Here are some favorites I recently rediscovered (sorry there are 6 and I couldn’t pick one to remove):
The Kinks - Better Things, Waterloo Sunset
Tom Petty - Yer So Bad, Good Enough, Ankle Deep
Dire Straits - Tunnel of Love
Though you specify “new to you” and don’t require upbeat, here’s three songs from within the last year-ish that are uptempo and have me tapping the steering wheel. I’ll reserve my potential extras in case there’s more direction later.
Maddy Jane, “Thylacine”
The Happy Fits, “Cruel Power”
Lights, “Education”
I’ve tried to pick songs that would be easy to find on Spotify, but I don’t have an account, so I’ll link to the YouTube Official Music Videos, which will have the exact song that you would stream on Spotify. I also tried to pick songs that, if you like one, can lead you down a rabbit hole of music for your playlist.
Anything by The Warning
Old school hard rock with a Gen-Z twist. If Evolve doesn’t get your pulse up, I guarantee there’s a banger in their discography that will.
J-Rock
Delve into some Japanese rock, Here’s Choose Me by Bandmaid.
K-Pop
Ha! Pop? K-Pop is the quintessential shiny, machine pumping our Jams. Try Scream by Dreamcatcher.
Courtney Barnett - “Pedestrian At Best”
Dead Milkmen - “Tiny Town”
Tame Impala - “Elephant”
Daniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - “S.O.B.”
AWOL Nation - “Sail”
I have a playlist (actually just a folder) called “12-Inch Saturday Night.” It’s named after the radio show that played 80s tracks back around 1998 or so. It’s about 100 tracks and is meant to closely emulate the playlist for that show. Typical 80s songs that would appeal to people who were 15 to 25 at the time. I can PM you the list, if you are interested.
(Disclosure: My late wife loved the show, 12-Inch Saturday Night, and one reason I like to listen to it on shuffle is that it reminds me of some wonderful evenings spent with her. If I had the DJ banter to put between the songs, I would add that as well.)
