Why the “built” Playlist Defeats the Goal of Music Discovery: 5 Songs You Should Listen to Right Now
What I’m Listening to Now
I generally don’t use any music service’s functionality anymore that lets you build an actual playlist. Before all the streaming services arose, I used to do that in iTunes (my library of owned music is immense), but it’s too much work, and I’m usually too busy. Like in the last few weeks — besides my regular work, I have to handle a large sale of a local energy industry business to a Houston-based acquirer. No time to build playlists — I don’t hardly have time to shower and shave every day when doing a deal of that size (hate to admit that . . ).
The”built” playlist defeats the goal of music discovery, which is why I use ANY music service of any kind. So for me it’s about defining artist-based stations that have deep enough playlists to introduce me to music I’ve never heard, or maybe have barely HEARD OF, or haven’t heard in years.
That said, here’s the top 5:
1. Playing off the CD changer in the SUV, in the No. 1 position is Justin Bieber’s album PURPOSE. To my surprise, I love it. Which is a huge plus because my 9-year old won’t countenance listening to anything else when she’s in this car.
2. No. 2 is probably a tie between these 2 stations on Pandora: The Eels and Taylor Swift. I think she’s a genius and will have longevity like Cher, Madonna and Sinatra. The Eels station almost always introduces me to indie artists I don’t know at all.
3. No. 3 would be the Alt Nation station on Sirius XM. This is my go-to station on that service on the long rides taking the family to and from Vermont on winter weekends for skiing. To be clear, THEY ski, I play chauffeur — not that it’s winter any more up there. Which is fine for this boy who grew up JUST BARELY south of the Mason-Dixon line.
4. And on that note, through my iTunes app I’ve been listening a lot these last few weeks to two, great, old Marshall Tucker songs: HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG, and the live version (I think from 1975) of CAN’T YOU SEE. I’d not heard them on radio in ages until, a few weeks back, just before parking my car near home the CBS 101 oldies station played HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG. I sat in the car until it was over and then came inside and pulled it up from my iTunes library and played it again. Like 10 times or more. So much great music and vocals going on in that one song. It always blew me away in my youth and all these years later, it still does.
5. VIRGINIA — the unreleased single by our very own COLD BEER & BROADS. I cannot get over how well this song came out. Before we began working on it, I had been writing it and listening to it in my head for God alone knows how long. Years and years. We don’t always succeed fully in getting what’s in my head onto a record, but on this song me and the band killed it. Just my humble opinion …
Listen up: https://soundcloud.com/cold-beer-broads
Read up: http://coldbeerandbroads.com/
Follow up: http://coldbeerbroads.tumblr.com/
