Much like Exclaim! staffers are doing behind the scenes, David Byrne has jumped the gun on making a Valentine's Day playlist — and for the most part, it's banger after banger.
Published on his website yesterday (February 1), the musician, Broadway star and former Talking Heads bandleader chose a mix of songs — lovey and otherwise — in the spirit of the season. "This playlist consists mostly of recent songs I've added to my playlists," he wrote. "Some of these artists and songs were mentioned to me by friends, newspapers, and algorithms. They are not all love songs, but many of them are very popular!"
As expected, Byrne's taste is very eclectic, and he's added artists spanning from Rosalía to Weyes Blood, even including two 100 Gecs tracks while he was at it. Jessie Reyez's "Mutual Friend," "Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy and "Run On" by PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips also made the list.
It's hard to accurately depict how many sonic places this love playlist goes, so here's a list of some other cameos it features: Billie Eilish, the 1975, NNAMDÏ, Sylvan Esso, Stromae, Camila Cabello, Karen O, FINNEAS, Algiers, Dry Cleaning, Macaroni Empitsu and many more.
Alongside the playlist, Byrne fittingly wrote about the history of St. Valentine: "Who was Saint Valentine? Well, he was a martyr in 3rd century Rome. He is now the patron saint of asthma sufferers and beekeepers … and lovers!"
Despite having a pretty solid playlist, Byrne also added Arcade Fire's "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)" into the mix. This follows the JUNO Awards defending their nomination of the band despite sexual assault allegations against Win Butler.
View Byrne's entire playlist and his musings on St. Valentine on his website.
Published on his website yesterday (February 1), the musician, Broadway star and former Talking Heads bandleader chose a mix of songs — lovey and otherwise — in the spirit of the season. "This playlist consists mostly of recent songs I've added to my playlists," he wrote. "Some of these artists and songs were mentioned to me by friends, newspapers, and algorithms. They are not all love songs, but many of them are very popular!"
As expected, Byrne's taste is very eclectic, and he's added artists spanning from Rosalía to Weyes Blood, even including two 100 Gecs tracks while he was at it. Jessie Reyez's "Mutual Friend," "Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy and "Run On" by PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips also made the list.
It's hard to accurately depict how many sonic places this love playlist goes, so here's a list of some other cameos it features: Billie Eilish, the 1975, NNAMDÏ, Sylvan Esso, Stromae, Camila Cabello, Karen O, FINNEAS, Algiers, Dry Cleaning, Macaroni Empitsu and many more.
Alongside the playlist, Byrne fittingly wrote about the history of St. Valentine: "Who was Saint Valentine? Well, he was a martyr in 3rd century Rome. He is now the patron saint of asthma sufferers and beekeepers … and lovers!"
Despite having a pretty solid playlist, Byrne also added Arcade Fire's "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)" into the mix. This follows the JUNO Awards defending their nomination of the band despite sexual assault allegations against Win Butler.
View Byrne's entire playlist and his musings on St. Valentine on his website.
