How do I drag my body home from campus on a weekday afternoon? With the help of “Sunshine,” off of Work of Art by Asake. A gentle release from academic anxiety: “Sun’s gon’ shine on everything you do.”
It takes an eclectic array of music to satisfy me after a tough day of classes. I need a journey — from reassuring, to thrilling, to contemplative. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Kollage” brings me relief. “Beef,” by Ethereal and featuring Playboi Carti, wakes me back up. Frank Ocean and Marvin Gaye remind me to reflect on the things we’ve lost with “Self Control” and “Mercy Mercy Me.” That usually inspires me to write. Six-and-a-half minutes of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” put me in a trance-like state; it ends, and I’m left wondering what to do with my evening. Queue another playlist?
1. Asake: Sunshine
I first heard Asake in Ghana. “Amapiano” was everywhere. Still, this turned out to be my favorite on that album.
2. Carly Rae Jepsen: Kollage
I had the loveliest time with The Loveliest Time while visiting family in Korea. Someone on TikTok said this track reminded them of Men I Trust. Thanks to this song for making me relisten to the Forever Live Sessions!
3. Mr Twin Sister: Expressions
Al Mundo Azul got me through COVID. Even through the coldest winter nights in the city. A record close to my heart.
4. PinkPantheress: Passion
An instant classic. I sometimes think that we’ll look back on this era of PinkPantheress as a cultural artifact of the 2020s.
5. Charli XCX: c2.0
I relistened to this song today and wondered, “How do you come up with this shit?” A symphony of unlikely sounds. This album’s always on repeat.
6. Kanye West: Hold My Liquor
One of Kanye’s most interesting verses: a frightening, self-aware admission of an unhealthy attitude towards women and sex. A cinematic buildup for…
7. Ethereal: Beef (feat. Playboi Carti)
Just a banger. I queue this song probably every week.
8. Tyler, the Creator: Okra
An underrated Tyler track. A kind of brutalist production that we hardly see from him anymore. I turn to “Smuckers” and “Domo23” when I want to hear him rap like that.
9. Radiohead: Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
Hypnotic. It makes me feel like a… weird fish, I guess. ˜
10. Frank Ocean: Self Control
One of the earliest songs I remember loving. Just one of those things that reminds you that other people have felt what you feel.
11. Marvin Gaye: Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
More apt than ever. And it’ll be more apt tomorrow! A wake-up call sent from the ’70s.
12. Herbie Hancock: Watermelon Man
An atmospheric voyage. A good palate cleanser, I think, for the end of a playlist.
Eric Han is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at [email protected].
‘Solar Flare’ is a weekly playlist column where Sun contributors spotlight a slice of musical taste with the campus community. It runs every Monday.