down - marian hill // any commentary on this would be redundant, but in their genius notations, they said this song is something like an invitation, and i love that. it’s a perfect set-up for pancakes, too (save for the bit about dancing).

here if you want (pale blue) - MOSSS // every line, every word. everything. great, great song. perfect for pancakes.

i want you - marian hill // “you look like friday night”; “i’ve been so tired on the weekend/i’ve been holding on too tight/i never thought i’d be thinking/i want you”; “don’t make me play this game/don’t have the time to waste/don’t need to read my mind/’cause i’ll just tell you straight” lots of great lyrics for pancakes, but more than that, i love the tone in this song. flirty, teasing, (of course) sexual, and fun. the repetition of “i want you” is great, and i mention it a lot in all this commentary. at the core of axe and ryan’s relationship, platonic or romantic or sexual or whatever, the basic thing is they want each other, so this song was a pretty obvious win (especially with the “this isn’t forever, i just want you right now” kind of idea).

got me started - troye sivan // i will just emphasize the entire concept of “we got something to give each other”

young like us - frans // i love this song for all nine of them. it says a lot of what i wanted pancakes to say. we have a little bit of natalie and ryan in the beginning: “you may not see the consequences of your actions/and never think twice, always thin ice”. then the chorus picks up and swings you into something a little lighter that sounds a lot like being young, and then “did i mention you’re pretty?” that’s sweet and stupid and makes me think of axe and ryan. just a really nice song about being young.

i want you - third eye blind // this song shows up in almost all of my axe/ryan playlists. if any song is “their song,” it’s this one. “people always take a step away from what is true/that’s why i like you around/i want you,” is a really great summary of why ryan loves axe; he loves the honesty, even if it grates on his nerves here and there, ryan knows he needs it at the end of the day, and once again we circle back to the simplicity of “i want you.” “an open invitation to the dance/happenstance set the vibe that we’re in” is awesome for pancakes, which is full of a lot of coincidences. another thing about pancakes is that, for me, it’s a story about friendship and loneliness and all that, but i sprinkled some nostalgia throughout, and this song always has and always will sound nostalgic and weirdly sweet to me. so: pancakes. 

call it fate, call it karma - the strokes // “can i waste all your time here on the sidewalk?/can i stand in your light just for a while?” a strange little sweet song. the first time i heard it i SMASHED add to playlist. ryan loves the strokes too!

narcolepsy - third eye blind // in ryan’s speech class, he had to write a paper on the song he related to the most. he chose this one. i’ll spare most of the details, but beyond having a sleep disorder he should probably get checked out, the sound of this song is so ryan it hurts. if you check out the end of this document, you’ll see that he mostly listens to sad indie pop, but this is the exception. it’s a portrait of him. i could take it line by line if i really wanted to. the only thing that doesn’t fit is the part about reading russian authors. ryan can’t read!!!!

wake me - bleachers // this song is for ryan and dakota. every line works for them. it might be a love song, but their friendship is really special (and eventually becomes something just as strong as any romantic relationship), so i love this song for them. “i can’t believe i captured your heart” goes both ways; dakota feels so, so lucky to have ryan as a friend and values his companionship more than i can explain; ryan can’t believe someone as intelligent and rich and cool as dakota would even bother with someone like him. “if you’re lonely, wake me” is a line i really love because in other universes, ryan and dakota lived together and promised each other stuff like, “yeah, if i wake up at 3 am and can’t go back to sleep, i’ll come wake you up and we can chill” (ryan), or “okay, if i have an anxiety dream and need some comfort, expect to find me in your bed” (dakota). before meeting dakota, ryan insisted on solitude to get through his bad moods; once dakota’s in his life, he feels a lot more comfortable letting dakota in on that. it’s mentioned in pancakes, but ryan sees something familiar in dakota, and they share some experiences. eventually they end up becoming huge comforts to one another.

doubt (summer edit) - shallou // i listened to this song constantly while writing pancakes. there aren’t many lyrics, but i’ve let the story play out so many times in my head while listening to this song that doubt now sounds like pancakes. “i can’t get too close to you/everything that’s in my mind/but i want you” and we’re back at “i want you” once more! but really, what i love most about this song is the beat: tense, hopeful, unsure, but decisive here and there. aka pancakes!

my only swerving - el ten eleven // one of the songs ryan couldn’t live without. it’s instrumental, so no lyrics to pick through here, but the sound of it is perfect for pancakes and sounds the way ryan looks, if that makes sense.

sit next to me - foster the people // this song mostly reminds me of breanna and reema, but there’s bits of axe and ryan, too, and in the end, i realized this is just a song for the nine of them. i can see the nine of them listening to it together, maybe one of the only songs all nine of them can agree on. i can hear it in the background when all nine of them are piled into one of their apartments. great vibe, great song.

if i ever feel better - phoenix // i think this song aptly summarizes so much of ryan’s internal thoughts, even if he could never put them into words like this. this song is also one of his favorites and i feel that it “sounds” like him.

