It’s the song that matters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoeHcgQiG_s
Now or Never (Three Days Grace)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8XZTFh48AE
One Day (Kindness Boomerang)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nwAYpLVyeFU
This is Your Life (Switchfoot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmprrUyVBRo&feature=fvst
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones) but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIX0ZDqDljA
Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWhr6Uk1K1E&list=RD02updoMIHMBbU
Be Kind To Yourself (Andrew Peterson)
Breathe (Sixpence None The Richer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDSO04nU5jY
Breathe (Anna Nalick)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2yiphu8Ff8&ob=av2n
Close Your Eyes (James Taylor/Carly Simon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_D0i7UC9UY&feature=related
Dancing in the Streets (Martha and the Vandellas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b5HXZRQFss
Here Comes the Sun (James Taylor and Yo Yo Ma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbMCjuHsT7A
I feel good (James Brown)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDeBcpLITQ
Keep on the Sunny Side (The Whites) it’s all in what you tell yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFtWhM4S1k
Let It Be (Beatles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0714IbwC3HA
Listen to the Music (Doobie Brothers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29RvK7OI2Fg
Little Wonders (Rob Thomas)
Running on Empty (Jackson Browne)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJYRtOPUonA
Sailing (Christopher Cross)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQeqmNbA2Hs
Secret O’ Life (James Taylor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWHPPHpAj8&feature=related
See the World (Gomez)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKJJRnuCwF4
Simple Gifts-Tis a Gift to be Simple (Allison Kraus & Yo Yo Ma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYi9Vr8bHJY&feature=related
Soak up the Sun (Sheryl Crow)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIYiGA_rIls&ob=av2n
Take it easy (Jackson Browne)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTxwEV8rREg
As part of putting together a 6 week group on divorce recovery for teenagers, I went looking for songs that fit the 6 topics we cover in the group. Here they are. There is lots of pain, sadness and anger in these songs. That’s what you go through in the initial aftermath of your parents splitting up. Your job is to get through it, learn from it and don’t let it keep you from loving fully in your adult life.
(thanks to this site and this site for pointing me toward some of these songs)
Highway 20 Ride (Zac Brown Band)
Every Other Weekend (Reba McEntire)
Every Other Weekend (Annie Rapid)
Because of You (Kelly Clarkson)
Broken Home (5 seconds of summer)
House of Cards (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
Only A Dream (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
The Story of Man (Good Charlotte)
Stay Together For The Kids (blink-182)
That’s The Way I Heard It Should Be (Carly Simon)
When You Love Someone (James TW)
The Feels (emotions of divorce)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
Somewhere I Belong (Linkin Park)
Just Like You (Three Days Grace)
Someday Never Comes (Credence Clearwater Survival)
I Hate Everything About You (Three Days Grace)
Do What You Have To Do (Sarah McLachlan)
Stockholm Syndrome (blink-182)
Confessions of a Broken Heart (Lindsay Lohan)
Not Ready to Make Nice (Dixie Chicks)
Cry Pretty (Carrie Underwood)
Really? Seriously! (stress and coping)
Stressed Out (twenty one pilots)
Bring Me To Life (Evanescence)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
Slap (Ludacris) (because you also get really angry)
Stressed Out (A Tribe Called Quest)
Broad Shouldered Beasts (Mumford & Sons)
Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Simon & Garfunkel)
Rock and a Hard Place (stuck in the middle)
Barely Breathing (Duncan Sheik)
Eye in the Sky (Jonatha Brookes)
Sick Cycle Carousel (Lifehouse)
Awkward! (parent dating & step-families)
Piece by Piece (Kelly Clarkson)
He Didn’t Have To Be (Brad Paisley)
When It’s Family (Dolly Parton)
and then there’s this. The heat from this BURN is scorching!
The Stepmother Song (Laya Fisher)
Futureworld (moving on with your life)
I Know You Care (Ellie Goulding)
You Get What You Give (New Radicals)
Respect Yourself (T. Graham Brown)
(There’s Gotta Be) More To Life (Stacy Orrico)
Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
I Don’t Want To Be (Gavin DeGraw)
I Wish I Knew (The Derek Trucks Band)
Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield)
(and don’t forget about the Encouragement section above)
And then, my ears are bleeding!
http://www.break.com/index/white-kids-explain-rap-2286011
What could be worse you ask?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I just don’t understand!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSBq8geuJk0