“It’s like a nice rainy-day playlist, which is just my general playlist when I’m in Scotland.”
In my opinion, you never truly know someone until you’ve listened to their personal soundtrack. So, in an attempt to fully know them, I’ve been asking my friends to send me their playlists. This is the only way I can truly see if I should be blocking these people or checking in on them more. I’m going to take you with me on the journey of these playlists, with the songs that either made total sense to me and others that surprised me! So please enjoy the songs selected by me from these playlists (mainly because it would be like a dissertation to cover all the songs), and welcome to the stage, the current soundtrack to my bestie: Damp Socks.
This playlist off the bat is for indie boys who wear caps and drink coffee like it’s water, which pretty much describes my ride-or-die to a tee. It’s a compilation of some of the chillest artists out there, such as Alice Phoebe Lou and Mac DeMarco. It’s pretty clear to me that this playlist was made specifically for a feeling, rather than just songs he likes. That’s how I make playlists most of the time, so I appreciate the fact that it feels curated to specifically this time in his life.
The playlist starts off with “Willow Tree” by Alice Phoebe Lou & Bakery. This song starts off pretty eery, with light guitar, laughter, and Lou’s floaty high notes taking us into the body of the song. This song is a nice entry into the playlist, it’s calm but not boring and the climbing of sound within the song almost feels like it’s taking you forward into the playlist.
I can see why it’s the first song he chose to build the rest of the playlist around, and it fits in with his whole corduroy-type vibe he’s going for.
When I saw that he had “Freaking Out the Neighbourhood” by Mac DeMarco on this playlist, all I could think about was his reaction when I told him the story behind this song.. That story is not mine to tell you in this article so all I will say is google it and you will never listen to it quite the same way again. I like that he added a song to the playlist that did fit the vibe but also is a bit more light-hearted. It added a bit of realism and connection directly to him, and showed a little bit more of his personality rather than the feeling he was going for.
“Half a Native” by Buxton is where I think our music tastes kind of collide. I mean, I’m a fan of some indie music, but this song sort of sounds more like the music I most commonly listen to. The guitar and vocals remind me of “From the Dining Table” by Harry Styles (please do not get upset with this comparison, I am simply just a girl), so I think it’s a good transition from that mainstream music deeper into the world of indie. I also just think that the song is a good romanticising song, as in I can see my ride or die walking around town listening to this trying to remind himself why he’s studying philosophy.
I don’t know why I was surprised to see Radiohead on here, but I was. He has chosen some of the most chilled-out Radiohead songs though, specifically “Let Down” and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”. I think it is probably just a response my brain has made to Thom Yorke’s voice, but I found it a little jarring in the middle of the tranquil, dirty vans music that I had never heard of. I think it showed his roots of being a mainstream indie kind of guy, which I appreciated so I didn’t feel totally lost in lowercase music titles. These songs showed that he might be broadening his music horizons, but nevertheless some songs just stick with you throughout the journey to the perfect playlist.
There was some older music too that I wasn’t expecting such as “Old Friends” by Simon & Garfunkel and “Hold On” by John Lennon. My bestie never really listened to any music before university, so to see music from the 60s/70s was a shock. It’s weird seeing him exploring music all on his own, it’s kind of like when a parent sees a child pick a favourite colour (I promise that is not meant to sound condescending). I like these songs a lot and I do think they fit with the vibe that he’s going for, with an earthy and calming feel to these songs. He was definitely not lying when he said this playlist was like a rainy day, these songs just came out of left field when I was listening to them.
He closes the playlist with an absolute banger, “Congratulations” by MGMT. I love this song because I imagine it playing in the end credits of an insane coming-of-age movie, and Kid Cudi sampled it in “Immortal”. It’s a little strange just how well this song suits this playlist for me as it does to the person who made it. It’s unapologetically appreciated for what it is. What I like about this song is its unique sound when compared to every other popular MGMT song. “Congratulations” models itself on an older influence whilst simultaneously maintaining its modernity. It serves as a reflection of the playlist as a whole and the vibe it is trying to create, so I think it’s perfect for a closing song.
Overall, I think this playlist reflects this introspective, chillaxed version of my ride-or-die so well. It’s a memoir of his time in the wonderful country his bestie (me) was born in. It’s fun to see the similarities in our shared way of making playlists, even though mine are obviously still better. I genuinely enjoyed listening to what my ride-or-die listens to, and I would really recommend listening to your friends’ playlists, even if it’s just used as a conversation starter or something to argue about over an overpriced coffee. To appreciate your reading here is the top 5 songs I would add to this playlist and my top 5 from the playlist itself. Happy listening!
Top 5 from Damp Socks
1. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
2. Call it Fate, Call it Karma – The Strokes
3. Springtime Of The Year – Kacy & Clayton
4. Motel Reflections – Pro Teens
5. Glow – Alice Phoebe Lou
Top 5 I would add.
1. Between the Bars – Elliott Smith
2. Cavalier – James Vincent McMorrow
3. Smother – Daughter
4. Fireworks – First Aid Kit
5. The Sea – Morcheeba
