The Breath/Breathing Playlist is Now Available to Everyone!

The paid members got to see-listen to it first, but I couldn't deprive the rest of you fine folks!

Photo by Fabian Møller on Unsplash

Hi folks! Here’s the post from last week but without a paywall.

I really want everyone to be able to hear all 25 of these tremendous Breath-based songs, so here you go! Thanks for being patient and for checking out these great songs!

A New longer Earworm piece is coming soon!

Scan to the bottom of this post to find both the Spotify playlist and a link to a YouTube playlist of these same 25 songs.

I tried to include alternate versions when possible for the songs in the YouTube clips below.

I hope the YouTube clips all play okay in whatever country you are in. Let me know in the comments if any clips don’t. Thanks!

I think the mix works best played from start to finish, as I tried to create a flow, but that’s just my suggestion — maybe your remix is better!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the song choices and which other breath-titled and themed songs you might include.

Now without further ado….take a deep breath….and listen in.

1. Barenaked Ladies - Allergies

I thought I’d start this off with a fun, funny, and energetic ditty about allergies by Canadian tunesmiths, Barenaked Ladies. This song can be found on the band’s kids’-oriented 2008 album Snack Time. The best kids’ songs can be enjoyed by all, not just the younguns. This is a perfect illustration of that. Like I always say: snack time isn’t just for kids anymore. Neither are allergies.

2. X - Breathless

I always loved this version of the Jerry Lee Lewis classic. It’s X at their rockin’ best. This clip of the band performing on the Late Night with David Letterman Show back in 1983 is amazing. Watching Dave interview Billy, Exene, and John before they rip into playing “Breathless” live is witnessing all kinds of greatness.

3. Metric - Breathing Underwater

One of my favorite songs by another great Canadian band. The mix includes the electric version, but for my money, this stripped-down, acoustic version in the clip above is even better.

4. Tame Impala - Breathe Deeper

Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) is one of those musical geniuses that make other musical geniuses seem “tame” by comparison. Yes, I went there.

I will admit to not remembering this song before researching breath songs, but I do own The Slow Rush (2020) and have been a big fan of Tame Impala since their 2010 debut, Innerspeaker. In other words: I’m super cool.

I enjoyed seeing the band play this one live on Jimmy Kimmel, above.

5. Maroon 5 - Harder to Breathe

I really want to dislike Maroon 5. I find Adam Levine annoyingly smug in the video clips I’ve seen of him (like in The Voice). Obviously, I’m just jealous of his chiseled handsomeness and confident demeanor. Smug or not smug, there’s no denying the catchy, white-boy funkiness of “Harder To Breathe.” It’s more the chorus than the verses that does it for me, but the whole song holds up on repeated listens. And the song is super earwormy. Perhaps a more expansive essay to appear in the future?

6. Open Door/Groove Armada - Breathe (Pink Floyd cover)

Groove Armada takes the Pink Floyd classic “Breathe” and gives it the late-night funky-jazzy vibe it always needed. Close your eyes and let this stellar interpretation fill you up.

7. Erasure - Breathe

Erasure is one of those bands that I’ve been meaning to find time to dig into their extensive catalog. I loved their synth-pop melodies back in the ‘80s but lost touch with their later music. They’re one of the rare bands from the New Wave era to have continued without a lengthy break, releasing more than 20 acclaimed albums since their 1986 debut. “Breathe” is from their 2005 album, Nightbird.

8. R.E.M. - Try Not To Breathe

From their arguably finest album, R.E.M.’s 1992’s Automatic For the People, “Try Not To Breathe” is a perfect example of a band, a decade into a storied career, finding a new gear. Of, in opposition to this song’s title, finding new ways to breathe.

9. Captain Beyond - Sufficiently Breathless

I’m pretty sure it was R.E.M. who turned me on to Captain Beyond. I want to say it was an interview with Peter Buck? I dunno. Either way, Captain Beyond, a supergroup of sorts featuring members of Deep Purple, Johnny Winter’s Band, and Iron Butterfly, never really caught on big. But their 1973 album Sufficiently Breathless holds a proud spot in my album collection. It’s an apt descriptor for what this song makes me feel.

10. Alexi Murdoch - Breathe

Alexi Murdoch is one of those artists whose songs tap straight into the center of the heart. Who writes songs of such piercing beauty with minimal and tasteful instrumental accompaniment; they demand you stop what you’re doing and pay attention. This song is essentially a mantra for me. It’s a reminder to do exactly as he suggests.

11. Sia - Breathe Me

This gorgeous ballad by Sia is the perfect companion song for Alexi Murdoch’s “Breathe.” The production here is truly perfect. Every aching, whispered lyric goes straight through your ears and into your soul. It doesn’t even bother winding through the body first.

I first discovered this song when it was played in the series finale of HBO’s Six Feet Under. This and Death Cab For Cutie’s “Transatlanticism” which also was used in the show, still resonate with me more than a decade later, the songs integrated into their episodes so beautifully.

12. Joy Oladokun - Breathe Again

I discovered Joy Oladokun only a couple months ago, hearing her duet with Chris Stapleton, “Sweet Symphony,” on terrestrial radio while driving to Los Angeles. “Symphony” is more soulful than her other songs, and doesn’t present her more folk-oriented sound. The comparisons Joy is getting to Tracy Chapman are understandable, but Oladokun’s voice is in a higher register and her songs feel more confessional to me. “Breathe Again” shows this quieter, more contemplative side and is my favorite song off her 2021 debut album, in defense of my own happiness.

