Create Playlist is a newsletter where I, a 2000s teen with cringe taste in music, will be stalking my friends’ Spotify playlists to discover new music and what songs can mean to people. If you’re new, you can check out check out previous editions here and subscribe now:
Happy Friday! My lovely friend Kayla, my first guest on create playlist, turned the tables on me this week, asking me a few questions about my listening.
You have a number of interestingly named playlists. When you named them, did you intend for people to see them and which name is your finest work?
I was very basic with my playlists for a long time, mostly just making a new playlist every year and naming it for that year (very original), or collecting my favourite songs by a particular artist or band into one playlist. Besides my Taylor playlist, I probably didn’t start giving them fun names until the pandemic hit last year, mainly because I wasn’t really making that many playlists and just shoved everything in the one named for the year. Then, when I was at home last year and needed different types of music to work to for various vibes, I started putting more time into it, because I had nothing else to do and desperately needed to arrange my music according to any other system besides just ‘2020’. I really just name them for my own amusement tbh.
As for my favourite work, it’s basic but I’d say it’s i’d commit crimes for jack antonoff if he asked just because I think I actually would. Bleachers was a big help in getting me through 2020.
What role, generally, does music play in your life?
I cannot be alone with my own thoughts for one second of the day, so music has always kept me company. I tend to go hard on songs and play them on repeat for a certain period of time, and then I’ll associate them with where I was or what I was feeling at that time; for example, I played Sarah Blasko’s cover of Flame Trees and She will have her way by Neil Finn to death when I visited Italy one winter and always think of how happy I was walking around my parents’ hometown when I listen to them now, and I’ll always think of the first few scary months of the pandemic when I listen to Do not let your spirit wane by Gang of Youths, because that song really helped to get me through that time.
While I love music I’ll say I’m very uncool with it in that I think I’ve listened to triple j for a total of 15 minutes in my entire life and also feel no shame in pulling out my phone to Shazam a song in public. I like good bops and deep lyrics but am not that good at/invested in doing my own discovery .
Tell me more about songs that could wake me from the dead. When do you feel dead enough to need this playlist?
I mean, in lockdown…every day? Just kidding. It’s just a mix of reliable faves I know I can count on to put me in a good mood, either because they’re solid upbeat bops or they’re just bangers.
Are there any artists or songs on this playlist that you think are only truly appreciated with some additional context or insider info?
I don’t think so, but I would say it’s a bit all over place in that it incorporates songs I’ve loved since I was 14, to now - that means it takes into accounts various phases like my Beatles phase, my musical theatre phase, my Delta Goodrem phase etc so it doesn’t seem that cohesive.
What’s a playlist you really like that you randomly found/don’t personally know the owner of, and what’s your favourite playlist by Spotify?
Ok, so I love hellotefi on TikTok - she makes excellent vids about 2000/2010s pop culture and just generally gives off excellent older sister vibes. She made an excellent playlist full of 2000s bangers that I love: HELLOTEFI TIKTOK Y2K OPERA. It’s 1,000+ songs so will keep you going for a literal age.
My favourite Spotify playlist is honestly my On Repeat playlist because it makes all my current favourites very easy to find if they’re otherwise spread across different playlists, but I don’t think that counts. So my favourite proper one is probably Hot Country, because I like country music but don’t consume much about country music on social media or on the internet in general, so this playlist is a good way to just hear what’s trending without having to invest time into finding it myself.
Enough from me! One last thing for today is a good read on why it’s good and fun to snoop through peoples’ listening:
I Am Begging You to Make Your Spotify Listening Feed Public
For the past 15 months, we couldn’t gather to share music. There was no singing along with a crowd at a packed live show. No euphoric dance parties in sweaty clubs with thumping speakers. No vinyl-soundtracked listening sessions in friends’ living rooms. Last May, on the Friday that Lady Gaga’s Chromatica came out, I was alone in my childhood bedroom, in a different city than I wanted to be, while all the bars outside were closed. But I was still dancing. And seeing that sidebar fill with other names streaming the same set from their own lockdown locations—that helped. So make your Spotify listening public. I’ll be here, at my laptop, saluting your living room raves, your shower concerts, and your Nicki Minaj marathons.
That’s it for issue #4! Keep an eye on your inbox for issue #4 and if you’ve got a playlist you want to share and talk about, hit me up. In the meantime, tell your friends 😊