Summer’s simple pleasures: Roséwave

Summary

NPR Music – Summer’s Simple Pleasures: Roséwave

All Songs Considered | July 7, 2026
Hosts: Robin Hilton, Lars Gottridge, Marissa LaRusso

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Overview

This episode of All Songs Considered takes listeners on a breezy, emotion-filled journey through the world of "Roséwave"—the NPR Music team’s recurring summer playlist theme, as curated by Lars Gottridge, Marissa LaRusso, and others. Rather than a strict musical genre, Roséwave embodies a summer feeling: easy, sweet, at times melancholic, and always perfect for simple pleasures—whether that’s a glass of rosé, a bike ride, or lounging by a pool. Over the hour, the hosts swap stories, new finds, and summertime classics, all while defining (and gently debating) what makes a song or vibe truly Roséwave.

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Defining "Roséwave"

00:16–02:46

• Lars recounts the term’s origin: from a Slack chat about the band Haim, where "rose wave" was coined as a means of describing "a style of being," not a genre—but a summery emotional state.

  “It isn't necessarily pop music. It can be any kind of anything. So it started this series of summer playlists.” (Lars, 00:42)

• The playlist has evolved since 2017, now featuring hundreds of songs that evoke this feeling (Robin, 01:24).
• Robin and Marissa agree Roséwave is as much about the vibe—sunshine, nostalgia, a tinge of sadness—as about the specific sound.

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Song Selections & Key Insights

1. "Elderberry Wine" by Wednesday

02:14–04:42

• Marissa’s pick: Hails from a North Carolina band with country influences. She calls it an “easy, breezy, warm, young love kind of song on the record…that all feels very Wave canon.” (Marissa, 02:46)
• Robin and Lars note how Roséwave is deeper than just “pop bangers,” emphasizing that the vibe can encompass both sweetness and sadness.

Quote:

“It's a feeling. It's a certain kind of sweetness. It's a certain kind of sadness, too…It's like allowing yourself to be in the emotion at the moment that you're having it.” (Lars, 04:26)

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2. "Come On Home" by Lijadu Sisters

04:44–07:41

• Lars’ pick: Sparks from a community pool playlist memory, the Lijadu Sisters’ summery Afrobeat/flower-funk/folk fusion is described as feminist, funky, and joyful.
• The group’s 1979 album Horizon Unlimited is lauded as a "great, great record." (Robin, 07:41)

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3. "Aftertaste" by Katie Gavin

07:52–12:13

• Marissa’s pick: From the MUNA frontwoman’s solo album, described as "Lilith Faircore"—feminist, breezy, and reminiscent of 90s girl-powered festivals.
• Lars and Robin discuss how this track brings a "hint of melancholy" beneath the breeziness, fitting the Roséwave vibe perfectly.

Notable Exchange:

“Everything's just a little…a little wistful, just a hint of melancholy, you know, it's like there's a weight to all of it in a way.” (Robin, 10:19)
“Most of Muna's biggest hits are so like, get on the dance floor and cry.” (Marissa, 12:16)

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4. Rosé…Literal and Metaphoric

10:41–12:33

• Short comedic aside as Lars tries an actual glass of rosé wine on air.
• Robin is skeptical, preferring “something dark and leathery and woodsy.” Lars and Marissa joke through tasting notes—“We got some, I would say, grapefruit.” (Lars, 11:50)

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5. Playlist Evolution & Subcategories

14:03–15:25

• Roséwave spans many thematic playlists: “Single and Sauced,” “Swipe Right In,” “Sippin and Sprinting,” and “Can You Dig It? 25 Golden Jams from a 1969 Vintage.”
• Lars clarifies: “Wave has nothing to do with beverages at all. It’s just something that makes you feel good.” (Lars, 14:28)

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6. "Ain’t That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye

15:48–17:38

• Robin’s pick: Childhood memories of summer bike rides and mixtapes. Marvin Gaye tracks were a staple.
• “Anything from Marvin Gay works.” (Robin, 16:29)
• Lars: “A large part of wave is actually sadness and being willing to be vulnerable about your sadness.” (Lars, 18:26)

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7. "Looking My Subtle Double Eyelids" by Haku

18:47–21:23

• Lars’ pick: Japanese indie pop with a viral TikTok. Language barrier doesn’t matter—“Understanding 0%, feeling 100% cute 100,000%.” (Lars quoting YouTube, 21:04)
• The song is about self-reflection, love, and the feeling of being young.

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8. "My Song" by Labi Siffre

21:30–24:24

• Marissa’s pick: Sweet, universally appealing soul from 1972’s Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying.
• Robin and Marissa marvel at its inoffensiveness as a virtue, recounting its later sampling by Kanye West and Eminem—with Siffre insisting Eminem remove homophobic lyrics before clearance.

