12 Thrilling Rollercoaster 🎢 Ridin’ Songs | Playlist 🎧

1.India.Arie, “Rollercoaster”

💿 Worthy • 🏷 BMG Rights Management • 📅 2019 

“Let me off this rollercoaster / I don’t wanna ride no more (I don’t wanna ride no more) / I don’t wanna ride no more, I don’t wanna ride no more, no more.” 🎵 “Rollercoaster” is one of the brightest moments from 💿 Worthy, the long-awaited, 2019 album by 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter 🎙 India.Arie. Interestingly, “Rollercoaster” bears some harmonic similarities to a past India.Arie record (🎵 “There’s Hope” from 2006’s 💿 Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship).

This contemporary protest anthem finds India taking a long, hard look at the ills plaguing the world from her perspective. Among the notable topics India raises on this soulful, bass-heavy gem include the Flint, Michigan water crisis, 🏈 Colin Kaepernick, misogyny, and mumble rap.  Give her credit for standing up for what she believes in – “And I don’t care who thinks I’m preachin’.”

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2. Jay Hardaway, “Rollercoaster”

🎵 “Rollercoaster” • 🏷 Musical Freedom Label Ltd. • 📅 2020

“Here you / Here you go / One, two, one, two, one, two / Three, four.”  Those, my friends, are the only lyrics on the song 🎵 “Rollercoaster” by 🎙 Jay Hardaway.  There’s not even a mention of a rollercoaster! What gives, man? Well, Hardaway is a Dutch DJ, record producer, and electronic musician, so it makes sense that his rollercoaster is primarily instrumental.

Honestly, an instrumental electronic music track can be quite thrilling.  That’s definitely the case with this Jay Hardaway joint.  The sounds are ‘electrifying’ with a pulverizing, pummeling drum beat, and some biting, hard synths.  Even with such a potent sound, Hardaway still manages to cultivate a degree of warmth from his production, which is pretty rad. The rollercoaster he creates is in a minor key but still manages to yield bright results, nonetheless.

3. Jonas Brothers, “Rollercoaster”

💿 Happiness Begins • 🏷 Jonas Brothers Recording / Republic • 📅 2019

“It was fun when we were young and now we’re older / Those days when we were broke in California,” 🎙 Jonas Brothers – specifically 🎙 Nick and 🎙 Joe – sing on the chorus of 🎵 “Rollercoaster.” “Rollercoaster” appears as the penultimate record on 💿 Happiness Begins, the comeback album by the bro pop collective.  The chorus continues as follows: “We were up-and-down and barely made it over / But I’d go back and ride that rollercoaster.”  The chorus is definitely the centerpiece; bright, tuneful, and ear catching.

🎛 Ryan Tedder, 🎛 Zack Skelton, and 🎛 Jonas Jeberg handle the boards on the album’s penultimate cut. Sound-wise, Rollercoaster” reminds me of the 🎙 Avicii (R.I.P.) gem, 🎵 “Wake Me Up.” How so? Well, there’s a blend of folk, pop, and dance elements. Like a previous track, “Only Human,” the album title is referenced lyrically (“Nights flying down the 10, nearly 2AM / Happiness begins”).

4. Rapsody, “A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love”

Ft. Musiq Soulchild & Gwen Bunn

💿 Laila’s Wisdom • 🏷 Jamla / Roc Nation • 📅 2017

Before 🎙 Cardi B would become the first solo female rapper to win the Grammy for ‘Best Rap Album’ (💿 Invasion of Privacy), 🎙 Rapsody earned the rare female Grammy nomination for ‘Best Rap Album’ with her 2017 studio album, 💿 Laila’s Wisdom.  Rapsody has been in the game for a while but suffers from that bug known as ‘underrated.’ It is an honor to feature the North Carolina rapper on this amusement park-centric playlist.  Her musical entry? 🎵 “A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love” featuring assists from 🎙 Musiq Soulchild and 🎙 Gwen Bunn.

The soulful “A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love” appears as the 10^th track from Laila’s Wisdom.  After a lush, throwback intro, Rapsody blesses us with her assured and compelling flow, over the course of three verses.  Notably, each verse is backed by its own distinct backdrop, which means there’s some awesome production switch-ups.  This is fitting, given the song title, particularly the keyword, ‘rollercoaster.’  Rollercoasters literally take you for some type of ride, and Rapsody takes the listener on a unique ride throughout “A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love.” 

