My other website is a pizza blog.
May 2026
Date Added: 5/1/26
Song: Beautiful
Artist: Anyma, Joji
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Damn, in terms of ‘songs that sound like a Daft Punk song,’ I think John just climbed to the freaking summit - well done. The instrumentation behind the vocals in Don't Wait Up even sound like Get Lucky by Daft Punk. Rather than fail miserably to one-up that, I'm picking a newer electronic song with manipulated vocals that I heard on the Coachella livestream a couple weeks ago. My wife and I watch all the DJ sets, but I didn't really have a big EDM phase when I was younger. That said, this guy ‘Anyma’ has a song featuring Joji that I really enjoyed, and Joji's vocals are slightly similar to Midnight Generation so it's my pick today."
Date Added: 5/2/26
Song: Kites
Artist: Geographer
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright to close out the week, I was excited to follow up on this techno/electropop/edm vein we’ve gone down. I had a LOT of potential contenders to follow up Brian that could each send us into some interesting different directions, including post malone, brothertiger, eric prydz. I was really really tempted to shoehorn in some M83 because he’s one of my favorite artists. But if I’m being really honest, in the spirit of Hear Me Out, there was one song that truly flows from Beautiful in my brain. The singer’s unique voice and the slow vocals on top of the fast electronic music and dance beat - Kites by Geographer off the 2010 album Animal Shapes. I listened to this album so much back then, I kind of wore this song out for myself but I still love it."
Date Added: 5/3/26
Song: The Warning
Artist: Hot Chip
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I really enjoy 'Kites', Jeff. To you it's worn out. To me it's new yet oddly nostalgic. On that note, Hot Chip is a band that I really only 'discovered' well after their popularity peaked. The title track off of 2006's 'The Warning' has a similar bittersweet, Indietronic, twee-adjacent sound as 'Kites'. Maybe most of all, I love the melancholic threats. 'Hot Chip will break your legs.'"
Date Added: 5/4/26
Song: Headlock
Artist: Imogen Heap
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "I really like the sound that comes from music boxes. That Hot Chip intro does it for me. The music boxes reminded me of the intro to "Headlock" by Imogen Heap. It's electronic so misses some of that really pure feeling I get from an actual music box, but still a great track."
Date Added: 5/5/26
Song: Moles
Artist: Paris Monster
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Okay Headlock brought me to the song Moles by Paris Monster. These songs are more cousins than siblings, but somehow the vibe and aesthetic of Imogen Heap brought my mind here. Like Frou Frou, Paris Monster is an electronic duo. The vocalist plays drums and keyboard while the bassist also mans a giant rack of modular synths. Moles in particular has a very Headlock vibe with the pacing, the mood, the snare/bass/synth/vocals combo, and in the second verse of Moles there are even synthy music box tones. Tricia and I found Paris Monster when we just randomly went to Rockwood Music Hall in NYC and they were just like nothing else I’ve really heard. They’re clearly very technically talented and put on a great, unique live show."
Date Added: 5/6/26
Song: Cmon Talk
Artist: Bernhoft
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I've never heard of Paris Monster before. I like their sound but the vocalist especially stuck out to me as someone I feel like I've heard before. I looked him up and learned that he looks kinda like Matt Berry and that I've never heard of him otherwise. I remembered who he sounds like, though: Bernhoft. I remember this guy being really good with loops but I guess he only ever did it live? Such a bummer. So…the Tidal link to his song Cmon Talk [is above], but my real pick is his live version, which I think is far superior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjEsAEsYCw4"
Date Added: 5/7/26
Song: Killing Switch
Artist: Last Lynx
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Very unique sound, I'm hearing like layered guitars/synths, sort of classic indie rock vocals, and overall a lot going on. Can't think of anything to really match it, so I'm gonna go with Last Lynx, another Scandinavian indie, but this time from Sweden. They're sort of a one-hit wonder, but Killing Switch is the hit, so it's my pick."
Date Added: 5/8/26
Song: No One Is Lost
Artist: stars
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK, i enjoyed Killing Switch quite a bit. Its a fun indie song with a groove that is indie but feels KIND of disco-y in a way. That plus the male and female vocals and synths made me think of Stars 2014 album "No One Is Lost". I'm selecting the title track off the album since it contains all those elements and is kind of the stand out track on the album. It's a bit more dance-y rock in parts but I think it flows."
Date Added: 5/9/26
Song: Your Love Is My Drug
Artist: Blusher
DJ: John
Commentary: "I like No One is Lost a lot - from the French intro, to the dark but uplifting lyrics, to the beat that goes hard. It’s a fun song. It flows well.
I’m choosing Blusher’s cover of Kesha’s Your Love is My Drug for Triple Js Like a Version. I’m familiar with the Kesha original and I was all, ‘meh, whatever’ when it came out. But I love this cover version. They use their vocal harmonies for their synth stacks (call back to looping), their harmonies are super tight, and they build this sonic landscape that is quite impressive for a live version of this song. It’s electronic, dancey, hyperpop. And to top it off they finish with a mashup between the Kesha song and ABBA’s SOS."
Date Added: 5/10/26
Song: Loved You A Little
Artist: The Maine, Taking Back Sunday, Charlotte Sands
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Shoot, I already unironically liked regular-Kesha. Now that I know slick exotic Kesha covers are an option, this has implications. My wife's playlists are almost exclusively pop girlies and while I'll admit it's softened me a bit, I'm going to follow this with a Gen Z punk-rocker girl that I've really become a fan of, Charlotte Sands.
She's got a few bangers, but her favorite of mine is a collab she did with a couple of probably-sorta-washed-up early 2000's punk bands, Loved You A Little. Easily my favorite part on it is her insane vocals (@ 2:34), so it's my pick for today."
Date Added: 5/11/26
Song: You Know How I Do
Artist: Taking Back Sunday
DJ: John
Commentary: "I loved Loved You a Little - I’ve probably played is six times today. I’ve never heard of Charlotte Sands before, but I was a big TBS fan and hearing Adam Lazarra’s voice come through brought back waves of nostalgia. I think he brought new depths to the snotty, whiny pop punk voices of the era and really stands out as a vocalist.
Therefore, I have to stay on the Taking Back Sunday train and share my favorite song of theirs, You Know How I Do, the first track off their debut album."
Date Added: 5/12/26
Song: stone cold summer
Artist: South Arcade
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "This is going to be pretty tough to hit without just picking something everyone here has heard a million times so it's a bit of a loose association.
I had a little pop-punk revival a year or two ago where I started digging into whatever new stuff was out there and came across "South Arcade". I think they went viral on social media or something because suddenly they were everywhere and this track kept popping up for me. The lead singer's voice kind of reminds me of Avril Lavigne and it's very solid pop-punk despite showing up about 20 years late. Nostalgia woooooo"
Date Added: 5/13/26
Song: Jessica’s Changed
Artist: Surfbort
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Let's see...Surfbarclay, Surfbarry, Surfbert, Surf...bort?!? Oh come on! Surfbort!?! If we're doing 2020s female-fronted punk bands, I have to throw Surfbort in the mix. They're some amalgamation of riot grrrl, queercore, crustpunk, and 1970s shock rock. 'Jessica's Changed' is probably the most accessible off of their new record, Reality Star. If you're not into talk-sung, dispassionate vocals, I'm sorry - it's my jam."
Date Added: 5/14/26
Song: Deceptacon
Artist: Le Tigre
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "I dont know a lot of riot girl stuff (tho i feel like i should) but THIS ... this is the song I know. And it rocks"
Date Added: 5/15/26
Song: My My Orca Card
Artist: Who Is She?
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Oh we're doing riot girl bands?? I can't help but think of Seattle's very own Who Is She? A band that won my heart by securing a spot as the house band for Kraken games at the Climate Pledge arena (where Bezos owns naming rights) and then at their first Kraken game (of which I happened to be attending) played the song I'm choosing, which has the line:
Oh, fuck, Jeffrey Bezos
He's such a fucking jerk
Shut down all the bookstores
Billionaires do not work"
Date Added: 5/16/26
Song: Just Can’t Get Enough
Artist: Sheer Mag
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Though not quite riot grrl music per se, the current playlist mood made me think of another punkish/70s rockish band with a rough edged punky female lead, Sheer Mag. I first listened to them in 2017 when I heard them described along the lines of “this is the band you want blasting from the speakers when you’re cruising down the highway with the top down on the run from the fuzz.” This is Just Can’t Get Enough from the 2017 album Need to Feel Your Love."
Date Added: 5/17/26
Song: Love Me or Hate Me
Artist: Kelsy Karter
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Absolutely love Sheer Mag's sound, appreciate the share. That type of female vocals wrapped in sort a gritty-grainy rock package reminds me of Kelsy Karter. She's got a bunch of songs that I like, but Love Me Or Hate Me is a good uptempo entry point and my pick for today."
