Monthly Playlist: Rock Anthem Sing Along
A December playlist for people who know every word.
🎧 Prefer to listen? I read this article on the voiceover (above), on Spotify, and on Apple
Welcome to this month’s playlist: Rock Anthem Sing Along. December doesn’t need more holiday music. It needs permission to feel communal without being sentimental. A room full of people singing together because it feels good.
This is a holiday playlist without the holiday music.
This is a soundtrack for that kind of night. Where you and your friends are talking over each other, refilling drinks, and someone inevitably shouts a lyric from across the room because they couldn’t help themselves. Or you find yourself lost in thought because the next song brought up a memory from 10 or 15 years ago.
Sing-along rock. Zero pretense and maximum joy. For any season.
I’ve been working on this playlist for a few months. It started with an idea of making a holiday playlist that didn’t have any holiday songs. And this was the result. It’s not quite karaoke. It’s not quite a dance party. It’s some other, in-between thing.
Where to Listen
Use any of the links below, and be sure to save it to your profile. Then you can say, “Hey, Alexa/Siri, play the Rock Anthem Sing Along playlist!” Each playlist releases on the full moon. A small ritual of rhythm and reflection. The next is January 3rd.
Listen to my monthly playlist Rock Anthem Sing Along on any of these services:
🎧 Spotify | 🎧 Apple Music | 🎧 YouTube Music | 🎧 Amazon Music
The Songs
These are the songs I’ve shouted in cars, at concerts, and with friends on nights that didn’t need a reason to be good. There’s a kind of magic in everyone remembering the same lyric at the same time.
These are songs meant to be lived in — yelled, misheard, and shouted again.
Rock Anthem Sing-Along – December 2025
Sabotage — Beastie Boys
Smooth Criminal — Alien Ant Farm
This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race — Fall Out Boy
All Star — Smash Mouth
Bullet With Butterfly Wings — The Smashing Pumpkins
Misery Business — Paramore
Mr. Brightside — The Killers
The Middle — Jimmy Eat World
Are You Gonna Be My Girl — Jet
Monkey Wrench — Foo Fighters
Rebel Yell — Billy Idol
Hey Ya! — Outkast
Kiss Off — Violent Femmes
Mrs. Robinson — The Lemonheads
What I Got — Sublime
Whiskey in the Jar — Metallica
Bulls on Parade — Rage Against the Machine
Minority — Green Day
Here It Goes Again — OK Go
Loser — Beck
Teenagers — My Chemical Romance
Undone (The Sweater Song) — Weezer
I hope all 22 tracks are all familiar, help you feel the energy, and tempt you to sing.
🐇🕳️ The Rabbit Hole
I’ve been a hobby musician for the last 35 years. I’ve been a guitarist. Played the piano. Made some electronic music. And during COVID I learned to DJ.
A good mix has emotional continuity. About making each track feel like it steps naturally into the next. I used some harmonic mixing theory quite extensively when I sequenced this December playlist. You should feel every transition lift the energy a little bit. It’s subtle, but gives the mix this smooth, upward pull.
Harmonic mixing was first sketched in the 80s and later refined into what DJs now use as the Camelot Wheel — a simpler way to understand which keys lift or anchor a transition. Spotify even embeds it into the Mix feature. You can find more info on the Camelot Wheel and harmonic mixing on Mixed In Key’s Website, and a full tutorial on this How to Use the Camelot Wheel for Harmonic Mixing YouTube video.
Here are a few amazing sets from some of my favorite DJs. They are all cohesive, but in their own way. The first one from Diplo at space is especially amazing.
Why I Love Making These
A good playlist is a small emotional journey. My October playlist tried to capture energy; My November playlist was serene. For December, I wanted something communal. The songs are maybe the opposite of holiday music, but somehow still perfect for this (or any) season. Turn it on at your next gathering. Or even when you’re doing something ordinary and want the room to feel alive for a few minutes.
Happy listening, and happy singing.
- Rob Allegar
I’m a lifelong builder and advisor exploring what happens when technology stops behaving like a tool and starts acting like a collaborator. In this newsletter, I explore the space between ideas and execution, and help people build things that matter. roballegar.com
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this piece, hit ♥ or share it with someone else who, like me, also sings along to Whiskey in the Jar as if they know the words.