my 5 favourite songs right now

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about good shit and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week, we’re talking about music, and the songs on repeat on my playlist right now. If you enjoy clipboard, share it with your cool mates, and you can chip in financially by clicking the button below.

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When I first decided I wanted to write for a living, I wanted to be a music writer. As with every other 15 year old with Spotify and a few pairs of Vans, I thought I had amazing insights into what made music good or interesting. I wrote countless blogs that I don’t think still exist, and my first published article was an album review.

I gradually came to the realisation that my specific brand of music fandom was not very unique, and the insights I can glean from a song or album are not as insightful as the music writers I admire most. The truth is, I like music that makes me feel good, and sometimes music that makes me sad.

I still think that people’s music tastes are instructive of who they are, and I love finding new favourites. In the interest of using this newsletter to put things out that I would read, I thought I would share the five songs that are getting me through at the moment.

Not a single one of these songs is under-the-radar, or particularly cool or out of left field, but they are all excellent, and on repeat in my AirPods. You can find all of these and more in my favourite song playlist on Apple Music here.

Rex Orange County, KEEP IT UP

Rex Orange County makes the kind of music I think I would make if I was a musician. A bit bedroom pop, a bit of rap influence, very interior and a bit anxious. We love to see a sad boy smiling in Amsterdam!

Mariah Carey, ‘We Belong Together’

No one does it like Mariah Carey did it in the 2000s. There’s something about when the key changes in this song that knocks me back in my seat every time, absolute throwback banger.

The 1975, fallingforyou

The 1975 are my favourite band. I’ve seen them live three times, and will pay any amount of money to see them again. Yes, they’re overly earnest, and there’s a healthy dose of pretension in the lyrics, but I am also overly earnest and a bit pretentious at times. This song is a relative deep cut, but the bridge is some of their best work.

Charli XCX, New Shapes (feat. Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek)

I saw Charli XCX at Laneway (RIP) in 2020, and I had an awesome time jamming out, despite the fact that no one else knew her new stuff. I have been out clubbing maybe 3 times in my life, but Charli’s music makes me want to go out dancing, and this song is a great example of it. Listen to her whole new album which came out this week, I thoroughly recommend it.

Taylor Swift, Dear John

Move over, All Too Well (10 Minute Version), this is Taylor’s best breakup song. What she does to John Mayer in this tune is next level, and it’s just what I need when I’m searching for a bit of catharsis.

clips

• If you’re reading this newsletter and haven’t picked up a copy of the new Metro Magazine, turn off your phone, go to your local magazine seller, and buy one! Maybe the best issue yet, with a minor cameo from yours truly. It’s truly full of great shit front to back, and worthy of taking a day to read it all the way through

• Do I need a new hoodie? Yes.

• There continue to be amazing deals on Thom Morison’s archive. I own and love this shirt, and I lust after this perfect trench coat

• Last week I got a reader’s query about other unisex local brands. Penny Sage mostly markets to women, but I reckon some of their new season pieces, like these cords, would look great no matter your gender expression

• Subject of Metro’s latest “my life in clothes column” and clipboard reader Sam Brooks has a brilliant piece on The Spinoff about Simon Bridges and his truly despicable voting history on queer issues. Well worth a read in between laughing at the yak jokes.

• Big shout out to the crew at The Receptionist Safehouse on High Street for keeping me caffeinated at work, and for surprisingly good pastries. Good coffee in the centre of town is surprisingly difficult to find, so I’ve been chuffed to get great coffee and good service even as the city is completely dead.

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! Clipboard will be back in your email inbox next Sunday, until then you can flick me an email or find me on Instagram.