An interesting thing to do is to look back at old playlists or mixtapes. It feels like time changes and you are taken back to that year the mixtape was created. Music can also get you in a specific mood — or help describe the mood you’re in. Music apps now have endless playlists created by people around the world and playlists from a few years ago. This type of art has the power to connect you with so many people, and the fact that we have access to this is beautiful to me.
Yesterday, my sister and I were doing yard work and she was trying to figure out what kind of music to put on. With both of us having incredibly different music taste, it was difficult to figure out what to play. She listens to country music, while I listen to anything but that. She also knows everything on the top charts, while I could not name a single artist or song on the list.
She chose a playlist named “Summer Vibe” and it had a little bit of everything both of us liked. One song was “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. and another was “God’s Plan” by Drake, which was the first time I heard the song since it was released. Although this playlist was created by a total stranger, it had music that worked for both my sister and me.
Another thing music can do is take you to a different place or time from where you are now. I wasn’t alive in the ’50s or ’60s, but I enjoy the music. I have also never been to France, but artists like Françoise Hardy and Édith Piaf are all over my playlists. I’m not sure if the foreign concept is appealing to me, or if I genuinely like the music.
When I was younger, maybe 10 years old, I fell in love with Frank Sinatra’s music. It’s what blasted through the uncomfortable, white plastic that Apple called “earbuds” when iPods became a thing. Not many people thought it was cool that I listened to a dead guy sing amazing music from the ’50s, but I was coined as “the girl who listens to old music.” It made me different, maybe not how I wanted to be as a teenager, but at least I was unique in some way.
I am in love with everything music can do. With many different genres, it means there are many different uses. Right now, I’m listening to my “I’m in love” playlist. It puts me in the mood to write this article. When I want to write — I mean seriously write — I can’t have distractions. Piano or violin music plays in the background with no words — it gives me a soundtrack and I can focus.
I try to make it a point to create a new playlist as often as possible. There have been times where I create a new playlist every month, or every quarter. Either way, the music is always different. Music gives us another way to be our own person. Even though this art was created for a diverse group of people, each person hears the song in a different way.
Continue, or start, to make playlists. In a few weeks, months or years, go back to that playlist and listen to how you’ve changed. Listen to what’s stayed the same and if you can fall in love with that music, you’ve fallen in love with a part of yourself.
