The Art of Playlist-Making
Making a playlist has become a ubiquitous and sacred practice
My phone buzzes with the most obnoxious tune at 6:30 a.m. every Friday – the sun isn’t even awake yet. I slam my hand to the phone and trudge my way over to the Benson basement, wrapped in blankets and sweats, cradling a blistering hot coffee to combat the California cold. 7:00 a.m. hits and I press play on my KSCU radio show.
Playlist-making is an art that anyone can do. No paintbrushes, canvases or lessons are needed, just a love for music. Anybody with a subscription to a music streaming platform can create one, making the practice a cultural touchstone.
Creating a playlist can be therapeutic, artistic and expressive. For those who struggle with words, collecting songs lets you become a poet. The words of the songs are already written, and all you have to do is put them together in a way that shares your voice.
This art is extremely important to a lot of people, as it has been in practice for decades now. Playlists originated from hip-hop mixtapes in the 70’s, and the modern version is a Spotify or Apple Music playlist that can be found anywhere online. There is one for almost every genre, mood or occasion, and if there isn’t, just wait–someone will make it soon enough.
They have become a necessity for any activity where there is the possibility of dead air. However, the consistency with which music lovers churn them out may lead to redundancy, and they lose uniqueness and originality if there are thousands with little difference from one another. Sometimes, the best playlists are the ones for the most niche circumstances.
The niche style has been popping up more frequently, and you can tell you are about to hear something eccentric when the title is “embracing my seasonal depression for aesthetic purposes,” “neon green troll living under the alexandra bridge” or “is this a wedding or the apocalypse.” Yes, these are all real titles of playlists, and no, they don’t actually make any sense. Nevertheless, it hooks you in, and gives you something individualistic and unconventional to listen to.
There are a few guidelines to perfect this type of playlist. I often think of the series High Fidelity when I want to curate one that I will listen to for a long time. The show says to limit the number of times one artist appears, which in turn pushes people to discover new artists, and make the first and last track so memorable that it is hard to skip a song. One trick that I always use is to look for the recommended songs at the bottom of my Spotify to serve as a starting point for finding new music.
These rules should not be definite, but they can push music listeners to diversify their interests
in artists, songs and genres.
Last year, living in the close quarters of Swig Hall, I heard the thumping music of my neighbor just two doors down almost everyday. Each time I walked by, there would be a new song queued up and ready to go. The creator of these playlists, sophomore Alex Song, said that music makes the feeling of each day better.
“[Playing music] also keeps me sane during school and homework,” Song said. “I love making playlists because when I experience an emotion I don’t have to go on a wild goose chase looking for music to match the feeling.”
That is what is so special about coalescing different songs together–people’s personalities and styles are reflected in their music tastes. The playlist has become the perfect mechanism for sharing and expressing the idiosyncrasies in music preferences and experiences. It is a personalized life soundtrack to get us through each day.