Created in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, a playlist that acts as a kind of emotional journey through the first shockwaves of that year. Featuring Fiona Apple and Maynard with Multiple Genres.
Playlist #70: "Put Your Mask On, Monkey" (2020)
Amazon Music Mix with Fiona Apple and Maynard James Keenan + More
Note the title is not relective of an "anti-mask" stance, but rather of the universe telling me to put my mask back on and dance like a good monkey. Thinking I could live otherwise, offstage and unmasked, was a fantasy that the universe snatched away via the pandemic, where I had to literally put a mask on while in public.
Listen now or copy the playlist from below:
Fiona Apple and Maynard James Keenan Featured on 2020 Playlist with Multiple Genres
The mix opens with 3 Fiona Apple songs, including her duet with Jeff Goldblum, “Don’t Worry About Me.” It feels like a curtain call, an elegant farewell to the past, both the triumphs and the scars.
There’s a sense of resilience in its tone, a quiet preparation for what’s next. This first section is about gathering strength, acknowledging what’s been lived, and stepping into a new chapter with cautious optimism.
From there, the energy starts to simmer into a boil, until we're hit with a rush of songs that embody anticipation and thrill.
It’s the sound of possibility, of doors opening, of life accelerating toward something brighter. This part of the playlist is kinetic, almost dizzying, as if the future is rushing in faster than you can catch your breath. The last song of this section, "Funk Town" proclaims "You've got to move on!"
And then a Pomplamoose mash-up of "Sweet Dreams" and "7 Nation Army" brings the momentum to a screeching halt, signifying the sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic...
The mood has been shifted abruptly. Etta James’ “God’s Song” and Puscifer’s “Apocalyptical” mark the intrusion of the pandemic, followed by "Fear Inoculum" by Tool.
The juxtaposition is jarring, mirroring the way COVID shattered plans and rewrote expectations overnight. What was once a forward march becomes a confrontation with uncertainty, mortality, and the surreal pause of global life.
The later sections of the mix trace the arc of acceptance. Fiona Apple’s “Oh Well” carries resignation, a sigh at the uncontrollable. "Umbra" by Brass Against expresses the resulting frustration. Pomplamoose’s cover of R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World” reframes catastrophe with playful irony, turning despair into something communal and even cathartic. Finally, Fiona Apple’s “Get Him Back” and "I want you to Love Me." closes the journey, not as a return to the old life, but as a vow to reclaim something fuller, richer, and more defiant than the chapter that was interrupted.
Put Your Mask On, Monkey! - 2020 playlist with multiple genres, featuring Fiona Apple and Maynard from Tool and Puscifer