At Friendsgiving, you don’t have to match silverware. Heck, you don’t have to even sit at the table. You might be serving a buffet of turkey tacos instead of the traditional Thanksgiving spread, or do the holiday up in a haze of potluck dishes. At a Friendsgiving, anything can happen (including a dance party)—no rules are what makes it so right.
Same goes for your Friendsgiving playlist. Your Thanksgiving music should be just like your Friendsgiving spread: Eclectic and delectable. To get you started, we put together hodgepodge of danceable indie pop, bouncy '90s rock, and the right number of old-school gems to help you cook, host, feast, and celebrate.
To start you off, join affable singer-songwriter (and food lover) Mac DeMarco talking about the good life on "Cooking Up Something Good" over plenty of jangly guitars.
Ben Folds’ irreverent “Uncle Walter” makes an appearance on this Friendsgiving playlist for two reasons. 1) Nearly everyone likes the Ben Folds Five. 2) The lyrics, centered around the political ramblings and patchy tales of a drunk uncle, are one of the many reasons you throw Friendsgiving in the first place.
You know that really beautiful scene in 1995's Clueless, where the cast of friends is taking portraits and having a blast with Supergrass' "Alright" playing really loud? We guarantee that beautiful blast of Brit Pop will still have the same effect with your friends when it drops onto your speakers.
Don't miss Warpaint’s stellar note-for-note cover of David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes”—it’s proof enough that us kids can pay homage the classics pretty darn well while also giving them our own spin.
On “Bus Stop Bitties,” sample-based artist Ramble John Krohn (better known as RJD2) repeats a loop of dreamy Friendsgiving menu: “cornbread/and lima beans/candied yams/collard greens.” Play this groove to accompany that hypnotic food coma feeling.
At some point in all of this, you'll want something sweet. While sinking into a melt-in-your-mouth bourbon-spiked pecan pie, throw on "Strange" by Patsy Cline for a swayingly sweet background tune.
Best of all, you can drop in and out of this Friendsgiving playlist whenever you want (and when have you ever been able to say that about regular Thanksgiving?). Whether you're prepping your turkey, pouring drinks, or eating leftovers the next day, this Thanksgiving music has you covered.
But if you are traveling to a classic turkey dinner for actual Thanksgiving Day and need a more traditional soundtrack, don’t worry, trouper— we’ve got those playlist needs covered, too.
