The Interlude

Summer is a yawning, bright valley of possibility. The sun has an extended curfew, the moon seems brighter, and a sudden feeling of newness arrives after the raininess of spring and hardness of winter. But the warm days of June and July can also mark an uncertain departure from routine. After months of work, after filing taxes, after attending graduations, we find ourselves with hours of unburdened time. 

As The Interlude draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the two years of love and labor this magazine inspired from myself and fellow contributors. But I also want to take a fucking nap! On a hammock!! In full view of the midday sun!!! With a homemade cranberry pomegranate spritz at the ready!!!!

In my mind, this playlist is the overlap in the Venn diagram of reflection and restfulness. It’s writing H.A.G.S. in everyone’s middle school yearbooks and really meaning it. It’s the ache in your thighs from swimming for hours on end. It’s a loved one making you a plate of fruit. It’s coming to terms with your mortality while bleaching your hair. 

From Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” to Jensen McRae’s “Immune,” these songs will meet you in 7-Eleven with a Slurpee and lyrics to last all season long. 

Scroll to the end to listen to Rest + Reflect on Spotify.

1. “Vienna” by Billy Joel
   So many forces insist on working yourself to death. Thankfully, Billy Joel is here to remind us all, “Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about? / You better cool it off before you burn it out.” It’s unclear how he knows Austria’s capital city “waits for you,” but I’m taking him at his word.
2. “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
   For all its melancholy, “Landslide” tells us “time makes you bolder.” Rather than stagnating in the lure of memories, singer Stevie Nicks knows we can use our toughest experiences to our advantage.
3. “Hand in My Pocket” by Alanis Morissette
   Growing up is a series of contradictions. No matter your age, feeling conflicted is a perennial emotion, and this Alanis Morissette banger captures the dissonance between being happy but broke, grounded but high, sane but overwhelmed. “Hand in My Pocket” allows these truths to coexist, because in the end, “everything is just fine, fine, fine.”
4. “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
   Open up the dirty window, bro! Release your inhibitions, my sisters in Sappho! Feel the rain on your skin, fellow Natasha Bedingfield fans! “Unwritten” is the platonic ideal of a fresh start. After all, “today is where your book begins.”
5. “Stoned at the Nail Salon” by Lorde
   As a whole, Solar Power, Lorde’s newest album, had some messaging issues. Still, “Stoned at the Nail Salon” goes hard. Like “Vienna” and “Landslide,” it acknowledges a pressing need to slow down: “Well, my hot blood’s been burning for so many summers now/It’s time to cool it down, wherever that leads.”
6. “Immune” by Jensen McRae
   I’m forever kicking myself for leaving “Immune” off the Jab Jams playlist. This song, a Phoebe Bridgers parody about getting vaccinated, captures the uncertainty (and hope) of our times. Neither tongue-in-cheek nor overly sentimental, Jensen McRae asks, “What will we say to each other / When the needle goes in? / What will we be to each other / If the world doesn’t end?”
7. “Changes” by Langhorne Slim and The Law
   Like any long-running sitcom, New Girl had some low points. But, as staff writer Mands Montes pointed out, the quirky roommate ensemble used “Changes” to perfection in its fifth season. A song all about acknowledging the major turning points in life, “Changes” is ideal for all your personal-growth-montage moments.
8. “The Body is a Blade” by Japanese Breakfast
   Japanese Breakfast’s lead, Michelle Zauner, is no stranger to grief and loss. In her 2021 memoir, Crying in H Mart, she mourns her mother and reclaims parts of her past. “The Body is a Blade” functions as a companion piece to the memoir, reminding us to “slowly withdraw” from our darkest impulses. Zauner told NPR the song is about “disassociating from trauma and relying on your body to physically keep pushing forward in an attempt to survive.”
9. “Down by The Water” by The Drums
   Maybe rest means taking a literal nap, and another, and one more for good measure. The Drums, an indie pop band that sounds like someone put The Smiths in a dunk tank on Coney Island, are here to help you snooze. Let their happy, warbling voices reassure: “If you fall asleep down by the water / Baby I’ll carry you, all the way home.”
10. “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton
    Dolly Parton has dipped her toes in hustle culture (“9 to 5”), but also knows her worth (“It’s Too Late to Love Me Now”). In “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” she sings us from the struggle of a “long dark night” to “the light of a brand new day.”
11. “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce
    Jim Croce knew it in 1970 and we know it now: time machines are for spending more time with loved ones, not playing the lottery or changing history. As you find ways to rest and recuperate, take note of the people by your side.
12. “Glacier” by John Grant
    On days it feels impossible to live in a state that hates LGBTQ people, John Grant’s “Glacier” gives me tools to survive. Its music video features archival footage of Pride marches, protests, and LGBTQ folks simply existing. In his lyrics, Grant condemns theocracy, urges the listener to find their own answers, and most importantly, tells us pain is “a glacier moving through you / and carving out deep valleys / and creating spectacular landscapes.” Don’t be afraid to face pain in moments of reflection.
13. “Sky Full of Song” by Florence + The Machine
    Florence + The Machine’s latest album, Dance Fever, is all about girls killing gods and dancing until you drop. Work! But one of their earlier songs, “Sky Full of Song,” is more concerned with asking for help. “Grab me by my ankles, I’ve been flying for too long” and “Hold me down, I’m so tired now” are never easy admissions. But once we make them, we can begin to recover.
14. “Achilles Come Down” by Gangs of Youth
    This song (rightfully) has the whole “dark academia” aesthetic in a chokehold: it mentions a Greek demigod, uses French to discuss death, and includes boys sharing their emotions. As for the theme of rest, “Achilles Come Down” repeats its own title dozens of times, driving home a message of love and care to the listener.
15. “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday
    We started with a Billy and we’re ending with a Billie! We can’t stay the same forever, nor can we stay together forever. But you’ll be seeing The Interlude in “all the old familiar places” which, in this case, mostly means the Internet. And our staff will be “in every lovely summer’s day / in everything that’s light and gay.”

Listen to the entire playlist and follow The Interlude on Spotify.