The sweetness of doing nothing and a playlist to match

There is a very specific kind of afternoon I dream about. The one where the light is doing something unreasonable, your glass is cold, and nobody needs anything from you for at least an hour. No agenda. No next thing. Just the slow, deliberate pleasure of being exactly where you are.

I built this playlist because I fell down an Italian cinema soundtrack rabbit hole and never really climbed back out. One Armando Trovajoli track leads to Ornella Vanoni leads to Franco Battiato, and suddenly it’s two hours later, and I’ve mentally relocated to a terrace somewhere on the Amalfi Coast with a drink I certainly didn’t pay for.

That’s the vibe. Aperitivo hour. The moment between the day and the evening when the best version of life is happening outside at a small table. Sure, I’d love to be in Europe and the Mediterranean, but luckily, in Arizona right now, it’s nice enough to enjoy time outside during the golden hour - something that will quickly be stolen away. This playlist is part Italian cinema score, part bossa nova, part French pop - all of it unhurried, warm, and completely unbothered.

Dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. Put it on, pour something cold, and let the hour (and change) do what it wants.

21 tracks. About 75 minutes. Best experienced outdoors.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

1. Por Causa De Você, Menina // Jorge Ben Jor
2. Le temps de l’amour // Françoise Hardy
3. On Days Like These (From “The Italian Job”) // Quincy Jones & Matt Monro
4. Love in Portofino // Fred Buscaglione
5. Saint-Tropez // Francis Lai
6. The Girl from Ipanema // Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto
7. Samba Saravah // Pierre Barouh
8. Sweet Sweet Love // Nora Orlandi & Stelvio Cipriani
9. L’appuntamento // Ornella Vanoni
10. Un anno d’amore // Mina
11. Brindo // Devendra Banhart
12. Mi Amor // Hermanos Gutiérrez
13. Un homme et un femme // Francis Lai
14. Tema di Oreste // Armando Trovajoli
15. Barbara // Enzo Carella
16. Summer On a Solitary Beach // Franco Battiato
17. La dolce vita // Pino Calvi
18. Bar Mediterraneo // Nu Genea
19. Playground Love // Air with Gordon Tracks
20. Lady and Man // Khruangbin
21. Love Theme (From “Romeo and Juliet”) // Nino Rota