Commute companion: A drive time playlist
Editor's note: With WFH becoming a distant pandemic memory, long commutes have once again become part of daily life. We are trying something new—a drive time playlist that combines both tunes and podcasts so you never get bored of one or the other. This one has been put together by Aarthi—who listens to everything from the Who to the history of the colour blue on her ride. You can check out Aarthi’s playlist here.
Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Deputy Advisory Editor
- ‘Outskirts of Paradise’ by Bad Suns: Starting off on an upbeat note! This song from the American rock band is fresh and fun and positive—and makes you feel jovial as if you literally were on the outskirts of paradise!
- ‘Tinak Dhin’ by Ali Hamza, Ali Sethi & Waqar Ehsin: Sticking Pakistani artists, this one’s my fave from Coke Studio. The buildup of the song is simply unmatched and fills you with a rush of energy.
- ‘The Fraud that Transformed Psychiatry’ by Distillations: This is a fascinating podcast by the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. This episode in particular is about the 1973 study titled ‘On Being Sane in Insane Places’ which proved psychiatrists were unable to diagnose mental illness accurately—only to then be picked apart for inconsistencies and fraud decades later.
- ‘Doobne De (Reprise)’ by Hassan & Roshaan: The Pakistani pop duo dropped this banger back in 2020. I love that it has a sufi touch to it that makes me immerse myself into the song.
- ‘Tu Hai, Pt. 01’ by Indian Ocean: Continuing with sufi themes, here’s a folk rock song from Indian Oceans’ latest album—which has been on repeat for me since its release two years ago.
- ‘The Boat Song’ by Agam: Keeping with the folk rock elements, this song offers the best rendition of the Malayalam snake boat race song—and is super high energy.
- ‘The World of Blue’ by Distillations: Did you know that the colour ‘blue’ was the last colour that we named? Yup, it is true across all languages and cultures. The hosts of the podcast take us on a journey of finding mentions of the colour blue which opens up questions about how we see our world in colour.
- ‘Business As Usual’ by Eagles: What’s a drive playlist without Eagles in it?
- ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen: Yup, this section of the playlist is where I featured the legends of our times!
- ‘The History of Timekeeping’ by You’re Dead to Me: Where has all the time gone? Well why don’t we tune into this BBC podcast episode to find out! :)
- ‘Comes and Goes’ by HYUKOH: The band is an indie Korean band. They make some of the most addictive songs—and this one just fits the vibe.
- ‘Life Goes On’ by BTS: Speaking of South Koreans, a BTS track had to sneak into the list. This is a more chill song from the South Korean group which will make you feel like a main character on your journey.
- ‘Your Brain Doesn't Work the Way You Think’ by Freakonomics Radio: This episode is from a special segment called ‘People I (Mostly) Admire’. Host Steve Levitt speaks to David Eagleman—a neuroscientist who is the CEO and co-founder of Neosensory. They develop devices for sensory substitution.
- ‘SLOW DOWN’ by STAYC: I love how the tempo of this Korean song goes from slow to a faster beat in the chorus.
- ‘ETA’ by NewJeans: If this song doesn’t become an earworm for you, consider yourself lucky. ‘What’s your ETA?’
- ‘War and Pizza’ by 99% Invisible: Time for another curious fact! This 15-minute episode takes you through how the military is the reason for most of our fast food chains and packaged items.
- ‘What I’ve Done’ by Linkin Park: Switching up the genres a little, here’s everyone’s favourite Linkin Park! It is one of the easiest songs to belt out if you’re driving alone or with friends.
- ‘Dangerous’ by Big Data & Joywave: This funky electronic-pop song is guaranteed to make you feel extremely cool.
- ‘How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse’ by Freakonomics Radio: Typically conversations about robot apocalypse sound like we’re heading towards an impending doom but this conversation is more light-hearted and has a more practical look at how robots will change our world.
- ‘Super Trouper’ by ABBA: Keeping the mood light and cheerful, here is an ABBA.
- ‘Born to be Wild’ by Steppenwolf: A rockhead staple, this song has fun riffs to keep the monotonous journey interesting.
- ‘The Fall Guy with Drew Pearce’ by Script Apart: This podcast has been mentioned before but in this episode, the host talks to the writer of the Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-starrer ‘The Fall Guy’. It does a deep dive into the first iterations of the script and how the writers added layers and nuance to the movie. It is a fascinating listen for anyone who is interested in filmmaking.
- ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ by KISS: For those you’ve seen the film, the addition of this song is a no-brainer. For those who don’t know, this song was featured in the film.
- ‘Baba O’Riley’ by The Who: I think any drive time playlist is incomplete without this gem of a song—which has one of the best outros ever!
Enjoy the playlist here.