bambi - hippo campus // one of dakota’s favorite bands. sometimes you’re just a simple twentysomething going through it, and that’s why this song is an anthem. “i haven’t been much myself/and i feel like my friends are being put through this hell/feeling, i think that i’m living, if you could call it living” and “the timing’s poor i know it’s never right/it’s hard to see this time of night/it’s hard to know the reasons why i fucked it up again/still i breathe a sigh/it doesn’t seem so lucky now”

karaoke - smallpools // another song for the group. i love the pure joy in this song; it sounds exactly how they all make each other feel on a night out. i love this vibe and they all love each other. also if you’re reading this i want you to know that axe is banned from singing good on karaoke nights

cold war - cautious clay // this song feels so incredibly pancakes to me i’m not even going to reference any lyrics because none of them resonate too much just. the feel of the song. ya. listen to cautious clay i’m honestly begging

magic - the knocks ft. gary go // this is the song that inspired the previous title of pancakes, “hey, it’s automatic.” i love songs that sound nostalgic. the first couple of times i listened to it, it reminded me of pancakes, but i couldn’t figure out why because “you’re the only one who can keep me dancing” didn’t make me think of axe and ryan. it actually made me think of ryan and natalie or maybe ryan and dakota more. later, i realized “magic” is really just a song for the nine of them. it’s how they all feel about each other; it’s a song that’s somewhat about being young and having fun, but at the same time it feels sort of weighty and sad here and there, and that’s what ultimately made it one of my favorite songs for pancakes. is it a great song in itself? maybe not. maybe the lyrics aren’t great, maybe the sound isn’t great. but i love it for pancakes.

god of wine - third eye blind // something like an identity song. a track ryan’s always going to feel in his bones. the idea of “can we get clean again?” makes me think of ryan because more than anything, he’s just wanted a clean slate with his family. sometimes he wishes he never knew anything about his mother, and that he could go through life ignorant pretending his mom really is his mom. “the god of wine comes crashing through the headlights of a car that took you farther than you thought you’d ever want to go” reminds me of ryan just constantly having to move so far away from things. he stopped getting attached to cities after a while, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. “i know i can’t keep it all together/and there’s a memory of a window/looking through, i see you/searching for something i could never give you/and there’s someone who understands you more than i do/a sadness i can’t erase all alone on your face” makes me think of ryan’s relationship with his mom. he constantly feels like dora is looking for something in him that doesn’t exist.

i spend too much time in my room - the band camino // unfortunately, this song could practically be one of ryan’s journal entries. “i spend too much time in my room/i keep too many secrets from you” definitely reminds ryan of his familial relationships, both natalie and dora. same for “i spend too much time in my head/wish i could say what needs to be said.” oh, and “my brother said he don’t know me anymore/what the hell am i supposed to do?” sibling alienation is ruff. “i don’t tell you all the things i used to” ryan and his mom. etc etc etc

my only swerving - el ten eleven // i fucking love this track and it just sounds like ryan to me?? like him alone, especially during the scenes where he was in his apartment and thinking all deeply about windows or just like observing and introspection it feels like him!! and just the sound of the song, the rhythm of it, the whole melody just reminds me of pancakes like the main beat seems to have these little sad twinges and it’s just this side of upbeat though it does have places where it slows down and again, just another instrumental track that feels very pancakes in essence

as the light fades away - the echelon effect // yet another instrumental track that made me think of pancakes !! it’s just a really lowkey/softer thing but it has darker tones and like ?? it sounds like ryan to me. like it’s quiet and chill but it’s also sad and if you really sit down and try to feel it it makes you ache which is hmmmm. how i feel about ryan. sjadkgljsdgas

the ballad of me and my brain - the 1975 // ryan and his one brain cell...a love song…

made to last - semisonic // this song is so ryan and not just for axe but for everything he gets in pancakes?? like he’s still depressed but this is definitely a high point for him so at the end of pancakes he’s just hopeful that the high stays a high for a little bit longer. more specific, though, and out of order to fit ryan better chronologically: “made to last awhile and roll on/made to move in style and move along” up to age 19 the cirinos moved ryan around a lot so i can apply that; “made to wake up crying, i don't know why” rip; “made to come alone and pair up” beginning of pancakes; “beautiful one/asleep in the sun/secret, sweet, and sublime/i hope you last a long, long time” ya so this is about axe and its ryans exact thought process when he and axe wake up together in the end; but just in general, the kind of sad, longing, but somehow optimistic vibe to this song is very much how ryan feels towards the end like. whens the other shoe going to drop??

clean - the japanese house // this song sounds like ryan inside and out. “i knew it wouldn’t last, but in the clean light you cast, i was good” this happens to ryan pretty frequently, where he meets people and sort of feeds off their brightness for a while but he knows it won’t last. this happened with trinity. for a while, that person was natalie. ryan likes to be around people who are bright and good because he absorbs a lot of it without thinking. something about this song is very much a ryan/natalie song even though the lyrics start to sound a little romantic; at its core, it’s a song about understanding one another, getting clean, letting things go. “all the years my soul, all the things you thought i did” can be taken to mean all the times natalie and ryan were at odds. there are tons of things ryan just assumed natalie did. and then in the end: “all the things i try to say remain within/i’m cooling in the clay/i’ve always been molded this way” could apply to either of the cirinos. they both feel like they’re indisputably themselves and they can’t change. natalie communicates, but sometimes the wrong words come out. ryan struggles to talk at all because he’s scared of how other people will see it.