Date Added: 5/18/26
Song: Easier than Lying
Artist: Halsey
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "What I'm really loving about "Love me or Hate Me" is how it has a very driving beat with powerful female vocals and kind of straddling the line between rock and pop. This made me think of Halsey's 2021 album "If I cant have love, I want power" where it was born of pop sensibilities but with influence from Nine Inch Nails producing the ablum has a lot of edge to it. I chose "Easier than Lying" as it has a similar drive and delightfully gritty bassline similar to Love Me or Hate me."
Date Added: 5/19/26
Song: Kill Me
Artist: Indigo De Souza
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Alright, I'm going to keep these women-fronted acts rolling. John follows me tomorrow, so I'm hoping to set him up with some bread to butter. I'm taking the dark tones from Halsey's production and pointing them in Indigo De Souza's direction. The genre's quite different, but the lyrics are undeniably dark. De Souza is my second Ashevillian on the list, and as far as I know, holds no relation to one John Philip."
Date Added: 5/20/26
Song: Turn it Around
Artist: Lucius
DJ: John
Commentary: "What’s better than a woman fronted rock act? One fronted by two women, of course. So here is Lucius, with their track Turn It Around. This isn’t as dark as the last tracks. It has a fun vintage feel, and I love the dual singing. Lucius essentially has two lead singers that sing everything together. Sometimes it’s tight harmonies, other times it’s doubling up on the melody to make it punch more. There are many great Lucius songs to choose from, but this one felt a bit more similar in spirit to where we’re at on the playlist."
Date Added: 5/21/26
Song: Kiss Me, Son of God
Artist: They Might Be Giants
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "A band fronted by TWO women??! What's next? A band led by a CHILD!?! Maybe even a DOG! It's a slippery slope; don't YOU PEOPLE get it?! UGH. You know who hasn't had the spotlight in forever? MEN. When will MEN get their comeuppance???? So here is a band fronted by TWO MEN.
More seriously, I really liked Turn It Around. They have such an interesting sound; sort of stomp and holler, sort of pop. Using both voices for every lyric really stuck out at me. Even among bands that have two lead singers, it's not often that it happens... which leads me to my pick: They Might Be Giants - Kiss Me, Son of God. Both of them singing every lyric really brings it together. I'm also a sucker for satirical lyrics and toppling the ruling class."
Date Added: 5/22/26
Song: Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color for Your Eyes
Artist: Kristin Andreassen
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "OK, this is an absolute stretch, but the simplicity of the song and the coordinated vocals remind me a little bit of ‘Crayola doesn’t make a color for your eyes’ by Kristin Andreassen
Plus it’s just a good song. The only weird bit is the number of colors this lady goes through trying to match her partner’s eyes. If it says Brown on the drivers license, you really shouldn’t be trying periwinkle."
Date Added: 5/23/26
Song: yellow is the color of her eyes
Artist: Soccer Mommy
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Oh wait, they do make the color. It’s yellow. Yellow is the color of her eyes.
I love Soccer Mommy for so many reasons, not least of which is that I first heard about her when John and Claire were visiting! This song is a little less playful though, since it’s about her mom dealing with a chronic illness that I’m assuming includes jaundice. But while we’re on this color theme, this song comes from her 2020 album Color Theory, which she divides into three color sections. According to a pitchfork interview, ‘The album is divided into three sections, each associated with a color and a corresponding dour mood: blue, representing depression and isolation; yellow, for anxiety and illness, but also brightness; and gray, a void of death and loss.’ In conclusion, I especially like the simile, ‘in her eyes, like clementines…’”
Date Added: 5/24/26
Song: Irish Eyes
Artist: Rose Betts
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Well, you know who knows a thing or two about eyes? Thats right! Rose Betts' Mom!
I came across Rose Betts a few months ago when one of her live sets popped up in my youtube feed and it made me fall in love with music all over again. I was blown away by her voice and the unique instrumentation she uses. It's just so full of emotion and longing and all the things. And I love that I get to share this artist with y'all thru a very bizzare eye color connection"
Date Added: 5/25/26
Song: Elvis Presley Blues
Artist: Gillian Welch
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Okay let’s see, Irish eyes, English hair…how about Welsh? And by that I actually mean Welch, as in Gillian Welch. When I think of folk singing women with big vocal sounds on top of stripped down instrumentation, she immediately comes to mind. I was debating a few different songs by her but Elvis Presley Blues is the first one of hers that ever got my attention. It has since been covered by a bunch of artists, including Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffet, and Tom Jones, among others, but hers is the original."
Date Added: 5/26/26
Song: A TV Show Called Earth (Acoustic)
Artist: Philip Labes
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "The guitar and pacing reminded me of the accoustic version of "A tv show called earth" by Philip Labes. I've said before I'm a sucker for songs that tell a story and I really like the way this one is told. The slightly somber tone feels silly because the song is about the show "Earth" being a downer that didn't live up to the hype (looking at you "Lost", "Game of Thrones" and please please please not "Severance"). It's easy to miss the real message buried under the silly concept, but the existential critique of human self-destruction and squandered potential really hits."
Date Added: 5/27/26
Song: Awakening
Artist: Unleash The Archers
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I felt like I could go one of two directions here: match the sound or match the theme. My gut said theme this time, so I'm picking some of my favorite story tellers Unleash the Archers - Awakening
For quite some time, I considered Unleash the Archers my favorite band. They fit my taste in metal very well. One of my favorite things about their recent discography is that they tell a story. Not every song on each album contributes to the story but they have an established universe and plot that spans multiple albums. Some of their music videos also lean into this story and it's pretty rad, if you're willing to listen to their 3 most recent albums back-to-back (story not finished yet!). Awakening is the first song of the storyline and for a 7 minute song and it honestly doesn't really set much up story-wise but it's a really great song that kicks off a great epic."
Date Added: 5/28/26
Song: The Killing Kind
Artist: Marianas Trench
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Echoing Dan's sentiment here, was pleasantly surprised at the accessibility of the vocals in Awakening. I'm super green with metal as a genre, but these guys are a really reasonable entry point for someone looking to explore. I was hitting Spotify's "related artists" button and honestly, man, I don't even recognize anyone the algo recommends that's Unleash The Archers-adjacent. I've heard some popular/classic metal, but to stick with Claire's guidance I decided to go with "stuff that's my taste that's tangentially relevant here." A sort of poppy rock/synth-rock/whatever-genre-they-feel-like band that I adore, Marianas Trench, has flirted with metal on some of their past albums. For whatever reason, their song from several years back "The Killing Kind" popped into my head when I was listening to Awakening. I wouldn't call it a theme or genre match, but a similar energy - strong vocals, power chords, electric guitar solos, and a hell of a good time if you're into this type of sound, so it's my pick for today."
Date Added: 5/29/26
Song: I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Artist: Panic! At The Disco
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I chime in with a
Haven't you people ever heard of
Some pizzicato strings?"
Date Added: 5/30/26
Song: Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Artist: The Killers
DJ: John
Commentary: "Okay for today, I’m going to rewind to our music project from last year which many of you participated in - ranking and reviewing the top 1000 albums. One song stood out to me from that project as one I had mostly forgotten about, and didn’t even particularly like at the time, but really enjoyed upon hearing it again is today’s pick - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers.
The connection to yesterday’s song is Mormons from Las Vegas who were making popular music in the mid-aughts. Of course I could have gone in a pop punk direction, but that was almost too overwhelming, so I’m keeping us more on the dance side of rock with this one. As an aside, I love the bass line in this song."
Date Added: 5/31/26
Song: Psychos
Artist: Jenny Lewis
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "This is a little bit cheeky because I submitted a Rilo Kiley song a few rounds back, but it's like, how do you free-associate Jenny Was A Friend of Mine with anything other than Jenny Lewis? It helps that I enjoy her post-Rilo solo work.
Psychos is off of one of Jenny's solo records from a couple years ago. It's about dating in your 40's and maybe you could make a parallel that we're all getting older and so are the artists from our younger years, but it just ain't that deep for me. I like the way it sounds, and I like her voice, so Psychos is my pick today."
April 2026
Date Added: 4/1/26
Song: That Thing You Do!
Artist: The Wonders
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "If we’re going nostalgia, the boomers are the absolute greatest at packaging and selling it. “Alright” reminded me of the completely fictional band “The Wonders” from the movie “That thing you do” with their hit song of the same name. The movie didn’t do great commercially but got a ton of awards, presumably from the people for whom it was total nostalgia-bait. The song charted despite just being a movie track. I assume it’s basically the Kpop “Golden” of the 90s. Cool side fact, the song was actually written by one of my favorite artists, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne."
Date Added: 4/2/26
Song: Sugarhigh
Artist: Coyote Shivers
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Dan, I remember watching this when it came out. And now I’m having weird meta-nostalgia to revisit a movie made for nostalgia. From here my brain went to Sugarhigh by Coyote Shivers. Although he’s not a fictional musician, his most well known song, Sugarhigh, is performed in the fictional universe and finale of Empire Records, another movie featuring Liv Tyler and bottled generational nostalgia."
