All the Playlists

Part 36 – Given Circumstances

15 August 2018

 I’m considering tidying my study at the end of that summer term 1980. Three years almost done and dusted, it contains anything of my world that isn’t at Orchard Cottage. The detritus of school admin lies cheek by jowl with correspondence; lesson plans; old essays; class lists; mark books; cricket scorebook; paraphernalia. There are piles of play scripts, scattered across the floor. A box labeled “Mum.”

Simon and Garfunkel play quietly on the cassette…

British Summertime – Bent

15 August 2018

Well, with the UK in the midst of its best summer sun since 1976 – heatwave! – what could be better than a chilled song that radiates Englishness? Bent (Simon Mills and Neil Tolliday) are one of my absolute favourite downtempo mixers/samplers from the turn of the millennium…

Red Travellin’ Socks – Malcolm Middleton

15 August 2018

How do you start a road trip? 

Maybe you’re the kind who takes a “Leaving bowl,” puts on a super mellow track and then chills out as you blend into traffic.  I personally am a big fan of such an approach – however – this week – this track – is not that kind of track!…

Beautiful People (Ultimate High Radio Remix) – Chris Brown

14 August 2018

We’re back party people and this week we return with a remix of the 2011 smash hit “Beautiful People” by Chris Brown.

The song is intricately laced with an infinite spectrum of color and induces a majestic collection of fun, youthful euphoria.

Reborn – Kids See Ghosts

14 August 2018

It’s funny that I have scheduled this song to be the track of this week; it is called “Reborn”, and “coincidentally” (I don’t believe in coincidences, hahahaha), we’ve just been through a solar eclipse (August 11th), and I also have a lot of  personal & astrology stuff going on that means rebirth, new cycles etc etc etc…

Into The Void – Nine Inch Nails

14 August 2018

Nine Inch Nails (NIN) is one of the very few Industrial bands that got to flirt with mainstream success.  Founded in 1988 by frontman Trent Reznor, they had two successful releases in the 1990s which contributed to the band’s worldwide sales of over 20 million copies…

You Could Be My Lover – Jimmy Cozier and Melissa Musique

14 August 2018

I have to say, I’m not sure I have ever heard a song with a male/female back and forth sort of dialogue that I didn’t like. This track is no exception. Over an island style beat Jimmy Cozier and Melissa Musique sound like two true lovers that can’t decide if they are from 1960s Motown or a modern day Jamaican dancehall…

Islak Islak – Cem Karaca

14 August 2018

Turkish rock pioneer Cem Karaca was born April 5, 1945 to professional actors Mehmet Ibrahim Karaca and Irma Felekyan. He first performed in a cover band called “the Dynamites,” followed an Elvis Presley tribute group called “the Jaguars”; and from there Karaca eventually began writing his own original songs, honing a massively influential style that combined traditional Anatolian lyrics with cutting-edge contemporary rock melodies…

Body – Loud Luxury

14 August 2018

Taking some time away from my list, and reading the things that Andrew was writing for Save the World, has put it back into perspective for me what this is all about for me. I started out with the idea that this list would be about the everyday struggles that come from being a human, and providing a soundtrack to those struggles to help you overcome them….

The Palace – Father John Misty

14 August 2018

“But I don’t wanna leave the palace / Let’s pay someone to move in here and fix this.” The hardships are substantial for Josh Tillman, better known as Father John Misty.  Clearly, on the extremely slow, gorgeous, and haunting balladry of “The Palace,” the alternative singer/songwriter has reached a breaking point…

Comptine d’un autre été – Yann Tiersen

14 August 2018

I always loved this soundtrack, I found it very moving, I didn’t love the movie that much but there was something about the piano pieces in the soundtrack that would captivate me every time…

War ft.Japan – Tray Pizzy

14 August 2018

As the unofficial, but pretty much official birthplace of hip-hop, the Bronx has molded more than a few names in the rap game’s pantheon of legends. It’s also been shamefully slept-on, if you let Tray Pizzy tell it…