  “I wish that could be a metric for all sample clearance of all time.” (Marissa, 24:09)

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9. "Faca de Chackunta" by Azymuth

24:30–26:36

• Lars’ pick: Brazilian funk-jazz-samba fusion with “cosmic” overtones.
• The hosts debate the aesthetic pleasure of “smooth stank face” found in the groove.

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10. "Much Ado About Nothing" by Waxahatchee

26:54–28:32

• Marissa’s pick: Katie Crutchfield embraced as “patron saint of Roséwave” since 2020’s St. Cloud.
• Song appears on a deluxe version of Tiger’s Blood—a title “named after a snow cone flavor…so Roséwave!” (Marissa, 28:21)
• Heartwarming reminiscing about snow cones and kid summer rituals ensues.

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11. "How Do I Make You" by Linda Ronstadt

29:20–31:56

• Lars’ pick: From Ronstadt’s unexpected 1980 New Wave phase. Lars frames her as a "predecessor" to Waxahatchee, always willing to take artistic risks—a "nice little tenant of Roséwave."
• “How do I make you dream about me? Which…what a rose wave sentiment. The peak of desire, but doing it in a very cute way.” (Lars, 31:35)

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12. "Diet Pepsi" by Addison Rae

32:46–36:26

• Marissa’s pure-pop pick: Discusses whether Addison Rae is the “real deal” or a “poser.”

  “She comes from a tradition of pop girlies that would say, what is real?…She has a little bit of Madonna in here.” (Marissa, 34:14)

• Lars's moment when the song finally clicked: “The original intent of Roséwave was always about simple pleasures and not having to think too hard about it. And that was when this song did click for me.” (Lars, 35:27)
• Debate: Robin calls it “artificially sweetened and a largely empty experience”; Marissa pushes back: “artificially sweetened, but feels amazing.” (Robin/Marissa, 35:45/36:06)

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13. "Why Don’t We Fall in Love" by Amerie

37:05–38:40

• Lars’ closing pick: Amerie as the “Mariah Carey of summertime” because this song “captures the desperation and sweetness around a summer love.”
• The perfect summer soundtrack for hazy days, simple gestures, and feeling good.

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Memorable Quotes & Fun Moments

• On Roséwave’s ethos:

  “A large part of wave is actually sadness and being willing to be vulnerable about your sadness, okay?” (Lars, 18:26)
  “There's an emotional range to wave. It's not just about fun in the sun, because…summer can be full of heartbreak and hardship, and you need a soundtrack for that, too.” (Marissa, 18:34)

• On Mixtape vs Playlist:

  “I’ve been conditioned now to say playlist. It was an actual cassette.” (Robin, 17:05)

• Rosé Test, Live:

  “Lars is uncapping a bottle of Rosé as we speak.” (Robin, 10:52)
  “We got some, I would say, grapefruit.” (Lars, 11:50)

• “Roséwave is not about beverages at all…” (Lars, 14:28)

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Playlist References and Where to Find More

36:38–37:00

• Lars promises a cross-platform updated Roséwave playlist this summer—“from any era, from any style of music, from all over the world.”
• Available on Spotify, Apple, and “as many streaming services as I possibly can.” (Lars, 36:52)

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Takeaways

• Roséwave is more about feeling than genre: joy, lightness, nostalgia, and melancholy are all welcome.
• The songs span decades, genres, and continents, united by that indescribable summer ease.
• Simple pleasures—like snow cones, a good pop song, or a walk in the sun—are celebrated.
• Listeners are encouraged to seek and share new Roséwave moments, whether they involve friendships, heartbreak, or something as simple as enjoying an artificially sweetened drink on a hot day.

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Episode Timeline & Timestamps

| Segment | Highlight | | ------- | --------- | | 00:16–02:46 | Defining Roséwave, origin story, vibe debate | | 02:14–04:42 | "Elderberry Wine" by Wednesday, wave canon | | 04:44–07:41 | Lijadu Sisters & Afrobeat feminist joy | | 07:52–12:13 | Katie Gavin’s "Aftertaste," Lilith Faircore | | 10:41–12:33 | Live Rosé tasting, wine as metaphor | | 14:03–15:25 | About varied Roséwave playlists | | 15:48–17:38 | Marvin Gaye, nostalgia & mixtapes | | 18:47–21:23 | Haku’s Japanese indie pop delight | | 21:30–24:24 | Labi Siffre’s “My Song,” universal & influential | | 24:30–26:36 | Azymuth’s cosmic Brazilian groove | | 26:54–28:32 | Waxahatchee, snow cones & summer Americana | | 29:20–31:56 | Linda Ronstadt’s genre-hopping wave attempts | | 32:46–36:26 | Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi,” pop authenticity debates | | 37:05–38:40 | Amerie’s “Why Don’t We Fall In Love,” the definitive summer close |

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“…sometimes you just don’t have to think too hard about it.”
– Lars Gottridge (36:26)

For more Roséwave discoveries, stream the official NPR playlists and listen to All Songs Considered wherever podcasts are found.