Date Added: 4/3/26
Song: Aside
Artist: The Weakerthans
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK this one is nostolgic for me cause we were listening to it a lot (and playing it together) around the time claire and I started dating. Plus its got similar 4 chord structure, tempo, and backbeat snare. Letsgoooo"
Date Added: 4/4/26
Song: Wildflowers
Artist: Tom Petty
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Oh man, we're on another nostalgia wave! Aside is such a great song and I feel like it really encourages oneself to grow but I don't feel much nostalgia with the Weakerthans (Claire introduced me to them just last year!). Someone who really, really hits the nostalgia for me, though, is Tom Petty. When I was a kid, my dad would only listen to two bands: Metallica and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Not to get too deep in the wounds but my dad was not a good dad and I don't think I ever got a word of encouragement from him. Tom, though? It's in second person but he wrote Wildflowers to encourage himself, which I couldn't help but adopt."
Date Added: 4/5/26
Song: In This Boat
Artist: She Makes War,
Chris T-T
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Ok, im jumping off of the lyrics on this one with Tom Petty opening with "you belong in a boat out at sea. Sail away, kill off the hours" and man, i always love a good boat song. The imagery just always hits me so much. So I'm going to present "She Makes War" with "In this Boat". This is one of those super indie artists who just is killing it with such a vibe and always feels like she has such a strong artistic voice (metaphorically). Obviously a much more electric guitar sound than the Tom Petty song but it still feels right to me. The last 1/3 rd of this song is just [chef’s kiss] ‘you are the anchor, I am the wave’"
Date Added: 4/6/26
Song: With Arms Outstetched
Artist: Rilo Kiley
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Dang, what a voice on that girl - fun listen, her range is incredible. So it's definitely not an exact match, but her vocals (albeit more-soprano and with greater range) remind me of Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley. Temptation is to pick A Better Son/Daughter because I love it, but I feel like that's overplayed so my choice for today is With Arms Outstretched. It doesn't build the way She Makes War's song does, but it's enough for a Monday."
Date Added: 4/7/26
Song: The Distance
Artist: Fever Dolls
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "It could be the female vocalist and lyrics about short time, or it could be the weird name matchup. Rilo Kiley reminds me of Renn Mulloy who is from what I think are maybe the most underrated band I've heard in the last 10 years, The Fever Dolls. For whatever reason they only released 10 or so songs, almost entirely as singles - but I like every single one. They're a weird indie band with awesome lyrics, lots of fun hooks, and a really solid vibe. Also they were from Berlington, VT before Noah Kahan put Vermont on the radar. Anyway, pick any song you like, they're all good, but I'm going with ‘The Distance’"
Date Added: 4/8/26
Song: Stop Talking
Artist: Motion City Soundtrack
DJ: John
Commentary: "I really like The Distance - I’m excited to dig into The Fever Dolls. The first thing they reminded me of is a band I listened to a lot in the mid 2000s - Motion City Soundtrack. I guess I’d classify them both as pop punk adjacent indie rock music. And the melodic synth throughout is what sealed it for me. Rather than share a classic Motion City Soundtrack song, I’m choosing to share a newer song of theirs from 2024. While their classic albums from the 2000s are great, they still occasionally put out some fun tracks on their new albums as well, so I wanted to showcase one of those here."
Date Added: 4/9/26
Song: Mary
Artist: Survive Said The Prophet
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Oh geez, there are so many songs in my musical wheelhouse about unrequited/fleeting love but MCS's is pretty fast and energetic, which really narrows it down. I pretty quickly thought of something in the same era (2020's) but in a little bit of a different genre: Mary by Survive Said the Prophet. Side note: I tend to have a pretty wide geographical taste in music but it still catches me off guard when a band sings in 3 very different languages, which this song (just barely) does."
Date Added: 4/10/26
Song: Como Te Vas
Artist: Trails and Ways
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Ron, I’d never heard Survive Said the Prophet before and really like their dense sound and galloping pace. They give Senses Fail or Coheed and Cambria vibes. But I’m actually going to go for a tonal shift instead. With the trilingual aspect of Mary, you got me thinking about a band I haven’t thought of in a while - the self-described “bossa nova dream pop” band Trails and Ways from Berkeley. We actually saw them play in Oakland a while back! Their aptly named 2013 EP “Trilingual” has songs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. And while I couldn’t find an actual trilingual song off the album, I leave you with Como Te Vas to dream pop you to sleep tonight."
Date Added: 4/11/26
Song: Danny Nedelko
Artist: IDLES
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I appreciate the multicultural element the last couple songs have added to Hear Me Out. I don’t speak no langages, but I’ll celebrate multiculturalism by contributing Brexit-era punk rockers, IDLES, to the playlist. In ‘Danny Nedelko’, they list a few prominent immigrants that have contributed to the UK’s multicultural greatness - Freddie Mercury, Malala, and Mo Farah. They also pay homage to unnamed immigrants - a Nigerian mother of three and a Polish butcher. As for Danny Nedelko himself, he is frontman of Heavy Lungs, a Ukrainian immigrant, and friend of IDLES. The song is off of 2018’s ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance.’ In my opinion, it is perhaps the best-named album of the era."
Date Added: 4/12/26
Song: Prayer Of The Refugee
Artist: Rise Against
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "If I close my eyes while listening to that IDLES track, I feel like I'm sweating and jumping up and down in the hundred degree heat at an early-2000s Warped Tour stage in the Mile High parking lot during a politically charged election year. For me, the memory that evokes is watching Rise Against on one of the main stages in exactly that context, so Prayer of The Refugee by them is my pick for today."
Date Added: 4/13/26
Song: God Knows
Artist: Beatsteaks
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Rise Against takes me back to the Punk-O-Rama mixes by epitaph records which was one of the big ways how, in the era before streaming, I found new punk bands. One of my favorite songs off any Punk-O-Rama ever was God Knows by the German punk band The Beatsteaks. I love the repetitive guitar riff and the energy of the song. Great for sweaty jumping. Enjoy!"
Date Added: 4/14/26
Song: After Destruction
Artist: Descartes A Kant
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Oh shit ok this is a tough one for me as i really dont listen to punk unless its with claire and it feels pretty disingenuous for me to pick something that ive heard her listen to. I did a lot of looking thru my previous plays and I thought this had a bit of a connection i could make: I give you Descarte A Kant: After Destruction. I'm mostly latching on to the energy and distorted guitars here as the thru line. I love this whole album too because I really feel like it's speaking to how we try and exist in the world today. Also, DAK, much like Beatsteaks, is not US based band. So thats another connection... right?"
Date Added: 4/15/26
Song: Dropkick the Punks
Artist: The Faint
DJ: John
Commentary: "What stuck out to me from DAK was the distorted baseline and electro-synth sounds. For me, that triggers one band above others: Omaha’s own The Faint. This track is off their 2004 album Wet From Birth and perhaps best captures a more minimal version of their post punk, new wave sound (some of their other tracks are way more synth heavy). I know this track won’t be for everyone. The Faint, and especially this song, are an acquired taste."
Date Added: 4/16/26
Song: Sleepy Head
Artist: the pillows
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Did someone say distorted bassline?? I really like Dropkick the Punks and putting the bassline upfront and center immediately made me think of another song from the same era: Sleepy Head by the pillows. This song is less grunge-y but still has a lot of the same energy, which I really enjoy. The lyrics, though, are not even close to related lol"
Date Added: 4/17/26
Song: Killjoy
Artist: Rob Sonic feat. Aesop Rock
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Upon more listening, it's maybe not as similar as I thought but hell if it isn't in the spirit of the thing because the first few notes of Sleepy Head set my brain on fire like a spark on gasoline."
Date Added: 4/18/26
Song: Bats
Artist: The Uncluded
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Is Aesop Rock a West Coast or East Coast rapper? He spent the bulk of his career in New York, but more recently was based out of San Francisco, and now Portland. I don't mind claiming him as the Pacific Northwest's own. So, on that note, let's do a PNW supergroup. The Uncluded is a duo featuring, yes, Portland's Aesop Rock, and Olympia/Seattle's Anti-Folk hero, Kimya Dawson, formerly of Moldy Peaches. Bats!"
Date Added: 4/19/26
Song: Unknown Legends
Artist: Shovels & Rope, Shakey Graves
DJ: John
Commentary: "BATS! I think that song is about watching the bats flying out from the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, and using that as a metaphor of death and healing. I’m going to leave the PNW and follow Austin, Texas and collaboration as a theme, and share a song from Charleston-based Shovels and Rope featuring Austin-based Shakey Graves, covering Canadian Neil Young’s song Unknown Legend."
Date Added: 4/20/26
Song: Be Mine
Artist: Alabama Shakes
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright, I’m sticking with Americana/roots rock/southern rock. But at the risk of giving you all CTE, I’m keeping things shaky by following Shakey Graves with Alabama Shakes. Shaking it up, you might say. And incidentally, we’re going to see them in Raleigh this weekend! Anyway, Be Mine off the 2012 album Boys & Girls is my favorite song by them. And lest you think I’m not living up to “Noisy” in my word cloud, one of my favorite parts is the build at the end when she abruptly switches up to the highest register."
