Hello everyone, and welcome back to Rena’s Radio!
Last week was… a week. A very arduous, mentally taxing week, and that is absolutely reflected in the song choices for last week. So sit back, relax, and let’s go through these songs (and my multiple crashouts) together.
Rena’s Radio: Week of 2/15-2/21
Sunday (2/15): “Sunday Morning” by No Doubt
We can (once again) thank my mother for my knowledge of this song, so everyone say “thank you, Kim!” No Doubt has been a staple in my playlists since I had my tiny little Sansa MP3 player, and “Sunday Morning” has been one of my favorites ever since Tragic Kingdom was downloaded on that MP3 in 2007. It’s definitely a “scream in your car” song, and that is precisely what I was doing (ironically) on Sunday morning.
Favorite lyric: “Thank you for turning on the lights/thank you, now you’re the parasite.”
Monday (2/16): “All the Things She Said” by T.a.T.u.
While I’ve loved this song for years, I totally forgot it existed until I binged Heated Rivalry. So thank you, Heated Rivalry, for reminding me that this absolute banger existed.
A small look into my teenage years is necessary for my love for “All the Things She Said.” Before I came out as bisexual, this was my most-played song for probably about three years. It was so relatable, especially as a teenager trying to figure out if she’d be accepted in society if she came out and spoke her truth.
The fear of being accepted, the stress of keeping feelings under wraps, and the emotions that were involved in the entire situation were insane. This song definitely was an outlet for me, and seeing it in Heated Rivalry (especially in the scene it was highlighted in? Beautiful. Gutwrenching. 10/10.) Brought me back to those years in an instant. For anyone in a similar situation, I see you, and I’m supporting you from afar.
Favorite lyric: For this song, I don’t have a favorite lyric, but the instrumental break in the middle of the song is my absolute favorite part. It’s such an intense breakdown, and I love it to pieces.
Tuesday (2/17): “I Don’t F*** With You” by Big Sean
It was a bad day, guys.
Favorite lyric: “I’m never sentimental, go hard or go homeless.”
Wednesday (2/18): “Drag Path” by twenty one pilots
I genuinely don’t have enough words to describe how happy I was when I saw they decided to release this song on all platforms. I think I actually almost cried. The “Drag Path” edits on TikTok that I’ve seen for months have brought me to tears multiple times, and I’ve been trying to find it on any streaming site since I heard it for the first time.
It’s such a beautiful song, and the music video was incredible, like, come on, stop animation in the year 2026? I love both the video and song so much, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if it ends up in my top 5 on my replay this year.
Favorite lyric: “I dug my heels into the gravel/as evidence for you to unravel.”
Thursday (2/19): “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer
Alysa Liu, you absolute queen. What an iconic routine this was.
I grew up listening to Donna Summer, but I actually had never heard this song before (to my Aunt Gloria, I am so sorry, and I promise I will educate myself in the history of Donna Summer further). Even though this was a “new” song to me, I instantly recognized that it was by the icon Miss Summer herself and fell in love with it. Plus, the fact that Alysa’s routine was one of the best skating routines I have ever seen just added to the fact that this probably became one of my favorite “new” songs of the year.
Favorite lyric: “Spring was never waiting for us dear/it ran one step ahead/as we followed in the dance.”
Friday (2/20): “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
To the USA women’s hockey team, I was so excited when y’all won that I literally announced it in the middle of my class. Also, here’s a quick fun fact: Laila Edwards became the first black woman to win gold in ice hockey for Team USA. Happy Black History Month to you, Laila. We are all so proud of you for making history.
Anyway, for anyone who doesn’t know why I’m talking about the women’s hockey team for Team USA, the guitar solo from “Free Bird” was actually the goal song for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams. “Free Bird” is seen as an extremely “MURICA” coded song with eagles flying overhead and red, white, and blue fireworks exploding behind the person listening to it, so it made complete sense to use it for the song playing when a goal is scored by Team USA. Since the women’s team won on Thursday, that’s why I chose it for Friday’s song.
Also, another view into my past: I vividly remember the first time I heard the “Free Bird” guitar solo. I was three years old, listening to 92.9 Jack FM in the backseat of my mom’s Ford Explorer. I heard the very beginning of that solo and instantly decided that not only was the electric guitar my favorite instrument, but also that Lynyrd Skynyrd was absolutely incredible and I would love them forever. 22 years later, drums are now my favorite instrument, but my love for Lynyrd Skynyrd and “Free Bird” has never wavered.
Favorite lyric: “But please don’t take it so badly/’cause lord knows I’m to blame.”
Saturday (2/21): “Hate My Life” by Theory of a Deadman
Okay, so this is now the second eyebrow-raising song in our playlist for this week. However, there was so much that went so violently wrong between Friday night and Saturday morning that I have to explain some of it to everyone, because so much went wrong that it’s almost unbelievable. So, here we go:
-I hit a pothole on my way to work. Tire? Exploded. Hub cap? Bent. Teeth? Slammed together from the force of the pothole. Hotel? Trivago.
-I kept driving my car, not realizing anything was wrong. Why, you may ask? Well, because the pothole scrambled every single one of my brain cells, and it took approximately seven business minutes (and two business miles) before my car started shaking like a maraca in a two-year-old’s possession, and I realized that there was something violently wrong with my car.
-I pull into a parking lot to inspect my car. My car’s front tire looked like the aftermath of a cartoon character being beaten by an anvil.
-My dad came to my rescue and brought me to work (thanks dad!)
-AAA could not fix my tire because my spare didn’t have a rim installed in it. My Friday night was going great, guys, thank you for asking.
-I called for a tow to the tire shop 250 feet down the road. Scarlett is towed away, down one foot, and her will to even be a car anymore. I don’t blame her in the slightest.
-My mother and I arrive at the tire shop the next morning. We are unaware that the rim on my car is bent, and my key was left in the ignition all night IN THE ON POSITION. So not only can my tire not be fixed, but my car is also dead. I am crying. My mother is trying to keep what’s left of my sanity intact. The tire shop guy is concerned, and probably realizing that he hasn’t had enough coffee to handle this 20-something-year-old girl actively letting Jesus take her wheel at 8:01 a.m.
-AAA is called again. It takes the poor man almost 30 minutes to get into my car because (a) it’s sleeting and everything is wet, (b) the battery is dead, and (c) why would anything in my life be easy for anyone involved at this point?
-He gets the keys! Life is amazing! Scarlett is towed away to my mechanic, down a foot, a rim, and the ability to even be started.
So here we are on Sunday night, waiting on pins and needles to hear from my mechanic tomorrow morning. Therefore, “Hate My Life” was the logical choice to finish this week’s songs, because believe me, it was very, very valid.
Favorite lyric: “Nothing turns out all right, there’s no end in sight.”
Here are the Apple Music and Spotify links to Rena’s Radio, and I hope you all have enjoyed this week’s song choices and the celebrations, recollections, and chaos that went along with them.
I’ll see everyone next week for the next edition of Rena’s Radio!
