There’s something about the night that stretches time, turning ordinary streets into endless ribbons of light. Shadows dance on the asphalt, the air hums with possibility and the road pulls you into a world where you feel both untethered and alive. These songs are perfect companions for a late-night drive, when the city feels like it exists just for you.
1. Tame Impala: “Let It Happen”
The opening swell of this song feels like slowly turning up the dial in your car, and the looping synth pulls you into that spaced-out haze where everything blurs just a little. By the time the glitchy undertone creeps in, you honestly can’t tell how long you’ve been driving (though, obviously, stay focused on the road). It’s one of those songs that turns the road into a place to think rather than a place to be.
2. Khalid, Ari Lennox, Smino: “Scenic Drive”
I mean, it says so right in the title — this song is the perfect soundtrack for a late night drive, windows down, wind tangling through your hair. Smooth and reflective, it carries a cinematic weight, like you’ve stepped into a scene made just for you.
3. Frank Ocean: “Pyramids”
This song genuinely feels like a drive that never ends, in the best way possible, and not just because it’s almost ten minutes long. The hypnotic beat switch halfway through is like turning off the 405’s gridlock onto an empty backroad, where the dashboard glow suddenly feels brighter and you become hyper-aware of everything around you. “Pyramids” is honestly too long to be practical but way too good to skip, turning the soundtrack of your life into something far more cinematic than it probably is.
4. PARTYNEXTDOOR: “Dreamin”
OK, picture one hand on the wheel, the other out the window. This is what this song encapsulates. It has that slow-burn, hypnotic pull that makes every moment feel suspended, like the night itself is stretching out just for you.
5. Don Toliver: “No Pole”
This song feels like drifting through the night with no real destination. The airy production, wrapped around Toliver’s unique vocals, makes everything blur together, yet even the emptiest roads pulse with a quiet energy, like the night itself is alive.
6. Don Toliver: “Can’t Feel My Legs”
This song makes every drive feel faster. The floating melodies, tied together with the quick drum beat and bass that makes it feel like the car is humming along with you, make it perfect for cruising. It’s the ideal part of the drive when everything outside turns into a streak of color.
7. Swedish House Mafia, The Weeknd: “Moth to a Flame”
This is a neon-lit kind of song. Something about it makes every streetlight feel sharper, more dramatic. The low bass keeps you grounded. The production is icy, a little dangerous. It’s perfect for those moments when you just want to look straight ahead and avoid every problem in your life.
8. The Weeknd: “House of Balloons/ Glass Table Girls”
Another The Weeknd song, obviously. It’s chaotic, restless and a little haunting. Maybe not one to relate to, but that doesn’t make it any less captivating. It feels like being awake in the dead of night, noticing the air sharper than usual. The chorus hits like yelling into a pit of darkness, only to have the echo come back twisted and strange.
9. PARTYNEXTDOOR: “MakeItToTheMorning”
A survival song at its finest, disguised as a smooth, late-night anthem. It pairs beautifully with the surreal calm of 2 a.m., when the roads are empty and you’re aware of how tired you actually are but don’t want to admit it. The song feels like a quiet bargain with the universe: “let’s make it to the mornin’.”
10. Childish Gambino: “Les”
This song will genuinely hit you hard, like the pulse of the city at night. “Les” has one of my favorite instrumentals, smooth, reflective and a little raw. It’s a song that turns empty streets into a moving canvas, where every sound feels alive and the night stretches on forever.
11. The Neighbourhood: “The Beach”
Honestly, the perfect song to close out a long night drive, the final stretch. The vocals and beat pull you in, carrying that space between wakefulness and thought, where you’re neither sad nor fully present. It’s the sonic version of a sigh slipping out, the kind you didn’t even realize you’d been holding through the whole night.
You can find the playlist here.
‘Solar Flare’ is a weekly playlist column where Sun contributors spotlight a slice of musical taste with the campus community. It runs every Monday.
Mikayla Tetteh-Martey is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at mkt62@cornell.edu.