Date Added: 4/21/26
Song: Elderberry Wine
Artist: Wednesday
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Y'all motherfuckers want some slide guitar? This is one that showed up on my 2025 Wrapped. You know that Bo Burnham song satirizing Stadium Country and how it's just rural-coded language without any deeper meaning? Wednesday does that, but with contemporary living. Lyrics like:
'Angel hum of an electric car reverses toward me', and 'Roll one up, say it's mostly CBD'
Anybody here from 2026? Here's Asheville, North Carolina's own with 'Elderberry Wine'."
Date Added: 4/22/26
Song: Spitfire
Artist: Sierra Hull
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK so here is a lovely Sierra Hull song called Spitfire which is an ode to her grandmother and a very lovely tribute. Hull, if you dont know, is a young virtuosic mandolin player (tho in this song shes on guitar) and has played with all the greats of bluegrass. There really is a lot of amazing music right now in contemporary bluegrass and Hull represents the epitome of it IMO, but there is SO much in this genre to dig into and I highly recommend you do so! Obvious connections to the previous song are: slide guitar, female vocals, accoustig guitar strumming , and nice harmonies."
Date Added: 4/23/26
Song: On Ice
Artist: Chris Thile
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "ok, if we're doing mandolins, I'd be totally irresponsible not to throw Chris Thile in the mix. His mandolin skills are unreal. I think the first "major" band he was in was Nickel Creek, then he went solo, then he was in Punch Brothers. I've seen him in concert several times, most recently with Punch Brothers and it's in my top 3 concerts of all time. The concentration of talent and creativity in that group is mind blowing. Anyway, Deceiver was the first solo album of his I really got into and it's one of those albums where I'll throw it in and listen to the whole thing and every song is great. "On Ice" is one of my favorites, featuring some wild mandolin action so we'll go with that."
Date Added: 4/24/26
Song: The Lighthouse’s Tale
Artist: Nickel Creek
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I don't think I can pick anything except The Lighthouse's Tale by Nickel Creek. Chris Thile has such a distinct sound on the mandolin that any songs I could think of always had him playing, so I gave in and picked the most impactful one for me. Dan introduced me to Nickel Creek back in college and I remember shrugging them off because their music was so religion-coded. Eventually, I (sort of) grew up and could really see and appreciate their talent for musicality and storytelling. This song still pops up randomly on my playlist and can still evoke a lot of emotion in me."
Date Added: 4/25/26
Song: 23
Artist: Noah Kahan
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Love the Chris Thile throwbacks, thanks a lot for the rabbit hole rehash, guys. Timing-wise, having these picks bubble up right on the heels of the new Noah Kahan album drop -- a famous mandolin...iast, as well -- well, it just makes me go for the low-hanging fruit.
I'm only a listen-and-a-half into the new Noah record and while my final opinions still aren't fully-formed, I'm really enjoying the song "23" so that's my pick for today."
Date Added: 4/26/26
Song: Adios
Artist: Rammstein
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I've never heard of Noah Kahan before but I dig his sound (his voice is a lot like Post Malone's). Lyrically, though, 23 is a really sad song. Watching someone you care about go through addiction is tough and I can think of a few other songs with varying perspectives. Adios by Rammstein is going to be my pick for the day because it thematically and emotionally matches but I like the contrast in energy.
I did joke with Claire yesterday that I was going to go for the biggest genre switch between picks; I swear this is a real pick and not "haha look at me""
Date Added: 4/27/26
Song: Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
Artist: The Dandy Warhols
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Ron, I hate to leave your abrupt genre change out there on an island of its own, but pretty much any metal trend will dead-end when it hits me. Sorry, I just don't know that much metal. I had to translate Rammstein's lyrics into English to be sure, and just as Ron promised, this is a song about intravenous drug use. Hooray! So that's the theme I ran with, and I'm picking a song that I hope most of you remember, but have forgotten that you remember.
The Dandy Warhols are probably most famous for their 2000 hit, "Bohemian Like You", but 3 years earlier they released a single, "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth". It's the superior song in my mind. It did the rounds on MTV, and perhaps embodies 1990s ironic detachment better than any song I know. They take a serious theme like heroin addiction, and boil it down to a fashion statement. After all, this was the era of heroin-chic supermodels. "I never thought you'd be a junkie, because heroin is so passé".
More than anything, I remember the music video. I really need you all to revisit this with fresh eyes. The bright colors, the choreography, the DANCING SYRINGES! And right there in the middle of it, are The Dandys looking cooler than fuck with that same ironic detachment I mentioned earlier.
One final note, in an effort to seed Liz's pick tomorrow: stoic synthpop girl"
Date Added: 4/28/26
Song: Ballad of an Onion Sprout
Artist: The Burning Of Rome
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Well how could i miss an opportunity to post my epitome of the stoic synth girl in the local San Diego band "The Burning of Rome" with "Ballad of an Onion Sprout" The first time I saw them it was such an incredible show. The energy was OFF THE CHARTS. The guitarist spent half the time in the audience rocking out. At one point the singer is standing up on top of his keyboard/piano screaming into the microphone which he falls off of, fully off the stage, landing on his back and never misses a beat. He took a microphone with him that our Stoic Synth Girl was using and she just calmly reaches over, grabbing the guitarists microphone to continue singing like this was just the most normal day ever. Great show. Great band. I always thought maybe they'd make it big."
Date Added: 4/29/26
Song: Aerodynamic
Artist: Daft Punk
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "ok so unlike Ronald, I actually loved Ballad of an Onion Sprout. It's crazy sounding without being discordant. Experimental without being noise. I don't know, I'm just into it alright? Back off!!!! Anyway it's weird enough that my brain focused in on the tolling bells and it made me think of Aerodynamic by Daft Punk. This album just absolutely defined senior year high school track meets. I listened to it a ton, then all summer, and it was the soundtrack to my journey to a new life far far away in exotic Colorado. I remember listening to it on headphones as I walked through DIA. I actually think it would be a killer album even without the nostalgia, but the nostalgia definitely doesn't hurt."
Date Added: 4/30/26
Song: Don’t Wait Up
Artist: Midnight Generation
DJ: John
Commentary: "I really appreciated Dan’s backstory for his song, and I wish I had a good story to go with this one as well, but that story is just, “this band reminded me of Daft Punk” when I found them last year. They’re called Midnight Generation and they’re from Mexico. It’s a delightful mix of electro pop, disco, and funk. It’s a bit of a slow start, but by 1:10 or so, you should be groovin’ so stick it out."
March 2026
Date Added: 3/1/26
Song: Mo Money Mo Problems
Artist: Notorious B.I.G., Mase
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Great share from Jeff, haven't listened to De La Soul in a minute. Eye Know's got an upbeat cheerful vibe, and while the depth of my hip-hop bench isn't the strongest it got me humming Kelly Price's hook from Mo Money Mo Problems by Biggy and Mase in '97. Annoyingly, Puffy's involved on the track but I always thought of it as B.I.G.'s jam, so it's my pick to start off March radness."
Date Added: 3/2/26
Song: Anxiety
Artist: Doechii
DJ: John
Commentary: "Doechii is probably my favorite hiphop artist I’ve found post pandemic. So sticking with the genre, I’m sharing a Doechii tune today which is the least Doechii-like, but also samples a song from about 15 years earlier just like Mo Money Mo Problems did with Diana Ross. I like how she’s taken a song that everyone knows but breathed new life into it and, in my opinion, improved on the original. Enjoy!"
Date Added: 3/3/26
Song: overwhelmed
Artist: Royal & the Serpent
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Ok my rap collection isn’t so well developed. Songs about anxiety on the other hand, that I can do. I think the pandemic was really good for people who wanted music about anxiety."
Date Added: 3/4/26
Song: Crush
Artist: Tessa Violet
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Dan's pick of a female lead song with a sparse instrumental track about anxiety reminded me of this female lead song with a sparse instrumental track about anxiety (although, this anxiety is about love aww)"
Date Added: 3/5/26
Song: Call Me
Artist: Blondie
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Ok I didnt have an "initial" reaction to Crush that was like "I know what song!" but there were several things that stood out: the staccato vocal delivery part is a unique rhythm. The "crush crush" repeated lyric, and the phone ringing in the background. As I kind of went thru each of these to see if i could find a connection the phone ringing hit and i was like OH SHIT BLONDIE! Now, this song doesnt feature any phone noises, but it is about calling. On the line. Any time, day or night. Plus female vocals and all around bop was a good enough connection for me."
Date Added: 3/6/26
Song: Spiderwebs
Artist: No Doubt
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright the early 80s punk-ish female lead singing about calling someone on the phone led me to the early 90s punk-ish female lead singing about leaving a message on an answering machine. Remember answering machines?"
Date Added: 3/7/26
Song: Ocean Man
Artist: Ween
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I have a good thematic follow-up for Spiderwebs that I'll post as a Second Choice, but I'm reluctant to establish our second ska wave in as many months. So here's Ween's 'Ocean Man' off of 1997's 'The Mollusk'. Let's say the connection is warm, summery, 90s Power Pop. And as a fun aside, 'The Mollusk' inspired the creation of Spongebob Squarepants."