yes i'm changing - tame impala // i feel like ryan listening to tame impala can't be surprising. i think this song encapsulates how he feels as he's reconnecting with natalie, developing friendships like he's never had before, and talking to his mom more.

vanille fraise - l’imperatrice // i realize this somewhat sounds like elevator music. don’t @ me about it it’s for natalie

look at what i’ve done to my heart - kwamie liv // i am a natalie apologist until the day i die. this song sounds like how she looks. “look at what i’ve done to my heart/i’m not perfect but it’s a start/and nothing’s gonna pull me apart/i light up the dark” - this song was very important to natalie as she was healing some deep trauma, trying to be a better person, and trying to save her family relationships. her character arc is very important to me.

talk too much - renee rapp // natalie’s dumb ass does not know how to relationship without self-sabatoging but thank god lavanya is patient. the undercurrent of self-loathing, knowing full well you’re being unreasonable and making up drama, but you can’t stop. (it’s the trauma) anyway “if i see a blue car today/we’ll probably have to break up” and “and if it rains then it rains/and we’ll be over by may/that’s just the deal that i made/in my head” is a great example of natalie constantly convincing herself there has to be drama, things have to end, and she will not get to keep something that she likes. and the whole spoken part: “okay, having said all that, do you still wanna be with me? ‘cause like, i wanna be with you, like, maybe even forever. holy shit, okay, maybe not forever. i mean, like, i’m not saying not forever. i actually have no idea what i’m saying. are you mad at me? ‘cause it’s cool if you are, right? like, i don’t care. but like if you are, then i’m gonna resent you. i’ll forgive you. but i was wondering like, okay, like, is this a sign? do i actually hate you? i just wanted to be honest, right. like, do you still love me?” ah, the deep-rooted insecurity + defensiveness + apathy. girl we get it

talk too much - coin // when will he shut up…… no but in all honesty, i don’t really know of any axe anthems? he’s too boring.

let’s do something else:

teenage dream - katy perry // i once tweeted a link to this song and said if you crack open axe’s skull this is what leaks out. unironically one of his favorite songs forever

move along - all american rejects // one of axe’s faves of all time

if i ain’t got you - alicia keys // one of axe’s faves of all time

broken vs the way we were born - emarosa // one of axe’s faves

the authority song - jimmy eat world // one of axe’s faves of all time. he has a tattoo of a quarter (like the coin) as a reference to this song

kiss me - sixpence none the richer // one of axe’s faves of all time. he is unfortunately just a simple romantic at heart

don’t know why - norah jones // one of axe’s faves of all time

nothing can change this love - sam cooke // one of axe’s faves of all time

love grows (where my rosemary grows) // one of axe’s faves of all time. he has a tattoo of rosemary as a reference to this song

words to me - sugar ray // one of axe’s faves of all time

underneath it all - no doubt ft. lady saw // one of axe’s faves of all time

mix tape - brand new // one of axe’s faves

just the two of us ft. bill withers // one of axe’s faves

degausser - brand new // one of axe’s faves

tongues - the frights // i let him enjoy his the frights but it's somewhat against my will

me vs. maradona vs. elvis - brand new // axe’s fave brand new song

all i wanted - paramore // axe’s favorite paramore song

cute without the “e” - taking back sunday // axe’s favorite taking back sunday song

bright lights - matchbox twenty // one of axe’s favorite songs and i don’t even have a reason why he’s just always liked it in my head and it’s on all of his playlists

fat lip - sum 41 // he can play this on guitar hero from memory

new perspective - panic! at the disco // axe's favorite patd song

constant headache - joyce manor // axe has a tattoo from this song but i also feel like he has “be your own dad” so maybe he has two joyce manor tattoos because he's not real so i don't care

(in addition to axe’s favorite songs)

in general: post hardcore, surf punk, reggae rock, jazz pop, pop punk (nostalgia), emo (nostalgia), popular music of any genre (he listens to charts semi regularly), anything that is on his discover weekly, any song that paxton likes, jazz (i am not cultured enough to list examples), alt-rock, alt, alt r&b, indie-alt, alt+whatever combination you can think of

giants - bear hands // [blows a kiss] for axe ! in general he listens to like. harder emo and post-hardcore bands but sorry baby i can’t do all dat and find your favorite songs, also natalie!

sports - beach bunny // axe :/ he shows it to natalie tho and now they’re both fans

morning sunlight - ballyhoo! // axe loves this band so much he has a tattoo for them but this song is sweet and lowkey pancakes like!! it’s very lovey but there’s some blatant sexuality “oh, baby, the things i’ll do to you/i’m wanting to be locked up in your room all night/where we’ll sleep ‘til the morning sunlight” and “take it slowly ‘til you grab me by the belt” ❤ cute!

