On Playlists
This winter break, I organized various aspects of my life—digitally and physically. During my digital sweep, I revisited my Spotify playlists, which were almost nonexistent. Well, not exactly. I had several playlists that reflected different eras of my life, but they no longer resonated with me, making them practically unusable. At the time, I thought the music I enjoyed would be fixed enough to be memorialized as a permanent part of my listening experience. This is how I perceived the bridge between a folder of 2,204 Liked Songs and around 50 redundant, and/or miscellaneous playlists. Shuffling my Liked Songs allowed me to enjoy fresh, new tracks that resonated with my current feelings, unlike my playlists, which felt more like time capsules. Many people associate this listening experience with laziness, but for me—and perhaps others—it’s much deeper. Creating playlists, much like creating anything on social media is an assignment of membership. As evolving beings, I think that we are inherently at odds with the idea of compiling playlists. How can I categorize something as fluid as my musical preferences when both it and I are constantly changing? So, I was left looking at a bunch of completely unorganized playlists, faced with a decision.
I never thought the way that I listened to music was unusual until I realized other people listened to music differently. There has been lighthearted discourse online, primarily through memes, about people’s listening preferences; arguing between those who prefer to shuffle their ‘liked songs’ instead of queuing music from curated playlists. Theirs lots of different benefits to all forms of listening to music, but highly fascinating to know people utilize and struggle with different aspects of the audio-listening experience.
I set out to achieve some form of a happy medium, enjoying both queuing music from my liked songs and the organization of playlists. So, I came up with a simple solution: an ‘expired’ folder! Songs that had sentimental value that I wanted to memorialize rather than actively listen to were merged into a 24-hour and counting playlist to reference for future projects. Planning to keep shuffling, rediscovering, and potentially using those songs for DJ mix inspiration/music editing/content creation. Those songs also may become relevant to me again and revisit their place in the playlists I actively listen to. Who knows.
My current “expired” playlist
To organize my current music, I intuitively merged what I had, resulting in playlists that solely reflect the period of life I am in. At the moment, I’ve narrowed it down to around 20 playlists that I’ll actively use, including my workout playlist, study abroad playlist, studying playlist, and more.
Humans are always changing, so it’s only natural that our cravings for music do too. Just like scent, music holds memories. To make space for new, more compatible music, it’s time to tuck those old songs into an ‘expired’ playlist.
