Dear listener,
This is Joe Coscarelli, a music reporter for The New York Times, and Lindsay's colleague at Culture Desk, who fills the amp. Fortunately, playlists have been in mind recently as we were able to hold a workshop called “How to Make the Perfect Playlist” at the Times annual Take Our Kids to Work Day Celebration last week.
As a group, we talked about the importance of mood, flow, genre and discovery when it comes to making a good mix, but I (mostly!) followed the kids' lead when it came to actually choosing what actually happened to our perfect theme playlist. (You can check out the results of two sessions here and here. They are pleasantly confused.) The truth is, despite spending ten years in this music-intensive work and spending as an obsession and collector for the past decade, I don't often find myself making a bunch of playlists to suit all the vibes and situational needs.
Instead, I tend to maintain a quarterly deposit of every song I come back to throughout a particular season, so I can easily go back to every chunk of my life these days, and have relevance and transport.
The weather finally got better in New York (…Is that so?), so I have something new for spring. Here are some new songs that are original, addictive and appropriately hopeful.
Listen together while you read.
1. Bon Iver: “from”
Shockingly sensual and optimistic new Bon Ibar album, Sable, Fable, is a rejection of the band's sad sack reputation, along with what was happening in singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's life. For me, the album peaks in the middle with a track “I Show are swear I'm Smitten,” featuring Dijon's vocals, and “Day One,” featuring two close collaborators herself, who toured with Mike Gordon guitar, aka Mk.gee and Bon Iver. All three artists are invested in retrieving and destroying the idea of ”easy listening.” The “From” bridge, which doesn't embarrass me with that thrown horny skin, takes me with me every time.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
2. Turnstile: “Never enough”
The ambitious post-post hardcore band Turnstyle, from Baltimore, performs in vintage-sounding electronics in the intro to the title track of upcoming albums. It's difficult to sit in time. This feels like a logical next step for bands who seem to be increasingly happy about the difficulty of sorting by genre.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
3. BigxThaplug featuring Bailey Zimmerman: “All the Way”
Bigxthaplug quietly becomes one of the most trusted and fundamental sound rappers, what else is blowing and crossing in 2025? – National collaboration. “All Way” with Bailey Zimmerman may scan as ironic by Bigx's regimental flow and commander baritone, especially in contrast to Zimmerman's miserable longing.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
4. Sleep Token: “Caramel”
Somehow this was a different genre clash that really shocked me when I learned what the top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 sounded. Sleep Token is an experimental British metal band that quickly learned, works anonymously, with elaborate masks and pseudonies, and works with slipknots. “Caramel” is a new single that breaks the group's fourth wall about being pulled from the shadows, with popularity and obsessive fans (“this stage is a prison”). But even without lore, the transition from Soundcloud's sing wrapping to punishing breakdowns over pseudo-Reggieton's beats is one of the wildest dynamics I've heard of this year's song.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
5. Cortisaster: “Paris”
The young rap experimentalist Cortisa star, who heard how much she looked and heard from the “fun” block freestyle video, said, “It's time to stand up and admit it… maybe I looked a little crazy here,” she posted last week. However, the shocking values of out-of-context clips on social media emphasized and obscure the vision. In the context, the star carries a torch of hyperpop hip-hop slices, and the flexion in “Paris” is a proper low clash that celebrates how good it is to stand up from the Internet Mac to make Miu Miu's runway debut about a trip to Fashion Week. “Face cards won't fade / I'm not playing, even Prada wants me,” she raps.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
6. LilYachty & Veeze: “I can't become a young boy from Crete”
Stuck long enough to make the most tweets of the rap all-star, the light jor stab wound last longer, filming a 2000s mixtape classic in the form of a beat from Camron's “Diplomet” “I'm Ready.” The beat then switches, but the rude bragging continues to cause a rapid fire, listening repeatedly to catch the nuance in both the flow and the lyrics.
▶Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube
Amp Playlist
“6 (Genre Smash) New Songs to Listen Now” Tracklist
Truck 1: Bon Iver, “From”
Truck 2: Turnstile, “Never enough”
Truck 3: “All The Way” Bigx Thaplug featuring Bailey Zimmerman
Track 4: Sleep Token, “Caramel”
Truck 5: Cortisuster, “Paris”
Track 6: Lil Yachty & Veeze, “Clain Be Crete Boy”