Date Added: 3/8/26
Song: Changing of the Seasons
Artist: Two Door Cinema Club
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Ok so Ocean Man is in my Spotify library but I’ve never been able to categorize it well. It just falls under “weird”, which makes finding a follow up track kind of tricky. I ended up going with Changing of the Seasons by Two Door Cinema Club. It’s got a little bit more of a mainstream sound and came out like 15 years later but has a cadence and feel that puts the two in line for me. Plus I really like the brutal honesty of the lyrics in the chorus."
Date Added: 3/9/26
Song: Seasons (Waiting on You)
Artist: Future Islands
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Okay, so the song I really wanted to do to follow Dan’s was by Cruiserweight, a local Denver band that John, Claire, and I listened to a lot in high school. The first song off their album kicks right off with this intense, raw, gut punch “I DON’T LOVE YOU….” But alas, their songs aren’t streaming anywhere. So then I thought about working with the band name Two Door Cinema Club and going with any of the other clubs of the same era: Bombay Bicycle Club, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tokyo Police Club. But they were a little too lyrically and thematically distant. So finally the song that made the most sense to me to follow Changing of the Seasons was Seasons (Waiting on You) off the 2014 album Singles by Future Islands. The parallels are pretty clear, but it’s about falling out of love with someone in cycle with the seasons. “The winter will wash what’s left, of the taste.”"
Date Added: 3/10/26
Song: The Gold
Artist: Manchester Orchestra
DJ: John
Commentary: "I’m going to drop the seasons metaphor but stick with the falling out of love theme, and move it over to a relationship as a hollowed out gold mine metaphor, and how the mine (and the gold) has changed miner, from the perspective of his wife. This one isn’t quite as emphatic of a beginning as “I DONT LOVE YOUUUI!” from The Cruiserweight, but opts for a bit softer opening of, “i don’t think I love you anymore”. Still a pretty clear message and words that the person on the other end of that conversation is no doubt devastated by. Sing along if you know the words!"
Date Added: 3/11/26
Song: Shark Smile
Artist: Big Thief
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I'm working on the theme of melancholy in relationships. The past few have been about ending relationships, but this one's about getting into a relationship that you know is bad for you. Plus there's a call out to a Midwestern locale. In 'The Gold' it was Eastern Illinois. Here it's South Des Moines. Something I appreciate about Adrianne Lenker's lyricism in this song is how the simple, 'Baby, take me,' adopts a new meaning by the final chorus."
Date Added: 3/12/26
Song: American Teenager
Artist: Ethel Cain
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Alright, guitar intro, queer singer, straight forward beat, sad... gotta go Ethel Cain for a follow up to Big Thief"
Date Added: 3/13/26
Song: Leave a Trace
Artist: CHVRCHES
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Really cool song, hadn't listened to Ethel Cain before. Her voice has sort of a ghostly/ethereal quality that reminds me of the Scottish chick that sings for CHVRCHES. Ethel/Hayden paints a cute little picture of (expository) hopelessness of the completely fucked-over modern youth of America -- I know, I thought it too: if only we could save them from exploding. A fitting response to that call is CHVRCHES's Leave A Trace, which basically sounds like an upbeat and defiant middle finger to their tormentors."
Date Added: 3/14/26
Song: Doomed
Artist: Maphra
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Leave a Trace reminds me of a song called Doomed by Bring Me The Horizon in that it's a song that is about someone standing strong against adversary with a real ‘fuck you’ attitude. Bring Me The Horizon takes it another step further by going down with the ship. I love Bring Me The Horizon's original but I'm going to be choosing a cover of their song by Maphra, who is an insane vocalist and really, really elevates the song to something with a lot of fight in it."
Date Added: 3/15/26
Song: London Calling
Artist: The Clash
DJ: John
Commentary: "Okay so for today I wanted to take Doomed and go in a doomsday direction. There were so many options I considered, many from the Cold War era focusing on nuclear annihilation/end of civilization. I considered David Bowie’s Five Years, but I think I’m only allowed one Bowie song every six months. I also considered 99 Luftbalons by Nena and Melt With You by Modern English. Ultimately I settled on a song I know you all know, but I don’t think you’ll mind hearing again - I know I won’t. It’s The Clash with London Calling. It came out in 1979 amongst turmoil at home and abroad as the British Empire crashed out, with nerves running high about nuclear war. I want to see it in a positive light though, as here we are almost 50 years later and nuclear fears are (mostly) behind us."
Date Added: 3/16/26
Song: London Bridge
Artist: Fergie
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I wish I had a deeper connection here but I'm going to stay true to myself and pick the first song that came to mind when listening to London Calling. She might be a bit problematic and there are certainly problematic lyrics in the song, but here is London Bridge by Fergie"
Date Added: 3/17/26
Song: Norf Side
Artist: Jill Scott feat. Tierra Whack
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I’ll run with the theme of female-fronted hip hop. I already posted this once on #second-choices-and-missed-opportunities , but I think it deserves an official spot on the playlist. It’s one of my 2026 favorites."
Date Added: 3/18/26
Song: Bullshit
Artist: The Palmer Squares feat. ProbCause
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "The easy one today was the Fugees because it was the first thing that came to mind, but I'll just throw that in the second choices bucket because I'd rather put a song in that people might not have heard. Like Norf Side, the lyrics are self-aggrandizing, go into the drugs they do, etc. They're a bit more aggressive, but they throw out references like every other phrase which makes it fun to try and keep up with it all."
Date Added: 3/19/26
Song: Angry At The World
Artist: The Kyteman Orchestra
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK this is going to seem like a bit of left field, but I promise you i havea connection. SO Kyteman Orchestra out of The Netherlands, was lead by musician (and synth genius) Colin Benders who is a flugal horn player. The reason I thought of KytemanOrchestra was because of a line from Bullshit about the flugal horn, which stood out to me as its kind of a weirder/less known instrument. And this song in particular has a big rap section in the middle. Thematically its got similar "its all bullshit" vibes. Kyteman Orch. did a lot of blending genres and tons of musicians of all types and just was a genre fuck of delight. Hope y'all love them as much as I do."
Date Added: 3/20/26
Song: Uprising
Artist: Muse
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "What a fun cacophony of sounds to free-associate with today. Definitely a new artist for me, and a real joy to listen to. Though I suspect there are more nuanced takes available, I just can't shake the feeling that the hook from Angry At The World follows a similar melody and tempo to Uprising by Muse. So with that in mind, I'm abusing my temporary DJ powers and declaring 3/20 to be Basic Bitch Friday. Thanks for being my... Muses dgakdkhajhagdjskdhausj I'm so sorry."
Date Added: 3/21/26
Song: Ghost of York
Artist: As Tall As Lions
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Brian for your Muse selection. There are many great Muse songs and I was tempted to just pick another one. Like Starlight or Madness, which are some of my favorites. But to keep the playlist evolving, I’ll showcase Ghost of York, my favorite song by the Muse-like band As Tall As Lions off their 2006 self-titled album. One of many things I appreciate about this song is the parallel construction of the first and second verses: 1) “Tell me that you could hear it, three taps under the floorboard, don’t say I’m losing it, maybe you’re deaf.” 2) “Tell me that you could see it, a ghost whose skin was porcelain, don’t say I’m losing it, maybe you’re blind.” I also love how the bridge builds to this intense wall of sound and then there’s a sudden satisfying drop. Man, I love this song."
Date Added: 3/22/26
Song: Morning Bell
Artist: Radiohead
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "I really liked As tall as lions and parts of it really reminded me of radiohead. Plus "ghost of york"??? TOM YORK?!!! it was meant to be! I picked one of my favourite radiohead songs but its also SUPER facinating to me because they released two versions of it: one in 4/4 and ne in 5/4, this being the latter and a rhythm I've shamelessly ripped off for my own music. I'll post the 4/4 version in second choices so you can compare, because this lays out a way to make any 4/4 song into 5/4 by just extending the first 2 beats to be 150%. So you get a sort of "long long short short" beat pattern and i freaking love it."
Date Added: 3/23/26
Song: 7/4 (Shoreline)
Artist: Broken Social Scene
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Liz! It was a fun exercise to count this out and then compare it to the 4/4 version. While we’re playing around with time signatures, I’m revisiting a band I’ve posted here before, but I’ve always appreciated the flow of 7/4 (Shoreline) by Broken Social Scene, which is in, well 7/4. It was nice of them to just give us the answer right there in the title so I didn’t have to clap it out. Also you may recognize the lead female vocalist as Leslie Feist who was part of this collective for a bit!"
Date Added: 3/24/26
Song: The First Circle
Artist: Pat Metheny
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "As we're going down the fun time signature path, I'm immediately reminded of my favorite jazz song: The First Circle by Pat Metheny. 12/8 + 10/8 with a few 3/4 and 4/4 bars thrown in there. Pat Metheny's work is... eccentric. I'm honestly not a fan of most of his stuff because it leans more new age-y... but The First Circle is amazing. Even though it's 9 minutes long, I find myself putting everything else on hold for the song and get goosebumps at the end."
