DJ Jim Q's Playlist: GROWTH

The end of 2025 approaches. Here on the East Coast of the United States, all the summer green is surrendering to burnt oranges and yellows, warning us of colder, darker days to come. Fall is like a death, or maybe, more accurately, like a coma. All of this is to say that this month’s theme, GROWTH, has not been particularly top of mind. These songs of expansion, thriving, and development are a welcome contrast to the decaying foliage of the winter ahead and the long wait for the rebirth and regrowth of spring.

This month’s theme was brought to us by the warmer coast, specifically from our friends from the Sacramento Chapter. I included a number of artists from California’s capital in this month’s playlist. From the noisy, glitched-out sounds of Death Grips, to early-aughts indie dance dudes !!! (Chk Chk Chk), to the easy-rockin’ vibes of Tesla, to the Halloween-appropriate tunes of The Cramps, the sounds of Sacramento are deep, diverse, and woven throughout this tracklist.

Artists are no strangers to growth. I believe it’s an unavoidable symptom of artistic pursuit. That’s probably why creative endeavors are so fulfilling; they tend to be transformational in both subtle and holistic ways. To create, we must have a vision or inspiration driving us, usually toward an imagined destination. Growth is the process by which we reach it. The development of craft is also an essential part of creation; through repetition and persistence, artists grow the skills to expand their repertoire of expression. Whether being pushed or pulled, running at or drifting toward it, the journey of creation is one of metamorphic growth and development. Grow on, my creative compatriots.

Expand your mind, stretch out, and listen. The theme this month is Growth. These 40-plus tracks will nurture your development with high-nutrient audio fulfillment. Buddy Holly opens the playlist with his simple, saccharine song about burgeoning young love, “Everyday.” In “A Bug’s Life,” Sudan Archives narrates a story of perpetual momentum. Robert Smith sings, “The further we go, the older we grow,” ruminating on the inevitability of time in The Cure’s “Primary.” The Avalanches team up with Leon Bridges to bring us a tale of love so expansive it can’t be contained by this world in “Interstellar Love.” With growth comes uncertainty, as Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart suggest in “Shapes of Things.” These are just a few highlights from the expansive tracklist, hand-selected for your listening pleasure.

Thanks for listening. If you’re enjoying these playlists, I’d love to hear from you. Send me a note on Bluesky and follow me on Spotify. See you next month.