By Imaginary Gardens Staff, Introduction by Heather Schroeder, Faculty Mentor
Everyone has songs on their playlists that make them cringe when someone else sees them. Maybe they’re favorites from bygone summer days or a super secret new listen that you love, but don’t dare play for your friends because you know what they’ll say.
My final challenge for the Imaginary Gardens staff this school year is to reveal their deepest-held secrets by compiling an official shame playlist. As I said in my introduction to the challenge…it’s not enough to offer up the artist. Everyone had to answer the question: “Why you savage? Why?!?” and provide a favorite song they think is underrated from the artist’s oeuvre.
So, in the interest of fairness and transparency, I’ll start:
Heather Schroeder, Faculty Mentor
Lana Del Ray
Listen, I know she’s problematic, but her voice is silky sweet and calms me when I’m feeling stressed. Her music sounds to me like what a dank basement with a bouquet of peonies smells like. You know, saccharine sweet with an undercurrent of doom. Perfect shame listening! (Now when you see me on campus and I seem preternaturally calm, you’ll know why.)
“A&W” from Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.
Draven Copeland, Editor-in-Chief
Playboi Carti
It’s going to sound crazy but I actually have been vibing with Carti’s newest album, MUSIC, so much more than any of his other previous albums. I really don’t know why… he doesn’t really have bars, Swamp Izzo’s producer tags get annoying as fuck only a couple songs into the 34 track album, and the beats often aren’t anything special (although, I will say, something about the synths in “CRUSH” really do something for me). Even though I really hate his frequent descent into misogyny with his lyrics, something about his self-proclaimed “King Vamp” vibe taps into my high school emo phase in a way that I can’t really explain, especially considering I never listened to him in high school when he was at his peak.
“EVIL J0RDAN” from MUSIC
Anna Trevathan, Managing Editor
Justin Timberlake
Justin has had his moments (see: general 2000’s frosted tips energy) but when that man was in the studio he cooked! “My Love” is the peak of this y’all. I fear I never recovered. Deep down, my shame listening to Justin Timberlake makes me crawl back into a 10 year old dancing in the backseat of my parents car. Now, this song hits even more. It’s the epitome of the songs I thought would (and honestly still should) be playing at the club. It makes me feel like my most daunting and delusional version of myself.
“My Love” from FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
Rocket Belden, Staff Writer
Engelbert Humperdinck
My man Arnold Dorsey, better known as Engelbert Humperdinck, (seriously, who chooses Engelbert Humperdinck as their stage name) is a man I don’t listen to infrequently. I’d say my parents get rather tired of hearing “Quando Quando Quando” repeatedly in the car. A Man Without Love, one of his more popular albums, has a very grand style to it. Nothing quite fills me with joy quite like belting along to his incredible voice, as much as it pains me to admit that deep inside, I’m a romantic. Just don’t tell Tom Jones I said so, as they’re known to be feuding.
“Quando Quando Quando” from A Man Without Love
Emma G. Harrison, Staff Writer/Marketing Team Member
Justin Bieber
I am definitely going to get some weird looks with this one, but oh well. I grew up hating Bieber because everyone was obsessed with him. Well, here I am, roughly 15 years later, jamming out to his best songs. Shameful…I know. But hear me out, I truly think his whole persona in his young years was hilarious. I really started listening to him as a joke with one of my coworkers about three months ago, so seriously listening to him was never the intention(s), pun intended.
What began as a joke has now turned into a total secret obsession. I truly admire Bieber’s ability to co-write and sing songs with such a variety of other artists. I think it is so fun when people can get together to do the thing they love and make something beautiful out of it. Picking a favorite one of his songs is hard since he has been through so many phases from being an artist for so long, so I will give you a few. “Baby” Feat. Ludacris is a Justin Bieber classic that you can never go wrong with. “Despacito – Remix” with Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber. Now listen…if you do not like this song, you are lying to yourself. It is a banger and you know it. Fun fact: this remix was also extremely popular in Ireland when it was released in 2017. I’m talking, it was the top song in Ireland during that time. The Irish know what’s up. My last favorite Bieber song is “I Don’t Care” with Ed Sheeran, which, in my opinion, is the perfect balance of chill and upbeat. Let’s just say it’s going to be a “Bieber Fever” summer for me.