13. FKA Twigs - Breathe

It took me a little while to truly appreciate FKA Twigs. But once I sank in, I was in deep. The way FKA Twigs (English singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor Tahliah Debrett Barnett) experiments with sounds to create unnerving yet melodically entrancing moods is masterful. Maybe there are other artists who sound like her, but I can’t think of any. “Breathe” is a great example of her talents.

14. Anna Calvi - One Breath

Like FKA Twigs, Anna Calvi is another one-of-a-kind musical artist. Her Maria Callas meets PJ Harvey vocal style is both unnerving and bewitching. She’s also a master guitarist, and live she is a force of nature. Check out her 2012 NPR Tiny Desk Concert here to see her perform in a stripped-down setting.

15. Pavement - Stop Breathin’

Oh, what a joy to find this live clip of Pavement performing “Stop Breathing” on 120 minutes back in 1994. I was a massive Pavement fan at that time and played Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, the album this song is from, nearly every single day that year.

16. Beulah - Don’t Forget to Breathe

Beulah were my favorite band for a hot minute in the early aughts. The San Franciso sextet blended Beatlesque melodies with quirky song structures and a regular dollop of trumpet to give it just the right pop flavor. “Don’t Forget To Breathe” is one of my favorite songs by this band, who unfortunately broke up in 2004 after only four albums. All four are excellent though. This song is from their last, Yoko.

17. Pinback - How We Breathe

I had the great pleasure of getting to see Pinback in concert a couple of months ago and it was fantastic. For people who like their math rock with serious pop-smarts, I always suggest they check out Pinback. The interplay of bass and guitar is sublime on “How We Breathe.” I also love the way the voices interweave in a way similar to the instruments.

18. David Gilmour - Take a Breath

David Gilmour’s solo output has been sparse, but is always top-notch. This tune, from his 2006 album, On An Island, is great to see performed live at Abbey Road studios in the clip above. It’s got a menacing, hypnotic heft.

19. Simply Red - The Air That I Breathe (Hollies cover)

I sold about 70 percent of my CDs over the years. Mostly for space, but also because I had them all digitized and had no CD player! Ha! But within the 30 percent I still have, Simply Red’s 1985 masterpiece Picture Book is within arm’s reach. The band’s cover of The Hollies “The Air That I Breathe” adds that patented Simply Red groove to an otherwise leisurely-paced song.

20. Queen - You Take My Breath Away

What can I say about Queen that hasn’t already been said? Freddy Mercury is unbelievable in this live version of “You Take My Breath Away” in this 1976 concert clip. Studio version in playlist.

21. Sturgill Simpson - Remember To Breathe

Sturgill Simpson sure loves to mess with people’s expectations. Just as he was given the keys to the honky-tonk Cadillac, he channels ZZ Top and Black Keys on “Remember To Breathe” from 2019’s excellent Sound & Fury. There is no genre too far out of reach for Big Sturge (I just made that nickname up — let’s get it spread!). I am excited to hear what he does next.

22. Willie Nelson/Lukas Nelson - Just Breathe

It’s kind of freaky how much Lukas sounds like his legendary father. He’s been playing live with Willie since he was a teenager, and their musical connection is more than genes-deep. Watching them perform in this clip gives me shivers. I have a feeling Lukas is going to carry his father’s torch for decades to come.

23. Levi Turner - Allergy Season

This was a total Spotify find. I did an “allergy” song search and “Allergy Season” appeared about 50 songs down. It’s a brand-new song, from Turner’s 2023 debut album by the same name.

I love his heartfelt drawl, and the way this song expresses such deep struggle without spelling everything out. It’s a perfect song. Levi Turner is gonna be big, that’s my prediction.

24. Peter Gabriel - Wall of Breath (The Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack)

I used to play Peter Gabriel’s score for the film The Last Temptation of Christ all the time back in the early ‘90s. It was my chill-out album, something to put on after smoking a joint, turning the lights down low, and laying down on the floor or couch. It goes without saying: great headphones highly recommended.

25. Zosh.P - The Temporal Beat of Breath

I discovered Zosh.P about four years ago on the Insight Timer meditation app. If you like to meditate or listen to guided meditations or talks on spiritual themes, and you don’t know about the free app Insight Timer, be ready to have your cosmic mind blown.

Zosh.P, a composer from Melbourne, Australia, used to perform live soundscapes on the app, and has many recordings available there as well. She calls herself an artist/producer on her website, so I’ll go with that. But she’s way more than that rather dull description. I ended this mix with Zosh.P not just because it’s the perfect comedown after over 90 minutes of glorious sonic adventures, but because it’s 33 minutes long. I often play this piece when I’m having trouble falling asleep.

If you don’t have Spotify, you can play all 25 songs by clicking here for the YouTube playlist. They’re all studio versions of the songs (except for “Allergies” which is not available in the album version).

• Wow - if you made it to the end of that, I commend you. I’m not sure I even made it to the end.

• Like I said at the top, besides general comments on the playlist, I would love to know what songs resonated most with you and why.

• Are there other songs about breathing, being breathless, the breath, and related acts of inhalation/exhalation that I missed?

• Let me know in the comments! And thanks again for checking out the very first playlist post for Earworm and Song Loops!

You Rock,

Steve