A Revisited Medium, an Online Pastime

By: Katy Nguyen

What is more telling of a person than their selection of playlists and mixes? Previously, people recorded songs onto cassette tapes and burned more songs onto CDs. These days, with all kinds of music-streaming platforms at our fingertips, playlist-making is quicker and easier than ever. Now, we even have artificial intelligence and algorithms coding and formulating them for us. As convenient as it is to listen to these premade selections, we both know these computer-generated compilations are usually a hit or miss (... take a look at your last Spotify Wrapped). This is only because there will always be more thought, effort, and everything in developing your own.

As it turns out, playlist-making is an art form. You are a museum curator. You get to weave your web, loom your tapestry, and a hundred more analogies. The meticulous curation that goes into a single playlist is a reflection of your music interests and mind. Or else, maybe playlist-making comes to you like the back of your hand. Your musical knowledge is encyclopedic and you can create one mix after another. Other times, a playlist can just be astute observations you’ve made along the way. Some are even collaborative works made with fellow peers! In any case, I truly believe this activity is worth romanticizing because of all the details that go into crafting this melodic experience. 

What are these details? Cover art and playlist descriptions (if at all), how many songs, duration, if it should be listened to in order or on shuffle, or both! Taking these elements into consideration, this future playlist is about to hit. It’s banger after banger. Subtle or in-your-face. Pensiveness and catharsis. Acoustic-based or electronic-heavy. Anything and everything you like. Whatever you want. This music project is something you are going to feel because you know best. You are the sound director and music supervisor of this production. In digging through your liked songs and taking inspiration from various media, there’s a sonic sensation that you intend to execute. 

Aphex Twin, checking up on pit sounds (alternatively: me concentrating on the making of an ongoing playlist)

I, for one, have come to appreciate listening to a mix in order, in shuffle out of curiosity, and then in order again. While I do listen to my five-hour-long Spotify daylists with wonder, I like my 1.5-hour selections just a little more. There is a beginning and an end; I created a small world by honing in on specific moods and vibes. Despite being more susceptible to self-inducing earworms, having my playlists on a loop encourages me to indulge in the idiosyncrasies of each song. In my curations, I especially enjoy adding instrumental breaks as a pause, an aside, or a transition into the next section. Put another way, I pretentiously admit my mixes and compilations are something like a narrative. 

Many creatives themselves have shared their music selections with us. Past Lives director Celine Song put together “love songs about cities”. Actor Lakeith Stanfield’s “Taste” includes tracks from Death Grips, N.E.R.D, and Tame Impala. Poet Hanif Abdurraqib picks up a pattern in “12 Tracks: Song Titles That Mention Airports”. Japanese Breakfast singer Michelle Zauner points to songs that contributed to her memoir, “Crying In H Mart”.

Notably, playlist-making can also be a bonding activity and some form of gift-giving. Your one-of-a-kind piece cannot ever be replicated. When sharing and clicking links, it will always be an offering to learn more about the person across from you and vice versa. Mixes and compilations can be refreshers in listening to songs you already heard or the discovery of something new. Even more, we like to associate songs with people and things in our lives. Something stirs in us when a song resonates about our personhood and relationships; sometimes we wish to share that. Therefore, a playlist is even a public diary in which we are okay with letting others read. These song selections here are how I think of me, of you, of everything. 

Now, take a step back and look at the playlists you have available on your music profile. In clicking and tapping and scrolling through them, your work is akin to a museum exhibition. Surely, you see yourself in all of these selections. Monthly favorites, character studies, memory lanes, and so on. Eventually, these curated compilations will be stored away in your memory. You may think about removing them from public view and archiving them to your private collections or perhaps leaving them up as is. 

Nevertheless, your music-mixing history is a reflection and progression of the honing of your music taste. Scrolling and parsing through these songs, you’ll recall certain eras. You’ve captured all kinds of cultural and personal memories and arranged them into a collection through song. The beauty of the playlist-making medium is that it is ever-changing. Your music taste is not static and neither are you. This is a delightful pastime, an intriguing meditation, and an intentional creation on your end.