“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.” — Stevie Wonder
A few weeks ago, I wrote about comfort movies and shows we turn to when we’re in a certain mood or want something familiar. A friend read my article and said, “What about music? You can put on some tunes if you don’t have time to sit and watch something. Does that work the same way?”
Good question.
I cannot read music, and even though I can sing, everyone who knows me asks me not to. I often don’t remember which artist sang which song, but I have music on nearly everywhere I go. Just like we choose different movies or shows for different moods and events, we also do the same with songs—probably more so, since music makes a great background to almost anything.
With music, I go full-on tech nerd. I know it’s much cooler to be an old-school music fan and own a turntable and vinyl records. The hip kids are all sitting around with vintage records and their grandfather’s stereo equipment, reading liner notes and comparing album covers. Not me. I like my tunes to follow me, so I usually log in to streaming services on my laptop and phone, and I have presets on the car radio and a Bluetooth connection if the local stations aren’t playing what I’m in the mood for.
I love the idea of a playlist for any occasion. Maybe not every minute of our lives requires a soundtrack, but that doesn’t stop me from creating a playlist for… well… everything.
If I’m on a deadline for a work project, I have a playlist called “Work at Home-Urgent.” Yes, it does start with the song from the band Foreigner, because the beat and lyrics of that song kick-start the motivation to get going and stop faffing around annoying people on social media.
It’s completely the opposite of the playlist I have for when I have to go to the dentist or can’t sleep. It’s all babbling brook and buzzing bee music that normally reminds me of bad camping trips but works when I need to chill.
When I have to be in my car, the destination and reason for the trip will determine which playlist I queue up. If it’s simply running around on errands, it’s usually the station that plays the most ’80s songs. Errands can be tedious and mindless, so listening to the music I loved in high school and college takes the edge off the mind-numbing bank-post office-grocery store route and reminds me of summer nights, driving aimlessly with friends and blasting Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” or Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.”
Road trips require an entirely different set of tunes, depending on the destination. In my teens and early 20s, I was lucky enough to spend some weekends in Maine or New Hampshire at the camps and homes of friends, so those trips were full of the Go-Go’s. Apologies to the quiet countryside residents in those areas when my 1978 Toyota Corolla roared down country lanes, my friends screeching out the window, “Vacation, all I ever wanted,” and “This town is our town, this town is so glamorous.”
Once I had kids, even though I tried to train them up in the way of U2 and Bon Jovi, there were times when kiddie music ruled our travels. I spent years with bad songs blasting from the speakers of my minivan while I prayed that the wheels on that blasted bus that drove “all through the town” would fall off and send it careening over a cliff. Fortunately, as my kids matured, so did their taste in music, and while I will never be a fan of Slipknot or Nine Inch Nails, anything was better than the brain-melting songs of their childhood.
My playlists are so random that I’m pretty sure the Spotify algorithm has given up suggesting songs for me. If it had sentient thought, it would probably sigh every time I signed on, thinking, “What could she possibly want to hear today?” Still, I will always have my tunes available when I want to celebrate, commiserate, or just meditate. What’s on your playlist?
Brenda Kelley Kim has lived in Marblehead for 50 years, and is an author, freelance writer, and mother of three. Her column appears weekly.