Women Writers Wrap 2024: Songs That Mattered Most & Why

Substack writers from musicians to publishers share why these songs mattered

Rather than publish my own “best of” list this year, I curated songs that mattered most to women Substackers who positively impacted my year with their words and wisdom.

From musicians to poets to magazine publishers, these women cover a variety of topics in their writing. Invitations to submit a song by a female act went out via DM, and the response was touching, to say the least. The strong, hopeful, vulnerable, and defiant song choices take you on a journey that encapsulates 2024 through their ears.

If you don’t already subscribe to these writers’ publications, please consider doing so.

I would love to know which song by a female act meant the most to YOU in 2024 and why you chose it. It doesn’t matter when the song was released, just that it meant a lot to you this year!

This is the last Herizon Music newsletter of 2024. January 2025 will kick off with some sizzling podcast interviews, new music releases, and the premium series “Hidden Tracks.” Upgrade to a paid subscription for access to “Hidden Tracks” by December 25th and get 50% OFF the annual sub rate. That’s only $36 for 12-months of premium content. Gift it for yourself or someone else!

Women Writers Wrap 2024: Songs That Mattered Most & Why

Writer: Cassidy Frost
Substack Pub: Dedicate Your Life To Music, a newsletter & community where musicians learn to build and monetize their own high-value fanbases.
SOTY: Brennan Wedl - “2 Dollar Pistol”

“This is the song that’s been stuck hardest in my head this year. The tone of Brennan Wedl’s voice scratches an itch deep in my brain. She’s sublime. In the song, Brennan encourages a musician friend who is ready to give up. I’ve leaned on this song myself in tough moments and exciting ones. It’s like the perfect song to me.”

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Writer: Sintija Brence
Substack Pub: Grunge Included, Notes and Essays on Grunge, Protest Music, Musicology, Art, Design and Politics.
SOTY: Roxette - “One Wish”

“Marie Fredriksson is one of my favourite singers and Roxette was always playing in my household when growing up (and still does), whether it was Christmas time or New Year's Day. ''One Wish'' is uplifting, hopeful and fun, and this year with everything that has been going on in the world, I think it's the perfect song to look ahead with hope.”

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Writer: Tara Dublin
Substack Pub: Tara Dublin Is Trying to Sell Her Book to Hollywood!
SOTY: Taylor Swift - “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”

“There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t understand the “fake it til you make it” message of that song. We have been socialized to put on our happy faces even when we’re miserable and nobody even knows.”

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Writer: Joi
Substack Pub: Joi, I’m a multi-passionate artist with a radio show called Electric Radio Club who writes about creative projects, what's inspiring my lately, and life situations that always relate to song lyrics.
SOTY: Amyl and The Sniffers - "U Should Not Be Doing That"

“I love this song cuz it's about women doing whatever the hell they want despite the criticism we get and most importantly, knowing our worth. This song resonates with me because this year I started hosting in-person music meetups. Since we always see men dominate music spaces, I've faced many challenges hosting music events as a woman music enthusiast because society rarely recognizes that women know good music too.”

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Writer: Lori Christian
Substack Pub: Rock & Roll Girl, Former L.A. music biz/scenester BOMP! Records & Warner Bros. Records. Sharing my memoirs/photos. My husband is Chris Wilson formerly of the Flamin' Groovies and The Barracudas.
SOTY: Stevie Nicks - The Lighthouse

“I choose this song by one of my all time favorite and legendary singers, Stevie Nicks. A very brave empowerment song for women who are under attack by strangers in our government. It alarmed me seeing Idaho is enacting a travel ban for women seeking to leave the State for an abortion. Women are under attack and losing freedoms we once had in America. It terrifies me like a Margaret Atwood book ‘The Handmaids Tale.’ Gives me nightmares.”

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Writer: Rachel Cabitt
Substack Pub: The Art of Cover Art researches album art's history across decades, genres, trends, design elements, specific artists’ discography, technology, culture and more
SOTY: Cassandra Jenkins - "Delphinium Blue"

“This year, I fell into ambient and spoken word albums. I had always known of Cassandra Jenkins's music but hadn't fully immersed myself in it until this year, when her album My Light, My Destroyer was released. Her resonance on the single ‘Delphinium Blue’ puts me at such ease.”

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Writer: Alicia Dare
Substack Pub: Womancake Magazine, Slices of wisdom by women age 40+. Wildly inspiring interviews, personal essays, podcast episodes, poetry and visual art delivered right to your inbox.
SOTY: Joan as Police Woman - “The Dream”

“My pick for 2024 is ‘The Dream’ by Joan As Police Woman. I think of it as a reminder that women need to hold on to our dreams in the face of whatever is coming next for us in America. If we can stay attuned to our dreams, and keep them vivid, their power will help guide us through. Last night I dreamed I came up with a method of storytelling that got through to the most uncreative, unartistic people in power, and it changed their minds about denying climate destruction, and they changed all the laws to support new efforts for sustainability. May it be so.”

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Writer: Shanté
Substack Pub: things i collected, things i collected is my digital space to muse about music, maximalism, memorabilia, mysticism, and more!
SOTY: Angélica Garcia - “Paloma”

“This song speaks to a divine love that transcends the earthly realm. Throughout all that I experienced this year, love kept me going.”

