Genres

This is everything that a mood-based playlist should be: expertly curated, fun and both universal in its theme and very specific in its selection. Not everything on here is minimal techno, per se, but its hard to argue that anything is less than great. There are a lot of more obscure tracks by Pantha Du Prince, DJ Koze and Matthew Dear. Jess has always a solid writer and really knowledgable about music. Beats is fortunate to have him.

Miss Sharon Jones, who passed away from pancreatic cancer on November 18, 2016, may have not briefly conquered pop like the late Amy Winehouse, who famously used Jones’ band the Dap-Kings to make Back in Black. But unlike most of the unsung soul-blues world from which she emerged in 1996, when musician and producer Gabriel Roth plucked her out of a Lee Fields recording session, Jones eventually soared as an international headliner. Songs like “100 Days, 100 Nights” appeared on film and TV soundtracks and commercials. Her “Ain’t No Chimneys in the Projects” became a holiday perennial. She became the subject of an inspirational, award-winning documentary about her fight against cancer, Miss Sharon Jones! And she collaborated with Lou Reed, David Byrne, and many others. Jones served as an influential rejoinder to an increasingly formulaic and electronic pop and R&B environment, and led a small revolution subsequently called “retro soul.” Indeed, it’s hard to imagine Adele, Aloe Blacc, Joss Stone, Leon Bridges or any other revivalist flourishing without the woman whose first Desco 7-inch preceded Back in Black by a decade, mentored fellow soul shouter Charles Bradley, and is Daptone Records’ biggest star. Sharon Jones may have been taken from this world too soon. But she got her due.

Missy is easily one of hip-hop’s most innovative talents. Her and Timbaland’s production effectively globalized the genre, and she’s always been underrated as a rapper -- she mined the space between singer and rapper a good decade before Drake got there. Some albums are better than others, but she never fell off, and it’s a travesty that she hasn’t released one in over a decade. Although her singles are epochal, she’s much more than a singles artist, and she’s the latest in Al Shipley’s amazing “deep cuts” series.

The word "ambient" literally means "encompassing"; it etymology derives from the Latin for "going around." But one of the genres most captivating strains might better be described as going into the mist, the water or even the earth. This strain emphasizes the grain of sound, the rumble of resistance, the thingliness of the recorded medium itself. This school of thought is best exemplified by William Basinski, whose album Disintegration Loops famously captured the sound of years-old piano sketches being played back on crumbling magnetic tape; it also comprises the full-bore intensity of artists like Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, and Fennesz, who whip up shoegaze-grade distortion and then grind it down to dust.

Electronic-pop polymath Moby returns with his 15th album, Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt on March 2 (via Mute Records). He recently teased the record with the nocturnal soul groover "Like a Motherless Child," but he provides a more panoramic view of what to expect through his playlist of the albums key influences. Judging from the tracklist, brace yourself for a record that slides along the continuum spanning African proto-disco (Manu Dibangos "Soul Makossa"), cinematic 70s funk (Gil Scott-Heron, Baby Huey), rhythmic post-punk (ESG, Liquid Liquid, Talking Heads), brooding New Wave (Simple Minds), and Ethio-jazz (Mulatu Astatke), with the ghost of the Thin White Duke wafting through the proceedings. But independent of its source album, the playlist also doubles as Mobys fantasy setlist had he been old enough to DJ at Danceteria circa 1981.

“Techno is a brain-dead exercise of plastic sound.” Those were the words Thurston Moore chose to utter in a recent episode of Pitchfork’s “Over/Under” series, and goddamn did they ignite a burst of social media disputes and outrage. Techno and house music diehards were incensed, labeling the indie legend a white male rocker has-been who doesn’t know jack. His defenders, meanwhile, dismissed his detractors as whiny, thin-skinned club brats who take themselves too seriously. It’s a dustup that’s just another manifestation of the rock vs. dance music rivalry that flared up in 1979 when the Chicago White Sox hosted the infamous Disco Demolition Night.This stuff is so played out. Clearly, the folks on both sides of the “Thurstongate” debate don’t listen to many mainstream jams. If they did, they’d realize that rock and electronic dance music, once rivals, have now cross-pollinated to such an extent that it’s often impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. Simply look at Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart for the week of July 1, 2017: the top three songs—Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” Twenty One Pilots “Heathens” (this thing is just never going to leave the charts, is it), and Linkin Park’s “Heavy”—are produced like dance tracks: Programming and sequencing fill every conceivable space; keyboards are all over the place; and vocals frequently dip into rapping and/or an R&B/dance-pop falsetto. Guitars are in the mix, but they’re no longer a core quality.This is just the tip of the iceberg. Ever since Aaron Bruno (a.k.a. AWOLNATION) introduced the novel idea of marrying a Black Keys/White Stripes-style thump and grungy power chords to electropop synths, EDM shimmer, and even some chopped and screwed goop, modern rock has witnessed a surge of artists who simply don’t give a shit about operating within the genre’s traditionally drawn boundaries. There’s Lorde, X Ambassadors, Rag’n’Bone Man, Bastille, Issues, and MISSIO (whose massive, electro-rock anthem “Middle Fingers” probably is unknown to most folks over the age of 30). Even South Africa’s KONGOS, who utilize plenty of chunky, distorted-riff action, build their songs for both the arena and club.All this prompts the question: trend or the new normal? Hard to tell. After all, the charts still see action from garage-bred dudes like Jack White, Benjamin Booker, and the Black Lips who remain faithful to a classic conception of rock ’n’ roll. But it does seem as if Twenty One Pilots and Imagine Dragons, as well as every other artist on our playlist, are expressions of deeper shifts in rock’s relationship to digital production technology that are going to continue to become more far-reaching. Of course, we could run out of energy by the end of the decade; in that case it’s back to folk music for everybody.