Transcript

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[Robin Hilton]

This episode of All Songs Considered comes to you from the NPR Music podcast. It's Summertime, Summertime, Summer and Lars Gottridge, Marissa LaRusso are back with some sweet summery jams to. Well, I don't know. What does Rose Wave do for you?

[Lars Gottridge]

What does Rose Wave do for me? Marissa, do you want to take this?

[Marissa LaRusso]

Oh, my God. I was just about to say, Lars, you start. You are the founder of Wave.

[Robin Hilton]

All right.

[Lars Gottridge]

There's this discussion in Slack about the band Higham, and our colleague Otis Hart said, oh, yeah, they're corps. And I said, no, I think the preferred nomenclature is rose wave. And the idea was not to name a certain style of music, but a style of being where it's just that summery feeling. It's a little easy, it's a little breezy, it's a lot of feeling. It's a lot of Carly Rae Jepsen style emotion. But it isn't necessarily pop music. It can be any kind of anything. So it started the series of summer playlists.

[Robin Hilton]

It's a good shorthand. Yeah, just it just says so much. So if people search for Wave on our site, all one word, you will find literally hundreds of songs handpicked by y', all going back to 2017.

[Marissa LaRusso]

That's right.

[Robin Hilton]

Actually, the song that we've been listening to here, Summertime, Summertime, the 1958 classic by the Jamies. Kind of. Kind of can't believe you never featured this on any of your playlists.

[Lars Gottridge]

It feels a little too much like they're forcing me to have fun, mandatory fun. That's not what I'm looking for.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, we should get to some of this new stuff that you brought. And these aren't all new songs necessarily, but, Marissa, why don't you start us off with something that you brought?

[Lars Gottridge]

Hmm?

[Marissa LaRusso]

What's the best place to start? I'm going to start with the song Elderberry Wine by the band Wednesday. I love this band so much. This is a band from North Carolina, and they are very proud to be from North Carolina. They have this very country side to their music. And this song is from, I think, that side of the Wednesday discography. It is perhaps the most easy, breezy, warm, young love kind of song on the record. So that all feels very Wave canon

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

To me sweet song is a long con I drove you to the airport with the e brake on Ain't heard that voice in a long time had to check back there to make sure you were alive, Angel an electric car reverses toward me Sometimes in my head that I give up and flip the board completely but everybody gets along just fine Cuz the champagne tastes like elderberry wine

[Robin Hilton]

I really love this song. And, you know, we. We were talking, Lars, about how evocative the word wave is. Like you instantly know what you're going to get. And this isn't what I assume when I hear the word wave, Marissa.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Oh, really? I don't know. For me, there's just something that's so. Like, the ideal way to listen to that song is driving in a car with your friends with all the windows

[Robin Hilton]

down and a glass of wine.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Well, okay, okay, so maybe you have one designated driver and everyone else has enjoyed some and you're, you know, driving in the car. I don't know. That feels very wave in spirit to me.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, I guess what I'm thinking is that when I hear. I just assume like nothing but pop bangers or bops, you know, just like you're saying. It's a much, much more complicated vibe than that.

[Lars Gottridge]

It's a feeling. It's a certain kind of sweetness. It's a certain kind of sadness, too. A little bit too. It's like allowing yourself to be in the emotion at the moment that you're having it. And so hanging out with your friends in a car.

[Robin Hilton]

What a vibe.

[Lars Gottridge]

What a great.

[Marissa LaRusso]

What a vibe.

[Lars Gottridge]

What a great vibe. And that leads me right into the next song I Want to play, which was also a vibe. I was at a community pool with some friends and their kids, and kids were splashing in the pool. There were teens who were not trying to look too cool, but playing volleyball, but they were still kind of looking cool. And there's a nice shade from the trees, and it was just like a nice day. And then all of a sudden this song comes on and my friend Jess says to me, this is the perfect song for right now. And it was a song by the Lajatu sisters called Come On Home.

[Robin Hilton]

This came on a jukebox or something at the pool.

[Lars Gottridge]

I think somebody made a playlist.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

Sam,

[Robin Hilton]

This is great. I mean, if you were at the pool where I grew up and someone put a song on the jukebox, it was probably the Doobie Brothers.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, Kings of Frozen Wave. Absolutely.

[Robin Hilton]

You know, or. Oh, I can't believe I'm blanking. On their name. They did that song, Elvira. I remember hearing. Hearing all the time. Elvira, Giddy up. No one, no one don't remember that song. Oh, the Oak. Was it the Oak Ridge Boys? But this is great.