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5. Timmy Trumpet, “Rollercoaster”

Ft. Just Juice

💿 Mad World • 🏷 SpinninRecords.com • 📅 2020

“Got me riding on your rollercoaster / Up and down your loving take me and I won’t let go.” Noted 🎙 Just Juice, noted.  Just Juice appears as the featured guest on 🎵 “Rollercoaster,” the 13^th track from 💿 Mad World, the 2020 album by 🎙 Timmy Trumpet.  While the record may trigger those who are superstitious given where it appears on the track list, there is nothing the least bit unlucky about it.

Lyrically, the rollercoaster ride is definitely bumpy, as the aforementioned lyrics suggest.  It doesn’t stop there for Just Juice, who later asserts:

“On my way down from the incline, you dying to save me
But I promise it’d be best if I drown on my own
Insane, the ones who figured it out appear crazy
My baggage won't be bringing you down anymore.”

Of course, it isn’t all about love and rollercoaster rides for Just Juice.  Timmy Trumpet constructs a sweet backdrop to accompany this melodic rap performance by Juice.  He deserves ample credit by all means. Trumpet manages to bring warmth with the keys/synths, while also bring intensity, particularly with his rhythmic, insistent beats.  The big takeaway from the track is how colorful Trumpet’s musical creation ends up being.

6. Parasite Inc., “Headfuck Rollercoaster”

💿 Dead and Alive • 🏷 Reaper Entertainment Europe • 📅 2018

🎵 “Headfuck Rollercoaster” – what a name! Given such a dramatic, explicit title, unsurprisingly, 🎙 Parasite Inc. back it up with truly energetic, intense music.  The guitars are jagged and driving, while the vocals are gritty, shouted, and certainly eschew tunefulness.  The aesthetic of “Headfuck Rollercoaster” is one that feels ‘rough around the edges,’ which is to be expected from death metal.

In addition to instrumental edginess, the lyrics keep the same energy by all means.  While having the lyrics in front of you is a requirement to fully analyze “Headfuck Rollercoaster,” you can get the gist listening blindly.  From the start, Parasite Inc. gives us full-fledged unapologetic – no cap.

“Bow down for the great and the wise
Incoming fuck from the face of the fife
Lockjaw, how much more can you take
Of all those shithead’s ego ejaculate
Swallow all that dogmatism.”

Damn.  Better yet, holy shit! Those would both be inappropriate-appropriate reactions to those lyrics alone.  That doesn’t include the chorus, which throws in more sexual references.  And for good measure, on the bridge, “Headfuck rollercoaster” is repeated many times before closing with the line, “Time to go postal.”

7. Aimee Mann, “Rollercoasters”

💿 Mental lllness • 🏷 Aimee Mann / SuperEgo • 📅 2017

“Rollercoasters and Ferris wheels / You like how it feels,” 🎙 Aimee Mann sings on 🎵 “Rollercoasters,” continuing, “Round and round till you lose yourself in the air.” Yep, that accurately describes the experience, Aimee!  The song appears as the fourth track on her 🏆 Grammy-winning 2017 album, 💿 Mental Illness.

As to be expected from a singer/songwriter of Mann’s caliber, “Rollercoasters” has spectacular lyricism throughout.  “You were conjuring that year / A ghost engineer,” she sings cleverly at one point, continuing, “Building gods who could put the clock in reverse.”  Even the following lyrics are nothing short of ear-catching, in addition to Mann’s radiant vocal performance itself:

“Breathing thinner atmosphere
So thin you could hear
Angels telling you boy, you’re making it worse.”

8. Bleachers, “Rollercoaster”

💿 Strange Desire • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2014

“We were shot gun lovers / I’m a shot gun running away.” Sigh, what was your first encounter with 🎙 Bleachers’ 🎵 “Rollercoaster”? Was it the original appearance on the ‘band’s’ debut album 💿 Strange Desire (2014), or the reprisal on the 💿 Love, Simon soundtrack (2018)? Regardless, “Rollercoaster” exemplifies the sound of your typical 🎙 Jack Antonoff record, thriving with its big, busy production work.  Yeah, ‘rollercoaster’ indeed!

A major selling point of “Rollercoaster” is how Antonoff switches between the undertone of his lower register on the verse, and his more dynamic, mid-upper register on the chorus.  Does it really need to be explicitly stated that the chorus is the centerpiece? Of course, it doesn’t!

