Hope everyone is staying safe and doing okay out there. It’s been heartening to see the music community come together, as it always does, and lift people up in these unsettling times. I’ve found comfort in…
Ben Gibbard’s nightly live-streams, which have been a soothing way to end each day, as he plays through his impressive catalog of Death Cab for Cutie tracks and solo gems. (I added a couple deep cuts to the Hear Hear playlist!) Brooklyn Vegan is tracking his setlists every night, and they’re all available to rewatch.
Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby played a beautiful Instagram set on Friday, and they’re doing another on Thursday. (I added their joint songs — raw, folky Americana covers with terrific harmonies — to the playlist, too.)
Live sets from Whitney, Del Water Gap, Lucius + Courtney Barnett (with Sharon Van Etten, Emily King and more calling in) and Fruit Bats have all put a smile on my face. Follow their socials to see when they’ll stream next.
Or check out Koir, a helpful new guide tracking all these live shows, created by Zola Jesus, Devon Welsh and friends.
DJ D-Nice’s IG Live parties have been a fun development too — on Saturday night, “literally every celeb and influencer and nearly 80k others” were watching his set.
I’ve also seen a ton of playlists helping people get through this. Here’s a fresh list of some to follow.
My favorite quarantine playlist so far comes from reader Julia Widmann — 57 tracks of warmth and comfort from Carole King, Bon Iver, Leon Bridges, Jamila Woods, Jack Johnson, The Beatles and more. This one will make you smile.
This work-from-home playlist focuses on newer indie music, featuring tunes from Perfume Genius, Charly Bliss, Hamilton Leithauser and more. It’s compiled by prolific playlister Patrick Mahan — his most impressive feat is this one compiling every song performed on SNL, from Billy Preston and Paul Simon in 1975 to The Weeknd last weekend.
Quite a few artists have created stay-at-home playlists of their own: Phoebe Bridgers, Sinkane, and The National frontman Matt Berninger.
Culture writers Jia Tolentino, Hanif Abdurraqib, Doreen St. Félix, Chris Ryan, and more called into NYT’s Popcast to share the music they recommend listening to during a crisis.
Maggie Rogers, A$AP Ferg, David Byrne and more told The New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich what they’ve been listening to.
The Flow State newsletter has continued to be a source of perfect music for focusing during the workday — I highly recommend subscribing. Thursday’s issue featured a few calming songs from Westerman, and I’ve added them to the Hear Hear playlist.
The Billboard team ranked all 209 of Drake’s top-100 songs pre-pandemic, and it’s a fun list to read and listen through. “Nice For What” is a nice top pick.
Two more work-from-home playlists, one more “inspiring” (Lizzo, Gaga, Robyn) from Refinery 29’s Courtney E. Smith, and one more “soothing” (Fleet Foxes, Brandi Carlile, Wilco) from Paste Magazine’s Ellen Johnson.
Finally, there’s a new Childish Gambino album to stream, Run The Jewels dropped a new single, Coldplay did a Tiny Desk Concert with a choir, and The Killers played their new single from a bathroom for Jimmy Kimmel.
Also, some music-specific fundraisers if you have the means: Oh My Rockness made lists for how you can support music venues in NYC and LA. There’s a MusiCares relief fund and a Sweet Relief fund for hard-hit musicians with canceled tours. And Bandcamp did an excellent initiative on Friday, waiving their fees so all sales went directly to the artists. Stay safe everyone!