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Writer: Alisa Kennedy Jones
Substack Pub: gotham girl, Content, community, and connection dedicated to the art and science of midlife women thriving.
SOTY: Bebe Stockwell - “Minor Inconveniences”

“For me... the song is about anxiety and 2024 was a year of total anxiety--recovering from a fairly major accident at the end of 2023, being thrust into eldercare mode in July, the stress and sadness of the election, getting detained in China last month, and then launching Empress Editions (an indie press for midlife women) just last week--I'll take the ‘minor inconveniences’ that make up life and I'll be doing just fine.”

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Writer: Amy McGrath
Substack Pub: Write Hear – Pop Culture & The Beatles, music musings from hear and far with a topping of The Beatles.
SOTY: Laura Jane Grace - “Dysphoria Hoodie”

“Grace is top of my list for 2024. As a transgender person, Grace makes plain the current state of the US with her ability to voice frustration, anger and with this particular song, well-being and fear. While the melody and indeed the lyrics harken to the counterculture folk pioneers of the 1960s, Grace has brought this quiet anthem right into the present day, describing an inanimate piece of clothing as the only friend that gives comfort, but can also convey the volcanic emotions of self-preservation as someone who lives outside the norm.”

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Writers: Cheryl Wischhover and Fawnia Soo Hoo
Substack Pub: Whatever Nevermind, we explore how the '80s and '90s influence current pop culture and feature Gen X'ers doing cool stuff.
SOTY for Cheryl: Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe”
SOTY for Fawnia: “Villian Era”

Cheryl: “This is probably not at all an original choice, but "Good Luck, Babe" by Chappell Roan is the song that made the biggest impact on me this year. (No video, because she is "too tired," and that is the most relatable defining sentiment of 2024 if I ever heard one!) I'm embarrassed to say for the past several years I have mostly listened to older music, but Chappell shook me out of it. The Wham-esque synth drew me in originally, and her relatable, timeless lyrics and catchy music have kept her a constant on my playlists.”

Fawnia: “As I’m gleefully, and professionally, setting my holiday OOO messages, I really wish I could sign off for the year with the chorus rant from ‘Villain Era,’ one of the absolute bangers from the criminally under-watched [series] We Are Lady Parts. Amina (Anjana Vasan), the introverted microbiologist-slash-lead guitarist of a London-based Muslim all-female punk band pens the “girl power song” that rails against the patriarchy (i.e. her boss “Jimmy,” who keeps pilfering her yogurt from the office fridge). In reality, the riotously funny earworms are co-written by series creator Nida Mansoor (like how talented can one person be?!). The show’s soundtrack also features fire covers of Gen X anthems by Queen, Dolly Parton, and Britney Spears (and Amina gives a swoony yet hilarious rendition of Extreme’s “More Than Words” in season two.) Considering how 2024 went, I’m going into 2025 shout-singing: “Self-care, bad bitch, I'm a villain, I'm a villain! Out of officе email saying, 'Zero fսcks given!!'“

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Writer: Diona Renee
Substack Pub: Is This Thing On? is a cute little corner where I share my hot takes, opinions, and favorites on music that means the most to me.
SOTY: SZA - “Ghost In The Machine”

“‘Ghost in the Machine,’ the 12th track on SZA’s SOS album, critiques human nature while also highlighting the deep need for connection. The song feels especially relevant in today’s society, where increased isolation has become a major issue in our society. This song moves me everytime I listen to it — excellent songwriting by SZA and Phoebe!”

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Writer: Lo Carmen
Substack Pub: Loose Connections, a weekly newsletter by singer-songwriter/Harper Collins published author Lo Carmen; essays, insights, deep dives, themed playlists and recommendations around music and culture.
SOTY: Queen Kwong - “State Trooper”

“Queen Kwong's excellent new EP symbolises what we needed to hear in 2024 perfectly - cool, hypnotic music that takes no prisoners and turns the patriarchy inside out.”

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Writer: Mallie Hart
Substack Pub: Mallie's Eclectic Playlist is about music discovery, both looking backward and forward.
SOTY: Pom Pom Squad - “Doll Song”

“There were so many options this year, as 2024 was FULL of fantastic female and female-fronted releases. I chose this for the messaging, especially with the future of women fraught with doubt. I refuse to sit, silent, like a doll, allowing others to manipulate my limbs, my feelings, and my future.”

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Writer: Gloria Horton-Young
Substack Pub: She Who Stirs The Storm, Poet, painter, story teller, rabble-rouser — a tempest in red lipstick. Expect provocative opinion, spirited rants, and lots of laughter.
SOTY: Shelley Segal performing, Leonard Cohen - “Dance Me to the End of Love”

“I have been both haunted and saved by the demons and angels in Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Dance Me to the End of Love.’ I wrote a dozen poems while listening to his song performed by numerous artists.”

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Writer: Jennifer Finch
Substack Pub: SH!T MY ROCKSTAR SAYS. I’m an artist +musician born/raised in Los Angeles. You may know me from my work with L7 + the singer of Other Star People + Shocker. You might not know that I have a ❤️ for writing— especially “What The Fuck…” w/media, culture and collective memory.
SOTY: L7 - "Burn Baby"

“The song ‘Burn Baby’ by L7 serves as a reminder that the systems of oppression we face are designed to make us believe we are divided. In truth, our diversity is beautiful and powerful. We are more alike than we realize, and standing united in the face of policies like those proposed in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project is more crucial than ever. ‘At the end of the day, we will all burn—burn at the stake.’”