#137: The Office Hours Labor Day Playlist Spectacular!
On Fridays, we listen to music.
If this is your first Friday newsletter, a heads up that this isn’t the usual format. On Fridays, we listen to music.
MUSIC THINGS:
52 years ago today, Paul, Ringo n’em recorded a video for ‘Hey Jude’, a song you might have heard of. The Beatles finessed the British Musicians’ Union’s ban on lip-sync performances by recording live vocals over the pre-recorded instrumental tracks. To really drive the point home, the band was accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and 300 fans and randoms who join in singing the refrain. I recommend watching at least the first minute, especially if you’ve never seen The Beatles riffing or messing around.
For the first-annual Office Hours Labor Day Playlist Spectacular, I put together a master list of playlists for your listening enjoyment. All playlists are on Spotify, though I’ve included a section for Apple Music and Tidal listeners below. To make things easier to find, I separated them by Very Specific Vibes. Be safe out there.
PLAYLISTS:
For Partying:
Older Millennial Instant Party Starter
Art School Alumni Party
Black Pop Excellence - 90s/2000s
The Blog Era
106.9 WQRL - The Curl
For doing stuff around the house:
Songs to Kill Your Plants To
Cool Men’s Boutique
RIP HERB KENT (soul, r&b, oldies)
PUT THIS ON WHILE COOKING
Saturday Morning Errands in Sweats
For hanging with friends:
hanging out with friends
90s Teen Sex Comedy Soundtrack
Soul!
Songs you forgot from the 90s/2000s
Songs you forgot from the 2010s
For hanging with friends at a lake house or beach:
Yacht Rock > Everything Else
A Guide To Post-Yacht
YEEHAW! (country, rap and country rap)
Stoners, boners and surfboards
Beach Day Vibes
For hanging with friends in the city
Cool Dive Bar
walking thru the city in summer, eating a popsicle
90s Teen Sex Comedy Soundtrack
Cool Hotel Pool
A Guide to Modern G-Funk (NEW PLAYLIST)
For Day Drinking or BBQ’ing:
GRILL/CHILL (NEW PLAYLIST)
Live Cool Shit
Chicago Summer Block Party 2020
Day Drinking with Hipsters
College Day Drinking
For Working Out:
Cool but Overpriced Workout Studio (NEW PLAYLIST)
yoga but spicy
Mediocre White Man Confidence (for Women)
Ernest’s Workout Playlist
Kill Everything (Aggressive rap and metal, good for HARDCORE-types only)
My playlists on Apple Music:
Older Millennial Instant Party Starter
Songs You Forgot from the 90s/2000s
Cool but Overpriced Sushi Fusion Restaurant
My playlists on Tidal:
Here’s Every Song From Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
HOW TO HELP BLACK LIVES IN 30 MINS OR LESS:
When it comes to taking the steps needed to create a racially equal America, I’ve heard from many well-intentioned non-Black people over the last two months that one of the most daunting things for them is trying to figure out what they can personally do make things better.
Some folks see these massive issues as a significant problem that cannot be defeated, so they struggle to figure out what one person can do, which leads to them not doing much other than posting to IG. Some of that is not wanting to seem like you’re doing too much, some of that is fear your intentions will be misunderstood.
What if I told you that for only 30 minutes a week, you can help black lives no matter where you are or how much money you make? Here’s how:
Carve out 30 minutes in your calendar this week. Call it “Being A Better Person Time” or “Set a Good Example for my Kid” Time, whatever works.
Click a link and make a call or donate or sign a petition. Just do one thing in that 30 min window.
This weekend, share the above link with your three closest friends and say, “Hey, I’m (calling/donating/signing a petition). I’m worried about how things will be for future generations, so I’m doing something about it. If you’re interested, here’s the link!” If you have a group chat, drop it into your group chat!
Repeat the following week for as long as you can. Do it while you online shop, do it while you’re on an annoying call, hell, you can do it while you poop, I genuinely don’t care! Whatever it takes! It is the absolute least that you can do, but you’ll get a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you at least did SOMETHING to help. You have a vision of who you want to be, right? That ideal version of yourself that does the right thing when given a chance and leads by example? This is that chance. You can do it!
BONUS: You won’t have to lie to your kids or grandkids about being on the right side of history! You can be all like, “Children/Grandchildren, we don’t tolerate that racist shit in this house. If anyone says otherwise, send them to me.” and you’ll sound all tough and cool, and your kids or grandkids will respect and love you and not want to be racists…guess what? That means less racist people in the future!!!
Look at that. It turns out you had a bigger impact than you thought the whole time!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Office Hours with Ernest Wilkins podcast returns in the next two weeks. The podcast will be a paid-subscriber only perk, with free episodes when2 appropriate. My mission is to reward and build stronger relationships with my subscribers as a thank you for your consistent support. Speaking of support, here are two easy ways that you can support this newsletter!!!!!
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Office Hours is written and curated by Ernest Wilkins.
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