songs that inspire me to be a better songwriter and producer. as always, poc / women / queer people please submit to be considered for this playlist at guesst.net/playlists || keywords: los angeles, art pop, antipop, antiviral pop, vapor twitch, emo rap, sad rap, pop rap

🦋 guesstlist 💿// [pop] [hyperpop] [bedroom pop] [electropop]

i got really obsessed with @aries and now i wanna write pop music

idolize me

this track was really difficult . i had the drop which was the first thing i made and i was like dang this is cool but every thing that i made going into it just didnt feel right anyway this is what i ended up with.

i wrote this song initially by grabbing a bunch of virtual riot soundscape samples, and then smashing them all together to create one big sound scape. the only problem was lyrics. this sat in my "please finish this goddamnit" folder for a WHILE. one day, i was having a lot of trouble singing. so i just wrote about how much testosterone stole my voice from me and about how i wanna cry about that like at least once a day.

LYRICS //
authentic expression 
both hands around my neck 
massaging what i push too hard 

go higher, go brighter 
can’t keep with what i’ve got 
cause everyone will know im not the 

pixie tomboy princess that i knew that i could be 
before 13 i’d sing and it was everything to me 
i know i can’t go back but i wish i could taste the breeze 
of singing songs with ease 

i know i can’t go back but i wish i could taste the breeze 
of singing songs with ease

stream / download

i actively harm myself by trying to fit an image of who i want to be instead of being who i am

a looooooong fucking time ago near the first time i ever met @barrengates we fucked around with this remix he was working on at the time. 

we never released it because we got too in our heads about it, but im fucking tired of not showing people things i work on. this shit bangs and if i would have made anything even remotely this cool as a fourteen year old u best freaking KNOW that i would have been shouting about it on instagram and posting a video of me recording my screen or something. 

so yeah, im super glad we are just uploading the thing because its fun and i like it. 

at this time its just on soundcloud and youtube and audius. lemme know what u think if u check it out

Vagrant (Barren Gates & guesst Remix) - Mazare & Young Medicine

bad habit (dramatic!)

prod. @underscores

Exhale and the air sounds
Fall and the wind goes
Text that I miss you I'll see you Saturday
Hope the world keeps spinning so I'll make you happy
And I can't fall asleep to the sound of silence
But my heart goes on so that I can cry less
And I'll do what it takes just so I can sleep again
Something within me changed like what is happening
Skip through all the roses wanna see your face again
Lemme show you what our lives are when we don't play pretend

The story carries on
Walk through what went wrong
The real life goes on and on and on and on
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal

Oh by the way
I started that new thing I signed up for my texts are dry today
I'll respond when I remember when I can I'll hit send
Oh my gosh where you been? Have you seen this latest trend?
Have you changed, are you the same, do you remember what you said?
Did you delete the conversation is it playing in your head?
We could send games or send texts I'll leave it up to you instead
How did we kill all the time I'm still thinking bout what comes next

Suddenly don't need to fantasize
Invited me here with your tired eyes
Listening it just went back and forth 
Sitting with you is there something more
Suddenly don't need to fantasize
Invited me here with your tired eyes
Listening it just went back and forth 
Sitting with you is there something more
And I'll do what it takes just so I can sleep again
(Suddenly don't need to fantasize)
Something within me changed like what is happening
(Invited me here with your tired eyes)
Skip through all the roses wanna see your face again
(Listening it just went back and forth)
Lemme show you what our lives are when we don't play pretend

The story carries on
Walk through what went wrong
The real life goes on and on and on and on
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal

I feel immortal
I feel immortal
I feel immortal
I feel immo-
I feel immortal
I feel immortal
I feel immortal
I feel im-

You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal
You can't stop me I feel immortal

Immortal (Prod. Underscores)

i wish that i felt whole - guesst

harley and i were hanging out and talking about how we sometimes feel locked into edm when we actually have so many other musical interests. i picked up a guitar and we wrote a pop song about it.

stream / buy

unstuck - guesst, Harley Bird

so this one afternoon i was playing guitar along with figure.09 and i was like damn i really want my guitar to sound THICC but for that i need to double track it so i was like fuck it i guess ill record one side and then play along to the other but then it took a long time to figure out the tempo and so by the time i recorded the first side i was like damn this sounds hella sick im gonna just might as well record the second side and then i was like what about if i made all the drums knock really hard and eventually i had just recorded a whole cover.

