Certain songs emit a bit of magic. One teleports you to the past. Others might manipulate emotions. Many, as my five-year-old boy will attest, are pure energy boost. We’ve recently been rediscovering the magical properties of music via our son, who over the last year has created a 52-song mix in our Plex that we listen to almost every day. Unspoiled by everyone’s opinion, the categories of music he enjoys are a bit mystifying — German techno via Gummibär, classic rap a la A Tribe Called Quest, um, Bryan Adams. These tracks are more than music to him. They are portals to new worlds, puzzles to be solved, powers to be harnessed and catalysts for own his creativity. Each tune is like a talisman, and all he needs is a phone and maybe a Bluetooth connection to show you each of their powers.

This same idea of kid magic and music was also recently crystalized in one of our favorite shows this summer — Stranger Things — where the right song had the power to save your life. In the photo above, that scary fellow behind Cole is called Vecna. He steals children to another dimension for nefarious reasons we won’t get into, but the best way to stop him is to listen to your favorite song — a protective talisman that can accomplish this.

It’s been a while since we’ve pulled together one of these mixes, and the inspiration for creating the first one in five years (the first since Cole’s birth) came as accompaniment to Michelle Hill’s annual holiday card. Yes, this year’s card’s theme is an homage to the fourth season of the science fiction horror drama Stranger Things, which is set in 1986, a time when Michelle and I were kids, but it’s also a nod to the magic children can create with something as simple as a song. Special thanks to The Overnight Farmer for transforming us to the Upside Down with their Mind Flayer set.

This curated set of 22 tunes comes directly from Cole’s collection. It’s a showcase of sound and sorcery that could only be created with a little kid voodoo — a dash of cosmic guitar fuzz via Ty Segall, a little silky ‘70s R&B from Raydio, a pinch of French synth-pop courtesy of Christine and the Queens. Mixed and applied properly, these spellbinders will definitely work magic for some, although results may vary. They only way to find out is to give them a try.   

The Curious Collection of Cole Gribbins (MP3 Format)

Pro Tips for downloading: The link above will take you to a public Google drive. To make it easy, just download the zip file (it contains the entire album and artwork), or download each individual track (but you have to do one at a time). To download the zip file, double click on it or right click and hit download.

1. Every 1’s a Winner – Ty Segall

2. Ocean Man – Ween

3. Sunsets – Powderfinger

4. I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz

5. Tilted – Christine and the Queens

6. Consideration – Rihanna (Featuring SZA)

7. Burning – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

8. I’d Run Away – The Jayhawks

9. No Love Like Yours – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

10. You Can’t Change That – Raydio

11. Big Red – Frank Black

12. Fire Walk with Me – The Black Keys

13. Odds Are – Barenaked Ladies

14. Walking on a Dream – Empire of the Sun

15. Sparks Are Gonna Fly – Catherine Wheel

16. Waiting for Wild Horses – Arlo McKinley and the Lonesome Sound

17. Looking for a New Love – Jody Watley

18. Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz

19. Don’t Walk Away Eileen – Sam Roberts

20. The Remedy (I Won’t Worry) – Jason Mraz

21. Certainty – Big Thief

22. Can’t Stop the Feeling! – Justin Timberlake