caroline's stuff that doesn't go anywhere else.

my guide to making your iTunes playlist look cooler than it actually is

Like many people with nothing else to do, I try to strike a balance between keeping my iPod "up to date" with some of the more popular music today, as well as some of the "oldie, but goodie" songs that I remember from my childhood.

But like many people with iPods, I find that what makes you super cool is the playlist that you can put together. There are many playlists that you can model your own after, such as a specific genre, a film's soundtrack, or whether a couple of songs you like happen to be upbeat. Playing your playlist for someone else by let's say, lending your iPod to someone is the ultimate test of your super cool-ness: if they like it, I'm sure they'll say something like "Kick ass playlist, man." If they don't, they either say nothing or hand you your iPod back in silence. You're either ahead of your time, or your taste sucks. I like to think you're somewhere in between.

Basing your list on a theme is always a winner. For example, if you like 80s music, you can make one that is simply called "80s music." You could go a thousand ways on this one, such as filling your list with popular songs from the era, or maybe a hundred metal hair-band songs from the 80s. Possibilities are endless.

If you're looking for inspiration, I really suggest you try the iTunes store where almost every week Celebrity Playlists are updated. In these playlists, you get to know your favorite celebrity's favorite songs, and you can either download the whole thing or download the songs that you want. It's sort of a window into the soul of your favorite celebrity, a way to know what inspires them and if they actually have decent taste.

My favorite playlist was one that was never posted. It was director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Clerks, etc.), whom by the way is one of my heroes because of his talents as a writer and his ease at being so articulate when called upon. Smith's was never posted because it was too long! If you read it, you get classic Kevin Smith with all his quips, quirks, and hardcore love for songs you know and songs you'll make fun of him for liking. Whatever. It's just too good.

My least favorite? Any playlists on which I know none of the artists. Why? Well, this ties into the the whole "ahead of your time" thing. Sometimes celebrities like to prove how interesting or how "ahead of their time" they are by saying they like all of these obscure artists that nobody knows about. While I agree that it's nice to know the obscure artists, my only suggestion is that they manage to insert at least one artist that the masses would know. I'm not saying that they need to have T-Pain or Carrie Underwood in there, but maybe just one Elvis or Bob Dylan song would suffice. Something to make me care. Their descriptions also might need work. I'm kind of over the whole "This is AMAZING!" or "I love how this makes me feel."

No matter where you draw inspiration from, my best advice is to go with your gut, and go with what you like. It doesn't really matter what other people think about your playlist... unless you're throwing a party for a hundred drunk college kids. That's when you probably need to consult popular radio, or read Blender.

Some "choice" playlist themes that I'm planning to attempt, complete with their titles:
Steal this movie!: It seems that these days movies don't have a hit single in them anymore, ala "I Will Always Love You" (The Bodyguard) or "My Heart Will Go On" (Titanic). This playlist lets the trend live on! Planned songs include songs from Ghostbusters, Footloose, Mannequin, etc. Not so much 80s movies, but also 90s and others. Many possibilities here, folks. You could also do one with TV theme songs!
Sensitivity: This will be dedicated to all the songs that are about love that make me cry, or songs that make me feel more misunderstood than I actually do already. It might contain some emo songs (maybe), but I really think I'll fill this one with songs from John Mayer, Jason Mraz and countless singer-songwriters. If you have a guitar and you sing all raspy and sweet, then this is the playlist for you.
Travellin' Songs: Named after a Bright Eyes song. What else does it have but songs that make you feel like you're out on the road. It's not anything new, but I think it's essential for your iPod.

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My own personal playlist (filled with songs/artists you know, songs/artists you might not):

• "I Want You Back" - *NSync: Quite possibly my most favorite song by the band because of its cheesiness and super-Swedish production. It has this late 90s boybland-licious vibe that I can, and never will shake. It still gets me all riled up (to dance). *NSync will be back!
• "1000 Things" - Jason Mraz: It's a "love at first sight" song. I'll never get tired of it because Mraz always know how to make you feel lovey dovey, even if you're not in love. I like listening to his music when I need to relax or get in the mood. He's also one of my favorite artists.
• "Modern Nature" - Sondre Lerche: It was one of the songs off of the soundtrack to Dan In Real Life, but it's been out for a while. This is a song that would most definitely be on a romantic playlist just because it's playful and sweet.
• "Narcolepsy" - Third Eye Blind: 90s rock at its best. That particular line "how'd you like to be alone and drowning" still gets me.
• "How Come U Don't Call Me" - Prince: I didn't hear the original one until I heard Alicia Keys' version. Although I love both, I dig Prince's more because damn, it's Prince. Alicia's version is more upbeat and pop-like, while Prince's is stripped down and seems more tragic in his grief.
• "Vegas" - Sara Bareilles: My favorite singer-songwriter to emerge from the past year! She's really great live, and this song is my theme song as of ... now. You can kind of go through the motions of wanting to start anew when you listen to it without actually having to do it. She gives you an idea.
• "I Believe When I Fall In Love (It Will Be Forever)" - Stevie Wonder: The title pretty much explains it. My favorite Stevie song, too.
• "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" - The White Stripes: Also self-explanatory. And I'm a huge, huge, huge White Stripes fan. Huge.
• "Videotape" - Radiohead: I never really liked/listened to Radiohead until "in_Rainbows" came out. Call me bandwagon, but I think these guys might be onto something here! ;)
• "Coming Clean" - Green Day: a "coming out" song. It has this innocence to it.
• "Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)" - John Legend: another "love" song. Making a love-song playlist without anything by John Legend is a sin. (Also, do you notice I like a lot of songs that have parenthesis in the title?)
• "Foolish Love" - Rufus Wainwright: I discovered him late, but this is one of his classics. He can certainly belt out a tune.
• "The Professor & La Fille Danse" - Damien Rice: Another singer-songwriter ... please don't except anything less! I love his voice and its' ability to get quiet at the most appropriate times. Sigh.
• "Livin' On A Prayer" - Bon Jovi: My fondest memory of this song is me and my cousins in a car banging our heads along to this song while my uncle blasted it on the radio, the windows down, the wind blowing hard. It sounds like it's out of a movie, but it wasn't. I still get chills.
• "Back Here" - BBMak: This song is so unbelievably lame, but I'll be all cliche and say I LOVE IT, and I could listen to it forever.
• "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" - Ashlee Simpson: I know I lose my street cred (ha) by saying I like this song, but damn. I really like this song.
  

I could go on, but it would take forever.

Visit: iTunes (official)
My Boring Ass Life (Kevin Smith's blog)
Image Credits: Scene Stealer (Say Anything), Amazon (for the CD covers)

Labels: iPod, music playlists

posted by caroline @ 10:29 PM