Over the past week and a half, while the Mariners have watched the faint flame of their playoff hopes slowly extinguish, the PNW has burned. It has been incredibly uncomfortable being stuck in a stuffy third-floor apartment, unable to crack the windows to get a reprieve from the stale, too-warm air. But these complaints are fairly minor. Up in Seattle, far removed from the actual flames, we are so much more fortunate than hundreds of thousands of our neighbors who are afraid of losing their homes and their lives. Climate change is real and these disasters are only going to continue to get worse unless our elected officials finally decide to put people and the environment over profit. Fuck!

ANYWAY, during times of hardship and uncertainty, music can provide much-needed solace. We hope you enjoy this playlist, which centers on SMOKE and FIRE. Better, cooler, wetter air is on the way this weekend in the PNW. Hopefully it helps us all breathe a little easier.

1. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Beacon Hill (Andrew)
2. R.E.M. – The One I Love (Patrick)
3. In Flames – Brush the Dust Away (Peter)
4. Meat Wave – Keep Smoking (Eitner)
5. John Butler Trio – Fire in the Sky (Dan)
6. NOFX – We Threw Gasoline on the Fire and Now We Have Stumps for Arms and No Eyebrows (Weebs)
7. Igor Stravinsky – The Firebird Suite: Finale (Nathan)
8. Gatsby’s American Dream – Speaker for the Dead (SG)
9. Talking Heads – Burning Down the House (Christian)
10. Sleep – Dopesmoker (David)