[Marissa LaRusso]

I love this song.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

Yeah.

[Lars Gottridge]

These are twin sisters from Nigeria who are making music in the 60s and 70s and they are very popular in Nigeria. And their story is fascinating because they wanted to make music. They loved the Afrobeat that was happening at the time in Nigeria. They loved the flower funk music that was happening in America. And they loved folk music that was happening in America. But in Nigeria in this time in particular, women weren't really allowed to do this kind of thing to have music careers. So they, in addition to just making great little funky bops, they were also like this feminist message. And all of their songs kind of have this, like funky folky and joyous beat.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

So the.

[Robin Hilton]

Is it Ledaju Lajadu Lejadu Sisters? Come on home. So that's from a 1979 album called Horizon Unlimited.

[Lars Gottridge]

Great, great record.

[Robin Hilton]

Can't recommend enough, so I'm just here for the hang. I don't really. I just want to hear what you guys are bringing, so. And we've got a lot of stuff we want to play, so, Marissa, let's go back to you.

[Marissa LaRusso]

So Lilith Fair. Are you guys familiar with Lilith Faire?

[Robin Hilton]

Are you kidding me? Okay, well, I went through a major, major Lilith Fair. Well back when that was really popping back in the 90s. And yeah, no, it was like, if you get out my CD Logic notebooks, they're full of all the albums from that time, Jewel.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Okay, well, I have honestly been talking to people my age and a little bit younger lately who have never heard of lilithfair. Don't know that this festival, this all woman lineup existed. Don't know that it was so enormously successful. I've gotten a handful of TikToks in my TikTok feed from young women being like, can you believe that they made this music festival with, like, you know, Sheryl Crow and like Indigo Girls? And it was women and people went anyway, all of that to say that there was an album called what a Relief by Katie Gavin, and she is perhaps best known as the front woman of the band Muna. But what a Relief was her solo album. And she described it in all of the interviews that she did around the album as being Lilith Faircore, which I think is so great and so extraordinarily wave at its core. So anyway, the song that I would like to play by Katie Gavin is called Aftertaste. I think it is extremely breezy sitting by the pool with your girlies, gossiping kind of vibe, which has wave written all over it.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

My hair got long. Your hair got cut. You wear the same old sweater. It's good to see you. We're catching up. We're talking about the weather. And I'm the empress in my new clothes. And I think that you must know when you're taking pity on me, pretending you don't see I feel naked. When you look my way, you can see it on my face. You're the only reason I came here. You're the only reason I stay here. And I'm living on the after days. Don't you tell me it's too late. You're the only reason I came here. You're the only reason. It's so clear to me now.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, I gotta be honest, The. The vibe you're channeling in your pics. Marissa, I. I'm. I'm there for it. This. This is. This feels like Summer to me because everything's just a little. A little wistful, just a hint of melancholy, you know, it's like there's a weight to all of it in a way. It's not too breezy.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Yeah. Robyn, I was gonna ask, what's your relationship to.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, I think it. Well, I was gonna say I think it must taste like sewer water, but if I'm being honest.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, my God. We're about to. Here we go. Let's do.

[Robin Hilton]

Lars is uncapping a bottle of. As we speak.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Oh, my gosh.

[Robin Hilton]

Marissa, where are we talking to you from right now?

[Marissa LaRusso]

I am in my closet in Brooklyn, New York.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, I'm sorry, you can't be here. I was gonna say that. If I'm being honest, I don't think I've actually ever had. Just because everything. I mean. All right, let me just say that anything described as light, bright, and refreshing, I mean, that's just not what I'm looking for when I'm reaching for a bottle of wine. I want something dark and leathery and woodsy to go with the night, which is the space that I like to inhabit. But you brought it here. And I have a coffee mug, so

[Lars Gottridge]

we'll just get some nice audio. There we go.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

Okay. Oh.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, God.

[Robin Hilton]

How do you do it?

[Lars Gottridge]

This is admittedly the cheap one that I just got from the grocery store around the corner.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Lars, can you give us some tasting notes?

[Lars Gottridge]

We got some, I would say, grapefruit.

[Marissa LaRusso]

It's very oh, beautiful.

[Robin Hilton]

It's so sweet. So I've said this before on the show. I most recently was talking with Stephen Thomps about this because he really, really loves Muna and I've kind of missed the Moona boat, but I like Katie Gavin's solo stuff more. It's. I don't know, it's got a little more character or warmth to it.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, it's real loose.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Marissa LaRusso]

I think that makes sense, Robin, because most of Muna's biggest hits are so like, get on the Dance Floor and Cry and this. I don't know if you are a loath fair attendee, this is right in your lane. I feel like

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[Marissa LaRusso]

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[Marissa LaRusso]

years, remember, we the people make a free press possible. Together, we hold the powerful to account with reporting for the public, funded by the [e-mail] so all the songs, Lars

[Robin Hilton]

and Marissa, that you picked over the years for Wave, they're scattered across a bunch of different playlists or subcategories. These are pretty great. Single and sauced. Swipe right in. 30 songs.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah. Shout out to Sydney Madden. That one was amazing.

