Summer 2025 Playlist: Annotated

Aside from the fact that I begin melting every time I step out my front door, I’m so glad it’s summer. I needed the sunshine more than I realized. I wish I could have the sunshine without the heat, but I suppose it builds character, or something. My Summer 2025 playlist reflects that gladness—sonically, at least.

1) “Back on You” by Djo - While I do think Stranger Things would have been a better show if Steve Harrington had been killed off the season they introduced Eddie Munson (hot take, I know), I gotta hand it to Joe Keery. He’s a good musician. The choir at the beginning of this song doesn’t have any right to work as well as it does.

2) “Stand!” by Sly & The Family Stone - Sly Stone may be gone, but it’s more important to stand up now than it has ever been. Rest in peace.

3) “Killah” by Lady Gaga, featuring Gesaffelstein - Everyone keeps comparing this song to David Bowie—and I get it, the guitar part is really similar to “Fame.” But all I hear is Prince! This is a Prince song! And it rules!

4) “Sorry, Etc” by Lauren Mayberry - There’s something so hectic about this song that appeals to me. It feels like they recorded it in a sprint, even though I’m sure that’s not the case.

5) “MORE” by The Warning - Spotify put this all-female Mexican rock band on a playlist for me and now I am obsessed. Thank you, the algorithm.

6) “Piranha” by Nova Twins - The more singles they release, the more excited I become for Nova Twins’ upcoming album. 2025 may be a nightmare year in many ways, but it’s an undeniably good year for music.

7) “Lachryma” by Ghost - I struggled to include a song from my beloved Ghost’s newest album because it’s such a cohesive tribute to 80s hair metal that it’s hard to separate out one single from the rest. But “Lachryma” is an absolute banger, and I couldn’t deny it a spot on the playlist.

8) “Stitches” by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs rock so hard that all seven pigs are necessary. Amazing they didn’t need nine, or even eleven.

9) “Suck the Cherry” by The Velveteers - This is exactly the type of song I love for summer. Sexy bubblegrunge strut. I wanna wear a crop top and short shorts and eat ice cream suggestively.

10) “CPR” by Wet Leg - This song has been stuck in my head for weeks, and I am 100% fine with that. “Put your mouth to mine and give me CPR.” Lyric of the summer.

11) “She Cleans Up” by Father John Misty - Highlight of his most recent album, imo. What a bop. Whenever it comes on, I am compelled to dance.

12) “BOILED PEANUTS” by Doechii - Ever since I first heard Alligator Bites Never Heal, I have been waiting for summer to roll around so I could put this song on the playlist. Mission accomplished.

13) “Love Me Not” by Ravyn Lenae, featuring Rex Orange County - This song is giving early Santigold. Maybe we truly are experiencing a resurgence of recession pop? If it all falls apart again, at least we’ll have good music.

14) “The Duke Ellington Bridge” by Des Demonas - Yet another example of the maxim “if you put an organ in your song, Becky will love it.”

15) “Peace Song” by Fat Dog - This song makes me want to drive in a convertible with the top down. Do you own a convertible? Let’s talk.

16) “Slugger” by SASAMI - Still too early to tell, of course, but Blood on the Silver Screen might be my favorite album of 2025. It’s certainly a contender. All hits no skips. This song would also sound great in a convertible with the top down, for what it’s worth.

17) “Man of the Year” by Lorde - Not crazy about Lorde’s newest album—although it might just need some time to grow on me—but I enjoy this quiet little number.

18) “In My Head” by Big Blood - I like songs that sound as though a bunch of tipsy people decided to write and record in the style of a 1960s girl group, if that makes sense? This is one of those songs.

19) “Ighre Massina” by Etran de L'Aïr - A few months ago, Etran de L'Aïr came all the way from Niger to play Louisville’s own Zanzabar. I was there, of course, with bells on. It was a blast.

20) “Six-Eyed Dragonfly” by Backspace - I was listening to a playlist of Chinese rock bands, as one does, and this song stuck out to me. It almost sounds like Vampire Weekend?

21) “Mr. Grieves” by Dehd - This song is WEIRD and I approve.

22) “Killer” by Mal Blum - It’s giving 90s college radio and I love it.

23) “Fire Sign” by S.G. Goodman - Were you worried that I wouldn’t include a song for summer at dusk? Fear not! Listen to this one as the sun goes down.

24) “Gunslinger” by Natalie Bergman - Now here’s a song that makes me wish I’d never left Las Vegas. I could live in the Wild West if this were the constant soundtrack.

25) “Sylvia” by Julien Baker and TORRES - I’m not crying at a stupid love song, YOU’RE crying at a stupid love song!

26) “Men in Bars” by Japanese Breakfast, featuring Jeff Bridges - Yes, that Jeff Bridges. Of all the songs on Japanese Breakfast’s latest album, who could have guessed that my favorite would be her random duet with The Dude?

27) “Heroes and Villains” by The Beach Boys - Ah, Brian Wilson! Another devastating musical loss. He came around and harmonies were never the same again.