Similar to many of you, my ‘free time’ constantly seems to be less and less free. In the midst of being a full-time manager, full-time student, and part-time teaching assistant, days off are far and few between. On those rare days off I tend to pick up the slack of chores I neglected throughout the week like laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning. The level of success I have in accomplishing these tasks is usually dependent on how well I’ve curated my playlist for the day. This mixtape (linked here) contains eight songs and is an example of a classic chill Sunday playlist I’d listen to while cleaning the house.
The curated playlist starts strong with some bright indie-pop that allows me to turn off my brain and bop around while I scrub the stove and countertops. If you find yourself enjoying the Caroline Polachek track, try checking out “Blood and Butter” by her as well. Come for the psychedelic folk vibes, and stay for the incredible bag pipe solo. The next few songs help me groove along as I finish the kitchen and move on the bathroom. I have been playing Troye Sivan’s new record on repeat and have been begging at Haim’s door to release something new so they both felt like necessary inclusions. Did I first hear “Back On 74” on TikTok? Of course I did, but unfortunately the algorithm knows me well and I love this song.
After I’m done scrubbing and cleaning, I move on to vacuuming which is when we transition from bangers to jams. It is a precise science, but luckily Bob Seger and boygenius are proprietors in this field. I was really happy to see boygenius win big at the recent Grammy awards. The three members have been producing incredible work as individuals and as a group for a while and it was great to finally see them rewarded.
Once I’ve finished the downstairs of the house, I steel myself to walk upstairs to the second floor and deal with the mess of my own making. My partner and I share the rest of the house, but upstairs is where my office/closet/getting ready area is, and is where I tend to throw clothes around and spill concealer during the week as I frantically put myself together. Due to this, the vibes need to be calm and soothing so I can force myself to put sweaters back on hangers, and find a place for my millions of claw clips. You might know MUNA best for opening on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour this summer, but I would deeply recommend taking the time to listen to their back catalog. I know it is shocking to say in the year 2024… but I am a recent Lana convert. If you have any recs or must listens by her, let me know in the comments.
In the great music streaming war, I am a bit of a fence sitter. Although I used Spotify to make this playlist, I typically prefer Apple Music. It likely wouldn’t matter to most people, but I notice the sound quality is better with Apple Music. I do still believe Spotify is the superior app though. It is easier to use and more compatible with other tech (like this website), so it had to take the win here.
Hopefully this mixtape inspires you to turn your brain off, do your chores, and chill the heck out. We cannot be our best selves if we do not treat our minds and our spaces with respect.
Let me know what songs help you unwind in the comments!
I definitely know what you mean about needing the right music to get through a task. I really like the way you transition through different genres and sounds for the task at hand too, that is something I do too and can be so important for the vibes. I’ve had So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings by Caroline Polachek in my daily rotation for a while now but I’ve yet to give the rest of her stuff a listen, so I’m definitely going to listen to the track you recommended too! As a longtime Lana fan I had a hard time deciding which songs to choose, but “Video Games” is still such a classic to me, and I’ll also rec “Brooklyn Baby.”
If you want to get into Lana, I highly recommend the song “West Coast” and pretty much the entirety of the album Born to Die. I like the variety of artists and genres you have in your playlist, and I think Lana ends it well.