James Cochran, Photographer
Bruce Springsteen
Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s a bit problematic when it comes to his relationships (fun fact: He had an affair with his bandmate Patti Scialfa on tour while married. Yikes!) and tries to relate to the working-class with his songs while being filthy rich. In fact, if you see his ticket prices, you’ll be even shocked that he even writes about the working-class! Though he is a bit hypocritical nowadays, his back catalogue is full of excellent tracks. Springsteen tracks are best enjoyed live, so take a listen to Live 1975-85 to hear some great versions of hits and album cuts.
“Cadillac Ranch – Live at Meadowlands Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ – July 1981” from Live 1975-85
Leyli Izadpanah, Staff Writer
Taylor Swift
Swift is both highly admired and criticized, both for good reason. From her private jet usage controversy in 2022 to her “celebrity industrial complex” by allowing many business corporations to promote their brand and increase her fame, Swift has had her fair share of bad moments. But listen, she’s the people’s pop princess and I love that. She is basically the world’s most adored female musician, and I can’t blame them. Her music takes me back to simpler times when all I had to worry about was elementary school; her albums 1989 and Speak Now were basically soundtracks of my childhood. I try to stay away from controversial artists, but Swift has my heart.
“Cowboy Like Me” from Evermore
Kaleb Guzman, Assistant Photo Editor
Bo Burnham
The song I listen to is “Welcome to the Internet.” The reason why I like to listen to this song is because it captures the internet very well… even the worst parts of it, which is why I try to avoid listening to it around other people.
An underrated song from Bo Burnham is “That Funny Feeling.”
Sophie Perrins, Photo Editor
The Hamilton Soundtrack
I resisted learning all the lyrics for as long as I could in high school to try to fit in, but eventually gave in to the catchy history lesson and can still (horribly) rap most of the songs. I was lucky enough to see the musical on tour and get my playbill signed by some of the performers, so listening feels nostalgic for me as well.
I regularly listen to “Wait for It” to remind me that “I am the one thing in life I can control” and this song is definitely worth a listen.
An extremely unhinged and random honorable addition to shameful listens is “Monki” by Sposato.
Charlie Dobyns, Sci-Comm
Katy Perry
It’s really hard to argue in favor of Katy Perry. She is arguably a garbage human being. Between her 11 minute, multimillion dollar, environmental disaster of a PR spaceflight, to her known collaboration with sexual predators, she’s in the flop era of all flop eras. That said, “Waking up in Vegas” is an undeniable hit and features on many of my “get pumped” playlists. I spent my teenage years screaming along to all of the songs on California Girls, so there’s a lot of nostalgia there for me. I usually don’t believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to music, but Ms. Perry makes it hard for me.
Underrated hit: “Waking up in Vegas” from One of the Boys
William Dishmon, Photographer
Magma
French neo-classical jazz progressive rock, aka “Zeuhl.” Most lyrics are in a meaningless language invented by founding member and drummer Christian Vander for the purpose of musical expression. I like their music because of the originality, energy and musicianship. It’s not like anything else I’ve heard, and sometimes borders on avant-garde, so it’s kind of an acquired taste.
My underrated favorite song is “The Last Seven Minutes” from their album Attahk.
Evelyn Hawkey, Lead Cartoonist
Two Steps from Hell
I have grown up in a household where we listened to concertos and sonatas religiously. We would go to live concerts and sit for three hours listening to Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. Mother told us to imagine a story in the music, since we were little kids who are incapable of sitting in a single seat for three hours and who can only be entertained by our own imaginations. Today, I love creating stories and writing dramatic scenarios in my head; I listen to “Two Steps from Hell” to get me in that action-packed mindset.
When I tell people about this, I am met with a stifled giggle. When something is two steps away from something, it means that it’s going to hit the ceiling oscillator! But it is actually full of beautifully orchestrated instrumentals with choir music and intense electric guitar rolled into one. Phil Rey, Thomas Bergusen, and Jo Blakenburg are some of the artists that collaborated with 2SFH. The two albums that have a few of my favorite pieces are Battlecry and Skyworld. I also listen to other orchestral artists like Gothic Storm, Epic Music, and Elfisio Cross. I listen to music scores from movies, composed by Hans Zimmer, Rupert Gregson Williams, and John Powell.
The music itself takes you on a magical journey through your imagination. Music plays an important role in your life, even if you don’t realize it. It makes you feel things, takes you on adventures, and motivates you to take on those obstacles in life. People may laugh, but at least I feel like I’m marching with Joan of Arc in the Hundred Years War.
“Caramelldansen” by the Caramella Girls; the perfect anime web song.
