The Playlist is a brand new column for Pop Break celebrating the songs we love at this very moment, and we think you, our readers, should be putting in your life as well! This column features recommendations from the writers, podcasters and photographers of Pop Break as well as our friends from the world of journalism, entertainment, podcasting and our everyday lives.
Nynoshka Vazquez Suazo (Staff Writer, The Pop Break + The Underground Edit)
Song: “In Da Club”
Artist: 50 Cent
The air is already crisp, and the leaves are already crunchy, which means Autumn is amongst us. When I think of the fall, I think of a variety of things, specifically the “must-watch” selection of the season, including Dancing with the Stars. So in light of the beginning of a new season of samba and heel lifts, I am taking inspiration from premiere night, where the stars danced to a hit song from the year they were born. I may make people feel old in this very instant, but I was born in 2003, which I believe was the peak of mainstream media. Nothing has been the same since.
My playlist pick for this month is “In Da Club” by 50 cent, the biggest song of 2003, to help prevent our seasonal depression.
Brandon Hoffman (Staff Writer, The Pop Break)
Song: “Earrings”
Artist: Malcolm Todd
A real late-bloomer hit song! This loose-feeling mixtape was re-released as a single after its viral resurgence in 2026. A song about love connections, it has many masterful melodies that are best described as relaxing. Even when the mix of drums and keys gets interrupted by more distorted riffs, it’s a perfect vibe that shows its flow. I feel this song to be the best when I turn my brain off and enjoy the instrumentation alone. The lyrics are still powerful, though, making for a regretful monologue about not communicating with “her” and being stuck mentally. What a shame this banger wasn’t on the radio earlier.
Justin Mancini (Co-host of Podelay!)
Song: “Chemistry”
Artist: Rush
That’s right, the famously divisive Canadian band is back on tour, so of course I’m celebrating with one of their deep cuts. On an album like Signals that delves deep into adolescent alienation, I love how this track ponders a sincere desire for social connection, an exact formula for finding the kind of fulfillment that seems mathematically impossible.
The first minute alone pulses with longing even before Geddy Lee’s trademark vocals break through (aged like fine wine after his ’70s prog rock days). The verse rocks back and forth with staccato guitar from Alex Lifeson and a muscular bassline from Geddy Lee, before giving way to a Police-esque pre-chorus, with Neil Peart’s drums echoing the thoughts that bang around an active mind.
But it’s in the relatively brief chorus where the band achieve something sublime: a lush wash of keys where the possibility of fulfillment is revealed, further celebrated with a Lifeson guitar solo that summons deep reservoirs of feeling—a striving for the ineffable, however unlikely. Even if you think Rush aren’t for you, I challenge you to hear this track and not be swept up in its paean to the mysteries (and miracles) of love.
Olivia Aiere (Staff Writer, The Pop Break)
Song: brand new chanel$
Artist: Slayyyter
Over the summer, I became obsessed with “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polacheck. I would listen to it every day on loop before forcefully stopping myself so I wouldn’t get sick of it. Recently, I’ve had to take the same preventative measures with “brand new chanel$” by Slayyyter. Her song “Girl Like Me” appeared on my radar after it appeared in Forbidden Fruits earlier this year, but most of her other music isn’t always what I’m looking for. The ethereal synth sounds of “brand new chanel$” act as a soft response to the sister song “BEAT UP CHANEL$,” and the sudden drums in the chorus contribute to this nostalgic sound of many pop anthems from the 2010s. There’s been some speculation about Slayyyter dropping a new album later this year, but without confirmation of a date, I’m guaranteed to be stuck on this song for a while.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “Eclipse”
Artist: Donavon Frankenreiter
Donavon Frankenreiter has created the perfect song for locals who live by the beach or spiritually thrive there during September and October. “Eclipse” is a 3:42 instrumental filled with ethereal production and simple strumming from the surfer-turned-musician. “Eclipse” perfectly captures the quiet, wistfully reflective aura that envelopes you as you walk barefoot on a colder sandy beach, waves crashing in the distance. The sting of sunburn has given way to a crisp autumnal breeze that begs for a hoodie and a bonfire. But it also allows you these moments to be at one with your thoughts and emotions. And Frankenreiter has found a way to take this short instrumental and meld it into a soundtrack where the sweat stinging your eyes is replaced by slight tears of joy or bittersweet nostalgia.
