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The day after Labor Day has got to be one of the worst days in the American calendar year. (Not quite<\/em> as bad as the first workday after New Year\u2019s, but worth mentioning in the same breath.)<\/p>\n Each year, on this grim and sobering Tuesday, I am haunted by all the summery things I did not get a chance to do this past season. I didn\u2019t go on a single boat! Not to mention zero roller coasters! Nor did I play any beach volleyball \u2014 not that that\u2019s something I especially enjoy, but just knowing that my opportunities to do so will greatly diminish as soon as September arrives feels like something I should mourn. I know that this feeling will pass, and that as soon as the morning breeze carries those first stirrings of fall, I will remember that I am actually an autumn person anyway. But for today \u2014 like the Tuesday after any holiday \u2014 a little seasonal crabbiness is allowed, even encouraged.<\/p>\n Since you\u2019ll probably need an extra boost to get you through this day, here it is: a playlist featuring some of my favorite new songs released in the past few weeks. Though it\u2019s only seven tracks long, it covers a lot of ground: country, soul, jazz, rock, rap, K-pop. It features some names you might already know (Sufjan Stevens<\/strong>; Zach Bryan<\/strong>) and also an artist literally called Noname<\/strong>. Talk about something for everyone.<\/p>\n It also features an opening track that is likely to boost your mood from the get-go: How can you be grumpy while listening to the Rev. Al Green<\/strong> covering Lou Reed<\/strong>? May this playlist, then, turn your imperfect day into a slightly more perfect one.<\/p>\n (And if you need a reason to get excited about upcoming fall music \u2014 well, we\u2019ve got 35 of them in our freshly published Fall Preview. Check it out.)<\/p>\n Listen along on Spotify as you read.<\/p>\n Here is the 77-year-old Al Green\u2019s first single in five years: a sumptuous reimagining of Lou Reed\u2019s 1972 classic \u201cPerfect Day.\u201d Green\u2019s rendition is gently jubilant, smoothing out the prickly edges of Reed\u2019s delivery and changing a lyric about sangria to \u201cdrink wiiiiine in the park.\u201d Al Green: no fan of sangria, apparently. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n The first single from the great singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens\u2019s forthcoming album, \u201cJavelin,\u201d is \u2014 following the electronic-based 2020 release \u201cThe Ascension\u201d and a series of experimental collaborations with other artists \u2014 a stirring return to form. \u201cSo you are tired of us,\u201d he begins, addressing a departing lover of 14 years atop an intricately patterned composition of piano and acoustic guitar. That his tone is quietly accepting rather than melodramatically anguished somehow makes the song all the more heartbreaking. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n The contrasting textures of Zach Bryan\u2019s ragged croak and Kacey Musgraves\u2019s opalescent trill bring a tension to this wrenching duet from Bryan\u2019s new self-titled release. The imagery is as vivid as a series of Polaroids \u2014 a beach towel trying on a clothesline; a beat-up old Ford; a ratty basement sofa \u2014 while the emotion these two singers bring to the tale makes the song downright haunting. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n The Mexico City-based musicians Mabe Fratti and Hector Tosta recently formed a new duo called Titanic, and they\u2019ll release \u201cVidrio,\u201d their debut album under that name, on Oct. 20. \u201cAn\u00f3nima,\u201d one of two introductory singles, features nimble vocals, resonant slashes of Fratti\u2019s cello and a compositional playfulness punctured by occasional moments of disquiet. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n The Chicago rapper Noname crams quite a bit of commentary into \u201cNamesake,\u201d an incisive highlight from her new album, \u201cSundial.\u201d In her nimble, spitfire flow, Noname\u2019s words weave around the song\u2019s antic percussion and upright-bass backbone; barely pausing for a breath, she criticizes faux-revolutionaries, a litany of pop stars for supporting the military-industrial complex and even herself for accepting a Coachella gig after swearing she wouldn\u2019t. \u201cThat\u2019s you, that\u2019s me, the whole world is culpable,\u201d she raps, as her uncompromising candor hits like a gust of cool air. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a last blast of summery pop from the South Korean girl group Aespa, who will headline Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. \u201cI\u2019ve got better things to do with my time than you,\u201d they sing, sassily, as a buoyant, tropical house-inspired piano riff keeps things moving ever forward. (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n And, finally, Jeff Rosenstock brings an almost operatic intensity to this furiously anxious punk song, which kicks off his latest album, \u201cHellmode.\u201d \u201cWill you still love me,\u201d he asks, as a chorus of voices shout along with him, \u201cafter I\u2019ve given up?\u201d (Listen on YouTube)<\/p>\n Labrador hanging out the passenger door,<\/p>\n Lindsay<\/p>\n Listen on Spotify.<\/em> We update this playlist with each new newsletter.<\/p>\n \u201c7 New Songs You Should Hear Now\u201d track list<\/strong>1. Al Green: \u201cPerfect Day\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
2. Sufjan Stevens: \u201cSo You Are Tired\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
3. Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves: \u201cI Remember Everything\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
4. Titanic: \u201cAn\u00f3nima\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
5. Noname: \u201cNamesake\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
6. Aespa: \u201cBetter Things\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
7. Jeff Rosenstock: \u201cWill U Still U\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
The Amplifier Playlist<\/h2>\n
Track 1: Al Green, \u201cPerfect Day\u201d
Track 2: Sufjan Stevens, \u201cSo You Are Tired\u201d
Track 3: Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves, \u201cI Remember Everything\u201d
Track 4: Titanic, \u201cAn\u00f3nima\u201d
Track 5: Noname, \u201cNamesake\u201d
Track 6: Aespa, \u201cBetter Things\u201d
Track 7: Jeff Rosenstock, \u201cWill U Still U\u201d<\/p>\nBonus tracks<\/h2>\n