Anyone who has spent any length of time with me will know that I have two musical loves: Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs and making Spotify playlists.
I have a playlist for every mood and love playing DJ at The Beehive! In this season of lockdown I’ve used a good chunk of my downtime to wade through 10 years of playlists and they’ve had a much-needed spring clean.
Music is really important to us in the cafe. It wakes us up gradually at 7 in the morning, kicks in after the lunch rush when we’re elbow deep in washing up and soundtracks our cleaning routines as we close.
We thought it would be fun over the next few weeks for our team members to each share their ‘Desert Island Disco’ tracklist - 8 tracks with a quick lowdown on why we've chosen each song and our ultimate favourite that we'd save from the waves.
Without further ado, here is my list (with a disclaimer that it’s missing lots of my favourites – you’ll just have to come to The Beehive when lockdown is over to hear those!):
1. Surface to Air - Django Django (feat. Self Esteem)
I thought I knew everything that Rebecca Taylor, formerly of Slow Club, had released, then my husband introduced me to this collaboration with Django Django and I found a new favourite!
2. Bros - Wolf Alice
This song’s video features two friends spending a whole day not doing much, it’s really warm and reminds me of my best friend. Ellie’s vocals are beautiful and this song wouldn’t be out of place on a 90’s film soundtrack even though it was only released in 2015.
3. The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows - Gang of Youths
This is my most played YouTube song and I found it through their Triple J ‘Like a Version’ performance. The lyric that always stands out is where he wants to ‘see light in myself that I see inside everyone else’.
4. Don’t Speak - No Doubt
I'm a big fan of the Table Manners podcast where they regularly ask their guests “what would be your karaoke song?” This angsty 90's anthem is mine! For more crowd pleasers with rocking female vocalists, please see my lovingly curated ‘SISTERHOOD’ playlist.
5. Move Like You Want - Ben Howard
I credit finishing my final year of Uni with listening to the ‘Every Kingdom’ album every day. The live version of this song is a personal favourite – when I’ve seen Ben Howard perform he seems to take himself very seriously, but here he looks like he’s having fun!
6. William Fitzsimmons – Good Morning
This Pink Ganter remix is taken from the ‘Derivatives’ EP which is full of folky ballads reimagined with a groovier world music vibe. The epitome of great coffee shop music!
7. Young Fathers – Only God Knows
BBC 6 introduced me to Young Fathers and they are my go-to daily exercise soundtrack. I think they’re also my favourite band that i've seen live (followed closely by Bombay Bicycle Club!)
8. Shot at The Night - The Killers
I won’t hear a word against anything Brandon Flowers has ever done (if you haven’t checked out his solo records then I recommend you do) but if there’s one song that I can listen to on repeat and seems to work in every situation it is this one!
I hope you enjoyed my list as much as I've enjoyed creating it. In the wise words of Brandon Flowers: 'Indie Rock'n'Roll is what I need' and I therefore crown 'Shot at the Night' champion of my Quaran-Tunes list! 👑
Stay home, stay safe and happy playlisting!
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