“So, come a little closer
There was something I can tell, yeah
You are such a rollercoaster
And a killer queen you are
Rollercoaster, I don’t say no
Rollercoaster, when you don’t say no
And it’s such a rollercoaster
Some killer queen you are.”

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9. Tank and The Bangas, “Rollercoasters”

💿 Think Tank • 🏷 Independent • 📅 2013

“I’ve always wondered why people rode rollercoasters / Why the feeling of throwing up brought about some type of excitement / … And I remember, I remember when I did.” 🎵 “Rollercoasters” appears as the third track on 💿 Think Tank, the 2013 album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated, eclectic soul collective, 🎙 Tank and the Bangas. The record encompasses a mix of poetic spoken word on the verses (as seen above).

As for the chorus, it’s melodic:

“It’s the butterflies, and the fireflies, fighting in my stomach
(The light between their wings)
Scared to fly
I might come down
Think I’m ready now
Getting back in line.”

“Rollercoasters” is set in a major key and has a warm sound overall.  Furthermore, we get rich, soulful vocals by Tank. Unsurprisingly, the record transcends the popular amusement park attraction of course, also bringing in good ole ‘matters of the heart’ – L-O-V-E.

10. Ballyhoo!, “Rollercoaster”

💿 Girls. • 🏷 Right Coast • 📅 2017

“Everything’s good fallin’ asleep / Then we wake up and we’re in a fight / Feels like I’m goin’ out of my mind.” Hmm, definitely sounds like ‘rollercoaster’ ride to me! Reggae-tinged alternative collective 🎙 Ballyhoo! dropped 🎵 “Rollercoaster” as the eighth track on their 2017 album, 💿 Girls.

Ballyhoo! focuses on the relationship on the hella groovy “Rollercoaster.” As aforementioned, 🎙 Howi Spangler details how rocky love can be.  Ultimately, judging by the chorus, he’s “getting off this ride.”

“I’m tired of this rollercoaster
It’s never over
Are we any closer,
To getting off this ride?
We got it upside down and turned around
Stop before we hit the ground
On this roller coaster
I’m getting off this ride.”

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11. Janet Jackson, “Rollercoaster”

💿 Discipline • 🏷 Island • 📅 2008 

“Ah, you make me up and down through emotions / Like a rollercoaster / Spinnin’ like a Ferris wheel.” 🎵 “Rollercoaster” appears as the fifth track off of 💿 Discipline, the 2008 album by 🎙 Janet Jackson.  Jackson has an elite team working behind the boards: 🎛 Rodney Jerkins, 🎛 Jermaine Dupri, 🎛 Manuel Seal, and 🎛 Ian Cross. Notably, the record catches one’s attention from the start with the banging percussive loop. Ultimately, it’s energetic, quick, and bright, set in a major key.

Jackson serves up sweet, sexy vocals throughout the course of the song.  “Rollercoaster” fits her overall sound perfectly.  We get fast-paced, barely decipherable, sung-in-an-undertone vocals on the verses.  She rises to the occasion more on the chorus – excerpted above and continued below – the centerpiece of the record.  Those harmonized vocals utilized here sound pretty doggone sweet.

“...Ah, you turn me upside down with my feelings
And I know the reason
Baby your love is surreal.”

The following post-chorus is a win for JJ as well (“You make me go / Like a rollercoaster”).  Furthermore, gotta love the lush, contrast of the bridge section, which features a more legato melody.

12. Ohio Players, “Love Rollercoaster”

💿 Honey • 🏷 Mercury • 📅 1975

“Roller coaster of love / ‘Say what’ / Rollercoaster / Hah Hah / Ooh, ooh, ooh!” There’s NO better way to conclude this rollercoaster-driven playlist than with a mid-70s funky, soul classic.  🎙 Ohio Players were definitely some risqué mo-fos back in the day.  Not only was their music sexually charged, so was the cover art gracing their albums.  Honey, released in 1975, is no exception.  Among the collective’s most famous songs is 🎵 “Love Rollercoaster.”

Expectedly, sex plays a major role in the script, evidenced by the chorus (“Your love is like a rollercoaster, baby / I wish to ride”).  Sure, Ohio Players aren’t explicit about their actions, but we can all read between the lines – the innuendo is quite pronounced.  And honestly, doesn’t this song just sound like one grandiose orgasm? The production is nothing short of awesome, with the horn arrangements, hard hitting drums, and cool synthesizer work.

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