[Robin Hilton]

Brilliant. Here's another one. Sippin and sprinting, Sipping and sprinting. A playlist for running drunk, I guess.

[Lars Gottridge]

No. All right, here's something I want to make perfectly clear. Yes, when we started, Wave was a part of it. But over the years, my understanding and way that I approach Rose, Wave has nothing to do with beverages at all. It's just something that makes you feel good. But, you know.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, I have run drunk and I don't recommend it. I would go back when I was used to run. I used to run, like about 50 miles a week. And I would go to, like, I'd go to a happy hour after work or something. Right, sure. And then I'd come home and go for a run, and I'd be half in the bag.

[Lars Gottridge]

Ouch.

[Robin Hilton]

It's a good way to burn it off. Anyway, there are a lot more different playlists here, but my personal favorite that y' all did is can youn dig it? 25 golden jams from a 1969 vintage. Vintage.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, yeah. Lauren Onke.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, did she do that one?

[Lars Gottridge]

She did that one.

[Robin Hilton]

So, you know, as I said, I was just here for the hang, but when I saw the 1969 playlist, I thought, okay, if it's gonna be that kind of party, I can play something here.

[Lars Gottridge]

Okay.

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[Lars Gottridge]

Honey, you do me wrong but

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

still I'm crazy about you Stay away too long and I can't do without you Every chance you get, you sing Hurt me more and more but each 30th makes my love stronger than before I know flowers go to rain but how can love go to fam.

[Robin Hilton]

Barbing Gay. Ain't that peculiar?

[Lars Gottridge]

It's got a nice shimmy to it.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, my God.

[Lars Gottridge]

That's what you need.

[Robin Hilton]

Anything. Anything from Marvin Gay works. So if we're. If we're thinking about memories of summer and when summer was great, I did used to really enjoy it when I was growing up. I would go for these long bike rides in high school. And the Walkman was a fairly new invention at that point. I know I'm dating myself, but it meant that I could ride around on my bike and listen to music for the first time ever.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, man.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, it was. I cannot tell you what a novelty that was and how special that was. And I had this playlist I made, and it was full of Marvin Gaye stuff.

[Lars Gottridge]

You mean a mixtape?

[Robin Hilton]

It was a mixtape, yes. It actually was, in fact, an actual mixtape on cassette. You see, I've got been conditioned now to say playlist. It was an actual cassette. And I remember I had, like, Inner City Blues was on it. And I tried to remember what else was on that playlist. And I remember Queen Somebody to Love. I had Rolling Stones. You can't always get what you want. That was always my end of summer song. It was the last thing I'd listened to before school started again.

[Lars Gottridge]

That's a great tradition.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. And then I had Guyana's Adagio by Khachaturian. Do you know that piece?

[Marissa LaRusso]

I'm not familiar.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

Let's see.

[Robin Hilton]

This is how it goes. It was famously used in 2001 A Space Odyssey. This is playing if you know the film when he's.

[Lars Gottridge]

He's running.

[Robin Hilton]

He's running. Yeah.

[Lars Gottridge]

Okay. I thought. Okay, Yeah, I can see it. Yeah, he's.

[Robin Hilton]

It's when he's jogging around the circle. And I don't know why I put this on my mixtape, but I have many memories of listening to this. As the sun's going down and I'm on my bike speeding down the country roads of Kansas.

[Lars Gottridge]

Well, you know, a large part of wave is actually sadness and being willing to be vulnerable about your sadness, okay?

[Marissa LaRusso]

Oh, absolutely. I feel like there's an emotional range to wave. It's not just about fun in the sun, because, you know, summer can be full of heartbreak and hardship, and you need a soundtrack for that, too.

[Lars Gottridge]

So there is this band from Japan called Haku, and they had this viral TikTok of them doing Japanese tongue twisters. It was absolutely delightful. And, like, fell in love with the band as a result. And they put out an EP at the very beginning of the year. It is one of those indie pop songs that's very swoony but sad at the same time, which is exactly my speed. And the song title is Looking My Subtle Double Eyelids. Yeah, the translation that I read, it's like she's looking in the mirror, and she is describing her features as a young Japanese woman, but at the same time, she is wondering about her love life. She's wondering about the future. She is very much in her feelings. And here we got this little peppy indie pop song to kind of get her through it.

[Marissa LaRusso]

This is the first time I've heard this song, and I am obsessed. I'm so glad you brought it, Lars.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, I think this is one. You don't really need to know what she's saying, maybe.

