The presence of music has always served a purpose: in politics, parties use specific songs to immerse their preferred image into the public’s minds, such as the unforgettable moment when Theresa May sashayed onto stage to ABBA’s Dancing Queen as an attempt to make her look more “human” — a debate for another time. On the other end of the spectrum, Louis Vuitton’s menswear creative director, Virgil Abloh, sent models down the catwalk for the Spring/Summer 2020 show to a classical rendition of Igor’s Theme by Tyler, The Creator, in order to communicate with both the label’s traditional and new, younger audiences. 

 

But in the everyday, mundane world, we often use music as a way to steer our mood for the day: from the first motivational song we put on in the morning, to the cringe music we exercise to (yes, we see you squatting to Pitbull), to the calming tunes you relax to in the evening, music is used as a means to connect with our emotions.

 

Therefore, during a time where most of us are unable to hug our loved ones (our sweet nans, our life-long best mates and our annoying-but-we-love-them-anyway partners), we’re all looking for other sources of comfort. For some, that means baking the lemon drizzle cake from your great aunt’s recipe, while others are finding comfort in getting stuck into a recently discovered book. However, now more than ever, most of us are turning to music to revive a sense of normality (whatever that is).

 

We took to social media to ask various members of the PolyFizz community to share the tracks that are keeping them sane (ish) through lockdown; here are the top 10 songs you need to listen to. Right. Now.

 

​

1. “Toxic” by Kehlani — a reminder that, even during the worst of times, we don’t need to run back to that ex;

2. “Break my Stride” by Matthew Wilder — this positive song is the perfect soundtrack to our daily government-approved walk;

3. “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd — we blame TikTok for our obsession with this tune; 

4. “The Way You Do The Things You Do” by UB40 — you can always count on UB40 to relax you, even during the most stressful times;

5. “Levitating” by Dua Lipa — thank you Dua for creating this album and thank you angels for creating Dua Lipa; 

6. “Because You Love Me” by Joe Exotic — we’ve moved away from binge-watching Tiger King and discussing the various conspiracy theories surrounding the series, to listening to its soundtrack. Yes, we’ve all gone bonkers.

7. “Sunflower, Vol. 6” by Harry Styles — perfect to have in the background whilst daydreaming about being in isolation with Mr Styles;

8. “Humility” by Gorillaz — the lyrics “I don’t want this isolation” have never felt so relatable yet painful;

9. “Bros” by Wolf Alice — the nostalgic tone is getting us excited to be reunited with all of our lovely friends and family members;

10. “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond — just to remind us of the beloved elder generation whom we miss terribly.

​

For the complete list, head to our Spotify playlist and get grooving.