Unfortified Castle

Zedd's serene house-pop production featuring Troye Sivan was the first track of its kind that impressed me with the greater story it told.

Elderbrook and Bob Moses' lyrically driven house production has been a personal anthem since I first heard it about half a year ago.

As weird as that sounds, that's exactly how Sting positions his lyrics in one of the Police's many timeless hits.

Ed Sheeran's tale of one Angel grapples with connection, addiction, and its subject's all-too-likely fate.

Their title track from last summer's EP has an unavoidable gravitas as it speaks to the fallout the innocent suffer from war.

In The Weeknd's newest single, he revels in his old lifestyle one last time before his outlook on love shifts across the rest of the album.

Why? It just kind of happened once, and I've kept it up since... but I try to read into it anyway.

Bread's hit celebrates the music maker while also reminding listeners that fame is so often temporary.

Uncommon instruments for pop and a spin on a heartbreak narrative make for an iconic soul number.

The nostalgia the Smashing Pumpkins evoke isn't rose-colored, but that's fine, if not good; it means their song helps me honestly reflect.

Elliot Lurie and Looking Glass relay just enough to the listener to make their story both succinct and rich.

A R I Z O N A sonically track their narrator's heart opening up as they unexpectedly feel love.