[Lars Gottridge]

So the top comment on YouTube, understanding 0%, feeling 100% cute. 100,000%.

[Marissa LaRusso]

That is exactly it. Yes.

[Robin Hilton]

And I think it's only on video. I don't find it anywhere.

[Lars Gottridge]

They have an EP that came out earlier this year.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, okay.

[Lars Gottridge]

It's just a few songs. They had an album come out a couple years ago. I'm obsessed with them. I desperately need them to come to

[Marissa LaRusso]

the U.S. i think I'm also gonna go slightly wistful here, and I'M gonna play a song by Labby Sifri called My Song. And are you guys familiar with this?

[Lars Gottridge]

No. This was. This. This is a new one to me.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. So it's from this album that honestly gets played in my house a lot called Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying. The title track is really good, too. I almost picked that song. But everything about this song, to me is, like, so sweet. His voice is so sweet. The lyrics are so sweet. It makes me think about a way that you defined wave many, many years ago, Lars, which is, like, you know, if you're at, like, a backyard barbecue and a bunch of your extended family is there, this is music that you could put on and, like, no one would be offended by it.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Marissa LaRusso]

And obviously, inoffensive is not, like, a huge compliment to music, but I genuinely mean, like, anyone I think, could hear the song and fall in love with it.

[Robin Hilton]

Critics are saying it's not offensive.

[NPR Sponsor Announcer]

No.

[Marissa LaRusso]

But I really do mean it in a. In a genuine compliment sort of way.

[Lars Gottridge]

This is my song and no one can take it away. It's been so long but now you're

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

here

[Lars Gottridge]

Here to stay and I wonder if you know what it means to

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

find your dreams come true.

[Robin Hilton]

Marissa, this is so nice.

[Marissa LaRusso]

It's so great.

[Robin Hilton]

Love it. Love the piano. His voice is incredible.

[Marissa LaRusso]

And there's a chance that someone might hear this song and not be familiar with him, but think that the song sounds familiar. And that is probably because it was sampled by the artist formerly known as Kanye west on his song I Wonder. I think I probably heard that Kanye song before I heard this record and. And recognized it immediately. An amazing other story that I heard about Lavi Sifri is that another song of his was sampled by Eminem. And I read that when Eminem was trying to get the sample clearance, Laby Sifri asked him to take out all the homophobia from the song before he

[Lars Gottridge]

would clear the sample, which is so

[Marissa LaRusso]

awesome and an incredible. I wish that could be a metric for all sample clearance of all time. But, yeah, I love this record so much. It's called Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying. He has a lot of really wonderful albums, but that's one that I'm the most familiar with.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, that's really beautiful. The song again, called my song from 1972.

[Lars Gottridge]

I'm gonna keep it in the 70s. And I'm gonna say this out loud because I was thinking about it today, and specifically in reference to this song. I need to make a friend with somebody who has a boat this has been a goal of mine for many years. It doesn't matter if it's on the ocean or on a river or on a lake.

[Robin Hilton]

All right, so anyone out there listening right now? Email us allsongspr.org this sounds pretty serious.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, it really is.

[Robin Hilton]

So I think the point we're trying to make here is we need a boat.

[Lars Gottridge]

And you will hear this song on it.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

Sa.

[Lars Gottridge]

1975 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is a trio called Azimuth. They mixed funk and jazz and samba, and it was all very cosmic. And they have this great song called Fassa du Chakunta. Marissa, you can't see it, but I have, like, a little smooth stank face.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Of course I'm picturing it.

[Robin Hilton]

Smooth stank face.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, it's kind of like, you know when there's a really great bass line and the bass guy is making a bass face, but it's like. But it's like sometimes they're kind of ugly. This one's like. It's smooth. It's like,

[Robin Hilton]

let's see. So that's Azimuth A Z Y M U T H from a self titled album, came out again in 1975. That's a great pick. So I think you each have a couple more tracks you want to play. And Marissa, we're back to you.

[Marissa LaRusso]

So I am a longtime fan of Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahachie. She put out a record in 2020 called St. Cloud, which was this huge step up in terms of her songwriting, in terms of production, in terms of embracing this, like, Americana sound. And I think that marked the moment where Katie Crutchfield became a patron saint of wave. Do you think that's true, Lars?

[Lars Gottridge]

Yes, absolutely.

[Marissa LaRusso]

So ever since that record came out, I feel like there's tons of things I could pick to be on this year's Wave playlist to make it into the canon.

[NPR Sponsor Announcer]

But.

[Marissa LaRusso]

But I'm going to go with Much Ado About Nothing.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

I throw it in the right direction. Please don't look my way? You stare directly in my eyes. Cause you are brave. You drive around in circles Talking yourself out of Russian. I sit alone and wait. So patient. Much Ado about Nothing.

