The least organized playlist

I mentioned recently learning that if I shared a Spotify playlist, I could add a note, and I used this to link to the appropriate blog posts. There was just one playlist that I  had never written about, and it may well be the one that needs the most explanation.

I don't remember exactly where the inspiration came from, but the title is 12/21/12, and the idea was a soundtrack for waiting for the apocalypse.

I honestly don't remember if I had been procrastinating creating it, which is certainly possible, or if it only occurred to me to do it that day. As it was, I was compiling it on that day, and just pulling things in that don't necessarily go there. It is messy and incomplete. It's a good thing the world didn't end.

While I don't remember exactly when I got the idea to do it, I know part of it came from a Rejects interview, where they were asked what song they would play for the world ending, and while I think they were leaning towards "Heartbeat Slowing Down", which they were all really proud of,  one of the more obvious choices was "Mona Lisa" ("You can sit beside me when the world comes down".) What they realized was that they had a lot of songs that would be appropriate.

My first thought was "It Ends Tonight". The problem with that is that the title is on the nose, but the song is about a relationship ending, whereas "Mona Lisa" is a lot more apocalyptic. Of course, "Heartbeat Slowing Down" is really personal as well, and this is exactly where it got messy.

There are songs about the end of civilization and destruction, which work, but there are also songs about death, that work, and then there are songs that aren't really about that, but they have kind of ominous titles, and then there are also songs about the human condition, which might lead us to the state of destruction. In addition, there were songs about hope, and not giving up. Also, there were songs that I just liked.

For example, when I was thinking about the Clash, "Armagideon Time" and "Time Is Tight" seemed obvious, based on the titles, though really there were a lot that would fit. They have so many songs that reference things spinning out of control, but I ended up putting in "Train In Vain", which doesn't relate at all, but I really like it, and isn't listening to the music you really like a reasonable way of going out?

I did a very similar thing with the Ramones. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" is there for acceptance, and "I Wanna Live" is for resistance. "Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio" is for the nostalgia you might feel towards the end, and even though "Howling At The Moon" says "There's no law anymore" and refers to change, yeah, it's really just there because I love it.

So, it's not really an effective playlist, but there are things I like about it. I like having The New Radicals "You Get What You Give" on a list with "Always Love" by Nada Surf, because they hold similar emotional and philosophical places for me. It is weird to have "Babylon's Burning" by the Ruts and "The Promise Of A New Day" by Paula Abdul together, but sometimes, I am weird.

There might be the seeds of multiple playlists here, having one for death, and one for apocalypse, and one for perseverance, and one that would be the equivalent of the desert island playlist, where there are just songs that it is important to be able to hear. Those things could happen.

Currently I am not planning on creating any additional playlists, but this was the right time to write about this, because thinking about the roles that music can fill in the face of uncertainty is going to play into the next post or two.

Plus, now I can share this playlist and add a link to an appropriate blog! I am always multi-tasking.