It’s been so long since I’ve done one of these! I mean, it’s been so long since I’ve done anything on this blog, actually, so that makes sense. But! Like everything in my and your lives right now, this post is corona-related. I’m working from home, as I said in my last post, and since tomorrow is Monday, aka start of the work week, I thought I’d share what songs I play while I do my job. You know when I’m not watching MST3K or listening to true crime podcasts …

I blame ChilledCow for this, honestly … I could listen to “Snowman” by WYS over and over again and never get tired of it.

The first time I heard Marina and the Diamonds was the first time I moved to Louisville, KY, back in … 2014? The years kind of blend together now. Anyway, I loved her ever since, and “Primadonna” is on multiple playlists of mine.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced me to Cibo Matto (“When She Was Bad,” second season premiere), and this band just gets weirder and weirder as you go. “Sugar Water” is probably the most radio friendly, and it’s not as awkward to hope the person on the other end of your phone call hears it as, say, “Birthday Cake” or “Know Your Chicken.”

Living in Nashville since 1992 (took a 5 year break) meant I grew up with country music everywhere, and it has only been in the last several years that I’ve allowed myself to enjoy some of it. Kacey Musgraves is a big reason that I even gave it a chance, and her new album (where “Slow Burn” is the first track) is fucking fantastic.

Anything by Rufus Wainwright could be on this list because I am a huge fan of his, but “Pièce à vivre” is the most recent one. If you haven’t had the privilege of hearing this man’s fantastic voice, you are missing out.

Kind of like good ol’ Rufus above, Love Psychedelico has so many songs I could post here – “Lady Madonna,” “Your Song,” “LOW (ver.1.1), and they just released a new song, “Swingin'” back in April which is so happy! – but “Last Smile” is the one I played on Friday, so …

It’s only been about two years that I’ve been aware of Sofi Tukker and I simply cannot get enough of them. I actually teetered between this song, “Swing,” “Best Friend,” and “My Body Hurts,” but this remix is just so amazing that I feel I would be cheating you.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an incredible composer (he’s done so much, including the score to Wings of Honneamise, The Last Emperor, and The Revenant) and his favorite composer is Debussy (who is also my favorite composer). Like … just go look him up. He’s amazing. But this remix of “Anger” is the first song I ever heard by him, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Y’all. Lena Raine is The Shit. I have bought all of her albums on Bandcamp and go to sleep to this soundtrack, and I think a lot of my love for the song “Confronting Myself” is because it pairs so well with the scene in the video game that this comes from. If you haven’t played Celeste, I highly recommend it. It’s deceptively difficult but so much fun to play.

Dessa is a powerhouse, and I love her work with Doomtree. I first heard of her when I was listening to one of Welcome to Night Vale‘s live episodes (that time it was “Call Off Your Ghost,” and I’ve kept close tabs on her work. “Good Grief” showcases her talents well, but seriously, go check out the rest of her stuff.

My roommate gave me this album last year, and although I’d seen Gary Clark, Jr. live several times at that point, I still was so impressed with this record. This Land is fabulous, regardless of what track you choose, but I’m going with “The Guitar Man.” So freaking good.

And now to kind of round things out back to a nice, chill sound, I bring you DJ Krush’s “Law of Harmony.” Krush has been making music for a loooooong time, so feel free to browse his very robust catalog, but I’m thoroughly enjoying his newest albums. Coincidentally, he just came out with Trickster, which I will most likely be listening to tomorrow, whilst at work.

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day, and now, back to our regularly scheduled corona programming.