This combination of images shows Bad Bunny, from left, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.The Associated Press
The total solar eclipse is quickly approaching. While you prepare to hit the road toward the path of total darkness or anticipate hours of traffic coming out of your watch party, you’ll need something to listen to. And we’ve got your back.
Across 20 tracks, here’s a comprehensive playlist of total solar eclipse (and total solar eclipse-adjacent) songs to listen to while preparing to take in the wonders of the universe on Monday.
A classic eclipse song: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
There is no more appropriate song than Tyler’s karaoke classic, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Try not to start a singalong with this one.
A rockin’ eclipse song: Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen
Not the synth-y cover by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Springsteen’s spirited Blinded by the Light is an eclipse song for the ages, or at least for those hoping to put a little boogie in their viewing experience.
An eclipse song to dance to: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
One of the greatest pop songs of the last decade, The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights is not only an ideal song for speeding down a highway in the darkness – safely, of course – but also a Max Martin-produced earworm that will crawl into your brain and lodge itself there forevermore.
A grounded eclipse song, to remind you of the Earth: Solar Eclipse by YoungBoy Never Broke Again
The best YoungBoy Never Broke Again tracks bring the listener into his world: He names loved ones, he dives deep into his pain and he transforms it into affecting raps. Solar Eclipse centres his own mortality and what would happen to his kids if something were to happen to him. A total solar eclipse can be a time for existential thinking: This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for many, and so it is important to value that lifetime.
An eclipse song for the introspective listener: Moon at the Window by Joni Mitchell
In Mitchell’s Moon at the Window, a lover looks out toward the sky and sees “ghosts of the future / phantoms of the past,” the folk legend sings atop jazzy instrumentation. There’s a kind of melancholic whimsy here, and lyrical poetry, which makes this song an appropriate listen for a solar eclipse.
A throwback eclipse song: Blue Moon by Billie Holiday
What is a space-themed playlist without a Blue Moon? Originally written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, the song has been covered countless times over the decades, but no other hits with the soul of Holiday’s 1952 take.
An eclipse song for the arty folk: Starman by David Bowie
If space is the final frontier, Bowie knew of its powers – and on Monday, with a quick listen to Starman we can all try a bit of his Ziggy Stardust.
An eclipse song for people very much in touch with the universe: Space is the Place by Sun Ra
The beauty of Ra’s Space is the Place is that it’s taken from a 1970s Afrofuturist film of the same name. Start with the song and watching the eclipse in real time, end with a screening.
A righteous eclipse song: Eclipse by Earl Sweatshirt
Consider the distorted, reversed production of Sweatshirt’s short rap track as an interlude for this playlist – a palate cleanser with a message.
The “it isn’t an eclipse song, but it also isn’t not an eclipse song” eclipse song: Moonlight by Jay-Z
Moonlight, an undercelebrated cut from Jay-Z’s momentous 2017 album 4:44, considers frequent exploitation of Black artists in entertainment. It’s not an eclipse song in a traditional sense but considering his once-in-a-lifetime star power – and that of his collaborators – it feels like a fitting inclusion.
A sexy eclipse song: Moonlight by Kali Uchis
Colombian American musician Uchis’s songs centre love, loss and divine femininity – and so does her hit Moonlight. In this sweet moment of pop astrology, the moon is a source of power.
An eclipse song for the Swiftie in your life: Seven by Taylor Swift
Looking up at the sky as a symbol of ambition, hope, nostalgia or innocence has a long literary history. It also functions as the perfect visual for Swift’s Folklore cut Seven. Swifties know what’s up.
An idyllic eclipse song: Moonshadow by Cat Stevens
What is more fitting for an afternoon eclipse than the soft folk stylings of Stevens’s Moonshadow? It doubles as a great road trip song for country road driving, too, so for those who are travelling – take note.
A dreamy eclipse song: The Moon and the Sky by Sade
From Sade’s 2010 comeback album Soldier of Love comes The Moon and the Sky, a soft soul song good enough for Earth and what exists above.
A romantic eclipse song: Eclipse by JACE Carrillo and Alyko
Venezuelan Canadian pop singer JACE Carrillo teams up with producer Alyko for this summery, romantic slow burn, Eclipse. This is the one you’ll want to turn up if you’re planning on watching the total eclipse with your partner.
An eclipse song to get the afternoon party started: La Noche de Anoche by Bad Bunny and Rosalía
The eclipse will hit North America in the afternoon, so a full-on club banger is a little too nighttime for this daytime event. However, some sultry down-tempo reggaetón? That’s on the table, courtesy Bad Bunny and Rosalía.
An R&B-pop bop for the eclipse: Eclipse by LOONA’s Kim Lip
Not long after K-pop girl group LOONA debuted, Kim Lip was announced its sixth member and her solo single Eclipse was released – a R&B bubblegum-pop song that confirmed her talents. Seven years on, its pleasant pop is worthy of this playlist.
An eclipse song that will immediately inspire a dance lesson: Eclipse by GOT 7
K-pop boy group Got7 marry future bass and anthemic rock in this barnburner of a pop song. Give yourself a few hours to learn the choreography to keep yourself occupied while you wait for totality to hit.
An explosive eclipse song for those who feel lonely when the moon covers the sun: Eclipse by MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul
Moonbyul’s Eclipse begins with a fake out: delicate production explodes into hard-hitting trap production and a gothic chorus – loud synths and chugging guitars. “When the moon covers the sun / It feels like I’m alone,” the K-pop girl group member sings, but that isolation doesn’t last long.
The eclipse song that has to be present on every eclipse playlist: Eclipse by Pink Floyd
Can an eclipse playlist exist without ending with the massive drums and Hammond organ of Pink Floyd’s Eclipse? We think not.
More listening: