I sat here for a spell and wondered: What's the proper way of opening this type of blog? I'll find out eventually.

When it comes to putting together weekly playlists, I almost never have a theme or mood going into it — all that's retroactively justified, and that's the more satisfying way for me.

This week, the list ended up being pop and dance heavy, and the mood ends up oscillating between intense and sentimental. These New Puritans, who bookends the list, might be an outlier on first listen. I'd say they represent a different type of dance-y experience that acts as an interesting summation of this set.

"Wild Fields" - These New Puritans

In 2018 I stumbled upon the absolutely stellar Internet remix called "Chipmunks on 16 Speed," which slowed down an old Alvin & The Chipmunks record into a post-punk, sludge metal affair. Yes, it's absolutely a novelty listen, though "You Keep Me Hanging On" still gets occasional plays from me. But it also opened my eyes to a sound that I had ended up chasing since and I'd say that These New Puritans have come the closest to it in my listening experience.

"So Strong" - DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ

If you don't know DJ Sabrina yet, she releases several 3+ hour dance albums a year and they're all stellar. No further explanation necessary, sorry!

"Melatonin" - Tinashe

Through 2026 there have been three pop hit-makers that, for many people, have finally broken out and are getting their flowers. Tinashe is one of them, and in my experience it seemed inevitable after how well "Nasty" in 2024 seemed to resonate with people.

"BRITTANY MURPHY." - Slayyyter

Slayyyter is one of the other two breakouts this year (the third that's not listed here is Zara Larrson), and she goes harder and glitchier than Tinashe. "BRITTANY MURPHY" ends up being one of the softer tracks from her album and a very good closer.

"Open Water" - After

After formed several years back as an ode to early 2000's pop and nu-metal, and the Frutiger Aero aesthetic that people often extrapolate to being more common than it was at the time (I once read someone describe them as creating music for an era that never actually happened.) They've got some killer songs in those early EPs where they nail the vibe they set out to resurface, but there was a risk of becoming a novelty act in the process.

Fell Asleep in the Sun is their debut LP and a necessary step in the refinement of their sound, where the disparate directions they took to emulate the previous era consolidated into a cool and consistent trip-hop album.

"Tunes Since '89" - KING BOOO!

KING BOOO! does a great job of encapsulating a time and place that I wasn't there for. It's the kind of song I want to spin endlessly while racing around San Diego at night in Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition Remix for the PlayStation 2.

"A Season In Hell" - These New Puritans

There are a number of songs from Crooked Wing that I considered including here, but "A Season In Hell" ends up hitting the hardest and showcasing their dynamics of orchestral and progressive rock and chamber. It ends up being an extra groovy boss fight song.