no place like (not being) home - the frights // axe again! he passes this song onto ryan tho and ryan loves it a lot

kick it to me - sammy rae & the friends // if the song has sax there is a 97% chance axe likes it

spoiled - basement // axe

the sun is shining down - jj grey & mofro // axe lmfao this is “swamp rock” i want to beat the shit out of him

such small hands - la dispute // axe

nu nu (yeah yeah) - fannypack // axe. i will not be explaining further

in general: pop punk (for nostalgia purposes) & lots of female artists (any genre, really). if it's trending she's probably listening

when you were young - the killers // one of ryan and natalie’s favorites; the killers is one band they both love.

falling in love again - joyce manor // axe & natalie

hover like a GODDESS - WILLOW // axe & natalie

over those hills - hayley williams // natalie cares for paramore deeply

can you feel my heart - bring me the horizon // axe & natalie. that BMTH and PTV phase was hard to kick but they both made it thru

saturn - sza // also natalie

kitchen - sza // natalie & axe

L’AMOUR DE MA VIE - billie eilish // natalie

gonna love me - teyana taylor // natalie

my kink is karma - chappell roan // natalie i love a bitter woman

espresso - sabrina carpenter // i have the distinct feeling this song had natalie in a chokehold during her early morning runs for like 2 months 😔  (running playlist)

alright - victoria monet // natalie (running playlist)

cinderella - remi wolf // natalie (running playlist)

you’re not special, babe - orla gartland // natalie (running playlist)

ain’t it fun - paramore // natalie (running playlist)

cherry (ft. hayley kiyoko) - fletcher // natalie (running playlist)

sideways - carly rae jepsen // natalie (running playlist)

red wine supernova - chappell roan // natalie (running playlist)

bouncin (ft. offset) - kiana lede // natalie (running playlist)

levitating - dua lipa // natalie (running playlist)

in general: indie-alt, indie rock, indie pop, rock, alt, alt-rock, late-90s/early-2000s radio hits, and any song that makes you feel like your chest may collapse from sadness

haunt - echos // ryan of course

still sane - lorde // ryan. good high school song. he will hold it close forever. the somewhat haunting, circular beat makes this track perfect for ryan’s teenage years where he felt kind of disconnected, though the lyrics of this song don’t always hit. “today is my birthday and i’m riding high/hair is dripping, hiding that i’m terrified/but this is summer, playing dumber than in fall/everything i say falls right back into everything” is perfect for ryan, but he doesn’t “play” dumb; he just is dumb! no but seriously, the kind of sad, low-down beat with these reflective lyrics always works for ryan.

love on the brain - rihanna // ryan will die on the hill that this is the best song rihanna ever made

barely on my mind - the regrettes // ryan but also natalie 

apartment - hikaru arata // ryan again

faded - barcelona // when ryan was in his indie-folk era and listening to bands no one knows about, this was one of his favorite bands. he still listens to them for the nostalgia factor, but this song was his favorite of theirs. he loves a sad song.

ivy - frank ocean // he’s not a prolific frank ocean fan, but he’s always liked this song. it’s sad! no wonder! ross & kit are more prolific frank ocean fans

mother (don't cry) - ella vos // this relates to his relationship with his mom throughout his life but its also just the style he likes ! sad music. u know who it is. ryan

smile - the royal concept // ryan

joan of arc - ricky reed // sometimes ur making guac at 3 am and eating stale tortilla chips and this is the song u have to play

this head i hold - electric guest // ryan

cold caller - honeyglaze // ryan to the core

cry - benson boone // ryan! fuck you dad!!!!

don’t move - phantogram // ryan

by heart - sylvie lewis // ryan

you’re the best - wet // ryan ❤s sad indie pop if u haven’t caught on :-/

apocalypse - cigarettes after sex // sad nostalgic sleepy music? ryan’s bumping it

nobody - mitski // if i even have to say a mitski song is on here bc of ryan.............

haunt // bed - the 1975 // this is ryan’s favorite song off (i’ll generalize) the 1975’s collection of EPs

is there somebody who can watch you - the 1975 // this is ryan’s favorite song off the 1975’s first album, closely followed by…

(so far) it’s alright - the 1975 // never gets old. one of ryan’s favorite songs of all time. the kind of dreamy, out of it beat always makes me think of him, and just the simple repetition of “so far it’s alright” is good for ryan when he’s fooling himself into thinking things aren’t that bad. “i stay with my father/while his friends die of heart attacks/he’s got a heart made of stone/but he never gets cold because the sun’s always on his back” works too. ryan’s father mostly does hard labor in whatever town they end up in, and he’s kind of an awful man. “how you getting along with your life?/it’s alright” again is just the repetition of saying “it’s alright” about everything when really so much of your life is a mess. same goes for the “‘oh well i’m coming to the end of 23’/she said ‘is that alright?’/’and it’s coming to the end of you and me’/she said ‘is that alright?’” is very representative of ryan just refusing to communicate and saying everything’s fine so he doesn’t actually have to analyze how bad things are. 

