Matt just turned 49, and instead of doing a normal birthday playlist, we turned it into a rule: only songs from the years he hit perfect-square ages. That one idea creates a timeline you can actually hear, jumping from 1978 to 1981 to 1986, then into 1993, 2002, and 2013, with two tracks per year and a lot of life packed in between.

We talk through why each pick makes the cut and what it carries with it. Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” becomes a family story about risk, immigration, and gratitude. The Who’s “Who Are You” turns into a birthday question that never stops being useful, while Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” bring the pure classic rock adrenaline. Later, Paul Simon and Van Halen hit the sweet spot of memory and ambition, then Tony! Toni! Tone! and Prince add sharp lessons about money, attention, and the weirdly perfect connections you only notice looking backward.

The mix gets heavier and more honest too. We get into Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and its 9/11-era weight, and Matt shares the personal story behind Eminem’s “Without Me” and how a song can show up at the exact moment you need it. We close with Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” tied to a daughter’s dance solo, and Fun.’s “Carry On” as a message for anyone in a long season of parenting, grief, or rebuilding.

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/matt-2026-birthday-mix/pl.u-MzBDtNqbr8

1. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

2. Who Are You? - The Who

3. Tom Sawyer - Rush

4. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

5. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon

6. Dreams - Van Halen

7. If I Had No Loot - Toni! Tony! Tone!

8. 7 - Prince & The New Power Generation

9. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

10. Without Me - Eminem

11. Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

12. Carry On - fun

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This week's Mixtape Rewind takes us back to Season 1 when Instagram picked our summer soundtrack, and we just tried to keep up. We asked listeners to send their best summer songs, then built a real mixtape out of the chaos: 12 tracks that feel like heat haze, long evenings, and that first day when summer finally clicks into place. Along the way, we shout out the people who submitted picks and admit where we couldn’t resist sneaking in a few of our own.

The fun part is how quickly “summer music” stops being simple. We get nostalgic with LFO’s “Summer Girls” and the oddly unforgettable lyrics that still scream 1999, then jump to Sylvan Esso’s “Rooftop Dancing” and talk about why rooftops are basically the city version of a pool. Weezer’s “Feels Like Summer” brings that bittersweet edge, and from there we keep pulling on the thread of sunny songs that hide something darker underneath.

Lorde’s “Solar Power” nails the new-release summer vibe, The Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon” turns out to be way more cynical than it sounds, and Childish Gambino’s “Feels Like Summer” smuggles climate change anxiety into a laid-back groove. We round it out with true summer essentials like DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s “Summertime,” a pure-pop hit from Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, a “Constructive Summer” pep talk from The Hold Steady, and a cover-song detour with The Ataris and “Kokomo” before Poison closes the night with “Nothing But A Good Time.”

One more tease: there’s no Bruce Springsteen on the main mix, and yes, we noticed. Hit play, share this with a friend who hoards playlists, and leave a review if you want more listener-built mixes. What’s the one song you swear belongs on every summer playlist?

You can find the mix here on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2xecia1iK9SH9fpDGGyElY?si=60cde1613e264ad0

1. Summer Girls - LFO

2. Rooftop Dancing - Sylvan Esso

3. Feels Like Summer - Weezer

4. Solar Power - Lorde

5. Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

6. Feels Like Summer - Childish Gambino

7. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

8. Good Time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen

9. Constructive Summer - The Hold Steady

10. The Boys of Summer - The Ataris

11. Kokomo - Lily Wood and the Prick

12. Nothing but a Good Time - Poison

Go to My.SuperAwesomeMix.com and start using our new app on any device - mobile or laptop. Copy and paste a link to your playlist then turn it into an old school mixtape in minutes!

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Spring shows up and suddenly the release calendar explodes, so Matt and Sam do what we always do on Super Awesome Mix: sift through the chaos and hand you a March new music playlist that’s actually worth your time.

We start with U2’s “Yours Eternally,” a collaboration that pulls in Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian artist Taras Topolia and frames a protest minded moment with an unexpectedly hopeful finish. From there we jump into Death Cab for Cutie’s “Riptides,” a track that captures modern burnout in one chorus, then test the line between country and pop with Megan Moroney and Sheeran. The mix keeps pivoting: Charlotte Sands brings a hard rock jolt, King Tuff turns time into a hook you’ll quote all week, and Blackpink proves again how effortlessly K-pop can play as mainstream pop and hip hop.

On the rap and rock side, we dig into Killer Mike’s soundtrack cut and the idea that honesty beats a friendly facade, then crank up The Pretty Reckless, Freddie Gibbs with DJ Paul (adult ears only), and Sevendust’s “Unbreakable” for anyone who needs a little volume to get through the day. We close with Bleachers pushing back against outside noise and a Mumford and Sons collaboration with Chris Stapleton that somehow feels both simple and huge.

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/sam-march-2026-new-music/pl.u-z2pvuGxoYJ

1. Yours Eternally - U2 featuring Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia

2. Riptides - Death Cab for Cutie

3. I Only Miss You - Megan Moroney & Ed Sheeran

4. One Eye Open - Charlotte Sands

5. Invisible Ink - King Tuff

6. Me and my - Blackpink

7. Spying Eyes (Smiling Faces) - Killer Mike featuring Lena Byrd Miles

8. When I Wake Up - The Pretty Reckless

9. Find Out - Freddie Gibbs & DJ Paul

10. Unbreakable - Sevendust

11. dirty wedding dress - Bleachers

12. Here - Mumford & Sons & Chris Stapleton

Go to My.SuperAwesomeMix.com and start using our new app on any device - mobile or laptop. Copy and paste a link to your playlist then turn it into an old school mixtape in minutes!

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