A soundtrack in homage, with music from the Lemonheads, Eddie Hazel, the Beatles, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, and more

By Randall Poster

Director Steve McQueen’s use of Janet Kay’s “Silly Games” in his film Lovers Rock was the best movie-music moment of 2020, if I do say so myself. So I thought I’d build a playlist around it in tribute. It’s spring, everyone!

Randall Poster is the Music Supervisor for AIR MAIL

A restaurateur shares his tracks to rebuild New York City to, from Bruce Springsteen, Sister Nancy, Gary Clark Jr., and more

By Sean Feeney

Every day is a good day, but that doesn’t mean they’re all easy—the past 365 haven’t been painless for anyone, anywhere. But if you’ve been given the great gift of waking up each morning, it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive. Resilient New Yorkers have never wasted the opportunities presented by crises by returning to the way things were. This time, we’ll remake the city into a place that’s stronger, more compassionate, and more unified, so the rest of the world believes in New York forever.

These songs not only kept me alive during the pandemic; they are my prayer for the city I love. They remind me that we can always be better and that the city’s greatest days are ahead. New York or nowhere. READ ON

Lake Street Dive shares their collaborative road-trip playlist, with songs from Mavis Staples, Amber Mark, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, and more

By Lake Street Dive

One of the first ways we bonded as a band was by making collaborative surprise playlists to listen to in the van when we were on tour. We would pass around a laptop and have each person add a song at a time without seeing what others had already put on it, and then we’d burn a CD (it was that long ago!) and listen to whatever the outcome was. In one instance, the CD wound up featuring Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” three times in a row, and we laughed uproariously, realized we might have psychic powers, and decided we should probably be in a band together forever. Here is an updated version of that playlist, made up of songs we all love and three versions of “Kodachrome”! READ ON

On the occasion of the birthday of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s finest songwriters, a playlist of Lou Reed covers (and some that aren’t) from Bryan Ferry, Sandra Nkaké, David Bowie, Mink DeVille, and more

By George Kalogerakis

“Only Lou Reed could have written those Lou Reed songs,” a friend of mine, who knew Reed, observed when the musician died, in 2013. That would appear self-evident, but there was a deeper truth to the observation. In his writing for the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, Reed—who would have turned 79 this week—was sui generis.

You might think that the work of a songwriter with such a singular, personal voice, however influential, would be resistant to countless interpretations. And yet, this week’s playlist—Lou Reed songs recorded by people who are not Lou Reed—is just the tip of the iceberg. Bonus: scattered throughout (spot ’em!) are a half-dozen ringers, homages that, maybe, READ ON