Avett Brothers: Kick Drum Heart:

The Avett Brother’s Kick Drum Heart is upbeat, kinetic combination of thumping bass drums and piano jingles. This lovely ode, true to its title, describes one’s banging, beating heart as a kick drum, capturing the wild energy and adrenaline rush of romance.  

Blink 182: First Date

After their manager’s expressed worry that their album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, lacked a clear, catchy radio single, Blink 182 guitarist Tom DeLonge said:

“You want a fucking single? I’ll write you the cheesiest, catchiest, throwaway fucking summertime single you’ve ever heard.”

The band later penned Radio Show and First Date, the latter of which was based on memories from DeLonge first date with his wife.
The fun, eye-winking lyrics in this tongue-in-check ballad of teenage awkwardness and first-date goosebumps owns its cheesiness with aplomb, making it a solid song to play in the car, whether it’s during your first date or fortieth.

Rhye: Verse

Rhye’s Verse is a sensual, soulful rendition of electronic jazz pop. Accompanied with slow, hypnotic beats and high falsetto vocals, this R&B influenced track is like soft, silk sheets for the ears.

Beyonce: XO

A perquisite for college students and Millennials is to enjoy at least one Beyoncé track, and if you had to pick one, it might as well be XO. The power ballad is a reckoning force of unfiltered emotions that’s able to give warm, fuzzy feelings to the coldest, blackest of hearts.

Sam Cooke: (What A) Wonderful World

Released on April 14, 1960, Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World is able to endure the test of time due to the simple elegance of its lyrics. A simple proclamation on the power of love and the feelings it can produced makes it a perfect song to hear whenever you’re in the company of loved ones.