looking like an angel on the walls of versailles // playlist

- June 12, 2026

looking like an angel on the walls of versailles is a curated playlist inspired by Olivia Rodrigo's you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love lead single "drop dead" - an infectious all encompassing love song that perfectly bottles the lightning‑strike first rush of a new crush and the flood of emotions that come along with it.

The lyricism of this song has been feeling particularly inspiring since it was released, especially the vivid imagery she threads throughout the verses. With her long‑awaited new album finally out today, it felt like the perfect moment to put together a collection of songs that echo the feeling of "drop dead", the track that opens the album and plays such an integral role in its larger narrative. Even as the song shifts in tone and meaning across the record, "drop dead" is an incredible opener for the flood of emotions she was experiencing at this point in her life. She captures the rollercoaster of this relationship through the rest of the album in a way only Olivia can, tracing how that initial spark evolves and reframes itself over time.

As a single though, it stands on its own as a sweet ode to the rare - and sometimes fleeting - rush of falling in love. This playlist gathers some of the sweetest love songs that share the same sonic palette Olivia draws from throughout the girl so in love portion of the album. I wanted these tracks to reflect the larger world this record lives in and the ways in which it was shaped by decades of pop artists who came before her. Alongside that, I wanted to highlight the ways this music feels intertwined with her contemporaries who share that same ethos and feel like their work naturally builds on one another in this almost kismet way, intentional or not.

Of course The Cure is a mainstay on this playlist, with Robert Smith's work referenced heavily throughout the entire album, and even making a rare appearance himself on "what's wrong with me". The lyric "you know all the words to 'Just Like Heaven' and I know why he wrote them now that you're standing right here" from "drop dead" became the central vantage point for shaping the rest of this playlist. I kept returning to that line while choosing songs that, in their own way, feel like their version of "Just Like Heaven", which ultimately guided much of the direction I went in.

Alongside The Cure's work, "Bathwater" by No Doubt, "The Lourve" by Lorde, "Sofia" by Clairo, "Red Wine Supernova" by Chappell Roan and "Holy Ground" by Taylor Swift stand out as other songs that shaped the direction I took this playlist and feel intricately linked in a really special way. There is also a bit of a Parisian influence in a lot of the central theming of many of these songs too, inspired by the title of the playlist and the lyric that inspired it.

Thanks for reading! It has been so much fun sharing these playlists every month, centered around a specific song, lyric, or feeling that has been particularly inspiring me. The cover of the playlist, The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, is a work of art that I have been wanting to somehow incorporate into a post for quite a while, and the parallels it shares with the cover of Olivia's album never felt so right.

Be sure to follow me on Spotify to keep up to date with upcoming playlists and check out looking like an angel on the walls of versailles here or linked above. If you would like to check out more of my playlists click here or the links below. Check out my review of Olivia Rodrigo's you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love and more of her music linked here and below.