Date Added: 3/25/26
Song: No Thugs In Our House
Artist: XTC
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Sorry for the hard pivot, but I'm well outside of my wheelhouse when it comes to unusual time signatures and Jazz Fusion. It looks like the studio version of 'The First Circle' was released in 1984. I'm really reaching here, but let's go with another 80s song. XTC is a band that I think most American-born Millennials won't know as well as some of their other New Wave contemporaries. In my mind, they're comparable to the Art Punk of Talking Heads, Egg Punk of DEVO, and general Post-Punk Englishness of Madness and The Cure. To try and tie them somewhat closer to Pat Metheny, their music is eclectic and playful - melodic, quirky, and energetic - lush and dense. This is 'No Thugs In Our House' off of 1982's 'English Settlement'. I appreciate the lyrics critiquing England's upper class."
Date Added: 3/26/26
Song: Bella Ciao
Artist: Chumbawamba
DJ: John
Commentary: "Thanks for sharing XTC Claire - that was a new one for me and reminded me a bit of the aquabats as well as the others you mentioned. But rather than share an aquabats song, I’m going to riff on the theme of fascism. No Thugs in Our House seems to be about parents turning a blind eye to their son becoming a nazi. So I’m sharing the classic anti nazi song from Italy - Bella Ciao. There are hundreds of versions to choose from - most are in Italian - but for this playlist I’ve selected the one from Chumbawamba - yes that Chumbawamba. They’ve redone it in English and they sing it acapella which sounds quite nice."
Date Added: 3/27/26
Song: Honey I’m Good
Artist: Kurt Hugo Schneider, Sam Tsui
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "That's fascinating about Chumbawamba -- horizons are being broadened out here, folks. Although my pockets are weirdly empty with regard to additional musics about Nazis, I love me a good a capella cover and will cheerfully steer the ship in that direction. An internet goofball I discovered doing pop music parodies back in my Starcraft days is Kurt Hugo Schneider ("Banelings" in case you're a fellow Zergthusiast), who has continued along over the years and done quite a few a capella covers with his various collaborators. I find his spin on Honey I'm Good to be a catchy good time. Again, no mention of Nazis, and for that I am very sorry."
Date Added: 3/28/26
Song: 85
Artist: Andy Grammer
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "So obviously Brian’s song being an Andy Grammer cover got me on that mode. That guy’s pop music follows the young will smith theory of rap music - you don’t gotta cuss to sell records. His music is just all really fun and optimistic and generally leaves me feeling better than when I started without overwhelming with syrupy themes. So here’s some more Andy Grammer. It’s a good one about trying to stay in the moment and loving what you’ve got. I really like the bass/beat that leads into the chorus"
Date Added: 3/29/26
Song: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Artist: Paul Simon
DJ: John
Commentary: "Andy Grammer is new to me. I like the drums, and the melody is really strong. It’s definitely got good singalong potential! In true free association style, the first song that came to me was Paul Simon’s ‘Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes’. Written and recorded during his time in South Africa, it incorporates Zulu singers and song elements (the humming elements of ‘85’ are what initially reminded me of this song). It also plays on the theme of wealth, as the song is about a romance between an extremely wealthy woman and a poor man."
Date Added: 3/30/26
Song: Common People
Artist: Pulp
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Nice, now I'm on a Paul Simon bender. I thought about this one for a bit, and for me the most striking element from Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes is the improbable love story of the poor boy somehow transcending class divide and wooing the bedazzled-footwear rich girl. Though Paul's story feels more wholesome and happily-ever-after, it instantly reminds me of Pulp's Common People, which is my pick for today. The male protagonist here spends the whole song basically trying to objection handle her clearly inexplicable feelings for him with the cold water of the horrors of relative poverty. And yet, she persists."
Date Added: 3/31/26
Song: Alright
Artist: Supergrass
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I have to go with mid-90s Britpop soundtrack mainstay, “Alright” by Supergrass. It’s pure nostalgia bottled for consumption."
February 2026
Date Added: 2/1/26
Song: Bodegas and Blood
Artist: Butch Walker
Added by: Dan
Commentary: "I picked "Bodegas And Blood" by Butch Walker. I felt like it has a similar vibe around not feeling like we have to engage with negativity all the time just because it's there. It's nice to be a person, and be around people, who try make their spaces lighter when there's too much dark."
Date Added: 2/2/26
Song: Cold Sun
Artist: Black Pistol Fire
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Dan for that Bodegas and Blood song. I hadn’t heard of Butch Walker before and I appreciate the variety it adds to a playlist that tended to verge toward sad girl/sad boy music last month. My first impression was, “This is the kind of band that sounds like they’d be fun to watch performing live at a bar,” which brought me to Cold Sun by Black Pistol Fire off their 2015 self titled album. High energy “bar rock” with some dirty southern twang in the guitar. I saw them perform at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco and it was a sweaty good time."
Date Added: 2/3/26
Song: The Heat
Artist: The Bones of J.R. Jones
Added by: John
Commentary: "Okay I’m back up again! Cold Sun had a very bluesy rock feel, and it was very tempting to go with The White Stripes or The Black Keys. But I ultimately settled on The Heat from The Bones of J.R. Jones, which has this cool bluesy riff running through almost the whole song. Its all about inner turmoil and I feel like the steady beat and unrelenting riff contribute to that tension the song evokes."
Date Added: 2/4/26
Song: Don’t Fight It
Artist: Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Alright, listening to The Heat and that blues rock i INSTANTLY thought of a band i stumbled on during a tiny desk concert or austin city limits or something like that: Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Randolph is a virtuosic pedal steel player and brings the goddamned energy. Highly recommend looking up some live shows of theirs"
Date Added: 2/5/26
Song: Peaches
Artist: The Presidents of The United States of America
Added by: Ron
Commentary: "I love the energy in Don't Fight It. It immediately made me think of high energy, call and response, Black/Southern, gospel music... of which I couldn't tell you the name of a single song. So I went really superficial here and the lyrics reminded me of a classic: Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America"
Date Added: 2/6/26
Song: Ça Plane Pour Moi
Artist: The Presidents of The United States of America
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "I had many, many options today to follow 'Peaches'. The Presidents of The United States of America are one of my favorite bands from the 90s, so I'm going to keep that party going. I'm not afraid to put the same band on the playlist back-to-back. In January, I matched 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night' with 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', so y'all should have seen this coming. Here's ‘Ça Plane Pour Moi’ off of the 1996 EP with the same name. If it sounds familiar, it's a cover, but the POTUSA version is my favorite for its infectious energy and runtime under two minutes."
Date Added: 2/7/26
Song: American Living
Artist: NorthStar
Added by: Brian
Commentary: "Can't even hear POTUSA's band name in 2026 without pondering modern American life -- a thread that recalled an old jam I liked in college, "American Living" by Northstar, a long-defunct indie rock band from Alabama. I wouldn't accuse these guys of being master poets, but the song's loose themes around projected bluster overlaying individuals in decline while the artist vainly inquires, "don't you have a lesson for me?" weirdly feel just as relevant as they did two decades ago. Plus, crunchy guitar riffs."
Date Added: 2/8/26
Song: We Will Become Silhouettes
Artist: The Postal Service
Added by: Ron
Commentary: "I'm going to continue riding this wave of nostalgia. I feel like I had a bunch of songs pop into my head but most of them weren't relevant other than "this was something I was really into in college" ...except this one. So in the same vein of how American Living speaks to a failing/failed society, I'm picking We Will Become Silhouettes by The Postal Service."
Date Added: 2/9/26
Song: Summertime Clothes
Artist: Animal Collective
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "Here's another indietronic, synthy glitchpop group from the 2000s - Animal Collective. This is from their 2009 release, Merriweather Post Pavilion."
Date Added: 2/10/26
Song: Atlas
Artist: Battles
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Alright, something about the rolling beat of Summertime Clothes made me think of this weird ass song cause it has a similar JJRRUNkaa drunblka SHRRUNKa dunka drive to it…(i have a minor in music so you can trust those are all very technical terms to describe these rhythms)"
Date Added: 2/11/26
Song: True Thrush
Artist: Dan Deacon
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Okay, Liz’s Song by Battles conjures for me a scene of elves frantically working in a workshop. Not Santa’s workshop necessarily, but definitely some kind of sweatshop. And weirdly, sweatshop elves isn’t a very broad musical genre so I really had to think outside the box. I thought about Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the rolling drums in the beginning. I thought about the band Paris Monster, an experimental synth/drums duo. But I ultimately opted for True Thrush by Dan Deacon off his 2012 album America. The synth sounds, the playful pace, and the weird falsetto in the chorus all seemed to echo Battles."
Date Added: 2/12/26
Song: All My Friends
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Added by: Brian
Commentary: "True Thrush is such a dope song that I've never heard before, thanks for the share. While it's way more playful in tone than my pick, the structure of the song reminds me of All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem. It starts out with light repetitive instrumentation, piles on layers, and finishes in a glorious wall of sound."
