This article is part of SELF rest week, an editorial package dedicated to doing less. If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that taking care of yourself, physically and emotionally, is impossible without real downtime. With that in mind, we’ll be posting well into the New Year to help you get into the habit of taking breaks, relaxing, and slowing down. (And we follow our own advice: the SELF staff will be OOO during this time!) We hope to inspire you to relax and unwind, whatever that looks like for you.
It may actually be the most excellent time of the year: that special week when the holiday rush has begun to wear off and the allure of making New Year’s Eve plans still seems far enough away to be ignored. At SELF, we’re always big fans of taking time out to rest and take care of yourself, but if you’re particularly in the mood to kick back and do nothing this week, this is the playlist you need. ‘you need.
If you’ve listened to some of the other playlists we’ve created, consider this one the thoughtful, more low-key cousin to the relaxing playlist released around Thanksgiving last month. Do I reserve the beginning and end of the holiday season with a good dose of relaxation? You bet.
You won’t find catchy beats or fast, motivating tempos on this lineup. In fact, I sincerely hope you put this on, and don’t do much at all. Lay well in bed, read a good book or look out the window and dream a little.
The songs in this playlist span genres and generations. You’ll listen to Frank Ocean’s « Moon River, » a modern take on the classic 1960s tune to kick things off, and end with Etta James’ version of « Stormy Weather. » Between these are a few other covers – John Mayer’s « Free Fallin' » and Yo La Tengo’s « Friday I’m in Love » – as well as several other quieter songs from this decade and last. Whether you’re listening to Adele’s « Easy on Me » or Landon Pigg’s « Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop, » it’s not hard to tell that most of these songs are about a lot of *feelings*: falling in love or not. , apologizing for the past, expressing hope for the future, or just working on whatever has room in your head and heart. Music in particular can be great for this: allowing us to sit with a mood when words seem to fail. Even though it seems difficult to do nothing with this mix of emotions, it turns out that it could actually be a very good idea, as SELF has already reported.
So we hope you take advantage of the length of this playlist to unwind and stay grounded in some quiet time. January will be here soon, and we know you’ll be on track.
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Full Reading List:
- « Moon River » by Frank Ocean
- « All I Wanted » by Billie Eilish
- « Insight of Us » by Joji
- « Riptide » by Vance Joy
- Taylor Swift’s « Anti-Hero »
- « Free Fallin’ – Live at the Nokia Theater » by John Mayer
- « Fast Car » by Tracy Chapman
- « I Feel It Coming » by The Weekend, Daft Punk
- « Bad Times – Acoustic Version » by Ra Ra Riot
- Coldplay’s « The Scientist »
- « SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK » by Joji
- « Falling in Love at a Cafe » by Landon Pigg
- « Easy on Me » door Adele
- « Exile » by Taylor Swift feat. Good Iver
- « When I’m With Him » door Empress Of, Perfume Genius, Jim E-Stack
- “Falling for U” by Peachy!, mxmtoon
- Describe by Perfume Genius
- Sisyphus by Andrew Bird
- « Funny Girl » by Father John Misty
- « Friday I’m in Love » by Yo La Tengo
- « Lilo » by The Japanese House
- « True Love Will Find You In The End » by Wilco
- « Stormy Weather » by Etta James
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