Playlist Reviews

What’s This Playlist All About? The self-proclaimed “slop pop” duo out of New York offer up a soundtrack for solitude. These are the songs they’ve been listening to in the comforts of their home as they celebrate the release of their second album, Do You Wonder About Me?, a fidgety set of vulnerable indie-rock confessions. What You Get: A breezy sampler of raw, emotionally resonant sounds—both young and old—reflecting the messy (and sometimes silly) reality Diet Cig so naturally capture themselves. This includes a mix of young DIY punks (Nouns), indie-pop underdogs (The Spook School), blissful bedroom-pop darlings (Addy), Icelandic disco groovers (Daði Freyr), and some of the 2010s’ most potent voices, like Perfume Genius and Billie Eilish. They slip in a few indie mainstays as well, including Bright Eyes and Broken Social Scene, alongside avant-garde heroine Nico.Greatest Discovery: The woozy, wispy wanderings of Someone, the moniker of artist Tessa Rose Jackson, whose “Forget Forgive” is the ideal accompaniment to pensive moments of daydreaming out the window. Best Pick for Anytime You’re Stuck Inside: Bring some sunshine into your home with The Friends Of Distinction’s shiny, happy, conga-banging psych-soul classic “Grazing In the Grass”—an activity that feels downright rapturous after too much time inside.

Whats This Playlist All About? As he prepares for the release of his new solo album, The Atlas Underground, the Nightwatchman, former Rage Against the Machine guitarist, and outspoken activist continues to fight for his rights through music. His genre-spanning list hits up all types of subversive anthems and calls to action from punk icons, pop freaks, and folk heroes.What You Get: To start, youll be treated with a good chunk of Morellos new album, including a grungy, hard-rocking cut with K. Flay and a sludgy, bass-y banger with Knife Party. He then gives shout-outs to his friends and collaborators, like Skrillex, Vic Mensa, A Perfect Circle, and System of a Down, before taking many left turns, including a little Jesus Christ Superstar, a club-ready 50 Cent, and a sassy Taylor Swift.Greatest Discovery: The woozy, dreamy, twang-touched "Song for Zula" from the criminally underrated PhosphorescentWhat About Rage? Theres one radical band conspicuously missing from this list: Morellos own Rage Against the Machine. A little "Killing in the Name" would round this out nicely, right?

Whats This Playlist All About? The DJ, producer, and all-around electro polymath celebrates the release of his first album in six years, Bunny, with a collection he describes as simply "songs to breathe with."What You Get: A big peek into Bunny with singles like the haunting, heady sprawl of "Bunnys Dream" and his two buzzing collabs with Tegan and Sara, "Horses" and "Bad Ones." Dear also weaves in majestic licks from Built to Spill, funky grooves from krautrock kings CAN, beguiling noise from experimentalist Tobbaco, and warm country blues from Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.Greatest Discovery: Singer-songwriter Amen Dunes sounds like a rawer, looser Fleet Foxes with the spacey, atmospheric "Splits Are Parted."How Does This Playlist Work as a Companion to Bunny? While the inclusion of artists like Brian Eno, Beacon, and CAN make sense with Dears own electronic work, the rest serves as a sort of stripped-down, singer-songwriter parallel to his own moody, mercurial melodies.

Whats This Playlist All About? Named after "Woman," the lead single from Cat Powers new album Wanderer (her first in six years), this mix shows a little of Chan Marshalls indie rock roots as well as her respect for GOAT singer-songwriters and the women who have consistently challenged the music industrys status quo.What You Get: A selection of classic odes dedicated to the power and struggles of women, alongside modern-day classics devoted to the baddest bitches around (see: Trina and Rihanna). The Woman Playlist aptly starts with her own "Woman," the smoky duet with Lana Del Rey, before kicking into "The Other Woman," the sad mistress tale perfected by Nina Simone. Its then sprinkled with tragic indie anthems (Husker Dus "Diane"), poignant folk secrets (Joni Mitchells "Little Green"), and, of course, John Lennons own "Woman."Biggest Surprise: On the surface, 2Pacs "Keep Ya Head Up" may seems a strange addition, but the rap icons 1993 hit single is a powerful critique of misogyny and the incredible strength of women through it all.What Does This Playlist Say About Women? This is no fluffy statement about girl power. Many of these songs are heartbreaking and tragic as they show the many complexities of being a woman—through all of her trauma, toughness, sadness, and open-heartedness.

What’s This Playlist All About? Everyone’s favorite animated firebrands are back to wreak havoc on Los Angeles with their second annual Demon Dayz Festival on October 20. This playlist highlights 2018’s impressive lineup, one of the year’s most interesting and diverse mini-fest rosters.What You Get: Gorillaz’s own recent jaunts through sleek synth-pop and lite-funk for their most recent album The Now Now, along with classics like “Feel Good Inc” and “Clint Eastwood.” In between, Erykah Badu’s heady soul, The Internet’s ominous trip-hop, and Ana Tijoux’s seductive Latin hip-hop fill in the extra spaces. Every Demon Dayz performer seems to embrace rhythm, soul, a touch of psychedelia, and plenty of eccentricity.Greatest Discovery: Kilo Kish’s dreamy, spacey mix of euphoric dance-pop and reflective R&B with songs like “Locket” and “Fulfillment?”Crossing Our Fingers For: Damon Albarn has been hinting at a new The Good, the Bad & the Queen album, so with legendary drummer Tony Allen on the bill, we’re hoping for a reunion with The Clash’s Paul Simonon and The Verve’s Simon Tong.

What’s This Playlist All About? On the heels of releasing his personally reflective and politically charged new album, Desperate Man, and announcing next year’s Double Down Tour, the country-rock outsider compiles some of his favorite tracks from his monthly Outsiders Radio show on SiriusXM’s The Highway Channel.What You Get: A juicy blend of all-American classics (Billy Joel, John Denver, John Mellencamp, and “American Pie”), a few newer slices of twang (Blitzen Trapper, Ryan Adams, Jason Isbell), and one mighty tough, go-f-themselves anthem (Halestrom’s “Here’s to Us”). It’s a mix fit for Church’s own humble Southern charm and rock star defiance.Biggest Surprise: Amid all the red, white, and blue comes Florence + The Machine’s fiery, fist-pumping “What Kind of Man,” a throbbing, horn-infused kiss-off directed to every type of toxic relationship.Who’s the Biggest Outsider of Them All? No one could ever surpass Church’s musical hero and ultimate outlaw Johnny Cash, featured here transforming Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” into a fragile, ominous elegy.

What’s This Playlist All About? “The most trusted voice in music” works its way through a decade we all can’t seem to get enough of with this disclaimer: “Longtime readers may remember that, in 2002, we made a list of The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s. That list was shorter, sure, but it also represented a limited editorial stance we have worked hard to move past; its lack of diversity, both in album selections and contributing critics, does not represent the voice Pitchfork has become. For this new list, we gathered votes from more than 50 full-time staffers and regularly contributing writers to open up our discussion.”What You Get: The usual suspects crowd the top of the list (Prince, MJ, Madonna, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, New Order), but dig into the heart of it and you may find some real hidden gems. You’ll find the throbbing, funky post-punk of Bronx band ESG; the brilliant sampling of hip-hop greats EPMD; the Satanic doggedness of death metal gods Morbid Angel; the infectious South African rhythms of The Indestructible Beat of Soweto compilation; and the intricate computer patchworks of electronic pioneer Laurie Spiegel. Let’s just say the whole 575-song mix certainly has the diversity promised.Greatest Discovery: At No. 130 is Scientist’s Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires, excellently described by reviewer Eddie “Stats” Houghton as “one of the greatest dub albums ever, transforming the swing of dancehall’s catchiest tunes into their spookiest, most expansive selves. Historically, this record is a precursor to trip-hop and dubstep, but even encountered as an isolated sonic experience, the tracks are revelatory, uniquely suffused with an eerie joy.”Do We Really Need Another ‘80s Playlist? This list is surprisingly fresh, and it may even be worth starting from the bottom, as you’ll likely discover some unexpected treasures you’ve never heard before. In other words, yes, another ‘80s playlist will do just fine. There’s still plenty to discover from the decade that just won’t die—thankfully.

Ratts 1984 snarler "Round and Round" was one of that years biggest rock songs—it peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it landed at No. 87 on the magazines year-end singles chart. Among bands who crawled out of the Sunset Strips gutters and onto the charts, though, they were something of an anomaly, hitting it big on radio with nasty guitars and Stephen Pearcys acid-tipped vocals, instead of lighter-worthy choruses and proclamations of love. But as this playlist of Hot 100-charting songs shows, hard rock made it to the all-genre chart with a considerable skew, thanks to Billboard leaving video airplay out of their equations. Ballads and covers were big; straight-ahead rockers, with a few exceptions, were not."Round and Round" remains one of the best rock songs of its era, a tight package of twisted romance and spiteful lyrics with a killer modulation that ratchets up its tension. Its ubiquity was massively assisted by MTV, which seemingly reveled in playing the song’s Milton Berle-starring video. (Berles nephew Marshall, Ratts then-manager, called in a familial favor.) MTV was playing a lot of music that fell under the "heavy metal" rubric at the time; this 1984 playlist, in addition to featuring "Round and Round," has videos by Jersey boys Bon Jovi and L.A. stalwarts Quiet Riot in heavy rotation (maximum four plays a day), while clips by Ronnie James Dio and Sammy Hagar are alongside Ratts similarly caustic "Back For More" in medium rotation (three plays max). "Were a part of MTV," guitarist Robbin Crosby told Billboard in 1985. "They were behind us from the start, and took pride in us."One of the biggest oddities of the post-MTV age was that despite the fact that the video-music channel was incredibly influential in popular culture, its data held zero sway over the Hot 100, which used only sales and radio airplay in its calculations. The pop-metal landscape presented by MTV, both in its daily programming and its Saturday-night metal-mania celebration Headbangers Ball, was harder and more acerbic than its full-chart counterpart; consider this 1990 playlist, which features Ratts bluesy Detonator single "Lovin You’s A Dirty Job" in active (not quite heavy) rotation alongside Love Hates manic sleeper hit "Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?" and Queensrÿches anti-globalist screed "Empire." Meanwhile, Mötley Crües bi-curious rave-up "Same Ol Situation," Jon Bon Jovis "Wanted Dead or Alive" rewrite of "Blaze of Glory," and Slaughters weepy "Fly to the Angels" are in heavy rotation, while Warrants excessively horny "Cherry Pie" and Wingers longingly goopy "Miles Away" are among the clips being touted as MTV exclusives, which meant prime (and frequent) airplay time.Most of the metal-tagged songs on that weeks corresponding Hot 100 chart fall on the more romantic side of things—the twin duo Nelson, who had the blonde tresses of any act worth their Aqua Net but whose sweeping rock songs were much more in the big-ticket vein of Boston, were at No. 1 with the harmony-rich "(Cant Live Without Your) Love and Affection," while Bon Jovis return to the Wild West was at No. 4. Ballads and rockers are surprisingly balanced on the rest of the chart: Faces revivalists The London Quireboys "I Dont Love You Anymore" dips down from No. 92 to No. 95; Styx-Nugent supergroup Damn Yankees string-laden "High Enough" is at No. 74 and eventually makes its way to No. 3; "Fly to the Angels," which would peak at No. 19, is at No. 28. Winger, Warrant, and Poison all have cheekier tracks—"Cant Get Enuff," "Cherry Pie," and "Unskinny Bop," respectively—bobbing around the 15-to-50 range, although those successes were more sales-based than radio-based. All three benefited from being the lead singles of not-yet-released albums by huge bands.Ratts last single to make the Hot 100, peaking at No. 75, was "Way Cool Jr.," a swaggering Reach for the Sky track about a slickster-cool drug dealer. Like "Round and Round"—and the four other Ratt songs that made pops biggest chart—it was a bit of a Hot 100 anomaly, trafficking in razor-wire guitars and led by Pearcys withering vocal (and it wasn’t a cover, à la Bulletboys rework of the OJays world-weary "For the Love of Money" or Great Whites version of Ian Hunters pervy "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"). But like so many other metal-edged singles of its era, it loomed larger on the rock landscape than the charts suggested, thanks to a consistent presence throughout late 1988 and early 1989 on MTV.

What’s This Playlist All About? The soundtrack to Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s has been released as a playlist. According to Hill, “The film was written and shot to these specific tracks, many of which were so important to my own life growing up.” It’s finally happened: soundtracks are finished; playlists have officially taken control.What You Get: True-blue decade classics from the East Coast (Wu-Tang’s “Tearz”) to the West Coast (Souls of Mischief’s “93 ‘til Infinity”) to the Pacific Northwest (Nirvana’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”), plus Seal’s own slice of soundtrack gold, “Kiss from a Rose.” But there are plenty of non-’90s tracks, too, including quick shots of sweat-stained punk from Bad Brains and Misfits, groovy dance-punk from ESG, and heady Hungarian rock from Omega. You also get a taste of the moody Mid90s score written by ‘90s icon himself Trent Reznor with trusty collaborator Atticus Ross.Best Surprise: Ginuwine’s “Pony” is always a welcome addition to any playlist.Is This the Beginning of the End of the Soundtrack? We hope not. The beauty of a playlist is that it can change and expand at any given time—which this one already has since its official “release.” But this also takes away from the potential of a soundtrack to serve as a definitive document to a specific time and moment in film and pop culture (could you imagine Pretty in Pink or Purple Rain as ever-changing playlists?!), which is kind of ironic for a movie called Mid90s.

What’s This Playlist All About? Tom Krell, the modest mastermind behind How to Dress Well’s moody mix of ambient, techno, R&B, and pop, compiles over 13 hours of equally moody pieces that hit myriad eras and auras of electronic music, all which have influenced his darkest most experimental release yet, The Anteroom.What You Get: Upon pressing play, a spectacular array of leftfield sounds will hit you from every direction, no matter what track you start with. Indulge in dreamy, decadent meditations from Kaityln Aurelia Smith and Kelly Lee Owens. Brave heart-pounding noise, static, and twitchy terrors from aptly named artists like Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement and Dead Man’s Chest. Then, reminisce with Aphex Twin at his most manic, and Joy Division at their most cinematic.Greatest Discovery: With over 150 tracks, there’s quite a lot to discover here, but we’re especially drawn to the crisp yet primal grooves of Yves Tumor, represented here with the too-short “Role in Creation,” and the soulful melt of “Face of a Demon.”How Does This Playlist Reflect The Anteroom? It’s a fantastic companion to the album itself, which has you slipping and slinking through a dark fantasy of unhinged sounds, ominous drones, soft vocal passages, and transcendent techno beats.