My never ending playlists are my musical journals

My+never+ending+playlists+are+my+musical+journals

My playlists are my personal journal. While scrolling through my never-ending list of hectic playlists, I wondered why I created so many. As I went through, I realized that each song I picked for a specific playlist set a tone for what I felt at that moment. 

My playlists can take me back to a period in my life and bring on such strong waves of nostalgia just with a few chords or lyrics.

Some playlists are short-lived, lasting me a week of listening to them before never wanting to hear the songs again, and some are more sustainable than others, those being a staple playlist I can always rely upon. I keep adding to my classic playlists that will continuously grow once I discover a song that fits well with the type of music. My classic playlists revolve around some of the basic emotions: happiness, sadness, excitement, and relaxation. They aren’t titled as those just listed; that would feel very one-dimensional compared to the true complexity that remains behind the simple title of one of my playlists.

I have more specific playlists for dancing, baking, singing, or driving in my car. Those playlists are full of what I think is ideal music that must be played in the background. When I am driving in my car, I prefer to listen to music I can blast with my windows down. That includes a long list of songs ranging from artists like Fleetwood Mac or the Parcels. If I am feeling more energetic or I am with friends I play classics like “The Spins” by Mac Miller or “Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun. Both songs you can’t go wrong with. When I am baking something delicious or an attempt at doing so, I play upbeat songs like “Valarie” by Amy Winehouse or Taylor Swift’s entire discography. 

That leads me to my next group of playlists dedicated to some of my favorite artists with only their work on it. This is for when I get so obsessed with someone’s music that I could only want to listen to their music. Some of my more generic singular-artist playlists are Frank Ocean, Mac Miller, Lana Del Ray, and, of course, Taylor Swift. 

Now, my most recent type of playlist is for when I am busy, and I don’t have the time to curate something that I find perfect and sets one tone. These are the playlists that I add the most random songs to and mix together genres of music that don’t really make sense. The somewhat crazy playlists are made up by me hearing a new song and don’t have another premade playlists it fits into, or I thought of an old song and wanted to reincorporate it into something new. I don’t know why, but these just work for my ears because it is something I can shuffle through and can trust that a good song that suits my mood is already queued. 

All in all, I take pride in my playlist-making skills. Some are very personal to me, and others I love to share with other people. My playlists can take me back to a period in my life and bring on such strong waves of nostalgia just with a few chords or lyrics.