nana - the 1975 // sometimes ur high and need to cry. ryan is valid

this must be my dream - the 1975 // this is ryan’s favorite song off the 1975’s second album

surrounded by heads and bodies - the 1975 // this is ryan’s favorite song off the 1975’s third album

sincerity is scary - the 1975 // ryan does not know the definition of 50% of the words in this song but he’s chillin to it 🙏

last nite - the strokes // ryan

man on the moon - powers // ryan

honey - the brinks // ryan

is it true - tame impala // ryan

do i wanna know? - arctic monkeys // if it was popular on 2010s tumblr in indie circles ryan likes it

lay me down - dirty heads & rome of sublime // this is actually for ryan and i know it seems out of left field but it’s kind of a reference to other scenes and verses i wrote because after the “high school drama” ryan mentions in pancakes (getting high and giving a blowjob on campus) he was on restriction for a while and meant to be grounded but his at the time best friend levi was like uh but i need someone to go with me to this music festival and my dude ryan needs some cheering up !!! so they snuck ryan out and went to a music festival and in the middle of dirty heads’ set ryan’s mom called and they were like WELL FUCK bc ryan knew he was gonna be Murdered later but him and levi were just having loads of fucking fun and ryan was living his best life and not giving half a shit about anything so it’s one of Those Songs for him. we love memories!!! also the lyrics can relate to pancakes here and there but i put it on the playlist because it’s one of ryan’s faves

saturdays - twin shadow, haim // my friend gabby showed me this song and i really liked it and now ryan really likes it but in the first place, it’s his style. i think it’d bring up a lot of memories for him from a lot of different places in his life. the song itself reminds me of pancakes just because the sound is upbeat but a little nostalgic and somehow sad at the same time which is just The Vibe

in general: club hits, hyper pop, electropop, synth-pop, songs that sound sexy, aaaaaaaaaaand country music

basically any marian hill song // dakota

any reba mcentire song // dakota

oh devil - electric guest // this is on here because of dakota and also it just bops

all we need - odesza // one of dakota’s favorite bands

by my side (duck l’orange club mix) - great good fine ok // dakota

so hot you’re hurting my feelings - caroline polachek // dakota

my life - zhu // dakota

life itself - glass animals // dakota

masseduction - saint vincent // dakota (“i’m the worst kind of nasty” :/)

new york - saint vincent // dakota, but this song is mildly traumatizing and makes him think of rian with an I

rather be (feat. jess glynne) - clean bandit // dakota

sensations - elohim // dakota

360 - charli xcx // dakota

some of these are repeated elsewhere but i tried to keep this brief for people that don't want my nonsense and just want to skim for vibes

sit next to me - foster the people // this was originally added to the playlist for breanna + reema. in my head they always save each other a seat and i think it's sweet

cinema - harry styles // breanna + reema (breanna really likes movies lmfao)

real love baby - father john misty // breanna + reema. a big part of the reason i included bree and reema in pancakes was because i wanted them to be a counterexample for ryan and natalie's horrific attachment styles. they serve as an example of good, steady love. real love babey

keep driving - harry styles // natalie + lavanya. they're really taking it slow and feeling things out so i think something sweet and hopeful like this is perfect

the way you do the things you do - the temptations // axe + kit (this was/is their song)

we might even be falling in love (interlude) - victoria monet // axe + ryan

cool to you - teenage priest // axe + ryan

fantasy - mariah carey // axe + ryan

i second that emotion - smokey robinson & the miracles // axe + ryan

groceries - mallrat // axe + ryan

can i call you tonight? - dayglow // axe + ryan

i like it - debarge // axe + ryan

read my mind - the killers // axe + ryan

pancakes - lany // axe + ryan (pancakes was NOT titled after this song whatsoever btw)

wild thoughts // axe + ryan

goodnight n go - ariana grande // axe + ryan

foreign girls - bleachers // while this song is a little more about a relationship, “i’ve been walking circles/lost on sunday morning/trying to find my way back home/’cause i know i’ve been a stranger lately/everybody passing/can’t make out their faces” makes me think of both ryan and dakota. ryan’s a little aimless and goes through the motions a lot, home is a complicated subject, and he has a tendency to withdraw when he’s not feeling well, so i like this for him. (the final stanza referencing “goodmorning,” but this time using “goodbye” is a big bonus for ryan + moving around, too.) at the end of the day, though, bleachers is dakota’s favorite band, and he’s in every song for me. this song reminds me a lot of dakota’s younger years when he went out a lot more and maybe partied a little harder with the wrong sort of people. the song is a little chaotic, too, so that’s always great for dakota.