Date Added: 2/13/26
Song: Take a Walk
Artist: Passion Pit
Added by: John
Commentary: "Okay it’s Friday the 13th in my part of the world so I’m going to make my recommendation! I was listening to this band at the same time I was listening to LCD Soundsystem so they always occupy the same niche in my head, with PP being a bit more poppy or glossy and LCD soundsystem being a bit more minimalistic. But I think both of these songs reflect a bit on age, life plans changing or not being what the narrator expected, etc."
Date Added: 2/14/26
Song: Happy If You’re Happy
Artist: Matt and Kim
Added by: Dan
Commentary: "I decided to take a hard turn from the music and just go with a song that's kind of thematically the same: the stuff we do to keep the people we love happy."
Date Added: 2/15/26
Song: Plea from a Cat Named Virtute
Artist: The Weakerthans
Added by: John
Commentary: "For today, I’m going to stick with this theme of the things we do for those we love, this time from the point of view of the one receiving the love - a cat. A cat named Virtute."
Date Added: 2/16/26
Song: Fantasy Baseball at the End of the World
Artist: John K. Samson
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "Thanks John for the birthday gift of serving me up with some Weakerthans, a band whose catalog I know well. I had some options here, but decided to go with John K. Samson's 'Fantasy Baseball at the End of the World'. Samson was the lead singer of The Weakerthans (and before that, Propaghandi). I've always appreciated his lyricism. He writes approachable, plain sounding lyrics that don't take any parsing to understand, yet still manages to make them profoundly poetic. In July 2020's 'Fantasy Baseball...', there is no mystery of which politician he is singing about. And then you remember that Samson is Canadian, and the song becomes even more humbling. I heard this song for the first time while I was digging in my Covid garden, and it made me stop in my tracks for two minutes just to listen. Then I backed it up to listen to it again. "Putting fear on a long-term IL" has become a maxim I've tried to live by in the time since."
Date Added: 2/17/26
Song: Streets of Minneapolis
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "alright, taking themes from claire's pick, going with another protest song, this time by the one and only Bruce Springsteen. not pulling any punches with this one. Direct and fiery. I like the contrast between the two songs and the vibe they have. Both about the current state of things but they both have quite different emotional impact to me. One is sort of about .... holding on during these times, and one is more directly confrontational and singing in power. And i think both are great songs and extremely necessary."
Date Added: 2/18/26
Song: Machi Bhasad
Artist: Bloodywood
Added by: Ron
Commentary: "I love a good protest song and I also love metal. My favorite band right now is Bloodywood and they have a song called Machi Bhasad, which is half in English and half in Hindi, about fighting against an oppressive older generation via revolution. Its honestly one of their weaker songs but the message really gets across."
Date Added: 2/19/26
Song: Unity
Artist: Operation Ivy
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "I was debating which direction to go with this. I had one indie song lined up that I think incorporates traditional eastern musical sounds well but it wasn’t rebellious enough. Then I almost went with Fan the Flames by Sheer Mag, who are a little punk and a little 70s rock and have some good songs about standing up to the man. But if I take a step back, I think a lot kids who liked 90s alt rock and grunge split into whether that led them next to metal or to punk. Since Ron had metal covered, I felt like I had to showcase the punk route. These genres don’t have to be in at odds, since they often share messages of protest and standing up to the powers that be. And so in rock, as in the political world today, I think I really just long for something resembling a greater sense of unity. And as they say, ain’t nothing wrong with another unity song."
Date Added: 2/20/26
Song: Would You Be Impressed?
Artist: Streetlight Manifesto
Added by: Dan
Commentary: "Ok. Operation Ivy immediately puts me into that ska/punk era. There are a ton of good tracks from the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series that came to mind, but ultimately Streetlight Manifesto - Would you be impressed just felt right."
Date Added: 2/21/26
Song: Someday I Suppose
Artist: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Added by: Brian
Commentary: "Loving that Streetlight Manifesto throwback, ska is so much fun. As a former horn-playing band kid, I gotta push the ska button one more time. Upbeat with a good chunk of horns featured and oddly-satisfying gravelly vocals, I'm going with a Mighty Mighty Bosstones classic, Someday I Suppose."
Date Added: 2/22/26
Song: Help Save the Youth of America From Exploding
Artist: Less Than Jake
Added by: John
Commentary: "Brian picked my all time favorite Bosstones song, which sent me into a bit of an odyssey listening to old ska songs. For today, I‘m keeping us in the ska-berhood, but giving us a potential out if Dan wants to take us in a new direction. So I‘ve selected the band that, in my opinion, blended punk and ska the best - Less Than Jake. This is one of their songs that doesn’t have any horns, and DOES include some finger tapping for our metal enthusiasts out there! But not acoustic finger tapping, I’m afraid."
Date Added: 2/23/26
Song: Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It)
Artist: Bowling For Soup
Added by: Dan
Commentary: "You and I are mortal, but rock ‘n’ roll will never die…That said, Ska is dead. Less than Jake and Bowling for Soup did a tour together around when BFS released this track. I think people hate BFS now for being terrible live, but I liked getting a new song."
Date Added: 2/24/26
Song: Ur Mum
Artist: Wet Leg
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "I'm taking the theme of humor in Pop Punk and translating it to humor in Post-Punk. This is probably my favorite band of the decade so far. Wet Leg with 'Ur Mum' off of their 2022 self-titled album."
Date Added: 2/25/26
Song: Kirby
Artist: Aesop Rock
Added by: Ron
Commentary: "Continuing the theme of humor, I had a really hard choice: Lean really hard into joke bands or keep the focus on the music. I decided to take the high road and focus on the music. I'm bringing you another genre change, though. Aesop Rock is one of my favorite hip hop artists and a while back he wrote a track about his cat, Kirby"
Date Added: 2/26/26
Song: Clint Eastwood
Artist: Gorillaz, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "OK im riding on pure instinct on this one, but listening to aesop rock my brain immediatly wanted to play some Gorillaz next. I think its the groove and rap and just general head bobbing"
Date Added: 2/27/26
Song: Slanted
Artist: Shad
Added by: Brian
Commentary: "Check out Liz over here spitting vintage millennial bangers; Gorillaz were so rad. There's something about Del's rapping that ever-so-vaguely reminds me of Shad, an artist Dan intro'd to me a decade and change ago. He (Shad, not Dan) just dropped a new record last year and this song off of it's one of my faves. Plus, he references videogames and Gorillaz look like a videogame. Just put the sunshine in the bag, bro."
Date Added: 2/28/26
Song: Eye Know
Artist: De La Soul
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright coming in late at the end of the day, nay, end of the month to close it out! Thanks for introducing me to Shad’s rap career! I only knew him from the Netflix documentary Hip Hop Evolution but now I have a lot to explore. After Slanted Spotify served up Islands off the same album which I really liked. Anyway, maybe it’s because of his documentary connection to early hip hop, but my mind went next to De La Soul. I love Me, Myself, and I (who doesn’t?) but I opted to close out our month with Eye Know instead."
January 2026
Every day in 2026, my friends and I choose a new song to add to this playlist based on the song preceding it.
Date Added: 1/31/26
Song: Let’s Dance to Joy Division
Artist: The Wombats
Added by: John
Commentary: "I liked Lime Garden a lot. It’s bouncy, British indie with a bit of a sad message underneath. That led me to the old Wombats track ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’ - which hits those notes and feels, to me, in a similar vein."
Date Added: 1/30/26
Song: 23
Artist: Lime Garden
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "The theme is 17. The song is called 23 and it’s my favorite song of ‘26 so far."
Date Added: 1/29/26
Song: Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
Artist: Broken Social Scene
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright, Sharon van Etton’s Seventeen took me immediately to Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl by Broken Social Scene off their 2003 album You Forget it in People. Broken Social Scene is a Canadian musical collective with fluid membership that has at times included Feist and members of Stars. This was the first song I heard by them. Ironically I was probably also 17 when this song came out. Like SvE’s Seventeen, this song is also stripped down to feature the female vocals and reminiscing about late adolescence. Though instead of nostalgic, it’s more pining for a friend that “used to be one of the rotten ones” and has now forgotten the singer as she tried to blend in with the cool girls. Which if you ask me is pretty lame. It’d be like if all your high school friends were into punk rock and then one of them showed up in an old navy sweater. Old navy is definitely not what the “rotten ones” wear."
Date Added: 1/28/26
Song: Seventeen
Artist: Sharon Van Etten
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Ok after Neil Young’s Old Man I figured we’d stick with the age theme so I’m going with this song that just feels nostalgic for some reason"
Date Added: 1/27/26
Song: Old Man
Artist: Neil Young
Added by: John
Commentary: "Coming from Fade Into You, I’m keeping it mellow and acoustic and taking the slide guitar featured in yesterday’s song in a pedal steel direction with Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’."
