Playlist of the Week: Driving with the Windows Down
-
Playlists
This week Callie’s helping you get pumped for the day with a “Driving With the Windows Down” playlist. She’s wishing for spring weather and in anticipation of more sunshine and Saturdays above 60 degrees, she’s put together the perfect playlist to bump at full volume when you’re driving around with all your friends. Whether you’re hitting a fast food drive-through or making your way to the mall (people still do that, right?), make sure you have your windows rolled all the way down and an aux cord at the ready.
“Where This Flower Blooms” – Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean. It is tremendously satisfying to blast this song and scream, “I rock, I roll, I bloom, I grow” at the top of your lungs. I highly recommend it. It’s even better when the weather is warm, because this album’s vibes were created with sunflowers and bumblebees in mind. It’s even better in the car, because Tyler’s flow in these particular verses has a rhythm that’s somehow perfectly suited for transportation. It shares the same wanton, fleeting feeling you get when you watch the world whoosh by outside your window.
“Slide” – Aminé. It would be a crime to let Aminé’s reputation live and die on “Caroline.” Although the megahit definitely showcases some of his best work, his entire debut album specializes in the same bright yellow, unpretentious, high-energy sort of music that you hear at an outdoor day party. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and that lightheartedness is easily transferred to his listeners. His songs are infused with a buoyance that may remind you of pop music — but with enough of an edge that you still feel cool when you sing along.
“Come Down” – Anderson .Paak. This song perfectly captures the moment in a fun, party-type atmosphere when you realize that there’s no turning back. It’s when you’ve reached a peak — but the people around you have no intention of slowing down. You have to commit to the experience and, when you do, the vibrations only become more infectious. As Anderson himself explains, “Everybody feels what the song is about. They just wanna groove.” Even when you’re constrained by a seatbelt, you can’t help but dance.
“Rollin” – Calvin Harris, Future, Khalid. “Rollin” followed “Slide” and “Heatstroke” to complete Calvin Harris’ holy trinity of star-studded summer anthems. Here, Khalid bathes the chorus in a precocious perspective that can only be described literally, like: “a 19-year-old crooner from El Paso, Texas speeding down a highway.” He’s both self-satisfied and angsty. Future almost acts as a seasoned mentor, but still relates to the spontaneity and ambition that permeates Khalid’s lyricism.
“Dang! (feat. Anderson .Paak)” – Mac Miller. Mac Miller does what he does best with “Dang!” — blending funk and hip-hop to ponder very complex topics (love, pain, death, the inevitable dissolution of relationships) in a very breezy, boyish way. Not to mention he’s joined by the life and soul of this playlist, Anderson .Paak, who was actually also the inspiration and driving force behind this track. Together, they created an atmosphere that’s rich with both undeniable anguish and irresistible melodies. It’s perhaps summed up best in one simple Miller lyric: “heartache drunk.”
“Dapper” – Domo Genesis, Anderson .Paak. Look, if you’re thinking by this point that you’re going to get tired of Anderson .Paak’s angelic voice, think again. Any music he touches embodies the energy that can only be felt when you’re riding shotgun in a bright red convertible. It’s the kind of energy that exists when your best friend is driving and you’re wearing your coolest sunglasses and you know the wind is going to mess up your hair but you don’t care. Even though Domo Genesis’ style is a bit moodier, a bit more atmospheric, Anderson shines through in the track’s sparkling, funk-inspired production.
“My My My!” – Troye Sivan. This transition in the playlist would be suited perfectly for the transition of dusk; when the sun sinks lower, the lighting grows a purple tint, and there’s a vague sense of teenager-past-curfew liberation. If you need to turn on the heat to combat the cooler air, feel free — but keep the windows down. Troye’s seductive little growl is best understood when the wind has a bite and everything feels a bit more dramatic. When the chorus hits and the heavy, distorted beats start to reverberate through your ribcage, you’ll be glad that the car’s openness lends itself well to, in Troye’s words, the “exhale of relief and liberation and excitement” that flows through his voice.
“Style” – Taylor Swift. Any car-themed playlist would be remiss not to include this iconic tribute to Harry Styles’ distracted driving. The beauty of “Style” is that it has the kind of romantic, hazy ambiguity that plays well at any time of day. The song feels pink and orange and playful at sunrise; yellow and bright and frenzied at noon; lavender and smoky and mysterious in the evening; or dark blue and urgent and moody at midnight. It’s the perfect song for any road trip — and not in the least because the bridge that leads to the last chorus (“TAKE ME HOME”) is the ideal phrase to yell at the top of your lungs.
“Capsize” – FRENSHIP, Emily Warren. I can’t quite understand or describe what is so tantalizing about this song, but I do know it was my top-played song on Spotify in 2017 purely because I did a lot of driving over the summer — and this would always get at least ten plays for each tank of gas. There’s something so provocative and enthralling about a conversation between two people who have lost each other, who ache for one another — but whose longing isn’t reflected in the song’s house beat or interpolative textures. Its unrepentantly bubbly production makes the song feel hopeful, as if there’s something waiting at the end of the tunnel for these two people who are far apart and still in love.
“The Sound” – The 1975. Matty Healy has said that “The Sound” is sort of like “a parody of a 1975 song” because it sees the bubblegum-emo band leaning into its natural talent for pop. And although “parody” makes it sound like a joke, the song’s catchy, crystalline vibe suits them perfectly — like they’re a cool-guy band performing at prom in the climactic scene of an 80s teen movie. Of course, The 1975’s glam rock roots still shine through, which gives the song dimension and depth that doesn’t always exist in radio-friendly kiss-off tunes. The combination does sometimes come off a bit showy and pretentious, but it’s also some of Healy’s best lyrical work (and it’s riotously fun to blast at full volume).