November means many things: the election, Thanksgiving, cold weather, early signs of the holiday season, and 4:40 PM sunsets. Here are some excellently curated Spotify playlists that can act as your soundtrack to the autumnal month while you cast your ballot, whip up some pies, and *deep sigh* study for finals too.
1. Charlie Brown Holiday Hits by Vince Guaraldi Trio
OKAY, so technically, this is an album, not a playlist. But it still bangs and has ever since the second grade. You have your classics like “Christmastime Is Here” as well as “Linus and Lucy” with some understated jazz masterpieces like “Thanksgiving Theme” and “Charlie’s Blues.” Transport yourself to the good ol’ days–the Wednesday half-day before Thanksgiving, trodding on a soggy soccer field towards your mom’s car, construction paper that you glued to the turkey, while the teacher played A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on the TV cart.
2. Mixtape 16: Glossier HQ WFH by Glossier
If you’re missing the SoHo Glossier showroom as much as I am since COVID, then you will love this curated playlist by their headquarters! Channel your inner Glossier model as you bop to this eclectic set of upbeat songs that rivals Spotify’s famous “Pollen” playlist. Throw it back with some Mary J. Blige, or give your winter blues a summer boost with artists like Bad Bunny or Rina Sawayama. Work from home can get mundane, but be the main character of your story with this sorta-trendy, sorta-indie mix of hot girl anthems. Get into character with some lip gloss, dewy blush, and gelled brows.
3. Bangers with Babish by Andrew Rea
Andrew Rea, who created Binging with Babish, the incredibly popular YouTube culinary show, shares his fire cooking playlist (pun intended) that underscores his ambitious attempts to recreate foods from beloved shows and movies. November is arguably the ultimate food month; hardcore home cooks like myself spend weeks leading to Thanksgiving perfecting dishes and baking techniques. Contemplate your lost love listening to “Blood Orange” while kneading pie dough. Dance away the onion tears with some Young Thug and Jamie xx. A cooking playlist, much like the perfect Thanksgiving table, needs to be nostalgic, cozy, joyful, and saucy.
4. Twilight Saga – Complete Soundtrack by KULTPOP!
Someone was doing god’s work creating this monolith of a playlist. I believe Robert Pattinson himself said the Twilight soundtracks were “ahead of their time”. Nothing screams fall quite like the Twilight saga, and in 2020, we could all use a comforting, albeit campy movie binge. Familiar artists like Paramore and Bon Iver awaken your angsty inner teenager, while classics like “Bella’s Lullaby” have you irrationally yearning for a vampire boyfriend again. I’ll enjoy this playlist immensely this season, but I’ll still never forgive them for that creepy CGI baby.
5. Election Day Playlist by ACLU of South Dakota
2020’s unprecedented voter turnout is thanks to years of work organized by activists and local community changemakers. The ACLU of South Dakota made the perfect election day playlist this year to galvanize voters everywhere to cast their ballot! This tracklist features some too fitting tunes like “Run the World (Girls)” and Aretha Franklin’s iconic song “Respect,” flirty hits like “Positions,” and amazing political throwbacks like A Tribe Called Quest’s “We the People.” You can listen to this playlist well beyond election day–we need to keep up the spirit of civic engagement even well after the inauguration!
October is for spooky tunes. December for Christmas carols. November is a tricky month in terms of music. Hopefully, this list will help you find the perfect soundtrack to this historic month of victories and holidays; time to end this semester strong!