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.
Taylor Memoli (Pop Break Staff Writer, Editor-in-Chief of The Underground Edit)
Song: “Texas Sun (Church Sessions)”
Artist: The Heavy Heavy
The Heavy Heavy are modern gems. With a nostalgic ’70s-inspired sound that makes you question whether these songs could have actually been released anytime in the past decade, I truly can’t find a song from the band that I would consider bad. This month, “Texas Sun” off their Live album has been in constant rotation for me, especially because it is one of the songs from the collection that highlight Georgie Fuller’s vocals during a solo segment.
Her voice blends perfectly with the rest of her bandmates, and the ending repetition of, “Take a ride with me, baby / You by my side / How does it sound, you and I?” sends the listener into a building spiral, leaving them wanting more long after the song ends. It’s the perfect finishing touch for a song that is for sure going to make you wish you could experience it for the first time all over again.
Kelley Lauginiger (Staff Writer, The Pop Break)
Song: “Tiger Trot”
Artist: Leroi Conroy
Hunched shoulders, slinking sneakily through the tall grasses, I’m not in Trader Joe’s. I am but a jungle cat looking for prey, and maybe something cheeky.
I bet this is the song the Pink Panther listens to as he combs his hair in the morning.
The drums make the song, but they feel less like an instrument and more like a catalyst. Pushing the slinkiness of it all, eye on the prize for jungle survival. Top of the food chain aura is that of a silk jacket, and this tune is the smoke rings puffed as on offering to align with the rest of us, but it dissolves. Oh well, it was cool while it lasted.
The rhythm of life, for a cool cat at least.
Brandon Hoffman (Wrestling Writer, The Pop Break)
Song: “Bobby”
Artist: Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers newest album, Lost Weekend, released on August 14 with a bunch of bangers on the repeat button. One of those songs in particular newly released is “Bobby,” a love song about falling for someone upon first glance. Heavily believed to be about comedian and director Bo Burnham, the lyrics claw at the heart of wanting love and nothing else. In an almost obsessive manner, lyrics such as “And if you didn’t like either one of my friends, I’d kill them, I’d kill them” portray the power of Bridgers’s words.
Pairing the words with Bridgers’ lovely voice made for an emotional rollercoaster of a song. Also, as someone who loves Bo Burnham’s work, seeing him disappear a few years ago and then hearing his voice in the background of this song damn near moved me to tears. The instrumental post-chorus bit also matches the midnight yearnful vibes this song brings to the table. Such a tearjerker, this was.
Nynoshka Vazquez Suazo (Staff Writer, The Pop Break)
Song: “Cheetah Love”
Artist: The Cheetah Girls
In light of sequels and remakes over on Disney+, I can’t help but reminisce on Disney Channel’s prime. When the pretty boys were Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers, and when Kenny Ortega was spearheading the creation of original movies that shaped our childhoods. I blame my entire personality on characters like Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place and Chanel from The Cheetah Girls. So when news of a film like Camp Rock 3 makes its way to my ears, I can’t help but rub it in young people’s faces how good we had it way back when!
Thus my submission for this month’s playlist comes from the archives, from the depths of my “and you’re watching…tbs” throwbacks playlist. A culmination of my childhood confined into a three-hour playlist.
“Cheetah Love” from the Disney Channel original movie The Cheetah Girls: One World is a cultural phenomenon filled with cheetahlicious magic. It is an irresistibly catchy track that perfectly encompasses the concepts of love, friendship and fun! While it does have that early 2000s cheesy Disney Channel charm, it is such an upbeat powerhouse of a song. If I heard this in the club, I’d be in the middle of the dance floor screaming at the top of my lungs!
Honorable mention: “This is Our Song” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Ava Mehr (Rutgers Summer Writing Program)
Song title: “Best Friend”
Artist: Rex Orange County
“Best Friend” by Rex Orange County has been one of those songs that I’ve known for years, but lately I’ve found myself listening to it way more than usual. It’s the kind of song that instantly puts me in a good mood and makes me want to roll down my windows and turn the volume all the way up. Even after hearing it so many times, I somehow never get sick of it. What I love most about the song is that it sounds so fun and upbeat, but when you actually listen to what the artist is saying, it’s really not happy at all. It’s about wanting someone who doesn’t necessarily want you in the same way and wishing you could be the person they chose.
I think that contrast is what makes the song so good because you can scream the lyrics and have fun listening to it while they’re still actually pretty sad and relatable. My favorite part of “Best Friend” is how easily it can fit whatever mood you’re in. You can listen to it as a fun summer song without thinking too much about it, or genuinely listen to the lyrics and get something completely different out of it. As summer starts to wind down, it’s been one of those songs I keep coming back to.
Kris Ingersoll (Co-Host of Podelay!, Batman by the Numbers, Media/Lit Podcast)
Song: “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”
Artist: The Highwomen
I don’t always listen to country music, but when I do, it had better have some rebel in it. That means the stuff I listen to is mostly old. Every once in a while though, a country act will come along with something to say (and by that I mean with something worth saying) and with the soul to back it up. Formed in 2019, The Highwomen are exactly that and the first track of their self titled album serves a rebellious and resilient kind of storytelling that defines the genre, or at least it should.
While they’ve recorded plenty of pure originals, the supergroup comprising Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires, along with frequent guests, pays homage to The Highwaymen before them with both direct covers and spiritual successors to classic tracks. Highwomen is something of a combination of the two and boy does it hit you right in the heart. We hear the story of a highwoman, a healer, a freedom rider, and a preacher—each of them bold women, each with their own part of a shared story.
It’s a story of legacy: of resilience and spirit. It is equal parts inspiring and heartbreaking. As you listen to the women share their stories, they all feel deeply true. It almost doesn’t matter what the music is doing (which is great, by the way). The stories are what set this track apart. Each one is delivered with passion and supported by incredible vocal performances. Each one moves me to my core.
Justin Mancini (Co-host of Podelay)
Song: “Sleeping on the Roof”
Artist: The Flaming Lips
The long-running Flaming Lips have dabbled in everything from noise music to psychedelic rock, but I’ll always have a preference for their dreamier compositions. This late track from their seminal The Soft Bulletin album assembles a sonic cocoon in just about three minutes, layering in both studio and field recordings. Beginning with the familiar hum of nocturnal insects and steady procession of bare piano chords, it brings in a reliable synthesizer loop, an anchor in a cosmic sea.
Meanwhile, Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins, and Steven Drozd add instrumental flourishes beyond the theme, like brief glimpses of shooting stars. These sounds—along with its evocative title—pit the coziness of domestic security against the vast infinitude of the universe. It’s a nostalgic sound collage that envelops you like a comfy blanket.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief of The Pop Break)
Song: “Mongoose”
Artist: Fu Manchu
If you need a bit of a bombastic boost to your August playlist, or maybe your life in general then the almighty Fu Manchu has the cure for what ails you. The fuzzed out, bass heavy, stoner gods of Orange County have a plethora of absolute bangers to their name, but “Mongoose” might just be their piece de resistance. It’s an amalgam of chaos that’ll make you want to run through a wall in a haze of smoke that’s already awakened your third eye. The low end insanity of the thundering bass in this song is ungodly. The guitar solos are as freewheeling as a drag race in the California sunset, and the vocals hit just perfectly in their dissonance. This is just such an adrenaline rush of a song that you’ll find yourself hooked on till the wheels fall off.
