Playlists

Originally publicized on my other blog.

Lately, I have been making playlists of music. I'm trying to make playlists that tell stories.

There's an interview by Terry Gross with Lin-Manual Miranda. In the interview, Miranda talks about making mix tapes in his youth. Being about the same age as he is, I suppose, I also have fond memories of the mix tapes that were made for me. But I never made mix tapes myself. I always wondered just how much I should read into mix tapes that were given to me. One boyfriend made me a mix tape with They Might Be Giant's Lucky Ball and Chain, and I was like, WHAT? Are you telling me something? (We didn't last much longer; and I am SO NOT a ball and chain. Please! I'm, like, SUPER low maintenance.)

The other thing that inspired this new activity is that I've noticed how directly impacted I am by what I am hearing. Ever since our middle child was born, I've realized how my concentration or mood can be influenced by the noise surrounding me. Since I started working, and listening at work, I've noticed how some music makes me focus better - and some music makes me angry - and some podcasts are just way too distracting to listen to.

Anyway. Playlists are fun! Fussing around them in digital form is really a user-friendly experience.

How have I missed out on this technology for the last two decades? I'm also really surprised how hard it is to make a great playlist, even WITH digital technology. I've started testing my playlists out on other people...just, you know, casually feeding them via bluetooth into the car radio when I have a captive audience. It's fun to see how people react...do they sing along subconsciously? Do they ardently ignore what's playing? Does the playlist seem to impact our conversations?