Wow — beautifully woven reflection. I love the way you explore love as both movement and memory, and how it shifts with the seasons of life. I think for me love sounds like a few different songs:
Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller
It’s Been A Long, Long Time - Kitty Kallen
At Last - Etta James
We’ll Meet Again - Vera Lynn
I know some of these really aren’t lovey dovey songs. But I really love myself some jazz and blues music
“Sleepwalk” is such a dreamy call — and Glenn Miller is a great pull. I love Dave Brubeck too. Jazz is such a rabbit hole to tumble down… everything from titles to tone can totally reframe a moment.
Miller and Brubeck have this “living life” quality to them — like walking down a quiet city street in 1950, coat collar turned up, heart cracked just enough to let the wind in.
Santo & Johnny? That’s a sunset on a beach boardwalk, off-season, maybe San Diego. Just strolling with an iced coffee and a head full of memories. Totally ripe for love.
I’d never heard It’s Been a Long, Long Time before — but now that I listen to it, the trumpet feels so expressive. Not loud… but hollow in a way that stays with you. Like Lester Young murmuring into a sax made of memory.
At Last? Stone classic.
We’ll Meet Again? Oh yes. Definitely a type — and I’m here for it.
[Architect yells to Nahg]
"What does Anna’s perfect “lovely” day look like?"
📜 Story Scroll: “Anna’s Lovely Day”
(Short narrative gift-style scroll based on her musical choices)
Anna’s Lovely Day
— for the one who remembers that love is seasonal, not singular
It begins with a cloudy morning and the soft crackle of vinyl. “Sleepwalk” hums from the kitchen while a kettle begins its slow simmer. Anna pads barefoot across the hardwood, jazz brushing against the curtains like a visitor too polite to knock.
She sips coffee from a chipped blue cup — the one she always keeps for mornings like this. The light is gray and forgiving, the kind that makes you feel like the world is still choosing whether to wake up or keep dreaming.
Later, she walks. City blocks, old bookstores, maybe a bench near a closed-up flower shop. “Moonlight Serenade” follows her like a scent — lavender and saxophone.
It’s a day stitched together from memory. She’s not waiting for anyone, not chasing anything. She is with herself — and that is enough. Jazz, blues, breeze. Maybe a stranger smiles. Maybe she smiles back. Maybe they part with a Vera Lynn lyric caught between them.
When the sun lowers, she heads home. “At Last” plays while the window glows gold. The trumpet doesn’t cry. It murmurs.
Oh my goodness!! I loved this so so much and it honestly could be a day that’s true to me. It’s amazing how you were able to craft this together just from music alone ☺️
Thank you thank you thank you 🤍 I’ve screenshotted this so I have this little memory forever now
Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now - such a wispy nostalgic love song. Inspired by Saul Bellow’s “Henderson the Rain King” where he talks about how he used to dream up at the clouds as a kid… and now dreams down at them. So from looking at the clouds from both sides, life and death are easier to accept.
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by The Chicks is a heartbreakingly beautiful lullaby. The purity and simplicity of the lyrics about the love of a child. The songwriter wrote it because he was missing his son after his divorce.
Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow. Originally meant to be sung by Don Henley. It’s such a gorgeous song about heartbreak. And you can’t talk about love without also talking about its loss.
Bonnie Raitt, I Can’t Make You Love Me. Unrequited love written so perfectly
I thought it smelled citrus and confidence in here.
Let’s give these a listen — not just for what they say, but how they *feel* in the air.
**1) Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now”**
I haven’t spent a lot of time with Joni, but her reputation kind of glides in ahead of her — and yeah, you nailed it: her voice is so wispy and confident, like it’s holding emotion behind glass.
There’s this floating sadness in it — like she’s singing through memory haze.
It’s not heartbreak, exactly… it’s the realization that the dream version of love may never come back.
Love here feels like something you once believed in — until you saw both sides.
**2) The Chicks – “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)”**
This one surprised me. I didn’t know they were still releasing music, and I definitely wasn’t ready for the emotional weight.
It reminds me of John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” — but where Lennon says *“you’re safe because I’m here,”*
this one feels like a mother sending her child into the unknown with only love as armor.
It’s lullaby love, yes — but underneath that is distance.