NOT MY SONG, COVER OF "Figure.09 - Linkin Park"

LYRICS //

Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening
It's like nothing I could do will distract me when
I think of how I shot myself in the back again

'Cause from the infinite words I could say
I put all the pain you gave to me on display
But didn't realize instead of setting it free
I took what I hated and made it a part of me

It never goes away
It never goes away

[Chester Bennington:]
And now you've become a part of me
You'll always be right here
You've become a part of me
You'll always be my fear
I can't separate
Myself from what I've done
Giving up a part of me
I've let myself become you

[Mike Shinoda:]
Hearing your name, the memories come back again
I remember when it started happening
I'd see you in every thought I had and then
The thoughts slowly found words attached to them

And I knew as they escaped away
I was committing myself to them and everyday
I regret saying those things 'cause now I see
That I took what I hated and made it a part of me

It never goes away
It never goes away

[Chester Bennington:]
And now you've become a part of me
You'll always be right here
You've become a part of me
You'll always be my fear
I can't separate
Myself from what I've done
Giving up a part of me
I've let myself become you

[Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington:]
Never goes away
Never goes away
It never goes away
It never goes away

(Get away from me)
Give me my space back you gotta just (go)
Everything comes down to memories of (you)
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you (know)
I've let you go so get away from (me)
Give me my space back you gotta just (go)
Everything comes down to memories of (you)
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you (know)
I've let you go

[Chester Bennington:]
And now you've become a part of me
You'll always be right here
You've become a part of me
You'll always be my fear
I can't separate
Myself from what I've done
Giving up a part of me
I've let myself become you

I've let myself become you
I've let myself become lost inside these thoughts of you
Giving up a part of me
I've let myself become you

figure.09 (linkin park cover) - guesst

✱ track 9

https://fanlink.to/everything-ftft

coprod @annaglyphs & @can-of-bliss

~~lyrics~~
everything you said, everything you did
brought the shit back up from when we were kids
brush it off i guess, said "it's not that bad.
can't we be best friends? cmon, don't be sad
for yourself or mad at yourself
don't think too hard cause it's bad for your health"
but you said "it's different now"
cause you got a new crowd
and they're all too young to be calling shit out

i don't wanna freak out again
i live in the real world, i guess
i live in the real world, i guess

honestly i'm disappointed
but i'm not tryna shut you down
you didn't hear a thing that i said
not that it really matters now
we're all adults, i guess
i don't wanna hear you cry again
i don't wanna hear you cry again

oh our words hurt?
how does it feel on the other side?
don't you hear yourself talk?
don't you hear yourself lie?

but you said "it's different now"
cause you got a new crowd
and they're all too young to be calling shit out
yeah it's pretty different now
cause we made a new crowd
and we all found out you were bringing us down

no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door

you're fucked up if you think i wanna do this
i mean, i know we had to, but it feels like shit
i'm not the one you wanna hurt so bad
i'm not just "them", i'm not "some fag"
i had your back, didn't have to do that
when it comes down to it i don't owe you shit
brush it off i guess, said "it's not that bad
can't we be best friends, cmon, don't be sad"

no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door

no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door

honestly i'm disappointed
but i'm not tryna shut you down
you didn't hear a thing that i said
not that it really matters now

no more, i wanna see you at the front door
no more, i wanna see you at the front door

everything✱

nomore

i made this quick track for the Splice Discord X Soundcloud Nova beat battle. 

i started off with the required samples for the battle. after creating a little beat with them, i created a new group with the same beat and same samples but smashed them really hard to make the whole beat knock harder. 

