Twenty years ago, or thereabouts, I had a collection of mix CDs which each bore a label according to the mood of the music contained on the CD1. I can’t remember all of them, but I’m pretty sure they included things like “Giddy,” “Silly,” and “Angsty.” Nowadays I keep my music on Apple Music playlists. And although I do often listen to entire albums, I have two main playlists that I will turn to when I’m not in the mood to do that.
The first of these playlists is my Feel-Good playlist. These are predominantly songs I know well enough to sing along to, at least for the chorus. They’re from a mix of eras and genres. They are mostly up-tempo and they tend to have pretty happy lyrics, although this is not a universal rule. I also limit it to one song per artist so it doesn’t get completely out of hand. Here are a few examples:
- On the Ground (ROSĖ)
- Make Me Feel (Janelle Monae)
- Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves)
- Celebrate Your Face (Cheyenne Jackson)
- He’s a Rebel (The Crystals)
- The Loneliest Time (Carly Rae Jepsen & Rufus Wainwright)
- Take a Chance on Me (ABBA)
- Can’t Keep Up (Brett Eldredge)
- Wholehearted (Delicately Off-Balance) (What? What?)
This playlist has a great chance of improving my mood, getting me moving, and making me feel more at home with whatever is going on.
The second playlist is my Calm playlist. The songs on this one tend to be slower, and are all chosen to help me calm down. Again, there’s a mix of eras and genres, but it’s a little heavier on the older songs. I’m less likely, though not guaranteed not, to sing along to these. But I still know them pretty well. Nothing surprising here. Examples:
- The Nearness of You (Norah Jones)
- (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
- My Girl (The Temptations)
- Baby Love (The Supremes)
- I Know You By Heart (Eva Cassidy)
- More than Words (EXTREME)
- Today Has Been OK (Emiliana Torrini)
- Yesterdays (Carmen McRae)
- After Love Songs (Delicately Off-Balance) (Come on, if I didn’t like the songs we wouldn’t have recorded them.)
This playlist has proven especially useful for writing to, as an extra layer of protection when I’m trying to block out distressing sounds, and, unsurprisingly, for generally keeping me calm.
So. Why am I telling you about these playlists?
Because music isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, it can serve an important function in contributing to or controlling mood. These playlists are part of the cluster of changes2 that have put me in the kind of shockingly healthy place I’m in right now, psychologically. Obviously, music didn’t just start affecting my mood in the past year. I’ve always known that it has that power. But this is the first time I’ve been consciously and deliberately using that knowledge to create change for the better.
My playlists won’t be anyone else’s playlists3 but I think it’s worth considering what playlists might make life a little easier. Whatever mood needs to be created, I assure you there is music that can do it. Maybe your playlist would have less pop and more metal. Or less jazz and more classical. Less Feel-Good and more Feel-What-You’re-Feeling. I don’t know. Less Delicately Off-Balance, fine! But I think it’s worth, sometimes, looking at music as a tool instead of as “just” an artform.
What’s on your playlist?
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1 I honestly wouldn’t do this now, as these days I don’t typically listen to music without a legal avenue of doing so.
2 Alongside changes in therapy, weather, daily tasks, big projects, and routines, probably among other things but that’s what I can think of right now.
3 Except, well, Adam’s. No way of avoiding that at least some of the time. Luckily he’s agreeable.