Music

5 songs to soundtrack your Aquarius season

Let your inner free spirit out, with songs by the Weeknd, Gord Downie and Feist that embody Aquarian energy.

Let your inner free spirit out with songs from the Weeknd, Gord Downie, Feist and more

Close-up images of the Weeknd, Tanya Tagaq and Feist are superimposed over a pink and purple astrological wheel.
Put resident Canadian Aquarians the Weeknd, Tanya Tagaq and Feist on heavy rotation to usher in this new astrological season. (Getty Images; graphic by CBC Music)

This post has been updated from an earlier version.


Aquarius gets a bad rep for being emotionally detached or aloof, but the truth is, people born under this air sign care a lot — it just takes them a while to warm up.

They're idealists who want to see the good in everything, but they aren't naive enough to believe there isn't any bad. In fact, they tend to be involved in social, political and environmental causes because they can so easily spot the fissures that need mending in our society. As a deeply humanitarian sign, Aquarius wants to leave the world better than it found it. 

They have brilliant minds and can be know-it-alls, but it's endearing rather than grating. They love falling down Wikipedia rabbit holes until they know everything about the most obscure topics. Subversive, rebellious and countercultural, Aquarians are free spirits at heart with a heavy dose of disdain for authority. 

In an ideal Aquarius world, we'd all live communally, in non-hierarchical societies, and spend all our free time reading every single book ever published. 

CBC Life astrologer Bryanna Collier says that Aquarius eason can help us to see the bigger picture. "It can also encourage us to shed our selfish behaviour, exchanging it for altruism and innovation," she says.

Get into the five songs below for a taste of the brainy and zany Aquarius way of life.


'Blinding Lights,' the Weeknd

The Weeknd ushered in a new era when he dropped "Blinding Lights," further proving he's the king of reinvention. The bright '80s synths and drums were a departure from the moodier tones on his previous albums. Reinvention is one of the key Aquarius traits: just when you think you've got them figured out, you realize you don't.


'I Feel it All,' Feist

"I Feel it All" is about fierce independence. Feist, an Aquarius herself, is a wildcard and refuses to be tied down. The song and music video are bubbling over with that untethered Aquarius spirit. She'll be the one to break her own heart, thank you very much. 


'Colonizer,' Tanya Tagaq

If there's one sign always ready to challenge authority, it's Aquarius — especially if that authority is an oppressive, colonial institution that has centuries of blood on its hands, as is the case on Tanya Tagaq's guttural metal track, "Colonizer." 


'Lite Spots,' Kaytranada

"Lite Spots" is kooky and unexpected, just like an Aquarius. This air sign does weird things well, and the bleeps, alien-like samples and disparate sounds in this song come together to create a masterpiece. 


'The Stranger,' Gord Downie

As hinted above, Aquarius is a sign that's always fighting the good fight. The late Gord Downie let his activism show through his music, whether solo or with the Tragically Hip. "The Stranger," which tells the story of Chanie Wenjack and his death after he fled residential school, is one of Downie's best.