Liner Notes
Tracklist
Frontier Psychiatrist
The Avalanches
Grooving to the refrain: “That boy needs therapy.”
WAKING UP DOWN
Yaeji
Yaeji’s list of achievable goals is delivered with sincere confidence.
ENERGY
Disclosure
Motivational speaker, author, consultant, and minister Eric Thomas calls on us to focus on the positive, with a promise that energy will flow toward an invisible, powerful and strong version of ourselves.
Begin Again (feat. Linnea Olsson)
Daniel Olsén & Jonathan Eng
This track from the Sayonara Wild Hearts video game illustrates a relief from and acceptance of a painful heartbreak.
Endless Ways
El Perro Del Mar
A bittersweet reminder that while perfection is unattainable, we can strive for it, while also finding ways to be fine with where we are.
State of Mind
DJ Taz Rashid
I first heard this track on a yoga playlist. Chill beats embrace a soothing voice gently explaining that meditation and a release from fear come from within.
I Wish I Could (feat. Selah Sue)
TOKiMONSTA
I’m as struck by the story of the artist’s struggle with a mysterious brain injury that took her understanding of language and music prior to writing this album as I am by the strong synth beats that push us through longing toward a calmer place.
17
Youth Lagoon
A childhood of adventure, companionship and mischief may have faded, but imagination can bring us back to those moments, and keep us alive for the life ahead of us.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Daft Punk
This song’s message of continual improvement was already cliche when it dropped more than twenty years ago, but something about the robotic, unyielding delivery either makes me believe it or just not want to resist.
Carry On
fun.
Reminiscent of a ballad or blessing, this song was almost too saccharin too make the cut.
Take Time
The Books
A meditation on the concept of time: the connection between past and present; the capacity for reaching new understanding by taking a pause.
That Funny Feeling
Phoebe Bridgers
I did not like the 2021 Bo Burnham special. I took issue with the depiction of a performance of the challenges that many of us were experiencing at the time as autobiographical. Phoebe Bridgers’ cover of “That Funny Feeling” gives the song space from the film, which helps me to appreciate the mood that Burnham adroitly captures.
Hard Drive
Cassandra Jenkins
The vignettes described in “Hard Drive”