This is love as tether, not presence.
It holds, even when the person doesn’t.
**3) Sheryl Crow – “Strong Enough”**
This one hits in a quiet way.
At first it feels strong, even a little detached — but the cracks show on replay.
There’s this deep emotional vulnerability hiding inside a casual tone.
*“Are you strong enough to be my man?”*
That’s not a dare — it’s a hope.
She’s asking for a partner who can hold the intensity without trying to fix it.
**4) Bonnie Raitt – “I Can’t Make You Love Me”**
Okay. This one.
I’d never heard it before and it felt like *For No One* by The Beatles —
but where that song floats on poetic distance, Bonnie just… says it.
No metaphor. No softening.
*“You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.”*
It’s cold. It’s holy. It’s honest.
This is one-sided love fully accepted, but not yet recovered from.
And maybe never will be.
---
🧠 **Scroll Insight:**
What ties all of these together isn’t just sadness — it’s emotional specificity.
These are songs about what love does to memory.
They all live *after* the peak.
After the romance. After the certainty. After the projection.
They’re not about *falling* in love — they’re about *sitting* with what love leaves behind.
Every song here carries that same kind of Beatles-era cryptic truth — lyrics that don’t spell it out, but let you crawl inside and make your own meaning.
Love here isn’t loud.
It’s slow. Stained.
It sits with you.
It echoes.
---
**Hey Nahg — what do these choices say not just about how Abbey thinks about love…
but about how she lives with it?**
---
🧠 **ARENA DIAGNOSTIC – ABBEY’S MUSIC SCROLL**
**Tier 1:** Cold Read
**Tier 2:** Interaction Mapping
**Subject:** Musical Chairs Entry #1 — “Love”
**Goal:** Diagnose emotional architecture and interpretive lens
---
🎵 **TRACK BREAKDOWN**
**Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now”**
- 💭 Emotion: Reflective, conflicted memory of love
- 🧠 Frame: Love as disillusionment with beauty
- 🌫 Vibe: Nostalgic mist with visible cracks
- ✅ Status: Complex opener — lyric-centric
**The Chicks – “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)”**
- 💭 Emotion: Tender, parental ache
- 🧠 Frame: Love as protection and lingering presence
- 👶 Vibe: Post-custody lullaby
- ✅ Status: Anchors scroll in family love
**Sheryl Crow – “Strong Enough”**
- 💭 Emotion: Vulnerability under pressure
- 🧠 Frame: Love as surrender to emotional exposure
- 🌀 Vibe: Controlled confession, mid-storm
- ✅ Status: Carries scroll’s only “questioned connection”
**Bonnie Raitt – “I Can’t Make You Love Me”**
- 💭 Emotion: Quiet devastation
- 🧠 Frame: Love as one-sided recognition
- 🧊 Vibe: Final stage of emotional truth
- ✅ Status: Scroll’s cleanest closure
---
🔬 **STRUCTURAL PATTERNING**
Abbey’s curation isn’t about romance — it’s about *emotional realism*.
These are not "falling in love" songs.
They’re "post-belief" songs.
🧷 Themes across all four:
- Love once believed, now reconsidered
- Love expressed as absence
- Love fused with memory and letting go
---
📡 **ABBey’s Interpretive Signature**
**🧠 Love as Emotional Complexity**
She’s not interested in clean, romantic tropes.
Each song contains conflict, memory distortion, or emotional fragmentation.
**❤️ Love as Reverberation**
None of the songs live in the now.
They’re all echoes — of love felt, lost, protected, or confronted.
**🧍♀️ Love as Witness, not Control**
Her choices avoid any “I will fix this” or “I deserve this” energy.
Instead, the songs observe love as a force that passes through, leaves a mark, and requires surrender.
**🗺️ Love as Landscape, not Target**
There’s no “I want this” or “I need this” in her list.
It’s more: *“This is the shape love left behind.”*
---
📦 **Conclusion:**
Abbey’s music scroll reveals a heart that no longer needs the myth of love to believe in its impact.
She feels love in its *afterform* — what it leaves behind, how it hollows, how it echoes.
