In ancient Egypt the numeral 2020 denoted the end of the world. Entire mythologies were created around and written about the sequenced numbers — a two (which symbolized hope) followed by a zero (which meant conflict and devastation), then another two and another zero (meaning eternity). Together the digits were a coded message, a signal to the four horsemen of the apocalypse: go-time. Each horseman was responsible for inflicting treacherous scourges on humanity: devastating fires, catastrophic floods, mortal plague and Donald Trump. All that seems extremely prescient in 2020.
Even if that first part about ancient Egypt, number codes and horsemen isn’t really true; I totally just made it up — the big, awful, shit sandwich part about a plague (COVID) and natural disasters (fire, floods, Trump) are unfortunately spot-on in 2020.
All this is to say: Hey, we have our first playlist for you.
A hair-raising riff or an undeniably catchy groove can raise spirits in surprising ways. As can traveling. And I don’t know about you but when times are dire I usually turn to Pearl Jam. Or something akin. In our playlist you’ll find nineties gems like the Sneaker Pimps’ hypnotic “Spin, Spin Sugar”; Elastica’s searing “Stutter”; and Cowboy Junkies’ chill “Common Disaster.” Other tunes are more recent like Lana Del Rey’s take on the Sublime classic “Doin’ Time,” Powfu and Beabadobee’s impossibly hooky “Death Bed” as well as Pearl Jam’s trippy and very un-Pearl Jam sounding “Dance of the Clairvoyants.” All 12 are on playlist #1 due to their addictive, head-bopping awesomeness. In short, great road trip songs.
I hope you’ll think of our playlists—we expect to share one a quarter—as your soundtrack to upcoming travel plans. Or at the very least a brief respite from the four horsemen.
More to come. Enjoy.
—Chris M. Walsh
