As I go about these cold winter days, I find myself gravitating to Hana Vu’s “Crying on the Subway” over and over again. Vu’s tenor perfectly embodies the struggles of trying to grow up; this sophistication, coupled with her Tumblr teen sounds, offers a unique appeal for college students like myself who are transitioning into adulthood. It reverberates against the backtrack’s steady heartbeat like the yearning rhythm of guitar strings, “Crying on the Subway” pours an upbeat current of angst over the incessantly dull humdrum of daily life. The song transports me into the isolation and monotony of the subway, where emotions are sharpest, most revelatory yet also anonymous. There is no climactic beat drop; instead, Vu is assertive and lucid in their melancholy. Perhaps that artistic choice is representative of how anguish exists in the mundane routines of the everyday — where love and grief are cries muffled by a less desirable forever promised by a nine-to-five. 

Listen to the rest of this week’s playlist here!