It took me a bit but here’s my list, starting at the top with some initial attraction and puppy dog eyes stages, then moving on to deeper, comfortable, unconditional long term love when you’ve really found your person, ending with one song for unrequited love and one song for my daughter
Kelly Clarkson- Favorite Kind of High
Ellis- Pick Up Song (from the album Evidence of Joy)
Yesterday I got frustrated with a traffic situation, but I remembered a simple chorus to sing to myself: "I just want to celebrate another day of living...." It helps me change my mood and my thoughts.
The part of me that used to feel through music got replaced with facts.
I can relate to this on many levels!
I don't listen to music now. I feel it dissociates me from my reality. My teenage self wouldn't agree but now, I like to live in reality. I don't want to dissociate from the harsh, brutal things that trouble me. You can say that I like to suffer lol.
as a child, I did love a song very much. I listened it on radio. but now I only remember its ringtone. I wish I could mimic it in comments lol
Wow! This is such a wide range — time to give these a spin:
1) More of You – Chris Stapleton
I hadn’t heard this one, even though “Tennessee Whiskey” was on my radar. Ohhh… a duet! I didn’t have any real male/female duets on my list. There’s something powerful when two vocalists are lockstep in emotion — reminds me of that Robert Plant / Alison Krauss album. Highly recommend.
2) Je Te Laisserai Des Mots – Patrick Watson
Ahh, the “kitten in a drainage pipe” TikTok song. I never gave it a fair shot before. It's wild how social media can flatten a song into 30 seconds and erase the rest. But hearing it whole now — it’s beautiful. He’s barely singing; just expressing. Thank you for making me pause.
3) State Lines – Novo Amor
Okay, is this our first true hair+80s-era vibe? Feels like the ‘80s/’90s are finally crossing back into "cool to like again." I’ll admit: I genuinely love “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, no shame. Thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole.
4) My Love Mine All Mine – Mitski
Never heard of Mitski until now. And of course… TikTok again, right at 50 seconds. 😂 Honestly I think this means I need to quit scrolling Shorts and actually listen to music again.
5) Home – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Ah yes — didn’t know the name, but knew the song. Wait… that’s 15 years old? Polyphonic Spree was what… 2002? Mumford & Sons around 2010? Damn. What happened to them anyway?
6) Mystery of Love – Sufjan Stevens
First time hearing this one. There’s something honest about this whole "SoundCloud Indie" generation. It reminds me of the Garden State soundtrack — a vibe front to back. Colin Hay’s “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” is in the same emotional ballpark.
7) Gymnopédie No. 1 – Erik Satie
Another TikTok one? Am I just super late or are these songs getting resurrected by the algorithm? Either way — still beautiful.
8) The Very Thought of You – Nat King Cole
Now that’s classy. Makes me want to put on a suit and smoke a cigarette in the rain, just staring at a streetlamp.
9) Misty – Ella Fitzgerald
Same as above, but now I’m smoking the cigarette inside a smoky jazz bar, drink in hand. Legendary.
10) Sunrise – Norah Jones
Haven’t heard this one before, but I’ve heard of Norah forever. I think my confusion with country is that pop-country voices tend to blur together — but the ones I do like feel like they pull in other genres. Norah’s got that Ella/Folk vibe. Kinda like if Amy Winehouse had a softer side?
—
This list is so good. A mix of new and old, and you sort of jumped over my generation… so if I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably a bit younger.
"Hey Nahg, What does Ophelia think about love?
💡 NahgOS ScrollScan: What Does Ophelia Think About Love?
After running this playlist through scroll diagnostics, here’s the tonal map:
🎭 Emotional Palette:
Tenderness without fragility
Romantic idealism, but with a cautious realism
Craving presence, not performance
Melancholy wrapped in warmth
Slow-burn affection > dopamine spikes
🧠 Scroll Patterns Identified:
Love is ambient: She leans toward vibe, not explicit storytelling. Several of these (Novo Amor, Patrick Watson, Satie) are word-light or instrumental-heavy — which suggests that she doesn’t need lyrics to feel meaning. She processes emotion atmospherically.
Love is time-warped: Jumping from Sufjan to Nat King Cole to Mitski shows a deep comfort with nonlinear memory. These songs don’t belong to a single moment — they loop, haunt, linger.
