Each month someone here at The Imaginable will put together a random assortment of songs, and also a few words about the songs. Curation and words by Todd Simmons. If you want to just listen to the playlist without interruption, click here. We try to keep it simple, so here goes:

Artist: Bob Dylan

Song: Everything is Broken

Album: Oh Mercy

Every day feels like a widening chasm of awareness, and Dylan is our tour guide.

Artist: Daniel Norgren 

Song: Let Love Run the Game

Album: Wooh Dang

I love that the bird in the song says, “I’m starting to see your ass out here every day now,” to the protagonist. I’m sure that’s what the birds are saying the world over. Also, the guitars are like eating the first watermelon of summer.

Artist: Michael Hurley

Song: Be Kind to Me

Album: Armchair Boogie

This song makes me think of growing up in Kansas, living next to Missouri.

Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff

Song: All or Nothing

Album: And It’s Still Alright

A friend of mine made a cool video for this song, and now I have listened to this song 500 times, and I still like it, though it is sad and plucky at the same time. Amazing.

Artist: Zoot Sims

Song: Blinuet

Album: Blinuet

I love the fairy-tale beginning, and then full-on swing going on here. Like an anti-depressant in some ways.

Artist: Jr. Thomas and the Volcanoes

Song: Love Remedy

Album: Beware

The best way to keep depression at bay is to listen to reggae.

Artist: 90sFlav

Song: Call me

Album: Collection

This is more a comment on the playlist than the song.  It’s time to unwind.

Artist: Bludlo

Song: Seasons

Album: Soltape, Vol. 3

It’s a rare talent that can turn the same 10 second riff into an entire song. Why is this interesting? This song requires a sunset, a martini, an Adirondack chair, and an unobstructed view toward the horizon.

Artist: Edith Pia

Song: La Vie en rose

Album: Eternelle

Maybe it’s the martini, but I am feeling as if everything is too beautiful.

Artist: C.W. Stoneking

Song: We Gon’ Boogaloo

Album: Gon’ Boogaloo

I want to be in the dance hall playing this tune.

Artist: The Van-Dells

Song: Honeydripper

Album: Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968

The gifts just keep coming from the Stax-Volt archives.

Artist: Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Philharmonic Orchestra

Song: The Barber of Seville: Overture

Album: Rossini: The Barber of SevilleThe reason to listen to this song is to remind you of the movie Breaking Away, and the bicycle riding and racing sequences.

Artist: Louie Prima

Song: Angelina Zooma Zooma

Album: Italian American Classics

I can’t imagine another song taking me somewhere else so completely as this one.

Artist: Hailu Mergia, Dahlak Band

Song: Sintayehu

Album: Wede Harer Guzo

Whatever is happening to that organ is mesmerizing.

Artist: Caribou

Song: Home

Album: Suddenly

This is right where you want to be, living in this song.

Artist: SAULT

Song: Up All Night

Album: 5

This song has surprises and delights aplenty, like a cup continuously spilling over. The members of SAULT are literally a mystery, which seems impossible these days. Mystery is more valuable than Elon Musk.

Song: Wooh Dang

Album: Wooh Dang

Guess what, that was just one hour of your life! Music is catatonically amazing.