heartlines - broods // so this song is a bop and in some verses it reminds me of axe and ryan, but the reason it’s on the pancakes playlist is bc of natalie and lavanya!! lavanya lives a state over and “we could jump the state lines” :( “i don’t always play nice/but i want to feel your heartlines” natalie’s so MEAN but she uh loves her almost-hopefully girlfriend and also “have you been let down by the ones before?/do you leave too soon to know?” ya natalie believes in the like leave before you get left thing so none of her relationships have lasted long at all and like N & L aren’t 100% together so they probably have been on dates with other people just to try it so like “i sit across from someone new/but they don’t compare to you” :( they’re in love i’m so sensitive about it like. ask me for their whole plot sometimes and i’ll talk for four hours but for now that’s the context

all my friends - snakehips, tinashe, chance the rapper // basically the same as magic by the knocks just. christ. another song that hit me so hard i laid on my floor and listened to this for hours and felt so deeply about it i remember texting a friend a like midnight ramble about how much it meant to me. i love this song. i don't think it relates necessarily to pancakes, but if you want, take a moment and imagine the whole group shouting this song in the car and serenading one another with it because even though it's a sad ass song it GOES and it's definitely a song they all mutually love

love is alive - louis the child, elohim // we LOVE bops! i could get deep about it and say that ryan’s found this bottomless well of love with these people but honestly there are about four bottoms in the group and it’d be a lie

(okay bad top/bottom jokes aside, this is a song i had a phase with while i was working on pancakes so that’s that on that)

(while we’re talking about tops and bottoms though i have a whole ass document of social media stuff for pancakes and at some point axe tweets “after topping for the eighth time this month i have to say that ryan told me a lot of lies the night we met but the biggest lie was when he said he was vers”. no one ever reads this doc so no gods no rules i’ll put every bit of bullshit i want in it)

float on - ben lee // a necessary song to make it through adulthood so pancakes and the characters therein deserve it

some days - the maine // i made the maine one of breanna’s favorite bands because i’m self indulgent like that and i have this listed as her favorite song so ❤ for bree ❤ but also? what a tune to get u thru when ur Going Thru It; the entire song reminds me of ryan just because john o’callaghan really nails that depression vibe doesn’t he but also i just think it’s nice?? like “some days, they taste like lemonade/some days can feel like razorblades/i wish i could float away, some days” and that’s ?? something i tried to show in pancakes. was it successful? we just don’t know

do right - glades // ik this is probably a more friendship geared song but it reminds me of ryan and natalie bc that’s who i am as a person. “i know that you’ve probably forgotten/but these things still weigh me down” is something that both of them would relate to. as siblings, they’ve had a lot of fights and said and done a lot of things they didn’t mean to and though they’re not the best at having a sit down chat and clearing the air, they both still reflect on those things--natalie in particular. but if i’m not getting deep about it i just fucking love glades and this bop

closer - powers // this is another of dakota’s bands and the whole vibe of the song reminds me of the main cast !! “some mistakes are worth making/sometimes the time is worth wasting/some heartbreaks are worth braving” you know just like they’ve all been through whatever separate stuff and can relate to this and all of that is just adult life really?? making mistakes, wasting time, getting your heart broken (not necessarily romantically) and of course like the romantic stuff in the song can be axe and ryan so! cute

yearning & calling - 4am // this is just for ryan when he wakes up at 3 am and wants to suck axe's dick and/or bond with his heart and learn him inside out and understand him on a soul-deep level but also like. suck his dick

subtle thing - marian hill // one of dakota’s favorite bands. to build off the explanation for the song above: this is another song about ryan wanting to suck axe’s dick at 3 am. jdashjdshas let’s dive in: “it’s 2 am and i am trying to sleep/you told me later you were thinking of me” ryan and his sleepless nights and axe is a good thought to have at 2 am; “heard your favorite record on the day before we met/every time i hear it now i kinda start to sweat/wanna call you over when i feel you getting closer/are you missing me?” i’m not even gonna explain myself just the gist is: they’re attracted to each other. we get it. (also the bass in this song is jsdjjgsdjjdsjhjds like. right. yeah)

deep - marian hill // one of dakota’s favorite bands. honestly every line in this song could be related to pancakes but the best ones are probably: “love the way you make me feel/i want it all the time” and “hate the way you make me feel/you’re always on my mind” like the contradictions here ?? are very ryan like he loved and loves how axe makes him feel but it’s like a real bitch to have to think about him so much and feel so connected to him. he loves it because it feels good to be cared for but at the same time it’s heavy to bear and it makes him Feel Things

into you - ariana grande // “i’m so into you i can barely breathe” ryan wishes :( hjghgdg

classic - the knocks ft. powers (sunset version) // this is just such a sad slow love song but definitely listen to the original to feel the difference between them?? like the original is such a bop and high energy then this is so sweet and slow and both of them always remind me of axe and ryan bc they usually start really !!!!! and then they slow down and fall for each other real hard and my chest hurts sjdklgdsa AND “we’re just looking for the fun here/we don’t know what’s gonna come yet” and “come to me, baby, don’t be shy” :( just ryan’s baby. fun fact originally ryan was weak for baby but then i was like no that’s too normal i want him to be softer and embarrassing ! thus: sweetheart

slow motion (instrumental) - third eye blind // sometimes i just listen to things and i hear pancakes and this is one of those tracks

strange things - b. lewis // this song just feels really nostalgic but sort of sweet too ?? forgive me if i get the lyrics wrong here because i cannot find any official write ups of ‘em but “i know this meant something/’cause when i opened up my heart to you, you pretended you didn’t feel nothing/but i know that stranger things have happened to me” reminds me a bit of the beginning where ryan was like i definitely Don’t want to sleep with you again (yes i do) but really the song just feels like pancakes for me