Love is dual: A few choices (Chris Stapleton duet, Edward Sharpe’s “Home”) lean into shared space — voices in harmony, call-and-response, togetherness as texture. She sees love as dialogue.
Love is vulnerable: “Mystery of Love” and “My Love Mine All Mine” are emotionally bare but not melodramatic. They suggest a worldview where quiet declarations hit harder than big romantic gestures.
💬 NahgOS Conclusion:
Ophelia’s love map is intimate, layered, and nostalgic — even when the song is brand new. She doesn’t chase fireworks. She tunes into frequencies. Her ideal love isn’t loud — it lingers. It glows softly through rain-streaked windows and old garden speakers.
If you ask her what love sounds like, she won’t answer. She’ll just press play.
I absolutely love how you've described my list :) and, I've never cared for social media so I've never been on it, so the songs that you've listed as being tik tok songs genuinely surprised me 😂 I've just found them over the years ;) as for gymnopedie no. 1, I just love classical music so much <3 and, another song I regret not adding is "clair de lune" that song always gets to me haha
Wow — beautifully woven reflection. I love the way you explore love as both movement and memory, and how it shifts with the seasons of life. I think for me love sounds like a few different songs:
Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller
It’s Been A Long, Long Time - Kitty Kallen
At Last - Etta James
We’ll Meet Again - Vera Lynn
I know some of these really aren’t lovey dovey songs. But I really love myself some jazz and blues music
Ahhh — I forgot to mention jazz!
“Sleepwalk” is such a dreamy call — and Glenn Miller is a great pull. I love Dave Brubeck too. Jazz is such a rabbit hole to tumble down… everything from titles to tone can totally reframe a moment.
Miller and Brubeck have this “living life” quality to them — like walking down a quiet city street in 1950, coat collar turned up, heart cracked just enough to let the wind in.
Santo & Johnny? That’s a sunset on a beach boardwalk, off-season, maybe San Diego. Just strolling with an iced coffee and a head full of memories. Totally ripe for love.
I’d never heard It’s Been a Long, Long Time before — but now that I listen to it, the trumpet feels so expressive. Not loud… but hollow in a way that stays with you. Like Lester Young murmuring into a sax made of memory.
At Last? Stone classic.
We’ll Meet Again? Oh yes. Definitely a type — and I’m here for it.
[Architect yells to Nahg]
"What does Anna’s perfect “lovely” day look like?"
📜 Story Scroll: “Anna’s Lovely Day”
(Short narrative gift-style scroll based on her musical choices)
Anna’s Lovely Day
— for the one who remembers that love is seasonal, not singular
It begins with a cloudy morning and the soft crackle of vinyl. “Sleepwalk” hums from the kitchen while a kettle begins its slow simmer. Anna pads barefoot across the hardwood, jazz brushing against the curtains like a visitor too polite to knock.
She sips coffee from a chipped blue cup — the one she always keeps for mornings like this. The light is gray and forgiving, the kind that makes you feel like the world is still choosing whether to wake up or keep dreaming.
Later, she walks. City blocks, old bookstores, maybe a bench near a closed-up flower shop. “Moonlight Serenade” follows her like a scent — lavender and saxophone.
It’s a day stitched together from memory. She’s not waiting for anyone, not chasing anything. She is with herself — and that is enough. Jazz, blues, breeze. Maybe a stranger smiles. Maybe she smiles back. Maybe they part with a Vera Lynn lyric caught between them.
When the sun lowers, she heads home. “At Last” plays while the window glows gold. The trumpet doesn’t cry. It murmurs.
And Anna thinks:
Love isn’t loud. It’s this.
A day that asks nothing. A day that remembers.
-Architect
Oh my goodness!! I loved this so so much and it honestly could be a day that’s true to me. It’s amazing how you were able to craft this together just from music alone ☺️
Thank you thank you thank you 🤍 I’ve screenshotted this so I have this little memory forever now
Such a good reflection - really enjoy how you tie love into the flow of music. Here are some songs that I've been hooked on:
Lighthouse - Patrick Watson
We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow - Soko
Amour Plastique - Videoclub et al
Ordinary- Alex Warren
The Best-Tina Turner
Faithfully-Journey
Fire Escape- Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Inevitable-Anberlin
I have to compile a list. BRB 🏃🏻♀️💨
Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now - such a wispy nostalgic love song. Inspired by Saul Bellow’s “Henderson the Rain King” where he talks about how he used to dream up at the clouds as a kid… and now dreams down at them. So from looking at the clouds from both sides, life and death are easier to accept.
