We’ve been socially distancing as a country for well over a month now, and things are starting to get weird. I now refer to my cat as my roommate and consider canned pear halves fresh produce, while moving from the couch to the kitchen table counts as exercise. Monotony is starting to set in, but in order to decrease the longevity of this crisis, we need to stay inside in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and therefore flatten the curve. Meanwhile, music, movies, TV, books and podcasts are available to entertain us, and certain songs in particular have taken on different meanings in isolation. Here are 20 tunes that just don’t sound the same anymore.
Faye Webster: “Room Temperature”
“Room temperature” is really the only temperature my body can handle now. What season even is it out there? May we all now have the appreciation for the indoors that Faye Webster has had all along.
John Mayer: “Waiting on the World to Change”
A young and spry John Mayer may have gotten more than he bargained for when he hit it big with this feel-good anthem back in 2009, but it’s weirdly kind of relevant right now. We actually are waiting, in our homes, for the world to change—as in get back to normal.
Kacey Musgraves: “Lonely Weekend”
Every weekend is a lonely weekend now.
Sheryl Crow: “Soak Up The Sun”
Songs about going outside are just generally upsetting right now.
A Tribe Called Quest: “Separate/Together”
Alternately, this song’s title is the name of every live-streamed music event featuring more than one act.
Robyn: “Dancing On My Own”
As one Twitter user pointed out, this song is all we have now. It is no longer just a heartbreak anthem for the ages, but a rallying cry for survival through self-isolation.
Michael Bublé: “Home”
This song is already ridiculously sad, and the sound of Michael Bublé’s voice is just an immediate reminder of oodles of family and friends gathered around a Christmas tree, but “Home” is particularly devastating right now. We may want to be surrounded by “a million people,” but just like Michael says, we “still feel all alone.” We just “wanna [leave] home”! (But seriously: #StayHome).
The Police: “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”
This one needs no explanation.
Jack Johnson: “Banana Pancakes”
People will not stop making banana bread, henceforth ruining this song (even if it’s about hot cakes, technically—pancakes are bread too, right?). The main difference between 2005 Jack Johnson and us is that he wanted to “pretend like it’s the weekend” and we actually don’t know what day it is. At least we can both agree that “There ain’t no need to go outside.”
Taylor Swift: “All Too Well”
Weekly pre-quarantine nights out with friends and superfluous trips to the supermarket? We remember it all too well.
Bob Dylan: “One More Cup of Coffee”
For like the seventh day in a row, “one more” turned into “three more” and now my hands won’t stop shaking.
Young the Giant: “Cough Syrup”
Besides the obvious triggers, it really doesn’t help that the first verse of this song is literally: “Life’s too short to even care at all, whoa oh-oh / I’m losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control.” Same. Honorable mention from the same album: “Apartment.”
Townes Van Zandt: “Lungs”
In this song the country/folk troubadour asks someone to “lend him” a pair of lungs. If only it were possible.
Shania Twain: “Honey, I’m Home”
“Honey I’m home and I had a hard day” – everyone, every single day during quarantine.
My Morning Jacket: “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pts. 1 & 2”
Don’t come anywhere near me and if you must, please wear a mask and gloves. In all seriousness, this is an incredible song and you should listen to it whether you’re in quarantine or not.
Fleet Foxes: “Kept Woman”
It’s hard to believe Robin Pecknold had the clairvoyance to write this song about me back in 2017.
Carly Rae Jepsen: “Party For One”
Carly Rae Jepsen makes being home alone sound like the best night ever. Listen to this song enough times and maybe tonight will be.
Ariana Grande: “NASA”
“You know I’m a star; space, I’ma need space,” Grande sings on this thank u, next track. We all need space, and lots of it, until we flatten the curve.
Frank Ocean: “Solo”
For emo quarantine listening see also: every Frank Ocean song.
LCD Soundsystem: “All My Friends”
I would tell you why this song hits different right now, but you probably wouldn’t be able to make out my answer through all the sobs.
