Category: Spotify

Getting To Know You Music Challenge [#Blaugust2022]

Posted in About Me, Blaugust 2022, Spotify1 Comment

Remember when I gave you explicit permission to make a fluff post or two during Blaugust? Well, this is me, taking my own advice.

When I realized that the post I had planned for today was also a post I had basically written a couple weeks ago, I had a hole in my schedule. I also had recently posted (and completed) a music challenge over on my Discord, and I realized I could absolutely share the challenge & my playlist here as well. Voila, one almost-instant post!

I admit it could be just me, but I always felt like a playlist (or mix-CD or mix-tape for those of us of a certain age) was a great way of learning about someone else. Musical taste is so highly personal, and usually quite specific. Sometimes, it’s even completely baffling, and when you listen to the songs that someone in your life strongly identifies with, you might have Aha! Moment that brings into focus things you were only vaguely aware of about them.

I tried to – excuse the pun – mix it up with my list. There are some songs I’ve been listening to for most of my life that still get me right in the feels every time. There’s some stuff on there I only discovered in the last couple of years. Some stuff you probably already know, but some might be songs or artists you’ve never heard of. All in all, I’m pleased with the list I put together for me.

So, as Blaugustians are putting Introduce Yourself week behind us, I thought I’d share the playlist I created, as well as the challenge that spawned it. Feel free to make your own playlist, and if you tag me, drop me a comment, or otherwise let me know about it, I’ll give it a listen.

The Household Spotify Playlist Competition – ONE

Posted in Music, Spotify1 Comment

I have spent an absurd amount of time today (unsuccessfully) trying to update my computer to Windows10, so I’ve been doing a lot of just sitting around waiting for things to happen. Instead of getting hellaciously frustrated – okay, well, in addition to getting hellaciously frustrated, I decided to use my unexpected thumb-twiddling hours to make some headway on a playlist project I’ve been swearing I’m going to work on for a couple months now.

Back in June, Mr. Krikket started making a playlist on Spotify where he chose a single song from each artist he wanted to add. Once I had an opportunity to listen to most of it (we use Spotify in the car all the time, and in the house pretty damn often), I decided to make one of my own in which I would correct all the blatantly wrong songs he chose and add in a bunch of artists that he left off.

Mr. Krikket’s Playlist – Uno

We’re only slightly competitive, I swear.

My Playlist – <two

I still need to go through and add some more things (I am struggling to choose just one song from a bunch of my favorite artists), and I will, of course, give him the chance to rebut my choices for musicians he overlooked.

But mostly, where he has a band or singer I don’t, it’s for one of two reasons. Either I am just not familiar with their work, or he has, in my opinion, already chosen the definitively correct song, and I had no counter.

True confession: I initially gave him a hard time about the whole thing – I was a dedicated mix-tape maker in my youth, and I still struggle with just tossing a bunch of music together that doesn’t necessarily fit. I’m absolutely enjoying the process, though, despite the fact it’s led to more than one jarring transitions.

If you want to play along, the rules are simple.

  • Pick a playlist name that is something like (but not actually) “One”.
  • Choose a single song per artist using whatever criteria you like. You might pick your favorite, or the most famous, or the one you think best represents their body of work, whatever you like.
  • You can use one song by a band, and then another by an artist previously in that band who went solo (or joined another band later on). As long as the artist name is unique, you’re good.
  • Find a friend who’s approximately the same level of opinionated about music as you are, and send them your list. Cross your fingers that chaos ensues.
  • Relive the glory days of swapping mixtapes (or ok, mix CDs for the younger folks).