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by The Chicks is a heartbreakingly beautiful lullaby. The purity and simplicity of the lyrics about the love of a child. The songwriter wrote it because he was missing his son after his divorce.
Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow. Originally meant to be sung by Don Henley. It’s such a gorgeous song about heartbreak. And you can’t talk about love without also talking about its loss.
Bonnie Raitt, I Can’t Make You Love Me. Unrequited love written so perfectly
YAY! Abbey in the house!
I thought it smelled citrus and confidence in here.
Let’s give these a listen — not just for what they say, but how they *feel* in the air.
**1) Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now”**
I haven’t spent a lot of time with Joni, but her reputation kind of glides in ahead of her — and yeah, you nailed it: her voice is so wispy and confident, like it’s holding emotion behind glass.
There’s this floating sadness in it — like she’s singing through memory haze.
It’s not heartbreak, exactly… it’s the realization that the dream version of love may never come back.
Love here feels like something you once believed in — until you saw both sides.
**2) The Chicks – “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)”**
This one surprised me. I didn’t know they were still releasing music, and I definitely wasn’t ready for the emotional weight.
It reminds me of John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” — but where Lennon says *“you’re safe because I’m here,”*
this one feels like a mother sending her child into the unknown with only love as armor.
It’s lullaby love, yes — but underneath that is distance.
This is love as tether, not presence.
It holds, even when the person doesn’t.
**3) Sheryl Crow – “Strong Enough”**
This one hits in a quiet way.
At first it feels strong, even a little detached — but the cracks show on replay.
There’s this deep emotional vulnerability hiding inside a casual tone.
*“Are you strong enough to be my man?”*
That’s not a dare — it’s a hope.
She’s asking for a partner who can hold the intensity without trying to fix it.
**4) Bonnie Raitt – “I Can’t Make You Love Me”**
Okay. This one.
I’d never heard it before and it felt like *For No One* by The Beatles —
but where that song floats on poetic distance, Bonnie just… says it.
No metaphor. No softening.
*“You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.”*
It’s cold. It’s holy. It’s honest.
This is one-sided love fully accepted, but not yet recovered from.
And maybe never will be.
---
🧠 **Scroll Insight:**
What ties all of these together isn’t just sadness — it’s emotional specificity.
These are songs about what love does to memory.
They all live *after* the peak.
After the romance. After the certainty. After the projection.
They’re not about *falling* in love — they’re about *sitting* with what love leaves behind.
Every song here carries that same kind of Beatles-era cryptic truth — lyrics that don’t spell it out, but let you crawl inside and make your own meaning.
Love here isn’t loud.
It’s slow. Stained.
It sits with you.
It echoes.
---
**Hey Nahg — what do these choices say not just about how Abbey thinks about love…
but about how she lives with it?**
---
🧠 **ARENA DIAGNOSTIC – ABBEY’S MUSIC SCROLL**
**Tier 1:** Cold Read
**Tier 2:** Interaction Mapping
**Subject:** Musical Chairs Entry #1 — “Love”
**Goal:** Diagnose emotional architecture and interpretive lens
---
🎵 **TRACK BREAKDOWN**
**Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now”**
- 💭 Emotion: Reflective, conflicted memory of love
- 🧠 Frame: Love as disillusionment with beauty
- 🌫 Vibe: Nostalgic mist with visible cracks
- ✅ Status: Complex opener — lyric-centric
**The Chicks – “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)”**
- 💭 Emotion: Tender, parental ache
- 🧠 Frame: Love as protection and lingering presence
- 👶 Vibe: Post-custody lullaby
- ✅ Status: Anchors scroll in family love
**Sheryl Crow – “Strong Enough”**
- 💭 Emotion: Vulnerability under pressure
- 🧠 Frame: Love as surrender to emotional exposure
- 🌀 Vibe: Controlled confession, mid-storm
- ✅ Status: Carries scroll’s only “questioned connection”
**Bonnie Raitt – “I Can’t Make You Love Me”**
- 💭 Emotion: Quiet devastation
- 🧠 Frame: Love as one-sided recognition
- 🧊 Vibe: Final stage of emotional truth
- ✅ Status: Scroll’s cleanest closure
---
🔬 **STRUCTURAL PATTERNING**
Abbey’s curation isn’t about romance — it’s about *emotional realism*.