[Robin Hilton]

So this didn't come out on the original release of Tiger's Blood, right? That came out 2024 this year.

[Lars Gottridge]

The deluxe deluxe version. You know they make a deluxe version every six weeks now, right? Yeah.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Okay. And a thought just occurred to me as well, which is that Tiger's Blood, her last record, is named after a snow cone flavor and I'm like, snow cones. That is so Rose wave having snow.

[Lars Gottridge]

1,000%. Yes.

[Robin Hilton]

I really used to love getting snow cones. The real, like, the. The faker the better, right?

[Lars Gottridge]

Like fake giant pieces. Just giant pieces of ice.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, and not. And the crunchy kind, too. Not the shaved, fluffy stuff that. That just sort of dissolves in your mouth when you. You need the crunchy, like, so the.

[Lars Gottridge]

The stuff that ruins your teeth.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, exactly. Little pieces. But, I mean, it's all ground up. It's little pieces. And all the syrup would pool at the bottom of the cone.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, my God.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. Yeah. And then you end up drinking the last.

[Lars Gottridge]

I have so many memories of, like, riding my bike throughout my neighborhood as a kid just to go to the snow cone place with my little brother and it just being, like, the best thing I the world.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, that's a great pick. Much Ado About Nothing. Lars, let's go back to you.

[Lars Gottridge]

I like to think of this next artist as sort of like a precursor to Katie Crutchfield and Waxahachie. So Linda Ronstadt is one of my favorite singers of all time. And the hallmark of her artistry is that she was always willing to try new things. She was a soft rocker. She sang ballads, she did Mexican folk songs. She did show tunes, she did opera. She's done a little bit of everything. And that, to me, is sort of like a nice little tenant of Rosa Wave, trying new things and willing to be vulnerable. And in 1980, she. After a decade of making soft rock and kind of like folky rock songs, she decided to put out a New Wave record. It is such a fun record that nobody talks about anymore. And in particular, I love this song called How Do I Make youe?

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

How do I make you wanna see me? You're so young but your feelings are deep how do I make you? How do I make you? How do I to make you feel for me? You put your head on my pillow and you fast asleep.

[Robin Hilton]

I do remember when this came out, and it was weird at the time because. Yeah, I mean, I was thinking of, like, Blue by you or something like that from her. Like, that's what we would hear at the pool. And this came out, and I remember thinking, like, this sounds like Pat Benatar, because Pat Benatar had just had, I think, her first record, maybe the year before, something like that.

[Lars Gottridge]

And Blondie was in the air.

[Robin Hilton]

Blondie was totally in the air.

[Lars Gottridge]

And, like, she worked with, like, a person who knew how to write these kinds of songs. His name's Billy Steinberg. He wrote Like a Virgin.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, okay.

[Lars Gottridge]

He wrote Eternal Flame by the Bengal.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, wow.

[Lars Gottridge]

So, like, she knows who to work with. It's so fun. I. Yeah, can't recommend. This is a great first song, but the lyric is, how do I make you dream about me? Which. Oh, my God, what a rose. Waif sentiment. Oh, my. Like the peak of desire, but doing it in a very cute way.

[Robin Hilton]

It sounds a little stalkery, though. Well, I know how much you love Linda Ronstadt, and I actually, when I

[Lars Gottridge]

was trying to thinking if is there

[Robin Hilton]

anything that I could possibly contribute, I actually considered a couple Linda Ronstadt cuts, but I wouldn't have thought of this one, so. Great pick.

[Marissa LaRusso]

This week on Short Wave, could your next ride to the airport be in a flying taxi? So you open up your Uber app and you've got UberX and Uber Pet,

[Lars Gottridge]

and now there'll be Uber Air.

[Marissa LaRusso]

That reality may be only a few years away, but how is this futuristic travel possible? Find out on Short Wave NPR Science podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Robin Hilton]

Both of you still have one more song that you want to play. And Marissa, I think what you've been saving the best for last.

[Marissa LaRusso]

I've certainly been saving something.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, I was just trying. I'm not saying I personally think it's the best.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Earlier in our conversation, you said that you felt like wave. You expected like, pure pop. And so I had to bring some of that to the show for sure. And so I would like to discuss the song Diet Pepsi by Addison Rae.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

My boy's a winner he loves the game his cross cold chain I like the way he's telling me my ass looks good in these ripped blue jeans My cheeks are red like cherries in the spring Body's a work of all you to die to see Untouched XO young, lustless.

[Robin Hilton]

Is she the real deal? Because I've been getting some poser vibes.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Is she the real deal? That's such a fascinating question, Robyn. And I do think that she comes from a tradition of pop girlies that would say, what is real? You know, what does that mean to be a real deal pop star? I do think she works.

[Robin Hilton]

What is a poser?

