If there’s one line from Arrested Youth’s new album Nonfiction that’ll stick in your brain long after the album ends, it’s the refrain “Used to be a little kid, then I woke up in this body” that echoes throughout the longing single that takes its name from the line. Among the slew of new pop-punk-inspired (and hip-hop-leaning) artists on the rise with the help of a member of blink-182, Ian Johnson’s new record charts the rapid pace of growth we experience without ever really realizing it. “When I wrote these songs they felt really true to my experience, but now they make me a little bit uncomfortable because I’ve grown since then,” Johnson shared in a press release.
With this theme of youth in the rearview being further than it may often appear, Johnson put together a playlist that doubles as his favorite songs from his youth—with artists like blink, The Killers, and Green Day filling a similar role for most people who were teens in the ’00s—as well as his current favs. “These are some of my favorite songs to get back into when summer rolls around,” he explains. “This playlist is synonymous with my youth and where I grew up. I’ve been playing these songs a lot recently, as I’ve been back home living in upstate New York, getting ready to release my new album. Third Eye Blind has been one of my favorite bands since I was eight years old. The way he writes his music inspired me from a very young age. Fast-forward 20 years later, Third Eye Blind is still one of my favorites.”
Listen to his picks below.
