Think globally, act … well, globally. The best of the new from the last 10 years, including Avicii, Rihanna, Kanye, Luis Fonsi, Drake, Lorde, Jay-Z, PSY, and more

By Lynn Q. Yu

If trap is the funeral music of the Reagan revolution, then this decade began as a glorious wake. But then 2016 happened, and the country awoke wondering if reports of the revolution’s death had been greatly exaggerated. Trap took a turn for the emo, and we were left holding mournful, atonal tunes from the SoundCloud set.

What this decade has not been able to dampen, however, is the globalization of pop, a globalization that seeped in through the mainstreaming of electronic dance music, that built on the successes of Korean pop acts, and that peaked toward the end of the decade with the relentlessly danceable stylings of dancehall and reggaeton. READ ON

Jollity and beauty from Joni Mitchell, Lena Horne, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Louis Armstrong, the Pogues, Eartha Kitt, and more

By Ana Gasteyer

I’m not a religious person, but I sure do love the holidays. Life is complicated and stressful, maybe now more than ever. We all need a minute, once a year, to communally unplug, connect, laugh, festoon, and generally let it rip, all at the same time. There is also a sweetness and simplicity in tradition and, beyond all of the chaos, the stark beauty of winter, the innocent jollity of a Christmas tree, and the grateful welcome of coming in from the cold into a warm house to celebrate.

Accordingly, my seasonal musical preferences lean vintage. I like music READ ON

Reliably spirited tracks from David Bowie, Prince, Dire Straits, XTC, Talking Heads, Ice Cube, Buzzcocks, the Clash, and more

By Albert Hammond Jr.

This item was originally published on airmail.news. Read on Air Mail →

All systems go, weather and otherwise: tracks from Tom Petty, Beth Orton, James & Bobby Purify, Fiona Apple, the Staple Singers, ? & the Mysterians, et al.

We live in an era of extremes. On the political front, the social front, and, perhaps most vividly, on the weather front. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary actions, meaningful engagement, and precision response. Winter coats. Song will abide.

Randall Poster is the music supervisor for AIR MAIL

Michael Kiwanuka, J. J. Cale, Marvin Gaye, Massive Attack, Nina Simone, and Sly & the Family Stone are among those who know just how to say it

By Randall Poster

Thankful for family and friends. For good health. For the freedom to dream. Thankful for life’s bounty. Thankful for Stevie Wonder and all the artists that you can surround him with.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies

Music to cook by, from Domenico Modugno, Roberta Flack, Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, the Temptations, Renato Carosone, and more

By Skye McAlpine

Cooking needs a good soundtrack: like long drives and doing your Christmas wrapping, it’s just one of those things in life that is so much more fun with the right music.

I like lighthearted songs that I can sing and bop along to, songs I’ve listened to a thousand times before but that still never fail to get me foot-tapping away while I peel potatoes. I always gravitate to old favorites—and many of these are songs I remember from my childhood, blaring from the tinny stereo in our kitchen. Every now and then, I will try something new, expand my repertoire a little, but just like tried-and-tested recipes, the very best songs are—I have come to learn—those laced with a healthy dose of nostalgia. READ ON

By Randall Poster

Still adjusting to the end of daylight-saving time? Is it really only 5:30 p.m.? Here are 14 songs to help ease the transition.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies

Tracks from albums you should hear lots more of, courtesy of Bowie, Coltrane, Dylan, Prince, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, the Stranglers, and others

By Marie-Louise Sciò

Today we tend to hear only one or two tracks off an album, rarely the the whole thing. This playlist is a mix of songs from albums to be heard from beginning to end, as every song on them is terrific! Albums like, oh, Blonde on Blonde, Purple Rain, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Sticky Fingers, Born in the U.S.A., Pet Sounds, Blue Train, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and OK Computer. But I start with Elvis, as he was the real game changer in the music world when he appeared on READ ON

What do Hoagy Carmichael, the Ronettes, Artie Shaw, the Rolling Stones, Dr. John, and Dropkick Murphys have in common?

By Randall Poster

In the film-music game, there is BEFORE MARTY and there is AFTER MARTY. While songs have been part of movies since the beginning of movies, everything changed once you saw Mean Streets. Since then, the Scorsese blend of the popular songbook, opera, jazz, and R&B, along with accents of punk rock and that old-time rock ’n’ roll, has made for a notorious cinematic stew. More is more. Here is some.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies, among them Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman

An All Saints’ party with Patti, Billie, Neko, Nico, Emmylou, Bruce, Lucinda, and more—some with full names!

By George Kalogerakis

I used to love Halloween—first when I was a kid, then in the required quasi-ironic way one does as a young adult, and again when my son was little. I might yet love it if it were still celebrated only on the 31st, instead of for the entire month of October. But never mind.

