how do u curate your playlists? they're so good (listening to the glen powell one rn lol)
dearest anon, please know you've made my entire summer with this ask <3333 (here's the playlist in question)
now while i recognise you probably weren't looking for a legitimate breakdown of the process here, you've inspired me to take a deep dive, and i'm prone to getting carried away (and yes, i read high fidelity recently and rewatched the film and the series. but i'm sure that has nothing to do with it). so here goes, under the cut:
Lizzy's Guide to the Delicate Art of Making a Playlist
#1 - What's the Point?
There has to be a theme or mood or connecting thread for the playlist. That being said, as long as it makes sense to you, you've pretty much got this covered.
What's the story? Is it based on a mood, an event, a time in your life, a person, a character, a genre, an era, etc. etc. There's plenty to choose from, so there's plenty of playlists to be made. Go crazy, get weird with it.
(In this example, the overarching theme is: Glen Powell Hot (Twisters Edn.) with a sub-theme, if you will: Country Music for Beginners.)
#2 - Song Selection
Once the theme is set, I gather a few tracks that spring to mind immediately. In this instance:
• Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That - Dolly Parton
• Cowboy Take Me Away - The Chicks
• Country's Cool Again - Lainey Wilson
All of these are fairly self-explanatory if you have been caught up in the Twisters press tour at all recently. No further comment.
From here I flesh out the ~general vibelist~ with more tracks, some classics and some deep cuts. I'm cross-referencing my own musical knowledge, previous playlists, spotify mixes (god forgive me, the occasional algorithm picks), and other user's Powell playlists (topgun-heavy, but you certainly can't blame them).
#3 - Order Matters
There's got to be some sort of flow to the playlist front to back, unless your theme is audio whiplash, for example.
Now here I am a devout follower of the High Fidelity rules, which are as follows:
Track 1 - Open with a killer - sets the tone, gets people invested
(Here, Lady Gaga's You And I ~ it's a banger, and it's country enough to get away with. Can't bring out the banjo prematurely, we'll lose people)
Track 2 - Bring it up a notch - let them know we're just getting started
(Alannah Myles, Black Velvet ~ country-ing it up a notch but staying firmly in the mainstream, because again, we don't want to scare anyone)
Track 3 - Cool it down - now we're settling in
(Chris Stapleton ft. Dua Lipa - I Think I'm In Love With You ~ Dua keeps us firmly rooted in the crowd pleasers, and we can sneak in some Stapleton)
N.B. There is a rule here that I don't abide by, the "only one track per artist" - there's three dolly tracks in this lineup alone and i stand by all of them. Provided you're not adding an entire album or two, I think you can get away with it.
Anyway, this three-track run fires us into a classic (Islands In The Stream) which melts into Tyler Childers and suddenly we're knee deep in Kentucky and you didn't even know it.
The trick is to not overthink it, which is always easier said than done. Ordering only has to make sense to you from start to finish. This journey's gotta go somewhere - throw in a few peaks and troughs, and the songs are just connecting the dots along the way.
#4 - As Does Shuffle-ability
Now, having said all that, I feel like this is a safe space to admit I am a chronic shuffler, so a degree of shuffle-ability is required.
All this means is that your underlying theme is evident throughout. Any wildcards are going to make sense wherever they pop up.
With this one, the thread of country through all of these tracks is what ties the theme together (saving a horse). There are some classics (Faith Hill, Willie Nelson), soul-heavy tracks (Secret Sisters, Leon Bridges), and and few more pop-adjacent (Haim, Ashe) but they've all got that twang - so it's shuffle proof.
#5 - Points for Presentation
A good cover, title and description can offset a multitude of sins. Don't underestimate the power of presentation.
Duration comes into play here also, where anything shorter than half an hour feels like it has nowhere to go, but over three hours feels insurmountable. Unless you're going for a compilation, year in your life playlist, or some background low-fi stuff, keep it tight.
And there you have it folks, my (lengthy) guide to playlist curation. Final note, don't love it and leave it. If you come across something new, jostle things around to get it in. Similarly, if something doesn't fit anymore, toss it. The beauty of the modern mixtape is you can edit it as little or as often as you like.
If you made it this far, I'm personally sending you a little kiss on the forehead. And to the anon who inspired this article of a response, I can only apologise. MWAH
By the way you hold your man
It's easy to tell who's in command
He'll never seem to understand
It's all in his head
Innocent like a misfit
Your eyes locked in for the kill
The Dead Come Talking -
Ghost at your door, dressed in white linen sheets
Scaring the children, says he'll never leave
He'll burn down the houses, the smoke on your tongue
He used to be someone you loved
The Bug Collector -
And there's a centipede
Naked in your bedroom
Oh, and you swear to God
The fucker's out to get you
Night Shift -
Now bite your tongue, it's too dangerous to fall so young
Take back what you said
Can't lose what you never had
I feel no need to forgive but I might as well
But let me kiss your lips so I know how it felt
Tongues -
Everybody knows I'm right
I can't control, I got my eyes on you all night
We just haven't got a clue
I keep my love, I want my blood inside of you
Norman Bates -
Not trying to get in your good grace
I'll take a joke over connection
You're trying to lose the games you play
I'll just create a work of fiction
Pedestrian at Best -
It won't be with me on my death bed,
But I'll still be in your head
Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you
You tell me I'm exceptional and I promise to exploit you
I Love You Like an Alcoholic -
I was getting off the late shift attempting to recover
Crumpled up the bus pass, tossed it into the gutter
Some handsome dark stranger, you were standing there on the corner
You had those compelling magnetized eyes
You must have lost when you got older
I Won't Hurt You -
My pale blue star
My rainbow, how good it is
To know you're like me
Strike me with your lightning
Bring me down and bury me with ashes
you’re on a road trip with your friends and it’s 3am and you’re all slightly delirious so you blearily decide to stop at a gas station and it feels like you’re in a weird, altered reality because it’s such a trippy liminal space
so i’ve always loved curating music playlists on 8tracks but, now that its shut down, I’m having trouble finding a new platform for this. I use spotify for most of my music streaming now, but I kind of want something that’s better for playlist curation with a better tag system like 8tracks. And also, i liked how i could add tracks from soundcloud/youtube and not be limited by the platform’s music library like spotify. I’ve been eyeing radio4000 but idk. Does anyone know of any good sites i can migrate to?
i started this blog the summer after my sophomore year of high school and i’ll be graduating high school soon! i can’t believe how fast time flies. i’m sorry i’ve been on hiatus, as school picked up and i got busier i slowly lost passion for creating moodboards and playlists. however, i’ve recently started getting back into it and i’m excited to keep sharing my hobby!
there will be some changes moving forward: i want to continue sharing my playlists but as i will be starting college soon, i’m not sure if i’ll have the time to make moodboards for all of them. i have a backlog of old moodboards i made years ago and will continue posting those, but after that i will not pair my playlists with moodboards as frequently. i might take a while to readjust, but i’m hoping to start posting regularly soon, so keep an eye out!
also, if you sent me a request or message, i’m so sorry for the wait! i’ll get to your playlist as soon as i can, starting from the oldest and working my way down. also, while i catch up, requests will be closed. thank you for your patience and understanding! :))
i’m so grateful to everyone who has supported this account over the years and it truly means the world to me! i hope y’all will enjoy this new direction, i love y’all so much!
