So, here we go: Week 1.

Everything is Awful, by The Decemberists: We’re in the midst of more political turmoil (when aren’t we, anymore?), the president floated the idea of injecting ourselves with disinfectant, and most of us are closed up in our homes because of a global pandemic. This project has been something I’ve been holding onto in my head for a long time, and now felt like the right time, and the first track was a no-brainer.

2 AM, by The Countermen: I can confidently say that I have been one of the people who has waited the longest to have this song finally released as a single. Being lucky enough to be friends with this band, I booked their first show (which happened to be my first show, as well). The driving, speedy, and immediately catchy opening guitar riff grabbed my attention instantaneously the first time I heard it; it was an immediate revelation that this band that my friends had put together was very much onto something, and were going to do very well. And then I had to wait a little over two years to have this single release, finally, this week. Look forward to an interview I had with Andrew Vardanega about this song’s release and the band in general being posted soon.

All My Friends, by LCD Soundsystem: It was inevitable that I include at least one LCD Soundsystem song on my first playlist. It’s inevitable that I include them on quite a few of these lists, and that’s even if I try to employ some self-control. This is my favorite band, full stop. With the current stay in place orders, this has been readily present on my mind as of late (it being one of my go-to “I am very sad and feeling isolated” jams). This is just a side note, but most lyrics sites say that a line goes “When you’re drunk and the kids leave impossible tasks,” which I refuse to recognize as accurate. The line is “When you’re drunk and the kids look impossibly tan,” and unless James Murphy himself tells me otherwise I will not be swayed from this opinion.

I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore, by Lucy Dacus: I had no idea about this song, or this artist, until last month, when Spotify took it upon themselves to play her cover of “Dancing in the Dark” after one of my playlists had ended. I was hooked, and looked into more of her releases, including an absolutely fantastic cover of “La Vie en Rose,” which happens to be my favorite song of all time. But this song in particular strikes a very personal chord. One primary struggle I often grapple with in the funhouse of anxiety and depression that is my psyche is the feeling that I’m not doing ENOUGH with my life, with my time, with the ‘potential’ I’ve been told I have. Which often plays out in urges to reinvent myself, to throw away the comedy stuff I do that, to me on my bad days (which is most of them), holds very little value or artistic merit. Include with that a pervasive feeling of distance from others, lines like “lately I’ve been feeling like the odd man out,” the whole song pins down a very specific feeling I have often, of wanting to not just be the funny one, and the isolating feelings I attach to that label.

Lithium, by The Polyphonic Spree: I have no clear idea why this cover exists. Where Kurt Kobain’s numb-to-angry delivery and Nirvana’s morose-to-raucus instrumentation feel like the most necessary ingredients to the whole of what I always believed the song to be, The Polyphonic Spree presents a sincerely joyous and bombastic cover. When Tim DeLaughter sings “I’m so happy ‘cause today I found my friends/ They’re in my head,” there is no trace of the ironic detachment that Kurt brought to the lines. And yet this all works. This twenty-four-or-so piece (seriously, check the Wikipedia on this band, it is insane) band achieves the gold standard for a cover, taking the source material and recontextualizing it with their unique style and basically creating a new song. Also, google search these guys, because I’m always mildly concerned that this band I enjoy might actually just be a weird Texas cult that just presses albums as a side gig, and you will see why.

Clearest Blue, by CHVRCHES: This is in contention for being my favorite CHVRCHES song, and I feel like most listeners will understand why immediately. I’d say some already have, seeing as three people have messaged me after I posted this playlist to say some variation of “this CHVRCHES song is a real banger,” which to me means I did a decent enough job of suggesting a song. Lauren Mayberry’s incredible vocals, the gradual build to a fantastic apex at the 2:10 mark, and the relatable (at least to me and my self-destructive impulses) lyrics that center on pushing someone away and simultaneously asking, begging, for them to meet you halfway, all come together to make a song I love. Also, it’s a pretty good track for jogging to. So that’s also cool.

Helden, by David Bowie: David Bowie is one of the most important musicians to ever be. Not only was he brilliant, charming, and willing to call out what he saw was wrong (like here), not only was he an incredible singer and musician, no, he also managed to be one of the best songwriters ever. This song is one of his best in its normal form, but I opted for the lesser-known German vocals version for two reasons- 1) I just recently saw Jojo Rabbit (and loved it) and so the song was fresh on my mind, and; 2) while the lyrics are absolutely fantastic, I love the experience of being able to listen to his voice and the emotion in it without filtering it through language comprehension.

So yes, there’s week one’s list. You can find it on Apple Music and Spotify.

Thank you for your time.