Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Summer Mix 2020, Part 1: Day

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Summer is a little weird this year. You can’t turn on a sweet new summer playlist during a party or barbecue when those parties and barbecues don’t exist. But hopefully there’s still plenty of time to bump some summery bops at home, in the car, or during your socially distant hangouts. Here’s a collection of songs that should do the trick.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • Every year, there’s a semi-official (to me, anyway) “song of the summer.” Last year, it was “Old Town Road.” In 2018, it was “Nice for What” by Drake. In 2017, it was “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos. This year, it’s “Savage (Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé, which opens up this mix.
  • I usually don’t include two songs by the same artist on the same mix/mixtape, but the new HAIM album was too good, and too “built for summer,” to only include one of their tracks. And there’s yet another HAIM song coming on Part 2 of this mix, as well.
  • “Dragonball Durag” is the funniest song of 2020.
  • It was a game time decision between “Overlord” and “Lose Your Love” by Dirty Projectors. I went with “Overlord,” but you should check out “Lose Your Love” too.
  • Yes, that’s Amber Mark covering Nirvana. And it rules.
  • I just want to shout out Waxahatchee, Tame Impala, and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who (along with HAIM) all made killer albums this year. Check out the whole albums when you get a chance.
  • “Summer Mix 2020, Part 2: Night” coming soon!

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: “Savage (Remix)”
2. HAIM: “The Steps”
3. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: “Cars in Space”
4. Waxahatchee: “Can’t Do Much”
5. Childish Gambino: “Feels Like Summer”
6. Thundercat: “Dragonball Durag”
7. Dirty Projectors: “Overlord”
8. Tennis: “Need Your Love”
9. Whitney: “Valleys (My Love)”
10. Tame Impala: “Breathe Deeper”
11. Kamaiyah: “Go Crazy”
12. Amber Mark: “Heart-Shaped Box”
13. Hazel English: “Wake UP!”
14. Alex G: “Southern Sky”
15. Rosalía & Ozuna: “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi”
16. Caribou: “Home”
17. HAIM: “Gasoline”
18. Pure X: “Stayed Too Long”

Five Quality Tracks: March 2017

March was ridiculous. Somehow, after all this, I failed to include new songs from Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Fleet Foxes, and Real Estate. That’s honestly a crime, and I apologize. All indications point to Kendrick dropping an album (or at least something) on April 7th, and Fleet Foxes will release their long-awaited follow-up album in June, so they’ll still have a chance to make it on here. And so, without further ado, five quality tracks for March.
 
 
1. Lorde: “Green Light”

A friend of mine recently asked me who makes more ‘anthemic’ songs — Taylor Swift or Lorde? Lorde’s celebrated debut album from 2013, Pure Heroine, was exceptional, full of quietly encouraging, relatable songs (“Team” is an all-time favorite), but I wouldn’t characterize it as anthemic, necessarily. Swift may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but singles like “22,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “Bad Blood” are as conducive to late-night, impromptu sing-alongs as anything. So, after judging their musical output as a whole, my answer was Taylor Swift. BUT, on a song-by-song basis, the most anthemic track either of them have ever done is easily Lorde’s new single, “Green Light.”

After four fairly quiet years since Pure Heroine, Lorde, the New Zealand phenom who first deservedly captured our attention at the age of 16, is returning to us with her sophomore effort in a couple months. For her new album, Lorde tapped Bleachers and fun. member Jack Antonoff to produce and help with songwriting. Antonoff has production experience with some of the biggest names in pop, including Taylor Swift, Sia, Rachel Platten, and Sara Bareilles, so I was interested to see how his influence would manifest itself with Lorde.

I was immediately taken aback by “Green Light,” and not exactly in a good way. It is very pop in a reach-for-the-stars kind of way, which is not what I expected from Lorde and her more brooding, subtle style. But the more I heard it, the more the various parts stuck with me, like that enticing rhythmic piano in the lead-up to the chorus, or Lorde’s pitch-perfect lyrics, like her sneer directed at an ex, singing “She says you love the beach, you’re such a damn liar.”

Previously, Lorde deftly straddled the line between electro-indie and pop in a way that was unique at the time. So to hear “Green Light,” which is very much a full-fledged pop song, was a bit jarring at first. But the thing is, “Green Light” aims big — that’s the whole point — and it succeeds tremendously. Taylor Swift has written timeless anthems, but if I were to drive around with the windows down late at night with friends, the first song I would want to hear is “Green Light.”

 
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