Here’s a playlist of the season, then, for which I’ve tried to avoid the obvious selections—sorry, Ray Parker Jr.; my apologies, Warren Zevon; take five, Bobby “Boris” Pickett—and the familiar versions in favor of (mostly) songs that are more subtly, or anyway obliquely, about disguises, images, masks, and perceptions. And maybe a little mystery and menace. One concession to tradition: there are, naturally, 13 tracks. READ ON

A road trip with R.E.M., Kanye, Django Reinhardt, Post Malone, Joe Turner, and more …

Your kids hate you. You hate your kids. Well, not really, but that would be a convenient explanation for all the silence in the car as you drive to points north, south, east, or west looking at colleges.

Music can make it better. Trust us. Some of these selections are for them, some for you.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies

Chic, the Temptations, Diana Ross, the Pointer Sisters, the Trammps, the Pointer Sisters again … and more

By Eric Buterbaugh

Picture getting ready for a night out and putting on a gorgeous fragrance. (Because it’s all about the finishing touches.) Perfume is the finishing touch to an outfit and the way you feel—and flowers are the finishing touch to a party.

This playlist reflects what I love, and that includes disco, which is about happiness and high energy. You are in for a fun night.

Eric Buterbaugh is a floral designer and the founder of Eric Buterbaugh Fragrances

By Graydon Carter

This is a small slice of an expansive soundtrack I pulled together for the Waverly Inn in Greenwich Village when my partners—Sean MacPherson, Eric Goode, Emil Varda—and I took it over, in 2006. The restaurant had been around since before Prohibition, and we wanted music that would go with the Ed Sorel murals in the main dining room that featured Village artists from the middle part of the last century. We also wanted music that wouldn’t be too intrusive for diners.

The lineup was based in part on the soundtrack Mateo, our D.J., and I had constructed for the Vanity Fair READ ON

Judy Garland, Jeff Buckley, Noël Coward, and more

By Rufus Wainwright

When Renée Zellweger asked me to duet with her on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the new Judy Garland biopic she is starring in, she joked that she had already been singing along with me for years, “especially on Laurel Canyon with the window down.” And I could make that same quip about Garland, who has been a constant force in my life. The Wizard of Oz was one of the pyramids of culture that I gazed at as a small child. I love these songs and have chosen them because they capture a little bit of Garland for me. READ ON

Fontella Bass, King Curtis … Willie Bobo! And much more

By Randall Poster

Back to school and moving into sweater weather—and, now, into fall—but let’s try to keep the summer groove going just a little longer. The days may be getting shorter, but our nighttime strut should get a little stronger.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies. Upcoming projects include Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Todd Phillips’s Joker, and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch

The O’Jays, Bette Midler, James Brown, Bobby Darin, and more

By Michael Kors

I love playing with the music at my shows because I love the theater and the way that music can transport you. My spring 2020 collection is a celebration of American style, about optimism and re-invention and the power of fashion to make you feel like your best self. I love these songs because they underscore that spirit of possibility.

Michael Kors is a designer

By Doutzen Kroes

One of the first things that I love to do when I return home from a trip—for either work or in support of Knot on My Planet, the elephant-conservation initiative for which I serve as global ambassador—is to dance with my children. We’re always so excited to see one another again, and, with their boundless energy, putting on some music and dancing is a fun way to celebrate. So, this playlist—aside from being my pre-event glam soundtrack—is my favorite for dancing with my five-year-old daughter, Myllena.

Doutzen Kroes is a model, actress, and activist

Here are Donna Summer, Howlin’ Wolf, Queen, Betty Everett, and more

By Randall Poster

Couldn’t even get Monday off? Didn’t get enough “executive time” in the residence? If you worked hard all summer, you deserve to celebrate. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, and these songs.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies. Upcoming projects include Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Todd Phillips’s Joker, and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch

Beck, Ray Charles, the Beastie Boys, Vans Morrison and McCoy, and more

By Randall Poster

Nocturnal transmissions for the late-night crowd. Whether you can’t sleep or just don’t want to, these songs are a proper tonic for Nikkei traders and vampires alike.

Randall Poster supervises the music in movies. Upcoming projects include Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Todd Phillips’s Joker, and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch

Lily Allen, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Traffic
(naturally), Sly & Robbie, and More

By Randall Poster

This item was originally published on airmail.news. Read on Air Mail →

By Randall Poster

Here in the homestretch of summer, it’s smooth sailing. Overheating strategies devised, grilling skills on point. Time to get groovy AF. This Life! Special shout-out to the Meters, R.I.P. Art Neville READ ON

Saturday morning brings a new playlist to your doorstep. This week, a midsummer sequence, a soothing song scenario. Music vaulting you around the world, a gateway to Rome, the Rockaways, Malta, Montauk, or maybe just the precious Coney Island of your mind. READ ON