the main sub is actually the tom sample pitched down and heavily distorted and phased to create a cool shimmery thundering bassline. 

right before the vocals start, this saw stabby sound comes in and its actually the kick drum sample stretched af and beefed up to be a low end pluck. 

i added some vocals because i can't help myself. the lyrics just poured out... i didn't know what i was going to talk about but this scene kinda like the matrix club scene where neo and trinity meet kinda started to unfold in my head. i imagined this character that was really fucked up about something and trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol only to realize they have gone too far and now are dangerously intoxicated -- kinda like that scene in trainspotting where ewan mcgregor sinks into the floor.

anyway thats my submission! i hope u like it (whoever is reading this)


LYRICS //
too drunk for conversation
i’m blankin whats ur name again
ego in full deflation
melt faster slippin down the drain

stand up to get some water
throw 10 down, mumblin a thanks
the floor is getting softer
my legs decide to take a break

i couldn’t say how much im worth
keep catchin my soul trying to escape from the earth
im watching my friends keep me alert
don’t wanna go down but my body’s inert

idk how much im worth - Splice Discord X Soundcloud Nova Beat Battle Submission

i dont really know what this song means but i thought it sounded pretty. 

there is one line i really love tho:

“never guessed that id spend energy on being small”

LYRICS // 

take my shirt off, throw it on the floor
stare down the mirror longer than before
never guessed that i’d spend energy on being small
shed my astro persona check it at the door

had it figured out when studded belts were cool
had it figured out if only then i knew

not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough

not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough

i got too much shit rattling around inside my head
remember nights of headphones sleeping at my desk
i want to feel what it was like
to be in love and one track minded
whats even worse i realize
that i can feel that any time

but i don’t
its all in my control
but i don't
please help me to unfold

not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough

not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough
not comin' back, not far enough

not coming back, not far enough

drunk at dinner

i wrote this whole ass song in washington square park and central park while living out of an airbnb in nyc after i didn't resign my lease. kinda fun, learned a lot. was sad tho too lol.


LYRICS //

i feel
kinda ugly
all the tiktok kids got me crumblin'
know its vain
know im buggin'
all my friends say that im lovely

i feel
kinda ugly
all the tiktok kids got me crumblin'
know its vain
know im buggin'
all my friends say that im lovely

take a look where i’m at
a clearing yellow and black
i’ve got my life on my back
don’t know when im comin' back

lights of the city keep track
of how much juice i got
batttery at 20%
i guess i should start

walkin' is the library open
i don't want to sleep yet
i wish i could level my head
keep thinking i lack
a pretty face with the eyelash
hold it in higher regard then my brain or my kindness

i miss feelin like i was good enough them
temporary but sometimes it kinda felt like confidence
partnership a bandaid for me cause i got some toxic things
that i've drilled into my skull everyday again and again and again and again

wish i was not so insecure
wish i could taste the love im near
when i know this self hate is manufactured
keep me feeling fractured we all burn

ive been trained
to feel ugly
all the tiktok kids make 'em money
im not saved
im still learning
but everyday i work on somethin'

(beautiful)
on my back in the park
lookin up into the stars
(as you are)
its midday but they are there
just like the beauty we are

(beautiful)
if you don't see it today
if you don't see it tomorrow
(as you are)
keep surrounding urself
with those with whom you belong

i feel
kinda ugly
all the tiktok kids got me crumblin'
know its vain
know im buggin'
all my friends say that im lovely

i feel
kinda ugly
all the tiktok kids got me crumblin'
know its vain
know im buggin'
all my friends say that im lovely

kinda ugly - Single

kinda ugly

stream / dl

dude im not even gonna lie i feel like i keep trying to write my thoughts into songs in ways that can help me make progress on myself and tbh it just feels like i keep doing great work for myself and then it all just comes crashing down. 

whats even more offensive is that this song is LITERALLY about how you have to keep learning the lessons over and over again. in fact most of my music is about that right now. "goddamnit will i have to do this daily"

ah well. i hope you like it.

