On Music That Makes This World Feel Slightly More Survivable
From existential pop anthems to deeply nostalgic heartbreak ballads, Hector’s picks reflect a listener who turns to music for escape, reflection, and emotional release.
Hector (@hectorlistensto) joins us for the May 11 to 15 prompts as someone whose relationship with music is, in part, a cathartic process. His selections move between existential electropop, nostalgic heartbreak ballads, and artists who turn chaos into identity.
The prompts offer a closer look at the different ways Hector connects with music and the emotions attached to it. One asks him to choose an interlude he believes deserves to be a full-length song, while another focuses on an album cover with water, one that according to the artist captures the feeling of remaining calm in the face of danger. A different prompt turns toward an album from the previous year that has stayed in rotation, and another explores a song that helped him through a difficult period in his life, where his then-current life experiences found themselves written into a song. The final prompt shifts toward an emerging artist he believes more people should be paying attention to.
What's an interlude that deserves to be a full-length song?
Even though it’s almost 3 minutes long, this interlude from Rina Sawayama’s debut album is more relevant than ever. It highlights the current state of the world: the inequality between the rich and the rest of us. How the rich keep taking from others to line their pockets, how the world is dying due to our inability to put our differences aside and take care of the only planet we can call home.
This interlude is a political statement wrapped in an angsty electropop beat. It is the definition of what many of us dream about almost every day. What if we could escape? What if we had the chance to start over somewhere else and forget about all of our problems and the shitty world we live in.
I truly believe that at some point everyone has experienced that sense of self-doubt and regret for things we have done or things we have said. In the second part of the interlude, Rina daydreams of starting a new life on Mars. Rina sings about the chance to start over, do things right this time around, and correct all the mistakes we’ve made on Earth to finally have the sense that everything will be alright.
The fantasy lands because the reality bites. A new planet sounds nice, right? But we don’t get one, we still get this one. And when you sit with that for a second, the only honest response left is the one Rina gives you: Fuck this world! Three minutes of electro-pop, a whole existential crisis you can dance to.
Which album cover with water do you love?
My 2024 Album of the Year, no contest. Dua Lipa described Radical Optimism’s cover as “that feeling of chaos and danger and unexpected things coming into your periphery and remaining calm in the face of it. It felt powerful to me.” And she’s right… Dua, in open water, staring at shark fin cutting toward her? It’s a gut-punch visual. There are other fantastic shots from the album photoshoot, but this one nails the title. Calm meets danger. Control inside the storm.
Released in May 2024, this record hasn’t left my on-rotation deck. Radical Optimism showcases Dua’s musical evolution compared to her previous two albums. You get the instant bops such as the singles “Houdini” and “Illusion” that are highlights of the record, but also album tracks such as “Whatcha Doing” with its funky beat. Then she delivers more personal and vulnerable tracks like “These Walls,” “Happy For You,” and my personal favorite, “Falling Forever,” which honestly deserved that final single slot. It’s vulnerable and showcases Dua’s vocal abilities.
This wasn’t the album everyone predicted, but that’s exactly why it works. It showcases her talent as a singer and songwriter. The album is cohesive and the sequencing is airtight, so much so that it’s the first Dua album without a deluxe edition. The 11 tracks tell a complete story without the need for additional tracks.
Radical Optimism breathes summer. With the season creeping back around the corner, I already know it’s about to live on repeat again and honestly… I’m not mad about it! Some albums you grow out of. This one grows with you.
Which album from last year do you still have in rotation?
GOOD LUCK GETTING OVER ME is pure, unapologetic, high energy pop music. The beats are the definition of electro-pop adrenaline. It’s sleek, glossy, and built for movement. It sounds expensive without feeling distant. You can hear the club in it, you feel the bass in your chest, the synth stabs beg for a hair flip, the choruses engineered for scream-singing with strangers. It’s pregame, peak night, and the messy afterparty all in one track list.
Grant calls it “a fucking fun album” and he’s not exaggerating. He made this record for “the 1am club goers, the 100 mph car rides, and the hot, sweaty midnights. Every song has its own pulse, its own little universe.” Strung together, the tracks map the whole storm that hits after heartbreak, the chaos, the crying in the shower, the therapy, and then that sudden, slightly reckless confidence that shows up wearing your ex’s hoodie like a trophy.
