As he has done regularly since the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, filmmaker James Gunn took to social media this weekend with a playlist of his most-listened-to tunes of the year. The smash success of the original Guardians soundtrack made Gunn something of a pop music expert for fans. Peter’s “Awesome Mix,” a mix tape of ’70s and ’80s staples gifted to him by his mother before she passed away, was a key part of the beloved first Guardians film, and its follow-up was not quite the same level of mega-hit, but still a bona fide fan favorite.
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Each of those playlists are the result of hours of work and whittling down hundreds of potential tunes, Gunn has said. The 2020 list is likely a bit less intense, but it’s hard to imagine these 30 tracks are easy to narrow down.
You can see the post below, or find the link here.
Here’s the playlist, if you can’t get it to load:
- “Back in Love City” – The Vaccines
- “Modern Job” – Sprints
- “How to Feel” – Zuli Jr.
- “Paprika” – Japanese Breakfast
- “Bad Days Ain’t Ova” – Dem Atlas
- “rain (from The Suicide Squad)” – grandson, Jesse Reyez
- “On Top” – Dan Croll
- “Pull the Plug” – Du Blonde
- “Tombstone Grey” – JAWNY
- “Anthony Kiedis” – Remi Wolf
- “Walk Away” – Mina Okabe
- “青い” – Polka Dot Stingray
- “SKrAm!” – Jeff Rosenstock
- “Three Way Ride” – Wildstreet
- “Bad Dream Baby” – Hippo Campus
- “Blame Game” – Beach Bunny
- “Everything You Got” – Ten Tonnes
- “The Beachland Ballroom” – IDLES
- “When the Fires Come” – Kero Kero Bonito
- “Old Friends” – Scott Helman
- “You Can Get It” – Arkells, K. Flay
- “Day 7.5093” – Nilufer Yanya
- “Borrowed Time” – Rick and Morty, Tennis
- “Rainforest – Noname
- “Play That Too” – Jack Page
- “Dare to Dream” – Dylan Cartlidge
- “Dept. of Finance” – Jeff Rosenstock, Laura Stevenson
- “I Broke My Own Rule” – They Might Be Giants
- “On My Way” – Alex Lahey
- “Skin” – Joy Crookes
There will be plenty more music coming this year, we’re sure. After all, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 will be in production, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is set to arrive on Disney+ in about a year.
Back in September, Karen Gillan (Nebula) shared that the third installment of the Guardians trilogy is “so emotional” that when she read the script along with Pom Klementieff (Mantis), they were both in “floods of tears.” After that quote went viral, Gunn took to Twitter with a hilarious reaction. “Or maybe they just got paper cuts,” Gunn joked. “I hope it’s not because they thought they had too few lines because honestly their roles are both pretty huge and it seems greedy.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