LYRICS //
wake up check my texts snooze knock out again
alarm stop this time ig dms
spend half an hour on the clock app trends
now i wish that i could look like them

two hours i finally get out of bed 
trapped in the bathroom with my reflection
a staring contest that i wont win 

taking steps to love the physicality
that i will be embodying
goddamnit will i have to do this daily?

making habits don’t forget to brush my teeth
moving my body making beats
goddamnit will i have to do this daily?

im far enough along
but not quite enough to not be writing songs
im insecure but keeping on
i hope that i’ll keep going strong

im far enough along
(but not quite enough) to not be writing songs
insecure but keeping on
i hope that i’ll keep going strong

wake up different bed but the same damn dreams
alarms off fuck shit its almost three
spent half the day catching up on zzzs
just to stumble out onto the street

convinced im dying im all washed up
cant build a brand no one gives to fuck
learning i need to make my own love
but most days shit is kitchy and dumb

taking steps to love the physicality 
that i will be embodying 
goddamnit will i have to do this daily?

making habits don’t forget to brush my teeth
moving my body making beats
goddamnit will i have to do this daily?

im far enough along
but not quite enough to not be writing songs
im insecure but keeping on
i hope that i’ll keep going strong

im far enough along
(but not quite enough) to not be writing songs
insecure but keeping on
i hope that i’ll keep going strong

i hope that i’ll keep going strong
i hope that i’ll keep going strong
i hope that i’ll keep going strong
i hope that i’ll keep going strong

body image

listen / download

hello niz stream 🤘🏼🦋💿

making this song and shooting this video w harrisun and jabril was one of the coolest things i have done all year. 

LYRICS //

I guess ill just face it
That night in your basement
Was the closest I’ve been to the feeling I think
And im so impatient
I feel like I've wasted
Every minute I've spent on myself
It’s backward and selfish
I’m under the spell of what were sold to believe is a life
I guess I’ll just face it
Alone in my basement
Learning trust I’ll find

Now you got me lovesick, lovesick, lovesick
Now you got me lovesick, lovesick, lovesick
Now you got me lovesick, lovesick, lovesick
Now you got me lovesick, lovesick, lovesick

I used to give a shit about your love
Now I don't even seem to give a fuck
Last time I saw your mom she said good luck
Im glad she doesn’t think that im messed up

I don't even give a fuck about me
I know you feel a little bit lost without me
I just want you to go on without me
Without me
Without me

I used to give a shit about your love
Now I don't even seem to give a fuck
Last time I saw your mom she said good luck
Im glad she doesn’t think that im messed up

I don't even give a fuck about me
I know you feel a little bit lost without me
I just want you to go on without me
Without me
Without me

I guess ill just face it
That night in your basement
Was the closest don't been to the feeling I think

LOVESICK

LOVESICK - guesst x Harrisun

From a Seattle basement with a 5 foot ceiling (that we couldn't stand up in), to the top of a giant beach rock (with our laptops in Cannon Beach Oregon), and finally ending in a chaotic Hollywood getaway this song has travelled with Alter. and I throughout this year of self discovery. It's A self love story about clear communication, safe intentions and healthy boundaries. The production uses pop punk guitars, and R&B aesthetics from artists like Aries, K.Flay, and Julia Wolf.

i hope yall like it!

LYRICS //
my ex said i need therapy
so i wrote an album 
i don't think she'd count it

blink twice new friends, old memories
boundaries im about it
lets fucking talk about it

layers i trade in the space in between
all the lines of the blankets the pillows
your cat by the window
spoke softly
your safe here
i gotchu
just tell me and i'll listen love

shut up 
start talking
open my heart for you to see
honest, unguarded
i know you and you know me

shut up 
start talking
open my heart for you to see
honest, unguarded
i know you and you know me

my ex said i need therapy
so i ran a thousand 
fucking miles away to cali

i guess(t) i crave transparency
naked in the shower
learning how to self empower

no longer mumbling when you ask my name
i'm open now
i'm done with trying to pretend
i'm not chokin now
open the door to let you in

i'm out of my head now
i speak from my soul
learning to let go
don't let the fear drive me home
i'm out of my head now
i'm letting you know
you know, you know

shut up 
start talking
open my heart for you to see
honest, unguarded
i know you and you know me

shut up 
start talking
open my heart for you to see
honest, unguarded
i know you and you know me

know me, know me
i know you and you know me
you know me, you know me
i know you and you know me

shut up start, start talking
shut up start, start talking
(i will always let you know)
shut up start, start talking
shut up start, start talking

(no but for real tho, we all need to go to therapy)

shut up // start talking.

shut up // start talking. - Alter. x guesst

this is a song about being worried that you are inadequate no matter how hard you work. 

for me, i've realized that in order to see how far you've come, you have to look back.

August - wilsonlikethevolleyball

this song took way too long to release

lyrics:
It's morning
Lean across your bed and struggle to stand up
Seattle’s storming
And so is all the poison in your gut

Push against your brain 
You know that bastard isn’t sobered up
Knock back an advil 
Pray your demons are not built for harder stuff

I know its hard
Persuade your body to pretend your not fucked up
Don’t slip your guard
They’ll all hate you if you try to share your thoughts 
Ignore the water slowly filling up your oxygen and breathe
Breathe in defeat

Everything that I do, don’t you know I do for you
Snap rhymes together like I’m doctor Seuss
Get respect for my name 
When I play this game
When I can’t be tamed 
For a sound that’s new 

I don’t drink a ton I like to keep my head 
To attain my dreams and my goals instead 
If you hinder me on my greater journey 
You are not my friend and you are not deserving

Cause the fact of the matter is I'm gonna be great 
When I flex in the game and I get mad cake.
Gotta get with the plan when I change the venue
Any rapper that I see they are on the menu

Now I’m back from space with my pilot Wilson 
Now annihilate the enemy complete the mission
Scientists in the lab making nuclear fission
With a mic and pen and a musical vision
Yeah 

I tried to warn you 
I tried to care
This crystal coffin
Carry me up there

I tried to warn you 
I tried to care
This crystal coffin
Carry me up there

Crystal Coffin - wilsonlikethevolleyball

Abandoned - wilsonlikethevolleyball x calko

i made this remix for adastras remix contest! killer track, killer dudes!

Just Fine (Feat. Daym) [wilsonlikethevolleyball Remix] - Adastra

Thick Iron Fog

Thick Iron Fog - wilsonlikethevolleyball

SURPRISE REMIX YAY! 

wltv.fanlink.to/flyawayremix

Fly Away (feat. Isabella) [wilsonlikethevolleyball Remix] - Adastra & Rebel Scum

Thick Iron Epilogue - wilsonlikethevolleyball

you ever just lose yourself and then have to find it again? sucks especially when a piece of you is in someone else.

LYRICS //
You are fallin'
Falling out of place
We are fallin'
Falling out of place

I can't stand the silence
medication only keeps the bugs at bay
Biting my tongue and shaking at the hand

An ill planned alliance
Bloodied fingertips teething to concentrate
I wish I could remember how to stand

You are fallin'
Falling out of place
We are fallin'
Falling out of place
 
You are falling falling falling out of place
But I refuse to call your name
Destruction we face
Still I'm fallin'

You had it all to give
Under my skin I watched the flowers so reclaim
But now your back again
Closing my eyes to wonder drown myself in shame

dl gate, but free!

Out Of Place - wilsonlikethevolleyball

bodhi - wltv & nobuddy

wrote this track in like three hours because i was kinda feeling hella dysphoric and music is the only place i dont need to have a body

LYRICS //
Stand Out
Four hundred goods can barely make a sound
One weird has found

Chase the clout
Gnawing at my bones I'm fucking stressed out
Conception of my purpose crumbles

Are you what you want?
Are you what you want?
Are you what you want?
Are you what you want?