juliet & caesar - cautious clay // sexual references! “push it in/hear a shout” what’s up and “call a friend/fuck it out” BUT “honesty is still the route” (axe: hell yeah) “subtle gaze with some tight plays/i’m rubbernecking hard for you” attraction! intrigue! “sullen energies fill up my soul” ryan’s depressed we get it but other than all of that i just fucking love cautious clay please check out his blood type ep

i want you - marian hill // i listened to this so much while i was writing pancakes bc marian hill was my big obsession when i started it and i think it really sets up the fic well?? like “you look like friday night” and “i’ve been so tired on the weekend, i’ve been holding on too tight” thank and just like the beat?? is very teasing and flirtatious and upbeat and i would Die for samantha gongol’s voice

you and me - shallou // the sound of this song is very, very pancakes for me. i have a certain sound/vibe that i associate with it and shallou usually nails it. “lovers losing track” is something i really like the sound of because axe and ryan start with a bang (uh, literally) then they sort of go down the friendship path, then it’s this weird mix of “i’d honestly suck your dick right now but also tell me your life story and your biggest fears,” then it’s “oh god i have big feelings for you but also i just like being around you and romance doesn’t feel super important,” like. . .in a lot of axe and ryan’s verses, it takes them a while to get around to the fact. not because they’re avoidant, but just because they uhhhh lose track of it all and just kinda go with whatever and then they realize wtf this is stupid i’m in love with you and i havent even kissed you again; ALSO that “just us, you and me, us !!!” bs that always haunts me with them they jsut fucking LIKE each other no matter the context

show me - akacia, alex lustig // this is just really ryan?? “i’m not good at letting love in/but i’m trying/make you think i don’t need nothing/but i’m lying” it’s not that ryan’s commitment phobic but he’s been a recluse for a while so handling all of this sudden love and affection from 8 people is pretty overwhelming. after the coffee date ryan’s like “i don’t want you to ask anything!!!” and denies that he wanted to sleep with axe again; “would you/make it easy for me/would you/show me how this could be” uhhh axe makes it literally so easy for ryan always; “don't know how to say what i should/so i say nothing/make it look like i don't feel you/but i’m bluffing” my boys are cowards and dumbasses i know

drunk - mating ritual // so initially when i wrote pancakes, nana by the 1975 was one of ryan’s favorite songs so at kit’s housewarming when axe played a song it was nana, but then i heard this. it's everything ryan loves down to every last detail, and it's him through and through, so i decided this was much more appropriate and just. it's better for pancakes too because it starts out sounding really sad and nostalgic but then it picks up in the middle and i just can feel ! how much this song would mean to ryan and it's definitely the sort of song he's listened to so many times he knows every beat and breath and also it has a sort of older rock feel to it and the one place where axe and ryan’s music taste overlaps is in bands like third eye blind, 90s/2000s pop rock stuff so i just. I Feel It

lyrics wise, we can look at these: “all we want to do is to be something/to be something we’re not/but all we really want is to have someone/to hold us when we’re drunk” ryan really relates to the first two lines there, but for the second two i’ll say ryan doesn’t mind being alone, doesn’t mind going on little isolation binges and taking time for himself, but sometimes when it hits the end of the day, he just wants someone who’s gonna care for his mf’in heart u know :( and when he’s drunk or high or otherwise compromised he just wants someone who’s gonna care enough to look out for him and whether that be dakota or axe or anyone else DOESN’T MATTER he just wants to care and be cared for in return; “it’s more than just sex/it’s more than our bodies/it’s more than a movement made from self-loathing and irony/but i don’t know what to call it just quite yet/so i’m gonna shut up” though ryan has trouble articulating and trouble believing he’s anything besides a complete dumbass, he does actually reflect on stuff every once and a while and when he’s in the casual sex segment of his life i’m sure he’s thought about stuff like this?? but even if he hasn’t this song would make him think about it and he’d lov it !

stop making sense - mating ritual // i’m GRINNING!!!! “turn it off, turn off your mind/i wanna know more of you in the light” aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa; “i close my eyes/see us swaying side by side/maybe feel a little more alive/feel a little close with you tonight” aaaaaaaaAAAAAA; “stop making sense/quit talking” LISTEN axe just getting ryan all the time drives him crazy sometimes in bad ways but most of the time in a !??@?@?!??!?! love of my life !??!1 way and ryan tells him to shut up all the time because axe just always makes sense and he’s so emotionally intelligent and it’s just. ryan is so attracted to/in love with that but also shut up baby; “hold onto me/you’re always at your best/when you’re not making sense” we’re gonna swap povs here because this is axe and he loves ryan’s nonsensical ass and he loves that ryan feels comfortable enough to keep talking and trying to articulate when he’s with axe because with everyone else? he gives it a try or two then calls it quits but he trusts axe so much i’m suffering; the song in general is just Good those are the highlights tho