What makes this album stick isn’t just the tempo. Between the high-energy bangers, Grant drops slower moments that hit like a comedown conversation on someone’s balcony. That’s where his songwriting capabilities really shine. You get the melodies that lodge in your head for days, but also the vulnerability that keeps it from being just another club record. Grant can do fun and he can do feelings, sometimes in the same verse.
Released in October 2025, GOOD LUCK GETTING OVER ME hasn’t left my rotation since. It’s the rare pop record that’s both a party and a person. Brash, self-aware, a little overconfident, and impossible not to dance to.
What's a song that got you through a difficult time?
Siberia wasn’t a single, but it’s a fan favorite off Never Gone, the Backstreet Boys' 5th studio album released in 2005. Siberia tells the story of unrequited love and a failing relationship, when the other person decides to break things off because they no longer want to be with you, and leaves.
That summer I lived every lyric… I was dating a man who was five years older than me. He was smart, he was kind, he was decent-looking, but he was in the closet. Our relationship was a classic textbook millennial gay relationship… We met on the internet, and we really liked each other (or at least I thought so). He treated me well, and we always had a nice time together, but in secret. Since he was not out, he was terrified to be seen together in a “compromising” situation like holding hands, having lunch, being at the park… basically anything public. I was understanding because I know how difficult it can be for someone to come out, especially when they’re afraid that they will lose the support of their family and loved ones.
We dated for a few months, and since I was younger than him and naive, I fell for him… HARD. We would chat over MSN Messenger every night, we would send each other messages on Myspace, and we would make time a few times a week to see each other. Then one day out of nowhere, a message popped up on MSN: “I need space. We can still be friends. Call me if you need to talk.” By the next morning, I was blocked. A few days later, his number was disconnected. No explanation. No closure. Just silence. Never Gone was released shortly after, in June of 2005, and I immediately connected with many tracks in the album, but Siberia was an instant favorite because the lyrics hit home and very closely described the situation I had just gone through.
I saw the Backstreet Boys live at their residency last February, when those opening chords of Siberia started, my chest tightened. For 4 minutes, I was young again, heartbroken and healing at the same time. It was definitely a highlight of the night for me. The song is very nostalgic to me as it got me through that difficult heartbreak.
Which emerging artist would you put someone onto?
If you haven’t fallen down the Slayyyter rabbit hole yet, consider this your formal invitation to the best party in pop. I’ve been hooked since her Troubled Paradise era with tracks like “Clouds,” “Butterflies,” and “Villain,” Slayyyter immediately proved she was more than just a “hyperpop” flash in the pan. I had the opportunity to see her live at a Las Vegas Pride event in 2021 which solidified it for me, Slayyyter has an unmatched ability to make the underground feel massive.
While her second album, Starfucker, was a masterclass in 80s-inspired electropop (honestly, “Rhinestone Heart,” “My Body,” and “Out Of Time” are still daily spins), her new project, Wor$t Girl In America, is where she truly plays the hand she was dealt and wins. After nearly a decade of grinding, she’s finally seized the mainstream spotlight she’s earned. This album is pure, unfiltered Slayyyter! Raw, chaotic, and wonderfully unpredictable. From the “iPod-era” nostalgia of “BEAT UP CHANNEL$” to the aggressive energy of “CRANK” and “YES GODDD.” WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA is a portrait of an artist who has stopped chasing trends and started setting them.
She’s the emerging artist that refuses to stay in one lane and checking her out means expecting the unexpected, and she never misses.
For Hector, music often works as both escape and emotional release. A lot of the songs and albums he connects with the most are tied to specific moments in his life. Whether that’s a difficult heartbreak, a late-night drive, a concert memory, or simply that summer album with bops and vulnerability. He gravitates toward music that feels emotionally honest… the kind of records that let you dance, reflect, spiral a little, and come out feeling lighter on the other side. Even years later, certain songs can still remind him of the exact emotions he felt back then, which is probably why his relationship with music continues to feel so personal.
A chronically online record collector with a soft spot for the pop girlies, late-night listening sessions, and albums that blur together with memory, nostalgia, and emotion.