Astrology has become a cultural phenomenon—horoscopes and astrology memes are prevalent on social media, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a millennial who doesn’t know their astrological sign. Apps like Co-Star and The Pattern are thriving on the promise of A.I.-gathered birth-chart insights, and astrology columns are published in almost every major online brand targeting young people. Whether or not our zodiac signs have any actual impact on our day-to-day lives, the study of the movements of the planets and their pseudo scientific meanings brings people together on a mass scale.From June 21 to July 22, the world is in the season of Cancer, symbolically depicted as a crab. Cancers are generally understood to be sensitive, nurturing, and a little bit mysterious. In celebration of the cardinal water sign, this playlist is a collection of some of the most iconic pop, hip-hop, and R&B songs made by Cancer musicians.From Vince Staples to Ariana Grande, Solange, Lana Del Rey, and Post Malone, some of the 2010s’ most beloved artists were born under the Cancer sun. While we lean contemporary here (after all, astrology is ultra-trendy), the playlist wouldn’t be a proper dedication to the zodiac sign without including quintessential tracks from older-school Cancers Missy Elliott, M.I.A., and 50 Cent. These Cancer classics are a fun, mystical way to get into the season.Photo by Max Hirschberger

Astrology’s pretty ancient, but we’re here for it as a modern-day cultural phenomenon—horoscopes and astrology memes are delightfully prevalent on social media, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a millennial who doesn’t know the ins and outs of their sign. Whether or not the zodiac has any actual impact on our day-to-day lives, it’s definitely affecting our listening habits every month with this ongoing playlist series in which we corral our favorite hit makers born under the current sign.That’s it, Cancers; Leo season has arrived. As of July 23, the astrological sign said to be ruled by the energy of the sun casts a bright, vivacious, peak-summer spell over the earth for a month. A fire sign, Leo is symbolized by the lion and is a playful, daring, and commanding sign. According to astrological wisdom, people with this zodiac sign have no shortage of confidence, are beloved for their loyalty and reliability, and are brave beyond comparison.For the latest installment in our series of music horoscopes, we’re celebrating some of our favorite hits made by Leo artists in recent years. Whether it’s country queen Kacey Musgraves cleverly calling out bullies on “High Horse,” bubblegum rapper DRAM flexing with stacks of money on “Cash Machine,” or pop chanteuse Dua Lipa nonchalantly cutting off an ex-lover on “IDGAF,” this playlist is full of fun, bold Leo energy. Some classics like Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the Block—Track Masters Remix,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” and Kelis’ “Bossy” also make appearances, for it wouldn’t be a Leo season playlist without honoring the original divas. This radiant, spirited playlist is the perfect complement to sunny days.

It’s a sign that Riot Grrrl’s musical—as opposed to just socio-political or feminist—legacy has begun to take root in the wider consciousness when icons of the movement besides Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna are being plumbed for their take on feminist punk’s sonic legacy. Here, Bratmobile vocalist, queen zinester, and punk activist Allison Wolfe charts the nine songs that have meant the most in her life, with tracks ranging from bluegrass duo Alice Dickens and Hazel Gerrard to ‘90s Seattle pioneers The Gits. It’s no surprise that ex-NME editor Laura Snapes is behind this piece: Her features work helped change the music weekly from old-boys rag to a once-more intelligent read (before its recent nosedive, that is). Divided into five-year segments, this deeply personal mix reflects key moments in Wolfe’s life, and largely reads as a beautifully pitched homage to her activist mother, a pioneering feminist Playful in places (Bow Wow Wow) and heart-wrenching in others (Dolly Parton), it’s a refreshingly candid exploration of the importance individual songs play in our musical—and socio-political—development.

With diplomatic relationships with Cuba thawing, theres been renewed interest in the music of the Caribbean Island. For this playlist Judy focuses her attention on the direct collaborations between Cuban and American musicians, with the subtext being that though formal diplomatic or financial ties may have been severed during the Castro years, but the cultural exchange between that two nations has continued. Books have been written on the influence of Cuban on American music, particularly on jazz and the music of New Orleans, and this cant be understated. Through much of the antebellum period, New Orleans served as the port of call for slaves ships coming from the Caribbean, and much of what we think of as foundational American music found it antecedent in places like Cuba. This playlist doesnt go back that far, of course, but theres some great stuff on here, from the pre-Castro days of Chico O’Farrill and Nat King Cole, to the modern music of Wynton Marsalis and Arturo O’Farrill.