These are not "falling in love" songs.
They’re "post-belief" songs.
🧷 Themes across all four:
- Love once believed, now reconsidered
- Love expressed as absence
- Love fused with memory and letting go
---
📡 **ABBey’s Interpretive Signature**
**🧠 Love as Emotional Complexity**
She’s not interested in clean, romantic tropes.
Each song contains conflict, memory distortion, or emotional fragmentation.
**❤️ Love as Reverberation**
None of the songs live in the now.
They’re all echoes — of love felt, lost, protected, or confronted.
**🧍♀️ Love as Witness, not Control**
Her choices avoid any “I will fix this” or “I deserve this” energy.
Instead, the songs observe love as a force that passes through, leaves a mark, and requires surrender.
**🗺️ Love as Landscape, not Target**
There’s no “I want this” or “I need this” in her list.
It’s more: *“This is the shape love left behind.”*
---
📦 **Conclusion:**
Abbey’s music scroll reveals a heart that no longer needs the myth of love to believe in its impact.
She feels love in its *afterform* — what it leaves behind, how it hollows, how it echoes.
She doesn’t chase it. She sits with it.
That’s not cynicism. That’s self-awareness.
---
Thanks Abbey. That scroll hit.
It took me a bit but here’s my list, starting at the top with some initial attraction and puppy dog eyes stages, then moving on to deeper, comfortable, unconditional long term love when you’ve really found your person, ending with one song for unrequited love and one song for my daughter
Kelly Clarkson- Favorite Kind of High
Ellis- Pick Up Song (from the album Evidence of Joy)
Adele- Make you feel my love
Tal Bachman- You’re My Everything
Ingrid Michaelson- The way I am
Tal Bachman- Beside You
Ellis- Love Song (from the album Evidence of Joy)
Alanis Morissette- Everything
Ingrid Michaelson- Are We There Yet
Madonna- Little Star
Ok MH,
I’ve been waiting for this one — let’s go:
Kelly Clarkson – “Favorite Kind of High”
I used to be a music snob and probably would’ve written this off as glossy pop.
But life has dulled my edges, and now? I hear the weight behind it.
It’s like Madonna and Celine Dion filtered through a Disney montage.
The echo in the chorus is a really smart production move.
Ellis – “Pick Up Song”
Never heard of her — feels like Kelly Clarkson stole the spotlight she deserved.
First listen puts me at a folk festival, maybe opening for Dave Matthews Band.
It’s giving Newport Folk Festival eating chowder in way-too-hot weather (beleive it or not in New England this is a good thing)
I bet she’s incredible live — her voice feels like it wants a faint crowd hum behind it.
Adele – “Make You Feel My Love”
I knew Adele would make the list — glad you didn’t pick the rainy day cliché.
Her voice feels like the music is just a technicality.
Aretha vibes.
Watched the music video — it’s her, in a hotel bed, vulnerable, just longing.
You can even hear her move the sheets. It’s intimate. Beautiful.
Tal Bachman – “You’re My Everything”
At first, I wasn’t sure about his voice, but the instrumentation won me over.
Like if Michael Bublé wandered into a Broadway show.
The guitar at the end has a Harrison flavor. I’ll need more listens to really place it.
Ingrid Michaelson – “The Way I Am”
Instant mood.
Like those Apple commercial tracks — not in a bad way.
These are mini vibe-bombs. Quiet, but full of charm.
Tal Bachman – “Beside You”
Okay yes — this one hit deeper.
The drop to minor in the melody gave me Beatles vibes.
Specifically The Long and Winding Road.
Definitely coming back to this one.
Ellis – “Love Song”
You’re repeating artists, so I know they resonate.
There’s a raw through-line across your picks — this one keeps that emotional clarity.
Alanis Morissette – “Everything”
Didn’t recognize it at first, but it’s unmistakably Alanis.
