05 Mar 2020

Playlists. They can transcend space and time. They allow you to travel to a past memory of a crush or a road trip or a perfect summer. They can change your mood, boost your spirits, amp you up if you need a helping hand. As Victor Hugo once wisely said; “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”. 

Playlists are about expressing yourself, a mood, a feeling, a memory. As John Cusack said in High Fidelity “You’re using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.” You can dedicate a playlist to someone special or create it to inspire you to achieve something spectacular. Maybe you just need something to hype you up on the train to work. Whatever it is, curating a playlist is gods work and shouldn't be taken lightly. This is how to do it.

First, you want to name the playlist. Duh. Whether it's subtle or obvious, perhaps it's someone's name (eg. "Sam"), the intention of the playlist (eg. "Going to sleep"), a quote (eg. "It never got fast enough for me" - Hunter S. Thompson) or a pun (eg. "DAYzed and Confused" - A playlist of songs with a day in the title). Like an album has a name, a playlist should have one too so you can easily refer to it.

More importantly than the name, what is the purpose of this playlist? Is this going to be a playlist you constantly add to? Like songs to exercise to? Or songs to pre-drink to? To go to sleep to? Perhaps a calming curation of songs to study to? I like to make a playlist for every month as well so I can look back and see what music I was listening to. Or is this a memory or a self-contained playlist? Perhaps it's a playlist of a cool movie soundtrack in your head. Or a playlist you made to get over a crush.

Now the ordering of the songs can’t be neglected, especially for self-contained playlists. Don't just go willy nilly adding songs. Think about the story you're telling here.

I typically like to begin with a bang, grabbing the attention of anyone daring to listen to this glory which is probably just me but nevertheless... Then I amp it up even a little more. Then bring it down a notch to not get too overwhelmed, then slowly bring it back up again and end with a killer tune. I like to see the progression of songs as a rainbow. It’s jarring to go from red to blue right! You need red, orange, yellow, green, THEN blue...Then again, if you ARE trying to be jarring, then be my guest. Rules are meant to be broken.

Now let loose. Add as many eclectic, deep cut tunes as possible. Don't be self-conscious of your music taste. Be bold. Search out new music that is your vibe and isn't your vibe. Get out of your music comfort zone! Get creative. Get wild. Use other people's art to say what you cannot!

Here are some of my playlist as examples: 

Is this my karma for stealing from Woolworths??

Before you call the cops, once when I was six years old I accidentally walked out of Woolworths with my mum, still holding a loaf of bread that I forgot to put on the conveyor belt. I cried in the car when I realised that I was a thief and this has been on my guilty conscious ever since. This playlist begins with I Fought the Law by The Clash and ends with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by ACDC. My favourite transition is The Stooges song I Wanna Be Your Dog to 20th Century Boy by T.Rex because they have a similar grit to them yet are different colours. Orange into red... I told you I take this very seriously.

Put Your Flare Jeans On

This playlist is a time capsule taking me back to a perfect summer in 2018. It's wholesome, it's upbeat. We start with Rock & Roll by The Velvet Underground, the ultimate feel-good tune, and end with You Never Give Me Your Money by The Beatles which slaps. It reminds me of friends, parties, beach days and sunrises.

I embarrass myself in front of every band boy

This is a carefully curated playlist only featuring bands that I’ve embarrassed myself in front of as I am a failed groupie. Songs include Cult Classic by Johnny Hunter, Where You Going by Crocodylus and Is He Your Man by Lime Cordiale. I may cringe a little whilst listening but the bangin' songs outweigh the cringe. 

Cute mop-top hair cut beatles to more adventurous walrus lovin beatles

A playlist of my favourite early Beatles songs into late Beatles songs. Lol. I just love The Beatles.

So there you have it. How to curate a bangin' playlist. Get wild, get creative and remember, no playlist is a playlist without a Beatles song... I'm kidding...Or am I? Anyways, cya, I'm going to listen to my new playlist entitled "Costar didn't warn me of this".