taxi - exes // alright. so i know this song is. dumb and lovey but ajsdkdsa the second verse is dumb “your blue eyes making me tongue-tied/got me shy like every time we meet” shut up??; “as we ride, hands are laying on your thighs” uhhh u kno where axe’s hands are @. u kno whats goin on; “tell me that you want me even though you got me” like ?? ya; also the refrain of “maybe we could go back, do you wanna?” is just kind of a reference to their first night together and every so often they’re like we could double tap that

obsession - vice ft. jon bellion // happy little love song! a rarity on A/R playlists! jsdklgdas but also it doesn’t totally work because A and R could never fixate wholly on each other for more than a few hours when dakota, paxton, and tyler exist and that’s the goss

california - the lagoons // axe n ryan have gone on a drive together and played this song and held hands. also ryan’s listened to this at like three in the afternoon while getting liberal with his wine consumption and laid there and thought about axe bc what else is a man supposed to do with a song like this

can’t bring this down - bridgit mendler, pell // i love love songs that bop they’re great for pancakes jsjdsajga and just the whole vibe fits for them?? i don’t know how to word it. i like the “i can’t bring this down” thing because despite how they try they can’t really mute their affection for/attraction to one another and like. can’t bring this down. ya

i wanna get better - bleachers // this is a song for dakota and ryan. it’s one of dakota’s favorite songs (and his favorite band of all time), but the freedom in this song, the optimism mixed in with realism, all of it goes really well. the lyric “i didn’t know i was lonely till i saw your face” is for dakota and ryan, not ryan and axe; though we don’t get dakota’s perspective at any point, he’s still recovering at the beginning of pancakes, and he saw ryan and immediately thought, “holy shit, do i want to annoy the hell out of this guy.” he got attached pretty quick.

ride or die - foster the people, the knocks // friendship bop for when they're all getting ready to go out to bars and slut it up honestly

it ain't me - kygo, selena gomez // dakota likes to scream this song and that's why i put it on here. jsdjjdnxksf but ya just another bop to imagine everyone singing along to in the car

good nights - whethan, mascolo // another song to imagine everyone singing along to bc i’m weak for the friend group and we all know axe makes playlists for them to chill to

moon river - frank ocean // okay maybe i’m just heavily biased and love this cover, but i know ryan would like it too. axe puts it on one of his playlists for ryan because he knows ryan like sad sounding music. i could relate pieces of it to pancakes (“wherever you’re going, i’m going that way”; “life’s just around the bend, my friend”), but honestly just enjoy this really nice rendition of moon river!

body - kate kay es // :) :) :) :) “i’m not trying to be cute/i just want your attention/i’m not trying to be rude/i just need your affection” it’s Them; “don’t want a future/i just want your body next to mine” like in the end ryan probably wants more of a future than he’s letting on but in general it’s just a sweet little line; SAXOPHONE; “you’re not trying to move fast ‘cause you know what’s at stake here” you know. ryan toes around the heart of the matter more because he’s like romance? i don’t know her. but axe is just letting it play out and trying not to rush matters because ryan’s something he’d really be willing to put some serious time into BUT; “you got the devil sitting on your shoulder in your left ear” like obviously. temptation. ryan’s a perfect dime axe is pressed; “a perfect night to get in trouble/we could both get high until the sunrise/your skin is shining/you could set me free/with your body next to mine” they have these thoughts more than once but never go through with it because my main two are big cowards until like 130k in; “can we just pretend we’re more than friends?” !! but speaking overall about the sound of this song, i love the easygoing beat, the saxophone, and the message at heart: you’re reaaaally doing it for me. i want you. which is just pancakes in essence

talk too much - coin // a happy love bop and very axe he doesn’t shut the fuck up! okay so “i’ll take my time/i’m not the forward thinker/you read my mind/better to leave it unsaid” this is Ryan but then “why can’t i leave it unsaid?” uh. axe. always speaking then “you know i talk too much/honey, come put your lips on mine and shut me up” @ ryan do it you coward!! “what are we waiting for?/we talk too much” like ya they really dragged this out for a bit but also communication is super important and every time ryan says axe talks a lot he means it lovingly and admires how open and expressive axe is but for the sake of letting a happy song apply: just dismiss this fact

voyeur’s gaze - shy girls // okie dokie so. there was an old pancakes scene where axe walked in on ryan changing clothes after some spilled drink incident and ryan like knew axe as there but didn't stop changing so it got how do u  say? sexually tense. but still i mean “i can show you everything/everything you wanted to go home with” like !!! u know

dance - dnce // realistically speaking, this song is far too happy to belong on a pancakes playlist. but i’m the author and i do whatever the fuck i want so i put it here! fuck it! “don’t go baby, bye bye bye/tell me that you want me tonight/oh no, don’t be shy” like. come ON. i’m putting in on here and i don’t care. ryan would never go to france just because he wouldn’t let natalie Win like that but. ignore that. enjoy

stay the night - zedd ft. hayley williams // this is literally just here for the irony and there was a deleted scene where axe made ryan a playlist of this song (x24. he put it on the playlist 24 times). and that's it. ryan told him to fuck off and die but he also listened to it because a lowkey bop

lovesick - mura masa ft. a$ap rocky // “this is your song!!!!!!” “this is drunk me’s song”