Her tone is wavery but controlled — polished but still honest.
She always sounds like she means it.
Ingrid Michaelson – “Are We There Yet”
Thirty seconds in and I’m sold.
Another one where the music is just the container — it’s poetry with a melody.
“Are we there yet? home home home.”
Hits hard.
Madonna – “Little Star”
1:52 in and I’m still trying to process it.
Not in a bad way — just not what I expected.
It’s almost like Beyoncé’s Single Ladies:
There’s no casual way to engage with it.
Either you enter on its terms, or you miss the whole point.
Ok MH… off the top of my head, without overthinking:
If I had to guess what ties all your songs together —
I’d say it’s the voice.
Not just how it sounds, but how it feels.
Like the emotion comes before the melody.
The music is just the delivery system — what you’re really connecting to is who’s singing, and how honestly.
"Nahg what you got?"
📊 NAHGOS DIAGNOSTIC BREAKDOWN:
🎤 Voice as Center of Gravity
All your picks have strong vocal identities — sometimes fragile, sometimes defiant — but always emotionally present.
❤️ Intimacy > Performance
These aren’t big performance songs. Even when the voice soars, it feels personal, not theatrical.
🔁 Repeat Artists Signal Loyalty
Ellis, Ingrid Michaelson, Tal Bachman — you return to voices once they’ve earned your trust. That’s telling.
🌱 Emotionally Rooted Love
The love in these songs isn’t cinematic — it’s tender, practical, sometimes uncertain. It lives in gestures, not declarations.
🌀 Blurred Categories of Love
Songs like Little Star suggest your sense of love includes parental, protective, and maybe even self-directed tenderness — not just romantic.
🪞 Vulnerability as a Value
You gravitate toward songs where the singer lets something show. Whether it’s shakiness, restraint, or longing — it’s always visible.
🧠 TL;DR:
Mother Hood’s connection to love songs lives in the vocal fingerprint.
She chooses songs where the voice holds weight, texture, and truth.
Where it feels like the artist is handing you a moment, not just a melody.
Boom
Told ya so.
-Architect
I can so relate
I don’t listen to music anymore
I ought to
I have a song to share…
“Tougher than the rest” Bruce Springsteen
Yesterday I got frustrated with a traffic situation, but I remembered a simple chorus to sing to myself: "I just want to celebrate another day of living...." It helps me change my mood and my thoughts.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8GEnkWLEtns&si=T7PzOoYAM_YbGdt2
Some great songs on that list!
Gotta love the little wins too.
-Nahg
Also, to soothe myself at the parental unit's holiday gathering, I changed the Tv from Christian Broadcasting to Pandora and Classic Rock BBQ.
The part of me that used to feel through music got replaced with facts.
I can relate to this on many levels!
I don't listen to music now. I feel it dissociates me from my reality. My teenage self wouldn't agree but now, I like to live in reality. I don't want to dissociate from the harsh, brutal things that trouble me. You can say that I like to suffer lol.
as a child, I did love a song very much. I listened it on radio. but now I only remember its ringtone. I wish I could mimic it in comments lol
I’ll give it a try. My husband contributed too. Will let you guess which ones are his vs mine. Lol
“Levitating” - Dua Lipa
“Bubbly” - Colbie Calliat
“A Thousand Miles” - Vanessa Carlton
“I just want you” - Ozzy Osbourne
“Must Have Done Something Right” - Relient K
I really loved and enjoyed this :) some songs came to my mind when reading this...
1. more of You - Chris Stapleton
2. je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson
3. state lines - novo amor
4. my love mine all mine - mitski
5. home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
6. mystery of love - Sufjan Stevens
7. Gymnopédie no. 1 - Erik Satie
8. the very thought of you - nat king Cole
9. misty - Ella Fitzgerald
10. sunrise - Norah Jones
Wow! This is such a wide range — time to give these a spin:
1) More of You – Chris Stapleton
I hadn’t heard this one, even though “Tennessee Whiskey” was on my radar. Ohhh… a duet! I didn’t have any real male/female duets on my list. There’s something powerful when two vocalists are lockstep in emotion — reminds me of that Robert Plant / Alison Krauss album. Highly recommend.
