🎵😭 Recession indicator: Your playlist.

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🍦 Want to add “ice cream taster” to your resume? RUN to Toscanini’s. The iconic scoop shop known for its innovative flavors (think: goat cheese brownie, burnt caramel) is trying to pick between two bases for its new pistachio flavor, so they’re giving out free samples of both starting tomorrow. Go, go go!

💜 You can be a B-Side Member for FREE: We're (still!) giving away two free B-Side Memberships (a $140 value). Enter here!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• CELTICS TKTK

• Hiring freeze, incoming!

• Michelin star predictions

Up first…

CULTURE

Recession pop is SO back

Is the vibecession your DJ? Between Kesha’s comeback, Lady Gaga’s new album, and break outs from Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, our collective playlists sound a lot like it's 2009. And our vibecession might be to blame. 

Here’s what to know:

🎶 “Recession pop” has the internet buzzing. A.k.a. The era of chart-topping dance pop that followed the 2008 recession. Think: upbeat, escapist songs about forgetting your worries and getting down on the dance floor like “TiK ToK” by Kesha or Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” As we face the possibility of another recession, both stars are returning to their 2010s form, with similar sounds from Charli and Chappell dominating the culture. With that, the internet has claimed the return of recession pop.

📉 It’s true: Bad vibes often = happy music. “Keeping the beat going has a long track record of helping us get through [tough times],” said James Gutierrez, a Northeastern music professor. Just think about how folks turned to upbeat music in the Roaring Twenties, or disco in the 70s, even boybands in the early 2000s. “Pop and escapism have always gone hand in hand,” said Maura Johnston, a music journalist and BC professor. 

🕺 Local DJs are seeing it IRL. Back in 2015, High Street Place’s music director DJ J-Wall could only sneak in 20 minutes of high-energy music in an otherwise low-tempo, hip-hop-focused set. “I'd always want to try to get up tempo, but the crowd wasn't really reacting well to it [back then].” Now “I feel like I could be up tempo the whole night,” he said. 

🪩 And there’s research to back it up. Gutierrez pointed to his upcoming research paper (currently in preparation), looking at the relationship between music and resilience. He found that the folks who were most resilient were the ones who “moved their body to the music.” 

📀 But don’t expect recession pop to stick around forever. The music experts pointed to the fact that the OG recession pop era is almost 20 years ago (omg), putting it right on schedule for a nostalgia comeback — which tends to happen every 15 to 20 years. “That music is throwback music again … it feels fresh again,” DJ J-Wall said. But eventually, “we’ll move on to something else that, as a group, we need to feel,” Gutierrez said.

🎵 Need to hear it for yourself? DJ J-Wall made us our very own recession pop playlist, which will take you RIGHT back to 2010.

QUICK QUESTION!

🎤 Have you been adding recession pop to your playlist?

TOGETHER WITH THE FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE JAZZ DE MONTREAL

200+ free concerts. One easy road trip.

🎷 🎹 Who needs a Euro summer when Montréal has cobblestones, chilled rosé, and free outdoor jazz — all just five hours from Boston? From June 26 to July 5, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal brings 10 days of music to the city streets with free sets from Ayra Starr, Allison Russell, Men I Trust, Mavis Staples, and more, plus ticketed shows from Nas, Thundercat, and other icons. Load up the car, map your poutine stops, and leave with a passport stamp and a playlist full of new favorites. Start planning your trip.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏀 The Celtics have lived to hoop another day. Despite being down star player JT (whose IG is currently making us emo) and just one L away from ending their season, the Celtics rallied HARD for a massive 127-102 win in Game 5 against the Knicks, bringing the series to 2-3. After a close first half, the C’s shifted into high gear in the third quarter and didn’t look back. But before you celebrate too hard, remember: To stay alive, they’ll have to rinse and repeat twice … in a row. Game 6 is on Friday in NYC. LET’S GO!!!

💸 Gov. Maura Healey is in financial belt-tightening mode. Step one: Pause hiring across many of the 1,000+ open state government positions. Officials said it’s a “proactive step” in responding to our national economic *situation*. The freeze, which starts May 27, comes as Mass. lawmakers are gearing up for a new fiscal year with a budget that’s currently in flux — further complicated by massive cuts to federal funding. The good news: Healey isn’t planning any more cuts (for now), and certain other positions, like internships and co-ops, will remain open. 

🪻 Step aside, cherry blossoms: It’s hydrangea season. And per the Globe, we are in for a TREAT. Last year was a banner year for the blooms, and this year promises to be almost just as good. The “almost” is thanks to the one-two-punch of our drought last fall, which continued well into this year, and our slightly colder, snowier winter, both of which are known to limit blooms. But despite that, we can expect a solid showing when they begin to blossom toward the end of May. Here’s where to see them in Boston and beyond.

🍺 Crafting your summer bucket list starts NOW. And we have three items for you to add: 1. Night Shift’s three beer gardens along the Charles and on the Greenway open for the season today. 2. The BPL’s Map Room Lounge is getting a Tandoori takeover from Indian spot Meal Mantra from May 16 to 24, serving delicious Indian bites (grab a table ASAP). 3. Clear your cal for June 7 because SOMEDAY FEST, a one-day festival of Somerville artists and musicians, is coming to Union Square. Grab tickets here!

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP

Ride to Fuel Alzheimer’s Research

B-Side is a proud partner of Ride to End ALZ New England, a fully-supported cycling event to accelerate progress in the fight to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementias. 

Join the Ride on June 14 at Hampton Beach State Park and cycle 100, 62, or 30 miles along the coast of New Hampshire and through picturesque Massachusetts towns and woodlands. Celebrate at the finish line with live music, barbecue, cold beer, and more! 

Get ready for a day of cycling, camaraderie and the celebration of hope! 90% of funds raised go to Alzheimer's and dementia research.

Register here today!

ONE LAST THING

Michelin star bingo

We won’t know which local spots get a Michelin nod until later this year … but that’s not stopping locals from taking some wild guesses. And now, that includes Globe food critic Devra First.

According to First, it’s unlikely we’ll see any 2- or 3-star distinctions in year one (recent debut guides for Atlanta and Colorado capped the honors to five 1-star spots each). But when it comes to potential 1-star venues, there’s room to play.

First’s top contenders: Ostra, the extremely swanky Back Bay seafood spot; and O Ya, a slightly more “rock n’ roll” (her words) restaurant with 20-course omakase menus. And with stunning bites like these, who could blame her?

Beyond that, things get a little fuzzy, but she also threw out Deuxave, Nightshade Noodle Bar, and Wa Shin as 1-star-worthy. 

Take a look at all her guesses here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

⭐ Thanks for reading! No Sarma mention? The B-Siders are going to be MAD.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, for supporting local journalism and giving Bostonians a chance to experience live jazz, the Montréal way.  

🤖 The results are in: 47% of readers think robotaxis are a BAD idea. Though FWIW, several readers wrote in to share their positive Waymo experiences. But not this one: “No algorithm can truly understand the Masshole.”

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