Talkin' Tunes

DBG and Personal Expansion

I'll tell y'all about a little project I've been working on in the background of my life since Spring of 2022. I go through dry periods of listening to music, where I listen to all of my favorites over and over so I can scream-sing in the car driving the 11 hours down I-95 to get from Philly to Columbia. The biggest problem with new music is that I don't know it, duh. I get stuck on my favorite playlists, favorite artists, my "On Repeat" playlist on Spotify, etc. 

I used to "like" songs on Spotify pretty much whenever I would hear one I liked in a TV show or movie, see one posted on someone's story, or recommendations of any kind, so I could go through my liked playlist and eventually put those songs into genre/mood specific playlists. The problem is it's over 700 songs deep right now and I have plenty of other stuff to listen to that feels less overwhelming. 

My solution was to make smaller playlists bi-monthly, where I listen to any and everything I come across, decide if I like it, and eventually add to those more specific playlists. There have been some unintended consequences, and they have all been entirely positive. 

The first playlist wasn't a monthly playlist, but a curation of a summer playlist: Fresh Green Free Soul Summer. This was the one that really inspired what the project became, because I listened to it nonstop and it became the soundtrack for my life abroad, and subsequent transitions back home. When I listen to it I'm transported back to my tiny kitchen in Rome pouring a glass of red and going up to the roof to watch the starlings swoop and play as the sunsets. Glorious. 

The next one was "aug". I added everything I saw, and a lot of the music was stuff I wouldn't necessarily choose to listen to compared to my tastes as of late. I would throw it on waiting at the dentist's office, drowning out the family bickering on a long car ride, on walks, whenever I was cooking, etc. It just became the background soundtrack for the months of August and September. Some of the songs became new favorites, some never made it to a new playlist, but I tried to put the playlist on and hold myself to listening to it without skipping anything. 

The "oct" playlist was a hit, I loved the majority of the songs that ended up in there, but the "dec" playlist was not it. I struggled listening to want to put it on, but I did eventually become exposed to a ton of new music and new artists. It was good that it was on in the background in the sense that I'd mindlessly indoctrinate myself, and eventually look up and realize I know the words or I really like this song or that song. 

I'm listening to "feb" right now, and it might be the best playlist yet. BUT, is it because I like these songs more, or because I am more tolerant and open to new music after months of practicing? Either way, I'm jamming right now to Drayton Farley's "American Dream", who I got to see open in Greenville for one of my favorites: 49 Winchester. "Don't Follow" by Alice in Chains was right before this, and before that Lana Del Ray. 

They might not all be favorites, but I'm genuinely a better person because of it. I can connect with others more than I used to, because usually I've listened to something they listen to. It's small and might seem inconsequential, but by being able to relate more to strangers and friends through music, I'm improving my human experience, and hopefully theirs as well. I'm going to concerts and free shows I never might have before, and I get to share that with the people I go with. 

I also have these perfect little soundtracks to different phases of my year. Like the first playlist transporting me back to Rome, the "oct" playlist takes me to the Riverwalk and watching the leaves change through autumn, the "dec" playlist puts me on highways and the streets of Cola. I distinctly think of the intersection of Harden and Greene, where I drive through a few times a day. It's like catching a whiff of your dead grandma's perfume on someone else and immediately getting sent to a nostalgic place. 

It's a small little project, but it has had a much more profound affect on my life than I expected when starting out. I was just tired of saving all of these songs and never listening to them. Also, music is just awesome. 

I definitely recommend having a background playlist of some sort, and changing it. Something you can toss on when you don't have anything you explicitly want to listen to. Psychologically, you'll stamp your memories all over it, and get to revisit them when you take a listen later. 

Let me know if you've ever had an experience like this with a playlist, and drop your suggestions for next month's playlist below! Until next time, find your factor.

JJ