Are You What You Want - wilsonlikethevolleyball

Hello My Darling - wilsonlikethevolleyball

original by @jvna : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_aiiQVnyEc

i messed around with this track about a year ago and never released it. this is deffo un official, but i had a lot of fun making it and i hope u like it too :)

audius if u want

chemicals [guesst remix] - JVNA

i loved a person
we loved eachother
i had to move to LA
i had to learn to love myself like i loved them
i love you

LYRICS //
That kinda love that tears your chest apart
That kind of dumbstruck look, you're a work of art
I'm longing to know you truly
I'm longing to feel at home

Follow the open doors, did I stray to far
Follow the road that takes me to your arms
Taking the time to mend my broken heart
Learning to love what I've known from the very start

Cause I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me
Please tell me, I'm sorry
I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me

Cause I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me
(Please tell me, I'm sorry)
I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me

And I don't know what I will grow into
But I hope to see you move forward too
That kinda love that tears your chest apart
That kind of dumbstruck look, you're a work of art
(And I don't know what I will grow into)
Follow the open doors, did I stray to far
Follow the road that takes me to your arms
(But I hope to see you move forward too)

I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me
And I am worthy of love
And I don't need anyone to tell me
I love you

i am worthy of love - guesst

@leftywingate made an amazing track. i asked if i could remix it. here it is.

LYRICS //
Yeah, I hate when it's over
Feel like a loner
I'm addicted to smokin'
Caught me midnight tokin'

Well, I don't love you
I don't love you
I don't love you, girl
I don't love you

I don't love you
I don't love you

I Don't (guesst Remix) - Lefty Wingate

a dope collab i made with @leftywingate

lefty and i wrote most of this a year-ish ago in seattle and only just finished it because we had a conversation about living for our 16 year old selves and not giving a fuck and just making shit and having fun :)  i hope u like it! 

LYRICS //
Escape my head in cars the valley calls instead
I’ve never left alone my thoughts but now I'm spent
Six packs of Dr Pepper drowned in thick nonsense
Throwing words at walls like I'm sixteen again

Bright days
On a long day
Smoke Haze
I wish I was you
Yeah I wish I was you

Night drives
In the city
Smoke Haze
On the back ways
I wish I was you
Yeah I wish I was you

splat.com

splat.com - Lefty Wingate x guesst

LYRICS //
under an orange and violet smoggy sky i dont want this hunger

lurking between the smiles wide i smell camouflage and  mongers

i can see the wonder
but know the cost of hunger
will it pull me under
can i escape the hunger

i can see the wonder
but know the cost of hunger
will it pull me under
can i escape the hunger

hunger - guesst

guesst: i’m non-binary. “perception”  reminds me that i owe no responsibility to anybody to fit neatly into their perception of my gender. i exist to challenge colonial expectations of gender and being and to reconnect with the spectrum of knowing that my ancestors practiced.

Barren: 'perception' was heavily fueled by the constant overwhelming sense that I was losing myself in the last year. guesst, one of the very few artists I admire, unlocked my turmoil with their pure, unrefined passion🖤

LYRICS //

if im so tired how can i resist to sleep
a mind on fire, feel it licking at my sheets
i place the coins atop my eyes and beg for peace

hear them conspiring a lie im incomplete
feeling the eyes on me i cannot seem to eat
im reaching for the phone again take anything to fill my head 

i want to know what i already know that im not for you. an artwork that unfolds not in control of our reflection only here to train perception. ill relearn the lesson

i want to know what i already know that im not for you. an artwork that unfolds not in control of our reflection only here to train perception. ill relearn the lesson

perception - Single

perception

perception - guesst x Barren Gates

im wilson.

pop / edm / hyper / bedroom / numetal / tech artist 🦋🔊 

trans / nb 🏳️‍⚧️

guesst

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