well well well,
we meet again, the 9th week now— crazy!!! I hope everyone is escaping the heat/boredom/bad news, and I hope this is a little bit of good news every week since you get new music/fun playlists!!
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did (;
This week I admit, I have not been perusing a variety of music at my normal speed since I have had to digest all the drops from last week (i’m looking at you Taylor Swift and others…Oliver tree, Healy) I’m sure you can understand. BUT after letting my ears simmer in Folklore, I have been thinking about country music. I KNOW. I did not expect this for myself BUT I am trying to be open to all things so that was the inspiration for this week’s playlist. It’s geared towards the normal person that only knows the most popular country songs just from secondhand listening, and if you don’t know these songs… consider it your “Intro to Country Class”. Last thing before we move on… when COVID is all over, will someone go line dancing with me though? hopefully, this playlist will persuade you to join me (;
SOMETHING NEW: guest star: MOLLY FEENEY
A good friend of mine from USD offered to add her music expertise in reference to Netflix’s beloved Outer Banks!! She wrote a lil piece for y’all so PLS ENJOY BELOW (spoiler alert Molly is a genius <3 and she even linked all the songs like a GOD)
If you’re like most pre-teen to 20-something girls this quarantine, you’ve probably watched Netflix’s Outer Banks once, if not multiple times. The first time I watched, I fell in love with the characters (hellloooo JJ 😏), plot, and scenery, but the second time around, I couldn’t help but notice the perfectly curated playlist that accompanied each episode. Here are my favorites from Season 1 (FYI: I won’t apologize for “Left Hand Free” not making the list) and what I hope to hear in the recently-confirmed Season 2.
Season 1 Top Tunes:
“Evan Finds the Third Room” by Khruangbin: Whoever is in charge of music for Outer Banks has a soft spot for Khruangbin, as the trio is featured throughout the season (another personal favorite is “People Everywhere (Still Alive)”) but this alt hit perfectly sets the scene for a sunset surf session after a stressful day of sinking thousand dollar boats and stealing underwater drones. It snaps viewers back to the main mission of Pogue life: have a good time, all the time. I blast this song while driving around the suburbs and somehow I’m transported to the coast with treasure on my mind.
“High School Lover” by Cayucas: Featured in the first Boneyard kegger scene, it’s a subtle reminder that Netflix needs viewers to think 27-year old Chase Stokes passes for a 16-year old, but it’s still a great song nonetheless. The lyrics “I opened up the door and saw you undressing” hints at the upcoming “Get your head out of the gutter, John B” scene, which, in my humble opinion, is one of the most cringe-worthy lines of dialogue in the history of forever (but it makes for a great Tik Tok trend). Just as I wish the plot of OBX was the plot to my high school summers, Cayucas makes me nostalgic for a high school romance I never had.
“You’ve Got the Heat” by Luster: This song gives me flashbacks to a different Netflix Original: Stranger Things. In particular, Season 3. It’s the 80s, summer fun is here, and the most reliable form of communication is walkie-talkies. Which… isn’t too far off from Outer Banks. One of my favorite parts of the show is how timeless it feels, because, with cell towers down, they’re not worried about Snap scores or crafting the perfect Instagram caption; they live in the moment, no matter how dangerous that moment may be. Sure, a FaceTime or quick iMessage would have saved our Pogues a lot of trouble in the season finale, but where’s the suspense with that? With catchy lyrics and killer instrumentals, “You’ve Got the Heat” heats up this soundtrack.
Hopeful Season 2 Harmonies:
“Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?” by San Cisco: This band hails from Western Australia, a state celebrated for its laid-back nature and endless coastline— sound familiar? Right off the bat, this band croons, “We met when we were sixteen, You’d never see us apart, Life was filled with salt and sunscreen, And nothing was ever that hard, We liked that, What we have right now, Isn’t like that”. Again, sound familiar? As much as we all want the Pogues to reunite with the gold and each other, riding the HMS Pogue off into the sunset, we (and by we I mean I) need to come to terms that there’s a hurricane-sized shit show coming their way in Season 2 and things will be hard. Here’s hoping to an early reunion so they can weather it together.
“Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest: I think we can all agree that our Pogues deserve better at Midsummers. Our boy Pope needs a nice slow dance with Kiara, no Kooks in sight. Twinkly lights under the stars? This song in the background while they sway together? What could go wrong? And if they want to cast me as JJ’s love interest to lovingly stare into his eyes, I wouldn’t complain.
“peace” by Taylor Swift: Arguably the best musical entity to come out of quarantine (the best television of quarantine is obvi OBX. If you don’t think the same, why have you read this far?), I would be remiss to not include one of Miss Swift’s recent masterpieces. “peace” feels the closest this album gets to the rock genre, so I could see JJ listening to it on one of his angstier days. This song most accurately reflects John B and Sarah’s relationship, especially with the lyric “No, I could never give you peace.” Don’t get me wrong, I love them together on and off the screen, but it’ll never be easy for them. Not only are they a star-crossed Pogue and Kook, but her dad killed his dad and he’s the reason her dad could end up in jail if the SBI’s suspicion of Ward carries over to Season 2. It won’t be an easy relationship, but I’m rooting for them.
s/o Molly for her expertise,… literally so perfect!!!!!!!! & @molly & I’m rooting for u and JJ (:<
onto the next:
NEW MUSIC ALERT:
Oscar Welsh: Vernal - if you don’t remember from his feature on my new artists a few weeks back Oscar Welsh was hot off the tik tok fame and playing on one of my playlists. He now has released his first LP and it is GREAT. You will love it if you like Remi Wolf, Still Woozy, or anything in that realm. Go enjoy.
Dominic Fike: What Could Possibly Go Wrong - I’m listening to it as I am writing this. So far enjoying it very much so. Definitely already found a fav— or three ^.^ I think so far, so good and I forgot to mention… there is a respectable amount of songs on this!! I am fully impressed. If you ask me next week I will have a fully developed and honest answer, but so far yes thumbs up. Listen to it.
Billie Eilish: My Future - well now we have a taste of what Billie has planned for herself and might I add, I am excited for her and feeling empowered after listening. I’m a massive lyrics person so I think that’s what I like so much about it, besides the slight robo-funk mixed with her ghostly vocals (a few points she reminded me of Ariana Grande hehe). Give it a go I think you will find yourself nodding your head to it.
Zella Day: Only A Dream - this single is the most recent of Zella Day’s tease at hopefully *fingers crossed* a new album (Fallon circa sophomore year of hs is screaming) I like where she is going with her music and I’m so excited to see where it takes her. If you like Stevie Nicks, Indie, or witchy psychedelia vibes, then check out Zella Day and all of her music.
Lana Del Rey: LA Who Am I To Love You - I needed to add this bc wtf is up. The woman is reading ??? I’m sad?? Lana r u ok? I need to speak to someone on this. Listen if u dare .. it’s 5 minutes,,,..,. HAHA
now…
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST: COWGIRL 101
put on your boots because this week I made a playlist of all the country songs I felt most people would know just in case you ever felt like snacking on some country.
This is meant to be kind of silly— no offense to my die-hard country friends— it’s just not in my blood!! but I cannot discredit my girl Dolly Parton <3 she brings the HEAT.
shuffle it to your heart’s content!!
playlist cover bc I love possums & ^^ fits perfectly (minus shooting — I don’t like that) !???
Anyway, giddy-up and giddy-on out w this week’s jams linked here and below (:
All my love and appreciation to you for your support and time reading these emails <3 Keep doing the right thing, smiling, and enjoying the music.
xoxo,
Fallon