A-Side
Look, when I got the idea to do this series of playlists it was just that: a series of playlists. Maybe I’d have shared them, maybe not. I don’t know. It was just one of those ideas that you get that sit in your brain. The kind that wants out before it knows why.
It wasn’t until I had two weeks of playlists built up that I had the thought to start writing about it. I think that was the why the whole time. All these songs have connections to a time or a moment in my life. I’m curating memories, one step removed. Pick a song and see what where it takes me.
But also, not all the music is from my past. Some stuff here I’m hearing for the first time. Maybe not the first time today, but at this phase of my life, a 53 year old guy whose listened to and loved a lot of crazy shit and is always looking for a sound I’ve never heard before. In this way, I’m curating memory of a different kind: that of the here and now. Sad truth is, if I don’t save new finds here, I’m going to forget the fucking things forever.
I don’t have much history with the tunes in today’s playlist. I’d first heard the song Perhaps, Perphaps, Perhaps in 1996, buried deep on side 2 of Cake’s Fashion Nugget. I liked it alright. I can’t remember when I learned it was a cover of a Tom Jones, but I definitely know when I learned it wasn’t a Tom Jones song: while watching the movie In the Mood for Love back in 2022.
It’s a beautifully filmed slow burn of an unrequited love story, told through the quiet little moments between a man and woman in 1960s Hong Kong. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should check it out. And if you have seen the movie, send me a message and explain that fucking ending to me.
Cambodian genocide of an ending notwithstanding, I really enjoyed the film and the soundtrack even more. Half Chinese lounge acts, half Nat “King” Cole Español, the song that most got my ears twitching was old Nat’s version of Quizás, Quizás, Quizás. The tune sounded familiar, and I hummed along until it landed: a Spanish version of Perhaps3!
One dutiful googling later revealed that it was the other way around: Perhaps is the English version of Quizás. Written in 1947 by a Cuban fella named Osvaldo Farrés and performed by dozens of people throughout the years. I’m partial to the one by Celia Cruz, which starts this playlist.
And why was this the song on my mind as I was headed into the shower this evening? I’d made Kung Pao Chicken for dinner while listening to a bunch of Chinese lounge music. That got me thinking about the movie, which got Quizás3 in my head.
B-sides
The rest of the songs just picked back up on the midcentury Hong Kong vibe. This one wasn’t that deep, to be honest. I’d had the idea for the playlist thing, and there was a lot of thought and intentionality to it—so of course I just put the thoughts into my box of stuff I’ll get to later when I have the time to do it exactly right.
But there was too much stuff in the box, and this was the easiest to tackle. I gave myself permission to half-ass it on the first one. The songs were less important than the doing. And so here we are. It’s still a great string of tunes, suitable for stir fries, showers, and many other household activities.
June 27, 2026