What’s the best playlist to listen to for the month of August in this incredible summer of 2020? Dandelion Chandelier correspondent and resident DJ Julie Chang Murphy has created a perfect playlist of music for the month of August. Our personal favorite is track number 4. Find it on Spotify here. Add some ice to your drink. Press play. And feel August.
What’s the best playlist for the month of August 2020?
Even before the pandemic, August has always been a bittersweet month. That big summer trip we looked forward to all year long is over (or cancelled, as is the case this year.)
What’s the best playlist of music perfect for the month of August 2020?
For parents, the relief of not having to wake up early, pack lunch and go, go, go has worn off. We’re staring down another four solid weeks of summer break (and maybe more as schools postpone their start dates.)
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.
And as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes we get serious FOMO. It seems like everyone else has planned their summer so much better. Escaping every Friday to the swankiest beach homes with the perfect crew. Or more common these days- sitting in an isolated cabin in the rural countryside.
It’s in those irrational and self-defeating moments that we remind ourselves to quiet down and be still. Isn’t it too hot to do much else, anyway?
Instead of chasing the most Instagrammable summer experiences, we think August is the perfect month to savor our closest relationships and even carve out space for some some solitude. Some time for the luxury of self-reflection.
We’re dreaming of laying out on a hammock with a good book. Sharing a bottle of chilled wine and deep conversation with a spouse. Or having a night swim alone, when everyone else has gone to bed. You feel us?
the perfect playlist of music for august 2020
Here is the perfect soundtrack for those suffocating August days and nights when you need to retreat a bit and just chill.
1. Tame Impala: ‘The Less I Know the Better’
That infectious falsetto combined with a kaleidoscopic blend of moody synth and disco gives this song about an unrequited love triangle a bittersweet nostalgia that we can all relate to.
2. Carlos Robalinho: ‘Carneiros Beach’
An ambient and escapist track that conjures long, lazy days at your favorite beach.
3. Nina Simone: ‘Feeling Good’
Simone’s sultry voice envelops the poetic lyrics of liberation in this iconic song and it’s impossible not to feel good. And be reminded of all that is good when listening to her gorgeous interpretation.
4. Joe Armon-Jones ft. Georgia Anne Muldrow
‘Yellow Dandelion’: A buttery, smooth funk rhythm combined with Muldrow’s soaring vocal acrobatics elevates this song about a humble weed who will “carry my wish upon the wind.”
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August 2020. Courtesy Photo.
5. Airdust: ‘Flight Mode’
Even if you’ve just plopped down in a lounge chair with a drink, you’ll soon find yourself up on your feet and swaying languidly to this hypnotic beat.
6. Chad Valley: ‘Young Hunger’
We saw this young Brit perform in Brooklyn last year and that atmospheric retro sound? It’s just him, a mic, and a synthesizer.
7. Floppy Circus- ‘Better Days to Come’
This Chillhop essential comes via Portuguese musician João Neves and it is the perfectly hazy, mellow jam for a hot afternoon.
8. The Replacements- ‘Swingin Party’
No FOMO here. Lead singer, Paul Westerberg definitely captures that certain lonely and empty feeling of compulsory soirées.
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August 2020. Courtesy Photo.
9. Troye Sivan- ‘Lucky Strike’
Is there anything more quintessentially summer than being infatuated with a new love? “And my boy like a queen/Unlike one you’ve ever seen/He knows how to love me better/A hit of dopamine, higher than I’ve ever been”
10. Wham- ‘Nothing Looks the Same in the Light’
And just as easily, that summer love can turn into disillusionment- “There’s danger in a stranger/With a warm hand and a kiss so right/Nothing looks the same in the light/It’s been a pleasure, see you around.”
11. Father John Misty- ‘Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)’
Romantic. Irreverent. Kinda Dark. And a mariachi band in the background. John Tillman’s ode to his wife is insanely catchy.
12. Phoebe Snow- ‘Poetry Man’
This jazzy hit from 1975 still hits all the right notes. Press play when you’re on the terrace with your partner, opening a bottle of wine.
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August 2020. Courtesy Photo.
13. Bronski Beat- ‘Smalltown Boy’
Summer is the season of leaving home. This discordant electro-pop track centers around a young gay man escaping his hometown and then shifts gear into a high-energy club beat.
14. Metronomy- ‘The Look’
The start of this song recalls the sonic palette of a boardwalk carnival or county fair. Those carefree, youthful days when “We’re always running round this town/And to think they said/We’d never make anything better than this.”
15. Cat Power- ‘The Greatest’
When you need to slow down, no one beats Chan Marshall for some introspection. In this ballad, she makes it OK to acknowledge past regrets and move on.
16. Lana del Rey- ‘Summertime Sadness’
This 2013 hit features brooding, melancholy lyrics remixed with an irrepressible dance beat by French DJ Cedric Gervais. You can’t help but dance off whatever sadness you feel.
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August 2020. Courtesy Photo.
17) Rhye – ‘Count to Five’ (Tensnake remix)
Keeping the dancing vibe going with Rhye’s lush and sexy sound. Better yet, grab your partner!
18. Blue October- ‘Into the Ocean’
The upbeat and breezy melody of this song initially hits like an icy, cold glass of lemonade. But it’s actually about drowning and ending it all…um, maybe skip to the next song if you’re actually feeling blue.
19. Bill Withers- ‘Lovely Day’
If any song will lift you out of a funk it’s Withers’ soulful song that like his other hits, ‘Lean On Me’ and ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ have withstood the test of time.
20. Grizzly Bear- ‘Two Weeks’
The choral harmonies of this Brooklyn-based indie rock band light up the brain and the room. It’s like a ray of sunshine streaming through the windows.
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August 2020. Courtesy Photo.
21.Empire of the Sun- ‘Walking on a Dream’
Rolling Stone Magazine said of this Australian electronic pop band, “It’s more blissed out than a koala on Xanax.” We’re not even going to try to top that!
22. Childish Gambino- ‘Feels Like Summer’
“Seven billion souls that move around the sun/Rolling faster, faster, not a chance to slow down. Slow down” Let’s face it- there is no better than time than now.
23. CeCe Rogers- ‘Someday’
A socially conscious house anthem is the feel-good rhythm you need for any socially distanced gathering.
24. M83- ‘Midnight City’
The premise? Waiting in a car. But French electronic band M83’s biggest hit captures so much more- the possibility in the air when the sun goes down, euphoria, and wanderlust. In other words, the ideal summer night.
The perfect music playlist to listen to in the month of August. Courtesy Photo.
Our compilation of ambient house music, introspective indie pop, and a bit of nostalgic soul will carry you through the dog days of summer. Roll it.
That’s it – 24 songs to start August off right. However you’re spending the dog days of summer, this soundtrack will help chill you out. Have a great month!
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier Newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.
Crediting her training as a cultural anthropologist at Wellesley College, Julie has immersed herself in various industries in the last 15 years including fashion design, event planning, fitness and even investigating police misconduct. Julie lives in NYC where she loves trying every ramen and dumpling restaurant with her husband and three children. She finds joy in bold prints, biographies of fierce women, kickboxing and spending way too long finding the perfect polish color to express her mood.
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.