Summer 2020 Playlist: Annotated
Summer is here, which means it is time, once again, for some jams. Some themes: 1960s France, modern disco revival, Black indie artists.
1) “Song 33,” Noname - Hot off the presses, or whatever the musical equivalent of presses is, I guess. I love Noname. You should support her book club on Patreon—for as little as $1 a month, you can help uplift POC voices both in local communities and in prisons.
2) “MILES,” Jamila Woods - Why kick off your playlist with one Chicago legend when you could kick it off with two? This is off her 2019 album LEGACY! LEGACY! which is bananas good. Bananas.
3) “Pretty Please,” Dua Lipa - Please inject Dua Lipa’s new album Future Nostalgia directly into my veins. So much disco—and this is hardly the most disco-influenced track. Perfect for summer.
4) “Feel the Way I Want,” Caroline Rose - Thanks to the pandemic I can’t literally pick up lunch and meet my friends in the park for a picnic, but this song sounds like doing that, so it’s almost as good, right?
5) “Replay,” Lady Gaga - Loooooove the new Chromatica album because it mostly sounds like I’m dancing in a gay bar in the 90s. This track is particularly disco-y, though.
6) “Think About Things,” Daði Freyr - This song was supposed to be Iceland’s entry into Eurovision this year, which, like everything else, was canceled due to the pandemic. It’s also a TikTok meme. (Challenge? Meme? I’m too old for TikTok.) I feel that I should be annoyed by this song, and yet I’m not—it’s one of the catchiest things I’ve ever heard. And watching them perform it is even better.
7) “Vaporiza,” Jidenna - Truly cannot get enough of his 85 to Africa album. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve now included a song from it on my last three playlists.
8) “Concrete Jungle,” Bob Marley & The Wailers - I must confess: normally I can’t get into Bob Marley at all. But this song came on a 70s playlist I was listening to the other week, and I enjoyed it.
9) “Ladies,” Fiona Apple - Let’s all thank Fiona Apple for giving us a fantastic new album during quarantine. It’s a tough call, but I think this is my favorite one on the record. Also, LADIES LADIES LADIES LADIES is now how I address all the dogs at my parents’ house in the suburbs.
10) “I’m a Lady,” Santigold featuring Trouble Andrew - Yes, I did put a song called “I’m a Lady” directly after a song called “Ladies.” They sound good together! Santigold’s self-titled album came out way back in 2008 and I still listen to it all the time. It’s a classic.
11) “How Could You Love Me,” Big Joanie - Recently my friend Laura shared an article of Black punk bands, and one day at work I listened to a bunch of them. I think Big Joanie was my favorite—I’m a sucker for that riot grrrl-influenced sound.
12) “Funnel of Love,” SQÜRL featuring Madeline Follin - Recently I watched the vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive for the first time, and this cover was on its soundtrack. I adored the aesthetics of the film, but it moved at a snail’s pace—and yet I was kind of okay with it? It was intriguing for sure.
13) “Describe,” Perfume Genius - Pulled this track off the excellent new Perfume Genius album for its scratchy distorted guitar. Whole album is great, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if some songs from it ended up on my fall and winter playlists, too.
14) “En solitaire,” Juniore - A current French band, though they may as well be from the 60s. Appeared on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist one week and I was hooked.
15) “Dancing in the Dark,” Lucy Dacus - Another confession: Bruce Springsteen seems like a wonderful person, but I’m not a huge fan of his music. That said, “Dancing in the Dark” is easily my favorite song of his, and I enjoy this breezy cover.
16) “Ode to Fire,” Jealous of the Birds - I wasn’t planning on putting a Jealous of the Birds song on this playlist, but then I saw they’d recently released a new one, and it seemed to fit well with the overall vibe of the playlist. So here it is!
17) “Hopeful Assassins of Zeno,” Mountain Goats - Let’s be real: a new Mountain Goats album recorded on a tape deck like in the old days is one of the best pieces of news to come out of 2020.
18) “This Train,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe - After Little Richard died, I was jumping between lots of Black artists from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. She was so phenomenal.
19) “Lucille,” Little Richard - I was really sad when Little Richard died—I usually listen to his music when I have an arduous task to tackle and I want to tackle it with optimism and energy. Truly a legend. What a loss!
20) “Roller Girl,” Anna Karina - French and literally from the 1960s this time. Probably from the same Spotify Discover Weekly playlist!
21) “Como Un Dragón,” Rita Indiana - This song is something of an outlier on the playlist—and for the life of me, I can’t remember how I stumbled upon it! I don’t think it was Spotify. I think someone Tweeted about Rita Indiana, and I looked her up, but I can’t recall who it was. Anyway—thanks for the introduction, whoever you are!
22) “20th Century Schizofriendic Revengoid-man,” Of Montreal - After that Rita Indiana song, I needed something summery with loud, driving guitars. This one off Of Montreal’s latest album fit the bill.
23) “On My Own,” Shamir - I love Shamir, how he releases music so frequently and how his sound constantly evolves.
24) “But There’s Still the Moon,” Tasha - Another last-minute addition to the playlist. Tasha is from Chicago, and she writes beautiful, soft folk songs. I was so excited when I realized she’d released a new one!
25) “Miles,” Christelle Bofale - Yes, there are two songs called “Miles” on this playlist—homonyms, though. Christelle Bofale has a gorgeous voice. For those warm summer nights when you’re falling asleep to the sound of crickets outside.