[Marissa LaRusso]

Now, what even is a poser? I do think that she comes very much from, you know, the Lana Del Rey lineage, who is a person who's very interested in, you know, authenticity, for sure. But then also, she really comes from the Britney Spears lineage, which is, you know, kind of pinnacle of quote unquote, manufactured pop star. And I think she Has a little bit of Madonna in here. Who in there? Which, you know, that's another person who would question the real.

[Lars Gottridge]

About a month or so ago, I actually sent a voice memo to Marissa and to Lindsey McKenna, my co creators in Rose Wave. It was a hot day. I was walking home from work from the Metro, and I was listening to the Addison Rae record because a lot of people who I respect liked it. And I was like, all right, fine, I'll listen to it. And it wasn't clicking for me. It all felt a little anonymous. It was really hot out, so I ducked into the bodega that's just down the street from where I live, and I got a Cherry Coke Icy.

[Robin Hilton]

I'm on the edge of my seat here, Lars.

[Lars Gottridge]

And just as I was sipping my Cherry Coke Icy, Diet Pepsi by Addison Rae came on and.

[Robin Hilton]

And you thought, I'm going to have Diet Pepsi instead. It's working.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah. And then. And then something clicked for me because the original intent of Rose Wave was. Was always about simple pleasures and not having to think too hard about it. And that was when this song did click for me.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, I guess Diet Pepsi feels like an appropriate name to me because it's artificially sweetened and a largely empty experience.

[Marissa LaRusso]

But okay, as a lover of diet soda, for better or worse, I'm gonna push back on that and say artificially sweetened, but feels amazing.

[Robin Hilton]

Not compared to the real thing.

[Marissa LaRusso]

I will say that the first time I heard the song Diet Pepsi, I was like, what is going on here? Did not land for me. But, yeah, my love of diet soda did give me a generous heart towards the song. And I think after repeat listens. Yeah, I think that that puts it in the Wave canon for sure.

[Lars Gottridge]

Sometimes you just don't have to think too hard about it.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, that's fair. Well, there's obviously a whole lot more music that we could play here. Lars, I think you're gonna do a playlist. Yeah. Where people can find full versions of these songs and a bunch more and a bunch.

[Lars Gottridge]

It's gonna be from any era, from any style of music, from all over the world. I love making this as international and global and as fun as possible.

[Robin Hilton]

So that'll be in Spotify and Apple.

[Lars Gottridge]

I'm gonna put it in as many streaming services as I possibly can. I love being inclusive with Rose Wave.

[Robin Hilton]

All right, so you've got one more song that you want to take us out on.

[Lars Gottridge]

So Emery is sort of like the Mariah Carey of summertime, because Mariah Carey owns Christmas.

[Robin Hilton]

Right, Right.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Of course, we all know this.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yes, my queen. But Amerie owns summer mostly based on the song why Don't We Fall In Love. It's a song from 2002. It's from her debut album, All I Have. And the thing that I love about why We Don't Fall in Love is that it captures the desper inspiration and sweetness around a summer love. Like, it actually, like, has like a nice rhythm to it that makes you want to walk down a street on a hot summer day, hand in hand with your boo and eating your snow cone, eating your snow cone, drinking iced coffee, your iced tea, what have you. And everything feels good and new and fresh.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

So many things I'm going through, so much that I want to do.

[Robin Hilton]

All right, we'll go out on this. The lars Gottrich. Marisa LaRusso, a grateful nation thanks you.

[Marissa LaRusso]

It was my pleasure to be here, Robin. Thank you so much.

[Lars Gottridge]

Robin just took another sip of his Roseanne. He's making a face.

[Robin Hilton]

It's actually, it's a little like champagne. It has a little champagne y. It's like without the bubble. And for npr music, I'm robin hilton. It's all songs considered.

[Song Lyrics/Background Vocals]

It takes such a load off to let you know that you're the only one I never want to go Things I never did know I want to do I love, I never felt Now I feel for you why just swallow each and every else of my pride? Everything you do I want to feel again Ain't no use for us to pretend why, why can't we? Why can't we? Why can't we? Why can we always Fall in love? Fall in love.

[Marissa LaRusso]

We're having such a sports summer.

[Lars Gottridge]

The New York Knicks won the NBA championship. The World cup is in full swing.

[Marissa LaRusso]

And a new season of Love island

[Lars Gottridge]

has brought us back into the villa. On It's Been a Minute, we talk about how this summer we're all coming together to root for our favorite sports team and our favorite couples. Listen to It's Been a minute on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Marissa LaRusso]

The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years.

[Lars Gottridge]

This is open. In your face. How are there no answers?

[Marissa LaRusso]

Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police.

[Lars Gottridge]

Did police ever call you?

[Robin Hilton]

Not once.

[Marissa LaRusso]

Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the embedded podcast from N.