Date Added: 1/26/26
Song: Fade Into You
Artist: Mazzy Star
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Well clearly I needed to play off the rolling slow 6/8 feel and that guitar line thru out so we gotta go Mazzy Star’s classic ‘Fade Into You’"
Date Added: 1/25/26
Song: Putting The Dog To Sleep
Artist: The Antlers
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "[Down By The Water] was a great choice and it took me in a lot of directions. I was thinking Garbage, because of a similar sound and era. I was thinking Hey Joe by Hendrix but going from infanticide to domestic violence seemed tone deaf. Likewise for Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, which is my favorite song by the Killers, which have killing in their name for gosh sakes. But I settled on Putting the Dog to Sleep by the Antlers off their 2011 album Burst Apart. It’s got a theme of killing something/someone you love, albeit more metaphorical maybe than PJ Harvey. But it goes in more of a grief and loneliness direction, which the Antlers do well. In fact their 2009 concept album Hospice is about a hospice worker falling in love with a woman with cancer and their turbulent romance."
Date Added: 1/24/26
Song: Down By The Water
Artist: PJ Harvey
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "Continuing the themes of murderessness with PJ Harvey’s 1995 hit, ‘Down By The Water’. In it, the protagonist drowns her daughter."
Date Added: 1/23/26
Song: Nothing is Safe
Artist: clipping.
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Alright, taking the killer theme I'm shifting over to Clipping's 2019 album There Existed an Addiction To blood which is a concept album with slasher movie themes."
Date Added: 1/22/26
Song: Psycho Killer
Artist: Talking Heads
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "After ‘My Coco’ picked up the pace in Verse 1, I knew immediately that I would be choosing a Talking Heads song. The unique vocal delivery and New Wave treated guitar led me here. I’d be surprised if stellastarr* didn’t consider them an influence. I chose ‘Psychokiller’ off of ‘Talking Heads: 77’ for the plodding bass line and repeated syllables - cococo vs fafafa."
Date Added: 1/21/26
Song: My Coco
Artist: stellastarr*
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Yesterday’s song led me to My Coco by stellastarr* off their self-titled 2003 album. In both Bandages and My Coco there’s sort of a giddy, almost manic pace to the lyrics with a lot of staccato emphasis. The vocal qualities are also similar. Maybe not entirely surprising since they’re both arising from a similar phase of indie rock."
Date Added: 1/20/26
Song: Bandages
Artist: Hot Hot Heat
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "'Jesus Is Alive & Well (And Living In Mexico)' strikes me as a synthless Hot Hot Heat song. And while Audio Karate progressed from high school pop punk to a rawer, noisier indie rock sound, Hot Hot Heat evolved in the opposite direction. I really wanted to choose 2006's 'Middle of Nowhere', because I was recently reminded of that song, but I think 2002's 'Bandages' is a better fit."
Date Added: 1/19/26
Song: Jesus Is Alive & Well (And Living In Mexico)
Artist: Audio Karate
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright, if you were starting to feel lulled by Sufjan Stevens and Ben Folds, then it’s time to WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKERS!! The connection is no mystery, the title Jesusland made me think of one of my favorite songs by Audio Karate, Jesus is Alive and Well (and living in Mexico) off the 2004 album Lady Melody. Audio Karate is a band that I wish had gotten a bit more recognition as the early aughts pop punk era was coming to a close. I think it’s understandable to hear them at first as just loud and screamy, but I think it’s easy to take for granted the complexity in their song structures and layered guitar parts. I come back to Audio Karate a lot, they’ve survived long past that era for me."
Date Added: 1/18/26
Song: Jesusland
Artist: Ben Folds
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "For me the Sufjan song has this pulsing melodic percussive element throughout the whole thing as a soft but driving undercurrent. Jesusland brings that melodic percussive driving rhythm to the forefront in Fold's piano work."
Date Added: 1/17/26
Song: Mystery of Love
Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Added by: John
Commentary: "Okay here’s my song today - actually it’s a new one for me too, but in looking for some similar songs I really liked this one and I think it sets us up nicely to continue. It’s a Sufjan Stevens track from the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack."
Date Added: 1/16/26
Song: Last Waltz
Artist: Horse Feathers
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "I had a few possible directions to go from Agnes Obel but ultimately the waltz feel of Aventine brought me to the angelic vocals of Portland’s Justin Ringle in Horse Feathers’ Last Waltz from the 2012 album Cynic’s New Year. Fun fact: a string quartet kicked off our wedding with a pure instrumental version of this waltz!"
Date Added: 1/15/26
Song: Aventine
Artist: Agnes Obel
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Picking up on the pizzicato strings (also Obel was featured in Dark and the creators other show, but i forget exactly which songs)"
Date Added: 1/14/26
Song: Me and the Devil
Artist: Soap&Skin
Added by: John
Commentary: "Austrian artist Soap&Skin covering an old blues song ‘Me and the Devil’ in a haunting experimental electronic style. You may recognize this from the soundtrack of DARK if you remember that show. The Sleigh Bells track reminded me of this in that it’s a cover, a bit experimental, and it’s dark. Enjoy!"
Date Added: 1/13/26
Song: Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Artist: Sleigh Bells
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "There must be 1,000 different recorded versions of the folk classic, ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ / ‘In the Pines’. I considered versions by Leadbelly, The Grateful Dead, and Loretta Lynn, but ultimately I’d rather push the playlist in the direction of Sleigh Bells."
Date Added: 1/12/26
Song: Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Artist: Nirvana
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "The guitar work and vocal stylings reminded me of Nirvana's Unplugged album and specifically the final song in the set: Where Did You Sleep Last Night. Especially the parts where Kurt really digs in and gives it his all. I always loved this song and would steal my brothers CD when we were kids."
Date Added: 1/11/26
Song: Unsatisfied
Artist: The Replacements
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "Good choice John, I like the Cranberries a lot. But I’m also ready to get us out of our sad girl slump. In relistening to ‘Linger’, I noticed a detail I hadn’t paid much attention to before: the quiet musical prelude before the drums kick in and the song really picks up. It’s not an intro, per se, since it’s so different from the rest of the song, which feels like it then takes an abrupt turn as it “really” starts. It reminded me of the musical prelude to ‘Unsatisfied’ by the Replacements off of the 1984 album ‘Let it Be’. The prelude is fairly different from the whole rest of the song - a little teaser before the drums hit and the song takes a 90 degree turn."
Date Added: 1/10/26
Song: Linger
Artist: The Cranberries
Added by: John
Commentary: "True free association and no deep meaning for this one - listening to the Blondshell song made me think of The Cranberries - but not quite the darkness of ‘Zombies’ or the peaceful hopefulness of ‘Dreams’, so I’m sharing ‘Linger’."
Date Added: 1/9/26
Song: Berlin TV Tower
Artist: Blondshell
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "More sad music with Berlin-related lyrics"
Date Added: 1/8/26
Song: Good Will Hunting
Artist: Black Country, New Road
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "Moving from sad girl music onto sad boy music with Black Country, New Road's ‘Good Will Hunting’. We have a sad connection, but we also have a lyrical connection"
Date Added: 1/7/26
Song: I Know The End
Artist: Phoebe Bridgers
Added by: John
Commentary: "I liked the way yesterday’s track built and built without solid resolution as it just got a bit more chaotic and loud. One track came to the forefront for me, and that’s “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers. I know, we didn’t even make it until February before I shared a Phoebe Bridgers track. The song is really three songs in one, each one louder than the last until it explodes at the very end. And it doesn’t really have any resolution, similar to the Florence song, just tension, tension, tension."
Date Added: 1/6/26
Song: Delilah
Artist: Florence + the Machine
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "I couldn’t NOT do a Samson and Delilah theme. I was going to add the Plain White T’s song, even though it would be the least cool song on the playlist by a mile. While I was looking it up, I found this Florence + the Machine track. I hadn’t heard it before today, but groove-wise, it fits much better with Marling and Spektor. I love when the snare comes in."
Date Added: 1/5/26
Song: Samson
Artist: Regina Spektor
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "I think the last song led me here both in the sound and themes. This song is also quiet and spacious and mostly driven by the female vocalist. Also the themes (loosely) of intimacy between a couple in bed, as well as the subject of the songs needing strength against enemies. (Although in Laura Marling’s song she’s defending her partner saying “you’ll have to go through me” while in the story of Samson she’s actually responsible for destroying his strength. Deep.)"
Date Added: 1/4/26
Song: Night Terror
Artist: Laura Marling
Added by: Liz
Commentary: "The connect: the off-beat tambourine that drives a lot of the forward momentum in the Spoon song, only now in a very laid back way, but very critical to this song’s feel"
Date Added: 1/3/26
Song: You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Artist: Spoon
Added by: Jeff
Commentary: "I love this song, especially the vintage sounding horns. The connection is that if I ever ran away, I’d be sure to bring a spoon in my bindle. Oh, and Cherry Bombs."
Date Added: 1/2/26
Song: Cherry Bomb
Artist: The Runaways
Added by: Claire
Commentary: "I chose 'Cherry Bomb' to follow 'Changes' because both songs have attached a "ch-ch-ch-" prefix to the songs' title lyrics."
Date Added: 1/1/26
Song: Changes
Artist: David Bowie
Added by: John
Commentary: "For the theme of New Years Day I’ve chosen David Bowie’s ‘Changes’, which isn’t so much about New Year’s resolutions changes, just that change is inevitable so turn and face the strain!"