Midlife Playlist Listening Notes

If you want to give my Midlife Playlist a listen, here are my notes on each of the tracks.

‘Once in a Lifetime’, Talking Heads

This seemed like the perfect song to open with. The first few songs represent that feeling that we get in midlife that there must be more to it and we maybe start questioning what’s going on: “And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife. And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’ Letting the days go by….” Same as it ever was. If you’re feeling this, maybe it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to find answers to those questions you’re asking yourself.

‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’, Reverend and the Makers

This song was released when I was 47. Every single lyric spoke to me: “I could’ve been a someone. Caught up in the rat race, I’m feeling like a no-one.” Is ‘the same old routine repeating week after week’ for you?

‘Rockstar’, Nickelback

This was another track that came along at exactly the time I was ready to hear it - I was 48 in 2008. “This life hasn’t turned out quite the way I want it to be”. All the ‘I want’ lyrics and the social comparison to people you think have it better than you. That’s exactly what I was experiencing at that point.

‘What’s Up?’, 4 Non Blondes

Even though the band wrote this when they were in their late twenties, obviously it was a big song in lockdown when I was doing a lot of thinking and reflecting (just like pretty much everyone else!) I was “feeling a little peculiar” and wrestling with the question “What’s going on?” on every front.

‘Everybody Hurts’, R.E.M.

What a beautiful song. While I was feeling pretty low at 48-50, it was the slow realisation that everybody has stuff going on and that what I was feeling was actually pretty normal for my age. That gave me hope. And encouragement that other people must have found a way through it, so I could too.

‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, Stealers Wheel

Despite being the slightly sinister soundtrack to an iconic scene in Reservoir Dogs, this song always lifts my mood because it seems to make fun of the stuck feeling. Plus, if you have someone with you when you’re surrounded by ‘clowns and jokers’, that makes it a little easier to get through. This is the point I was “trying to make some sense of it all”. Here, we’re just entering the messy middle phase…

‘The Middle’, Jimmy Eat World

Apparently the band wrote this song for a teenage fan that was feeling out of place. But I think it works just as well for midlifers feeling the same thing” “You’re in the middle of the ride. Everything will be just fine.” 

‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, U2

So at this point, you know there must be more to it, and you’re searching for what that might be. But the answer almost never pops up as soon as you ask the question. You have to try all sorts of things - as Bono does - and it still might not magically appear. What I’ve found is that it’s the act of seeking that results in the answer finding you, often where you least expect it. It’s not about trying to find some secret location where the buried treasure is. In fact, there is no single answer. That’s the beauty of the search - you never know what you’ll turn up or how things can combine in unique ways just for you.

‘More Than This’, Roxy Music

This song echoes that feeling. “Who can say where we’re going?” Midlife might be the first time you’ve embarked on a journey where you don’t know the destination. And it can feel really uncomfortable! In my experience, you just have to trust the process and know that there is ‘more than this’ - you just don’t know what that is yet.

‘Changes’, David Bowie

At this point you’re actively working on stuff - making some changes. While some of those might be external, the most important ones are the ones that you’re mking in yourself: “So I turned myself to face me”.

‘A Design For Life’, Manic Street Preachers

This song is tailor made for my approach! In terms of life design, this middle phase is all about testing, experiment and exploring. Using design thinking principles try some things out in a low-risk way gives you real evidence of what will work longer term and that it’s the right direction to go in.

‘Born to Be Wild’, Steppenwolf

I have always thought of this as a classic ‘midlife crisis’ type song - probably because of how it was used in Easy Rider and the connection to motorcycles. But in this playlist, I see it as the launchpad for a redeisgned midlife and a new attitude to move forward with: “Looking for adventure and whatever comes our way…Go make it happen, take the world in a love embrace”

‘When You Were Young’, The Killers

We’re huge Killers fans in our family and have seen them live many times - this is the song they often close the show with. “Can we climb this mountain? I don’t know. I know we can make it if we take it slow.” Midlife is often talked about as being like a second mountain to climb after having established yourself in adulthood. And this song can certainly power you up it.

‘I’m Still Standing’, Elton John.

“Well look at me, I’m a-comin’ back again” Another powerful song to re-energise you for this next phase. I know the song’s about a relationship, but you could see it as a metaphor for your relationship with your former self - “Pickin’ up the pieces of my life without you on my mind”.

‘When I Grow Up’, Garbage.

Another one slightly out of context, but the key line here for me is “When I grow up I’ll turn the tables”. We’re always growing (hopefully), and this is about confounding expectations. The other line that speaks to me is “Trying hard to fit among you”. Midlife is often a time when we realise it’s time to shake off whatever notion we had of always having to ‘fit in’ and how important it is to follow our own path.

‘There’s More to Life Than This’, Bjork

I’m an old raver and this section of the playlist moves from rock to more dance-oriented tracks to reflect a change in energy in this third phase. It’s the realisation that there IS more to life and sometimes we could take a leaf out of Bjork’s book and approach it in a more carefree way.

‘Alright’, Red Carpet

This is a less well know track dating back to 2004. I have a very vivid memory of first hearing it on a long drive home from Dundee as the sun was setting. Whenever things get really tough, it’s always worth remembering tomorrow is a new day. One of my dad’s mottos was ‘This too shall pass’ (whether it was good times or bad times). But wherever you are, it’s worth remembering there are always “Brighter days on the horizon.”

‘Things Can Only Get Better’, D:Ream

In a similar vein, when you find yourself at a low point (because life always has something to throw at us, no matter how well things are going), things can only get better. When you have the tools to design the way you want your life to look, it gives you a certain confidence that you can always get through tough stuff in future. 

‘Life’s What You Make It’, Talk Talk

Life is indeed what you make it. And if I was to sum up how my coaching clients feel as their programmes come to an end, this would probably encapsulate it. They leave with a sense that they are more in control of their lives than they were before, they can do things they didn’t think were possible and they have the tools to cope with whatever comes their way in future and iterate on their life design as they go. “Celebrate it, anticipate it”.

‘The Forest Is The Path’, Snow Patrol

This is a very personal song for me. Gary Lightbody wrote a book of the same name to accompany the album release in 2025, talking about how he processed the grief of losing his father to dementia in 2019. I lost my dad to dementia in 2020. I love a path metaphor and, when this came out in March 2025, I had been toying with the name Brightpath Partners for the business. When I read the book and heard the song, I knew it was the right name. Often, when we realise the direction we want to take in life, there is no well worn path to follow - we have to cut our own way through.

‘Be Thankful For What You’ve Got’, Massive Attack

As we begin to wind down, this song is a reminder to appreciate what we have. We can get so caught up in social comparison. And yet we almost always compare upwards - what we’re missing or what we don’t have compared to others. We hardly ever compare downwards and think about how lucky we are compared to millions (or even billions) of people on the planet. “Just be thankful for what you’ve got”.

‘Right Here, Right Now’, Jesus Jones.

This song was big when I was a student and marked the start of a new decade in 1990 - just after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Nelson Mandela’s release. I remember feeling like anything was possible at that time. Even though the world is a very different place now, anything is possible at any given moment. We should all try and be more present - in the moment - appreciating what we’ve got and who we’re with on life’s journey.