#ladybug songs

[ladybugsongs]

December 28, 2025: "Disenchanted"

I might have been a die-hard Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy fan during the golden age of emo/alternative music, but somehow, I missed out on being a My Chemical Romance fan. I mourn what could have been every day, trust me. Anyway, my best friend put me onto this song over the summer and I haven't stopped listening to it for about six months now. The guitar melody at the beginning, the drum hit halfway through the first verse, the lyrics?? I mean, come on, this song is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. I have always loved the sound of Gerard Way's voice too and the passion he puts into every word. I also have so much respect for a well-executed concept album, which The Black Parade is without a doubt. In fact, now that I think about it, the world desperately needs emo music like this to come back...

[ladybugsongs]

October 27, 2025: "Sympathy Magic"

Florence Welch, the woman you are. The third single from Florence + the Machine's upcoming album, Everybody Scream, came out today and I can't lie: I love it. I've loved all of the songs from this project so far ("One of the Greats" is exactly the song it thinks it is, oh my god!) and this one is no exception. This record feels incredibly cathartic, for both Welch and her audience. I know it's gonna be a good song when those drums kick in and Welch really lets her voice loose. She is one of the most incredible vocalists ever. The chorus opens with the line, "I do not find worthiness in virtue, I no longer try to be good," and damn, if that doesn't scream "fuck it," I don't know what does. The full album releases this Friday, on Halloween, and I can't wait to celebrate the spooky holiday with some fantastic music.

[ladybugsongs]

February 2, 2026: "Unknown/Nth"

Words cannot adequately express how much I love every single song on Unreal Unearth but especially this song (and "Abstract (Psychopomp)" but I have to listen to that one sparingly). I know the song is inspired by the Ninth Circle of Hell from Dante's Inferno, but the title and some of the lyrics have always made me think of that one piece of writing that references the "mortifying ordeal of being known." It's such a barb when, at the end of the song, Hozier ends the chorus with "And there are some people, love, who are better unknown" after discussing how hard it is to go from knowing someone to not knowing them anymore. Ouch. But really, a well executed concept album is such a treat.

[ladybugsongs]

February 10, 2026: "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)"

I don’t know if anyone else is this chronically online, but the one and only Matty Healy has taken over someone’s TikTok account and is doing everything but making more music. So, in lieu of new music, I return to the ancient texts. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is my favorite 1975 album for so many reasons from the execution of the concept behind it to the fact that it got me through a horrific break-up, and there are simply not enough words in the English language to properly describe how much I love it. That being said, I would be remiss not to at least try. “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” is such a fun song to listen to despite the fact that Healy wrote it about his former addiction to heroin and I really love the bit that the band does before they play it live (get me back to the Still… At Their Very Best Tour, I beg of you). I really do believe that Matty Healy is one of the most talented musicians of this generation, if not ever. The title is one of the greatest fake-outs I’ve ever seen: you go into the song thinking it’s a song about a relationship and very quickly you realize that it’s an incredibly personal song about dealing with and overcoming addiction. I also appreciate the nods to David Byrne and Stop Making Sense, the revolutionary Talking Heads concert film, in the music video.

[ladybugsongs]

January 18, 2026: "Hard Times"

The second time I saw Ethel Cain live, she added this song to her setlist and I actually think I ascended into heaven. I've seen her three times now, and every single time, it is jaw-droppingly amazing. Her stage presence is spell-binding, her voice is ethereal, and her music speaks to something I've never quite managed to put into words. Preacher's Daughter is one of the greatest albums ever made, full stop. Today's song, "Hard Times," is one of the more underrated tracks but one that undoubtedly deserves all of the love that it receives (and then some). Cain's attention to detail, specifically the sound of cicadas in the intro to this song, is one of the many facets of her artistry that set her so far above her contemporaries. I don't have much more to say other than that I wish more than anything that I could go back and hear this album for the first time again.

[ladybugsongs]

October 22, 2025: "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes"

I've been on a Fall Out Boy kick for the past couple of months (you can take the girl out of the emo phase but you can't take the emo phase out of the girl) and every day I seem to find another one of their songs that resonates with me heavily. I hear people mention the lyric "What a match, I'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet" a lot because it's an incredible line, but I don't hear enough people mention the line in the chorus, "I'd promise you anything for another shot at life." I don't really know how to describe how that makes me feel in a way that is coherent and doesn't make me sound insane because wow. Folie à Deux will always be my favorite FOB album and it's because Pete Wentz has never met a lyric he couldn't write the fuck out of. The things that man does with the English language should be studied.

[ladybugsongs]

December 16, 2025: "Tiffany Blews"

To be so honest, I was gonna do a totally different song today but then I saw the official Fall Out Boy Instagram account post that today marks 17 years of Folie à Deux and I had to pivot. Oh my god, picking a song for today was so hard because Folie is my favorite Fall Out Boy album and I love all of it so much... but "Tiffany Blews" was one of my favorite songs this semester so I had to chose it for today. The chorus is an incessant ear worm that I will no doubt be hearing for the rest of the week (if not my life) and Lil Wayne's distorted vocals in the bridge are so fucking cool, I always restart the song after his part so I can listen to it all over again. I'm biased, but I think this is one of those moments when the Stump/Wentz partnership really shines because the lyrics are incredible and Patrick Stump's voice is one of the most amazing ever. I swear, if Folie has no fans, I'm dead.

[ladybugsongs]

November 13, 2025: "Honey"

This might be an unpopular opinion but I liked The Life of a Showgirl pretty much from the first listen. I don't love all of the songs and it's definitely not my favorite Taylor Swift album, but it's consistently fun to listen to and there are a lot worse things for an album to be. Right off the bat, I loved "Honey"; content-wise, it feels like it could be "Sweet Nothing" from Midnights's older, happier sister. I especially love the bridge because it really reminded me just how good Swift's bridges can be. "And when anyone called me "lovely," they were finding ways not to praise me" is so heartbreaking and it adds some beautiful depth to what could have just been a love song. I'm definitely hoping she includes more songs like this on TS13.