Whenever I walk down Comm. Ave. on my way home, I tend to watch how my shadow moves. With the wind blowing my hair and the first few vibey, plucked notes of “Rooftop Dancing” by Sylvan Esso playing in my ears, it felt like I was watching a movie character walk home as I listened to arts editor Kate Canniff’s playlist.
Kate stuck with this mellow, wandering-around mood for the next couple of songs on her playlist as well, immediately flowing into “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground. This song added a melancholy undertone to the playlist—something I was expecting from such an avid Joni Mitchell and Phoebe Bridgers fan.
A lot of the songs have a similar, almost lullaby-like quality to the repetition in the music, making it the perfect playlist to get lost in thought to. It’s almost hypnotic to listen to the songs one after another.
The tonal switch and outlier in the playlist came during “Kiss With a Fist” by Florence + The Machine. While a Florence song was definitely something I expected on Kate’s playlist, the upbeat, rock-style choice came as a surprise after the chill opening songs.
The songs after this one continued the vibe of the first three songs. “It is What it Is” by Blood Orange added an underwater, floating feeling to the serene collection of songs.
Kate mentioned that her choice of “I Don’t Know” by the Beastie Boys and Miho Hatori “might be a weird choice,” but I disagree. The song fit in perfectly with the dream-like quality of the other songs, especially that of Elliot Smith and The Velvet Underground.
I know Kate well, and we have a lot in common, but I was still surprised and delighted to see my all time favorite song as a child “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees as the penultimate song on the playlist. I feel like the lyrics and tone of the song perfectly encapsulate the rest of the playlist and Kate in general.
I would not have expected anything less from this playlist that is as sweet and peaceful as the person who put it together.
