What’s Playing in the Studio: Turn the Lights Back On

Step into What’s Playing in the Studio, my playful music check-in—part experiment, part time capsule, and all about the joy of sharing what’s on repeat. This mini-drop is part of my Mental Health Awareness Month lane: regulation, but make it a playlist. This one is the activation + momentum side of the menu—music I use to move, climb out, and turn the lights back on. What this post is A tight upshift menu for energy + nerve + catharsis + forward motion—music for when you want to activate on purpose (without sliding into chaos). Content note This is an “activation” list. If you’re overstimulated, you might want the soft-side post instead. If you want the low-stimulation version of this menu, start here: What’s Playing in the Studio: Daring to Stay Soft . Full projects (listen front-to-back) Catharsis + forward-motion albums: Blame My Ex — The Beaches Patience — Mannequin Pussy Ego Death (at a Bachelorette Party) — Hayley Williams Five mini-playlists (tighter lanes) 1) Bite back (posture fix) Teeth out. Chest up. Confidence on purpose. Cobra — Megan Thee Stallion Anxiety — Doechii Yucky Blucky Fruitcake — Doechii Juju — OSHUN Do It — Chloe x Halle IT GIRL (Fan Remix) (feat. Ve'ondre) — Aliyah's Interlude, Ve'ondre 333 — Tinashe, Absolutely 2) Sparkly + blunt (brat-pop calibration) Cute, sharp, and weirdly motivating. Super Shy — NewJeans Feather — Sabrina Carpenter handle me — Sophie Cates enemy — Charli xcx Self Sabotage — Rebecca Black 3) Catharsis (loud feelings, no apology) Volume up. Feel it all. Keep it moving. Ego Death (at a Bachelorette Party) — Hayley Williams Patience — Mannequin Pussy Bloom Baby Bloom — Wolf Alice Not Like That Anymore — Lola Young I Am King — Nasty Cherry 4) Climb-out (turn the lights back on) The ladder tracks. Momentum without spiraling. decide to be happy — MisterWives SUPERBLOOM — MisterWives Group Therapy — Elohim Miami — Tommy Genesis Glad He's Gone — Tove Lo Tunnel of Love — ilyTOMMY, Savage Ga$p Princess Bubblegum — ilyTOMMY 5) Tiny victory lap (light, warm, keeps moving) Three songs. Quick loop. You did the thing. Changes — Charles Bradley, The Budos Band Bruises — Chairlift Angels (feat. Saba) — Chance the Rapper, Saba Track Stats (because I’m nosy) Total recs: 30 songs + 3 full projects/albums Artist spread: about 28 distinct artists (counting features) Repeat offenders: Sabrina Carpenter (2), Doechii (2), MisterWives (2), ilyTOMMY (2) Tracks per mini-playlist: 7 / 5 / 5 / 7 / 3 Genre breakdown (very non-scientific, overlapping): Pop / brat-pop 8 Hip-hop / rap 8 Indie / alt rock 6 Dance / electronic 3 Punk / riot-adjacent 2 Soul / warm throwback 3 Vibe spread: bite back (posture fix) 7 sparkly + blunt 5 catharsis 5 climb-out 7 tiny victory lap 3 If you want to tell me what you’re looping right now… Drop a song that reliably gets you moving again (or a “bite back” track that fixes your posture). I will absolutely steal it for a future round. Atila Martin atilacore.pckt.blog atilacore.bsky.social atilacore.pckt.blog@gmail.com