The Sounds of Aquarius Season
The second-to-last sign on the Zodiac wheel, Aquarius takes the lessons of hardworking, ambitious Capricorn season and ushers them into a new era. Where Capricorn embraces tradition, Aquarius eschews it.
Aquarius is a humanitarian sign, but they’re not exactly what one might call “cuddly.” No, they’re independent and aloof—they’ve got big hearts, but they’re focused on solving big problems. They can get so focused on the Big Picture that they lose sight of the here and now.
Like the other air signs, they tend to live inside their own heads. They just get a hell of a lot more esoteric about it. If Gemini wants to know everything about everything that crosses their path and Libra is focused on discovering what makes the people around them tick, then Aquarius is off thinking about how to solve all of the Universe’s big problems, like why we’re here, what it all means and how to reverse climate change. When I think of Aquarians, I think of Oprah, Harry Styles and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.
Aquarians are also very into being ✨unique✨ and forging new trails. You’ll get what they’re doing in like three years. Or not. Aquarius is good with it either way.
Select Liner Notes:
“Aquarius” by Tinashe: I mean, duh.
“oh baby” by LCD Soundsystem: “All My Friends” is, like, the ultimate Aquarius song (Aquarius is associated with friendships and wider social networks) but I included that last year. So this year it’s “oh baby,” which happens to have a music video directed by Rian Johnson and starring Sissy Spacek. There’s math and teleportation and romance and tragedy and it’s so fucking Aquarius it hurts.
“Canyon Moon” by Harry Styles
“The Steps” by HAIM
“Age of Consent” by New Order
“The Cave - Live” by Mumford & Sons: For anyone going through their Saturn Return in Aquarius right now, this song perfectly encapsulates those vibes. I love these intellectual dorks and their lyrical references to Plato, Shakespeare and Greek mythology.
“Strangers Like Me” by Phil Collins
“Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel: Honestly it just tickled my fancy to put the Genesis boys next to each other.
“Folding Chair” by Regina Spektor
“Touch the Sky” by Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco: Lupe is the Aquarius here, Ye is famously a Gemini.
“This Land” by Gary Clark Jr.: A pounding protest anthem SCREAMING for change, in true Aquarius fashion.
“Day ‘N’ Nite (nightmare)” by Kid Cudi
“Duel of the Fates” by John Williams: Even if you listen to this on shuffle, I am begging you to listen to the transition of Day ‘N’ Nite into Duel of the Fates. It came up on shuffle one day and it’s actually so good.
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses: There’s a surprising amount of 70s/80s glam/hair metal type musicians who are Aquarians. Cinderella, Alice Cooper, Journey and Van Halen did not make the cut. Guns N’ Roses did.
“Basket Case” by Green Day
“Wedding in Finistère” by Jens Lekman
“I Was An Eagle” by Laura Marling
“30/90” by Jonathan Larson from tick, tick… BOOM!’
“Megan’s Piano” by Megan Thee Stallion
“Sacrifice” by The Weeknd
“Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley & The Wailers
“Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) - Live Version” by Shakira
“Harry’s Wondrous World” by John Williams
“Smooth” by Santana feat. Rob Thomas: Rob is the Aquarius here. But this is easily his best song, even if it is technically a Santana song.
“Time to Pretend” by MGMT
“Purple Rain” by Etta James
“Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
“Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man
“Yes, I’m A Witch” by Yoko Ono
“A Change Would Do You Good” by Sheryl Crow
“I Feel It All” by Feist: Because, despite their aloof exterior, Aquarians really do feel it all.
“Symphony No. 6 in F Major, K. 43: IV. Allegro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King
“This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole
“A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke
“Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon
“Stonehenge” by Spinal Tap: Remember what I said earlier about 70s/80s glam/hair metal? Might as well throw the brilliant satire by Sir Christopher Guest (aka Mr. Jamie Lee Curtis) on here. And the subject matter of Stonehenge is MUCH more Aquarian than “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight.”
“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond with the London Symphony Orchestra: A sweeping orchestral version of every white person’s favorite song to sing in a bar that’s not Billy Joel or Journey or Mr. Brightside. (I say this as a white person who has sung all of the above in bars.)
“End Credits” by John Williams from Jurassic Park: I deliberately picked John Williams scores from films about space, magic and dinosaurs. But Cantina Band is still my favorite and the best, as evidenced by the fact that someone made a ten hour loop of it. Not to mention the disco version. What can I say? I’m a big fan of jizz.
