Fluxblog 500: 12 imaginary soundtracks
This is a special issue collecting some of my best eclectic vibe-centric playlists
WHAT INSTITUTION ARE YOU FROM?, a soundtrack for an imaginary late 90s indie movie comprised entirely of cool girl music from the period. This one is inspired this photo from a Spin fashion pictorial circa 1997. [Apple Music | Spotify]
WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO?, a 90 minute mix inspired by this image of model Lisa Marie by Just Loomis from a fashion pictorial by Laurie Schechter in Rolling Stone November 1986. This has a very specific vibe – decadent, self-destructive, glamorous, all early to mid 80s. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
NOT QUITE LIKE ANY OTHER, a soundtrack for a cool sad girl circa 2004 featuring songs by Goldfrapp, The Kills, Cat Power, Blonde Redhead, Clinic, and Ladytron. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
THE COSMIC NOIR, a 2 hour mix with a dark funky jazzy aesthetic, groovy but a little otherworldly. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
MORE THAN WORDS CAN EVER SAY, a moody and romantic playlist featuring different generations of R&B – Otis Redding, Ray Charles, D’Angelo, Al Green, J Dilla, Madlib, Steve Lacy, Mavis Staples, Erykah Badu, and more. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
JUST ONE MORE NIGHT, 2 hours of late night vibes with some emphasis on hip-hop. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
SHE LOVES ME FOR WHO I AM, a soundtrack for doomed yuppie romance featuring music from 1987-1993 inspired by this image from a Drakkar Noir ad. [Spotify | Apple]
FULLY CLOTHED LATE ‘80s BEACH BABES, an imaginary 90 minute mix tape inspired by this image from a 1989 magazine advertisement for L.A. Gear. I like to think of it as a tape they’re playing in their car, and maybe it was made for one of them, or maybe one of them made it herself. It’s all rock and pop bops from 1988 and 1989 and it’s perfect for cruising and/or crushing, 100% summer fun vibes. [Spotify | Apple Music]
NEW WAVE GF PREPPY BF, an imaginary mixtape/rom-com soundtrack inspired by this image from a Wild Watch ad from the mid-80s. There’s a few hits on it but it’s mostly lesser known songs by new wave-era artists such as Squeeze, The Waitresses, Romeo Void, Missing Persons, etc. [Spotify | Apple Music]
after 1:30 am, a 2 hour soundtrack-style collection not intended for daylight hours. This one is focused on romantic soul, blues, blues-based rock, and jazz from the mid 20th century, and I like it a lot. [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
THOSE LONELY LONELY NIGHTS, a soundtrack-style mix focused on music from the 1970s with a heavy emphasis on soul, blues, and gospel sounds. [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
ALL THE NIGHTS SHE'S KNOWN, a 90 minute soundtrack style mix with songs mostly from the 1970s. The vibe is suave, stylish, sexy, dramatic, and just a bit silly. I imagine something like a romantic farce set in Los Angeles in the mid 70s. [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Abigail Covington wrote about 2024: The Year Sapphic Pop Broke, and has a playlist for the article on both Apple and Spotify.
• I love Tom Breihan’s quick turnaround review of Kendrick Lamar’s GNX for Stereogum, and his refusal to hedge on how great it is.
• Here’s another great King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard music theory video – this time it’s The Pop Descriptivist talking about their exploration of microtonal scales on Flying Microtonal Banana, K.G., and L.W..