Alt Femme Soundtrack: Soft-Spiraling, Burning Bridges & Walking Into the Ocean
A Playlist for Transitions
This mixtape is for femmes in transition—whether you’re soft-spiraling in a vintage nightgown or marching toward destruction in platform boots.
🎧 Find the full playlist here and drop your own soundtrack additions in the comments.
1. "Talk Show Host" – Radiohead
1996 | Radiohead | Romeo + Juliet (OST)
Keywords: Moody introspection / Slow-burn menace / Cinematic brooding
Used in: Romeo + Juliet (1996) during Leo DiCaprio’s peak sad-boy era
When to listen: Late-night city walks, crying in a black trench coat, realizing you’re too self-aware to enjoy your life
2. "Fade Into You" – Mazzy Star
1993 | Mazzy Star | So Tonight That I Might See
Keywords: Dreamy melancholy / Dissolution / Soft sadness with eyeliner
Used in: Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), Charmed, every femme-core nostalgia montage ever
When to listen: When you are being a tragic but elegant ghost
3. "Colorblind" – Counting Crows
1999 | Counting Crows | This Desert Life
Keywords: Cinematic longing / Melancholy piano / Stripped vulnerability
Used in: Cruel Intentions’ most emotionally raw scene
When to listen: When the feelings come back
4. "#1 Crush" – Garbage
1996 | Garbage | Romeo + Juliet (OST)
Keywords: Seductive obsession / Femme fatale energy / Devotion as a weapon
Used in: Romeo + Juliet (1996)
When to listen: When you’re applying lipstick with malicious intent
5. "Seether" – Veruca Salt
1994 | Veruca Salt | American Thighs
Keywords: Feral femme rage / Unhinged energy / Pre-therapy girl rock
Used in: Riot grrrl-adjacent anthem about barely controlled chaos
When to listen: When it’s time to add to your list of regretful decisions
6. "Rid of Me" – PJ Harvey
1993 | PJ Harvey | Rid of Me
Keywords: Slow-build fury / Femme power shift / Violence disguised as a love song
Used in: Yellowjackets—because survival is personal
When to listen: When you refuse to go quietly into the night
7. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" – The Verve
1997 | The Verve | Urban Hymns
Keywords: Final-scene energy / Slow-motion walkaway / Triumphant melancholy
Used in: Cruel Intentions (1999)—Kathryn’s downfall, Annette’s escape
When to listen: When you’ve won, but it cost you everything
8. "Les Fleurs" – Minnie Riperton
1970 | Minnie Riperton | Come to My Garden
Keywords: Ethereal transformation / Rebirth / Expansive cinematic beauty
Used in: Us (2019), a song about shedding the past and stepping into something grander
When to listen: When you’re stepping into your next form—bigger, softer, untouchable
9. "Situation" – Yazoo
1982 | Yazoo | Upstairs at Eric’s
Keywords: Synth-femme energy / Dancefloor catharsis / Unbothered and ascending
Used in: The kind of song that makes you dance even when you’re overthinking everything
When to listen: When you’re spiraling but refuse to go down without a party
10. "Fear" – Sarah McLachlan
1993 | Sarah McLachlan | Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Keywords: Otherworldly sadness / Haunting beauty / Delicate yet ominous
Used in: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Becoming, Part Two)
When to listen: When you’ve accepted that transformation is painful, but necessary
11. "1977" – Ana Tijoux
2009 | Ana Tijoux | 1977
Keywords: Self-possessed confidence / Femme reinvention / Beat-driven clarity
Used in: Breaking Bad
When to listen: When you’ve made it through the spiral and are ready to start again
12. "Running Up That Hill" – Kate Bush
1985 | Kate Bush | Hounds of Love
Keywords: Cinematic rebirth / Witches & warrior women / The eternal comeback song
Used in: Resurged via Stranger Things, but alt femmes always knew
When to listen: When you’re stepping into your next era
Whether you're in the midst of a transformation or just embracing the chaos, this soundtrack is here to guide you through every phase. These songs are the backdrop to your alt femme evolution, from longing and unraveling to rebirth. Now, it's your turn—what tracks would you add to your own femme metamorphosis playlist? Drop your suggestions in the comments below, and let’s keep this mixtape going!
🎧 Find the full playlist here and drop your own soundtrack additions in the comments.
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