Just some random thoughts here that skew more on social commentary than specifically audio.
PLAYLISTS. To do or not to do? How an audiophile responds to the possibility and capability of creating playlists speaks volumes to the nature of their inner Beethoven.
There are essentially two kinds of people when it comes to playlists (both of which exist in my home):
1. The Healer: Those who view playlists as an essential extension of their person, psyche, the beauty of their inner soul, and coping mechamisms (escapism and medicating stress is big business, after all); and
2. The Non-Conformist: Those who find listening to the same songs more than twice a month as mentally ill.
My wife is the second person. She's convinced I have serious issues. OCD, I admit to.
Anyway ...
My case for playlists (besides that the creation process is Class A Distraction & Catharsis from the kids-whom-I-would-lay-my-life-down-for and life in general): Playlists are STORY--our Personal Soundtrack. Playlists--PROPER Playlists--are not just random songs thrown together into a bucket upon which you hit the "random play" button. Those are NOT Playlists. Those are buckets of random songs upon which you hit the "random play" button.
A PROPER Playlist is guided by story, a narrative, a premise, a First Act, an Inciting Incident triggering drama and conflict which propels the Story of Your Inner Beauty into the Second Act, where you flesh out themes and who is what and where and the meaning of Life and why Beth Hart is screaming at you in angst over her unpaid hotel bill where she shacked up with some dude at a bar who deserted her and you need to feel her pain.
Whoa.
And the story needs to take turns and lane changes and cliff-hanging surprises along the way (what follows Cat Stevens? Huh? THE SUSPENSE), as you link together songs with lyrics and/or themes that build upon each other, rising to a crescendo of aural ecstasy that is the commencement of the Third Act bringing Resolution and Peace. WORLD Peace. (Too dramatic?)
Inner Healers With Beautiful Souls understand this. Creating a Playlist is an artform (cue: John Cusack in High Fidelity) that, unconsciously at least, leaves the most hardened listener in "tears" by the end of the journey (never underestimate a well-placed Eva Cassidy track in this regard).
And--REALITY CHECK--the journey must be able to be accomplished in a SINGLE session. Which, if you are a "serious" listener, is no shorter than 90 minutes, but better: closer to 3 hours--BUT NOT LONGER THAN 280 MINUTES! MAX (and only if you have achieved artistic nirvana)!
With the world of music at your fingertips, I quite frankly can not understand people like my wife who just let Roon Radio play. Nothing wrong with Roon Radio--I've found some of my best stuff that way. But to not express yourself with audio tracks, to not create something so special , that identifies your angst and Inner Beauty, that you want to play it at least a few times a month in this modern age of information, does not compute to ME the same way I do not compute to THEM.
Okay, I feel better.
PLAYLISTS. To do or not to do? How an audiophile responds to the possibility and capability of creating playlists speaks volumes to the nature of their inner Beethoven.
There are essentially two kinds of people when it comes to playlists (both of which exist in my home):
1. The Healer: Those who view playlists as an essential extension of their person, psyche, the beauty of their inner soul, and coping mechamisms (escapism and medicating stress is big business, after all); and
2. The Non-Conformist: Those who find listening to the same songs more than twice a month as mentally ill.
My wife is the second person. She's convinced I have serious issues. OCD, I admit to.
Anyway ...
My case for playlists (besides that the creation process is Class A Distraction & Catharsis from the kids-whom-I-would-lay-my-life-down-for and life in general): Playlists are STORY--our Personal Soundtrack. Playlists--PROPER Playlists--are not just random songs thrown together into a bucket upon which you hit the "random play" button. Those are NOT Playlists. Those are buckets of random songs upon which you hit the "random play" button.
A PROPER Playlist is guided by story, a narrative, a premise, a First Act, an Inciting Incident triggering drama and conflict which propels the Story of Your Inner Beauty into the Second Act, where you flesh out themes and who is what and where and the meaning of Life and why Beth Hart is screaming at you in angst over her unpaid hotel bill where she shacked up with some dude at a bar who deserted her and you need to feel her pain.
Whoa.
And the story needs to take turns and lane changes and cliff-hanging surprises along the way (what follows Cat Stevens? Huh? THE SUSPENSE), as you link together songs with lyrics and/or themes that build upon each other, rising to a crescendo of aural ecstasy that is the commencement of the Third Act bringing Resolution and Peace. WORLD Peace. (Too dramatic?)
Inner Healers With Beautiful Souls understand this. Creating a Playlist is an artform (cue: John Cusack in High Fidelity) that, unconsciously at least, leaves the most hardened listener in "tears" by the end of the journey (never underestimate a well-placed Eva Cassidy track in this regard).
And--REALITY CHECK--the journey must be able to be accomplished in a SINGLE session. Which, if you are a "serious" listener, is no shorter than 90 minutes, but better: closer to 3 hours--BUT NOT LONGER THAN 280 MINUTES! MAX (and only if you have achieved artistic nirvana)!
With the world of music at your fingertips, I quite frankly can not understand people like my wife who just let Roon Radio play. Nothing wrong with Roon Radio--I've found some of my best stuff that way. But to not express yourself with audio tracks, to not create something so special , that identifies your angst and Inner Beauty, that you want to play it at least a few times a month in this modern age of information, does not compute to ME the same way I do not compute to THEM.
Okay, I feel better.
Last edited:
