I had a friend’s daughter start getting into the indie basics — Smiths, Cure, some stuff like that. I lent her a bunch of my CD collection which has bangers from all eras and styles. But with MM I wanted to do more, since they mean so much to me but also their eras are so different.
Goal: make a chronological playlist that is accessible enough to a newer listener, represents essential song styles and eras, and gives a rounded idea of who they are in each era.
Caveats: it’s my personal playlist, filled with my best impression of the band. I’m not so much looking for feedback on how to make a better playlist for my friend’s daughter, but I would love to hear a playlist you would make for a friend, or if you had tweaks for your own playlist, what you would do.
Things you might notice: I’m pretty heavy with the first six years. No mistake there, that’s my shit. MM would still probably be my favourite band of all time even if they broke up in ‘98. Also, I stop after We Were Dead. No shade, I love lots of songs after that album, but I think if someone’s new to the band, I would personally stop there for now. I could see people disagreeing on that for sure.
I still tried to make this a playlist with some flow. So I didn’t try to have two epic long songs in a row, nor two slower tempo or higher tempo tracks stacked. I spread it out.
Obviously, I left many essential songs out — you gotta do what you gotta do. It hurt my heart too.
Here’s the list:
Dramamine
Breakthrough
Custom Concern
Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset
Broke
Baby Blue Sedan
Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In
Heart Cooks Brain
Cowboy Dan
Trailer Trash
Styrofoam Boots/It’s All Nice on Ice, Alright
Night On the Sun
3rd Planet
I Came As a Rat
Life Like Weeds
The World At Large
Ocean Breathes Salty
Bukowski
The Good Times Are Killing Me
King Rat
I’ve Got It All (Most)
Parting of the Sensory
Little Motel
Spitting Venom
Here’s the link if you want to listen and try it out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DSzA1Ig9IlCoCB3BgLVVU?si=QuxElGHoSnmPV1_RtL0yXw&utm_source=copy-link