The Playlist Edition

On mood, personality, and curation

Alex Daly (AD) runs daly.nyc. Read her MMD here. -Colin (CJN)

Alex here. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a big music head. It could have been because my Dad was on the younger side when I was born and had an affinity for alternative rock. I grew up listening to Miami’s college radio station, and Radiohead, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins on CD. For fifth grade show & tell, I played Blur's "Song 2." 

Since then, music has accompanied me everywhere. I play it while I am working, cooking, walking, passing time on the subway, falling asleep. When I was pregnant, I blasted music, with the false pretense that it would compel my son to make good music choices. 

Another deep passion of mine? Hosting. A lot. Drinks, pancake breakfasts, birthday parties, dinner parties, holiday parties. (Makes sense, right? Music and parties go hand in hand.) Last year I had the idea of creating the ultimate, collaborative playlist for a party I was hosting. I prompted a bunch of friends with a music question: You’re at a party. You’re asked to pick the first song to kick it off. What would it be? Here’s the final product.

Why is this interesting? 

Most of my friends have generally good taste, so I expected the same for their music. But the prompt yielded some interesting results, and was an odd forcing factor. Some people became anxious: “Just one song??” Some were flippant and obvious with their choices (Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”). Some songs were funny (Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing”); others were illuminating about those who picked them (a friend who is a massive music snob chose Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” because she gets nervous picking tracks on the spot; another who is an excellent interior designer chose Nelly’s “Hot In Herre”). Some cut to the chase (e.g. Nelly), others used the time-honored pace and buildup to get a party building to a rolling boil. 

But despite how random the selections, months later, friends still tell me they have this playlist on rotation; they play it on a run, while in transit, or while they are hosting their own parties. The whole experience, which started as a quick question over text, clearly struck a chord.

Music triggers a lot more in your mind than just looking at a photograph; you can usually remember where you were when you first heard a certain song, how you were feeling, your favorite verse. A great playlist can capture a moment. 

I was googling around about playlists, and loved this take from Teresa Xie at NPR:

Playlisting or even being methodical about organizing interests and tastes isn't for everyone. It can definitely be a daunting task. But whether you're pulling together a collection of photos, making zines, or creating moodboards, you can relieve some of that pressure of cohesion if you see it as just a culmination of what you're thinking or feeling in the moment.

In a digital age where everything seems like it's meant to be neatly packaged and consumed, creating something without such intention shows us that most of our experiences can't replicate a specific model. And re-engaging with art that meant something in the past redefines the way we look at the present: revealing where we've been and what we came from.

And then there is the collaborative party playlist. While personal playlisting is just that—personal—there are the moments when you want to extend that feeling to other people around you. 

Have you noticed how excited and proud people are when their song comes on at a party? You look around the room: Does everyone feel the same way as you do? Do they want to smile, dance, or even cry? 

Should you turn up the volume? (AD)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Alex (AD)

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