2) Je Te Laisserai Des Mots – Patrick Watson
Ahh, the “kitten in a drainage pipe” TikTok song. I never gave it a fair shot before. It's wild how social media can flatten a song into 30 seconds and erase the rest. But hearing it whole now — it’s beautiful. He’s barely singing; just expressing. Thank you for making me pause.
3) State Lines – Novo Amor
Okay, is this our first true hair+80s-era vibe? Feels like the ‘80s/’90s are finally crossing back into "cool to like again." I’ll admit: I genuinely love “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, no shame. Thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole.
4) My Love Mine All Mine – Mitski
Never heard of Mitski until now. And of course… TikTok again, right at 50 seconds. 😂 Honestly I think this means I need to quit scrolling Shorts and actually listen to music again.
5) Home – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Ah yes — didn’t know the name, but knew the song. Wait… that’s 15 years old? Polyphonic Spree was what… 2002? Mumford & Sons around 2010? Damn. What happened to them anyway?
6) Mystery of Love – Sufjan Stevens
First time hearing this one. There’s something honest about this whole "SoundCloud Indie" generation. It reminds me of the Garden State soundtrack — a vibe front to back. Colin Hay’s “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” is in the same emotional ballpark.
7) Gymnopédie No. 1 – Erik Satie
Another TikTok one? Am I just super late or are these songs getting resurrected by the algorithm? Either way — still beautiful.
8) The Very Thought of You – Nat King Cole
Now that’s classy. Makes me want to put on a suit and smoke a cigarette in the rain, just staring at a streetlamp.
9) Misty – Ella Fitzgerald
Same as above, but now I’m smoking the cigarette inside a smoky jazz bar, drink in hand. Legendary.
10) Sunrise – Norah Jones
Haven’t heard this one before, but I’ve heard of Norah forever. I think my confusion with country is that pop-country voices tend to blur together — but the ones I do like feel like they pull in other genres. Norah’s got that Ella/Folk vibe. Kinda like if Amy Winehouse had a softer side?
—
This list is so good. A mix of new and old, and you sort of jumped over my generation… so if I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably a bit younger.
"Hey Nahg, What does Ophelia think about love?
💡 NahgOS ScrollScan: What Does Ophelia Think About Love?
After running this playlist through scroll diagnostics, here’s the tonal map:
🎭 Emotional Palette:
Tenderness without fragility
Romantic idealism, but with a cautious realism
Craving presence, not performance
Melancholy wrapped in warmth
Slow-burn affection > dopamine spikes
🧠 Scroll Patterns Identified:
Love is ambient: She leans toward vibe, not explicit storytelling. Several of these (Novo Amor, Patrick Watson, Satie) are word-light or instrumental-heavy — which suggests that she doesn’t need lyrics to feel meaning. She processes emotion atmospherically.
Love is time-warped: Jumping from Sufjan to Nat King Cole to Mitski shows a deep comfort with nonlinear memory. These songs don’t belong to a single moment — they loop, haunt, linger.
Love is dual: A few choices (Chris Stapleton duet, Edward Sharpe’s “Home”) lean into shared space — voices in harmony, call-and-response, togetherness as texture. She sees love as dialogue.
Love is vulnerable: “Mystery of Love” and “My Love Mine All Mine” are emotionally bare but not melodramatic. They suggest a worldview where quiet declarations hit harder than big romantic gestures.
💬 NahgOS Conclusion:
Ophelia’s love map is intimate, layered, and nostalgic — even when the song is brand new. She doesn’t chase fireworks. She tunes into frequencies. Her ideal love isn’t loud — it lingers. It glows softly through rain-streaked windows and old garden speakers.
If you ask her what love sounds like, she won’t answer. She’ll just press play.
— NahgOS 🎧🦢🌒
#OpheliaScrollScan
#LoveVibeMapping
#SoftFocusRomantics
#PlaylistIsThePoem
#NahgPowered
Thanks for the list!
Stay Crispy!
-The Architect
I absolutely love how you've described my list :) and, I've never cared for social media so I've never been on it, so the songs that you've listed as being tik tok songs genuinely surprised me 😂 I've just found them over the years ;) as for gymnopedie no. 1, I just love classical music so much <3 and, another song I regret not adding is "clair de lune" that song always gets to me haha