Commute companion: A drive time playlist

Editor’s note: With WFH a distant pandemic memory, long commutes are once again part of the daily grind. To help ease the tedium, we decided to try something new: a hybrid Spotify playlist of tunes and podcasts that offer the pleasures of an old-fashioned car radio experience—except way better. This edition was put together by Raghav—who switches between nerding out on niche genres and indulging in good ol’ pop music. There are also some OG podcast recommendations. You can check out Raghav's playlist here.

PS: Want more? Be sure to check out Yash’s drive time playlist—who listens to everything from Linkin Park classics to oddly specific podcasts (example: inanimate objects telling their own stories). Also: Aarthi’s drive time playlist—who listens to everything from The Who to the history of the colour blue on her daily ride.

Written by: Raghav Bikhchandani, Editorial Manager

‘I Predict a Riot’ by Kaiser Chiefs: We kick things off with a celebration of punchy punk rock from 2005—with tongue lodged firmly in cheek. 

‘Highway Star’ by Deep Purple: Now for a nostalgia trip that truly cuts across generations. The iconic combination of Jon Lord’s organ solo and Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar solo remains unmatched.

‘Wind of Change’ by Scorpions: Possibly the greatest power ballad of all time—written and recorded amid the fall of the Berlin Wall, following a band visit to Moscow. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

‘Wind of Change’ by Pineapple Street Studios: Fast forward to 2011—journalist Patrick Redden Keefe hears from one of his sources that the ballad was never written by the Scorpions but by the CIA. And down the Cold War rabbit hole we go with this podcast miniseries—start from episode 1, of course.  

‘Brambleton’ by Pusha T: The Virginia rapper pioneered the art of dissing Drake long before Kendrick refined it. The opening track off of his 2022 album ‘It’s Almost Dry’ features equally immaculate wordplay and is just plain fun. 

‘Fast Ones’ by Codefendants feat. The D.O.C.: The hip hop side project of punk icons brings about a welcome return to form for a forgotten star of the boom bap era. I could hear his chat about ayahuasca all day. 

‘Girl Feels Good’ by FKA Twigs: The UK avant-pop vocalist’s hatke hooks are always a welcome addition—this one is less staccato than her past work, slotting in perfectly.  

‘Money Trees’ by Kendrick Lamar feat. Jay Rock & Anna Wise: Hot take—the Pulitzer winner’s first two albums are his most sonically cohesive. The debut had the best production but this track off of the sophomore record is his most refined cocktail of lyrical prowess and crisp beats.

‘Ologies’ by Alie Ward: The nerdiest that nerds have ever nerded out—and that’s a huge compliment because the host oozes charisma to go with her comedic chops. On the menu are ‘-ologist’ obsessions of various kinds as Ward channels a bit of Philomena Cunk. The ‘puffinology’ episode is an easy starting point.  

‘Troubles’ by Denzel Curry feat. T-Pain: The fresh face off the Miami block teams up with the auto-tune king for some infectiously melancholic melodies. 

‘Scientists & Engineers’ by Killer Mike feat. Future, Andrè 3000 & Eryn Allan Kane: A ‘rogues’ gallery’ of Atlanta heavy hitters all the way through, but what truly makes this work is the vocal harmonies of the intro gospel choir. 

‘All That I Can Say’ by Mary J. Blige feat. Lauryn Hill: Collabs between these two legends of ‘90s RnB and neo soul-rap didn’t happen all that often, but this ballad off of Mary’s self-titled record—combining their signature sounds with elements of funk. 

‘Aquamarine’ by Danger Mouse & Black Thought feat. Michael Kiwanuka: Saving the best bars for last—they’re “as hard as solid gold bullion”, after all. Kiwanuka’s soulful voice sets the mood before the star emcee lets loose on all things politics and religion.

‘Desert Island Discs’ by BBC Radio 4: The undisputed OG of podcasts—it literally has a 2,000-episode library that began in 1942! As the title suggests, each episode’s guest, or ‘castaway’, has to pick out eight tracks, a book and a luxury item that they’d take to a desert island forever. Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha’s appearance from 2015 is particularly interesting, not just due to her desi background but the diversity of her list.

‘Sar Jo Tera Chakraye’ by SD Burman & Mohammad Rafi: Another hot take—Bollywood music peaked when the instrumental arrangements were inspired by the likes of Frank Sinatra’s band, while the lyrics and songwriting took after Broadway and vaudeville. This track off of ‘Pyaasa’ typifies that time capsule genre sweet spot.

‘Dil Se Re’ by AR Rahman: Former Pink Floyd sound engineer Guy Pratt’s bassline is everything here. No other words needed. 

‘Jaanam’ by Peter Cat Recording Co: Originally recorded in English for their 2011 debut album ‘Sinema’, Suryakant Sawhney and co cooked up a repurposed Hindi version for ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy’ a decade ago. A delightfully earwormy upgrade. 

‘Henna Henna’ by The Bombay Royale: Now for a little filmi surf rock with a Bengali twist, presented by a part-desi part-gora ensemble from down under. This track was popularised by…’Better Call Saul’, believe it or not.

‘Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend’ by Team Coco & Earwolf: Since 2022, the latest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize has finally gotten to let loose and embrace his zany roots—after decades of relatively subdued late night talk shows. He first made his name as a staff writer on ‘The Simpsons’, a wit, irreverence and commitment to the bit, which shines through in a longer form here. For Indians, Vir Das’ appearance serves as a good gateway requiring the least amount of context.

‘New World’ by Saigon Kick: A drastic shift from Hindi to proggy hair metal—get used to my extreme eclectic tastes:). This Florida band’s heyday was the early to mid ‘90s but I hadn’t heard of ‘em until last December! Enjoy pretty riffage and tremendous vocal range with some odd time signatures and funky song structures. 

‘Damaged’ by Queensrÿche: Sticking with funky song structures but traversing to the Pacific North West, this iconic quintet bridged the gap between ‘80s hair metal and ‘70s prog rock to invent progressive metal and influenced three generations as we know it today. Think more chonky riffage with similarly masterful high pitched vocals but with a more fully formed themes and concepts. Yes, this is my nerding out:)  

‘Breaking The Rules’ by Michael Learns To Rock: From prog metal to soft rock, these Danish boys were everyone’s favourite throwback once—still kept the 1996 ‘Paint My Love: Greatest Hits’ cassette:)

‘A&W’ by Lana del Rey: It was only a matter of time before Lana went full weird prog too—what starts as a beautiful acoustic arrangement soon morphs into a synthy beat Depeche Mode would be proud of. 

‘Heat Meet’ by The Truth: Our last pod pick is a bit of short story fiction as part of a series that dabbles in a bit of dark comedy, a bit of horror and everything in between. For this playlist, check out this story about an annual congregation of hot sauce enthusiasts.

‘Static on the Radio’ by Jim White feat. Aimee Mann: Six minutes of alternative country gold—save for a rainy day!

‘Sunday’ by Iggy Pop: The yesteryear punk rock icon has enjoyed a second career as an introspective art rock poet. Fun fact: this era features half of Queens of the Stone Age and a quarter of Arctic Monkeys as the backing band.

‘The Sparrow’ by Mastodon: They made their name playing brutally harsh sludge metal with a mythological-Tsarist focus, but this is a fittingly pensive and emotional closer to round out drive time on.

Hope you give the playlist a listen :)