Shortly after the election results came in, my friend sent me an e-mail containing an "Election Blues" playlist. She is a Kerry supporter. Since both of us are Rhapsody subscribers, I was able to click on the playlist and load it into my Rhapsody software. It started with Aretha Franklin's Today I Sing the Blues, and moved through Beck's Loser and Randy Newman's Mr President (Have Pity on the Working Man). It finished with Que, Sera, Sera sung by Sly and the Family Stone. It seems my friend was not alone. Over at the iTunes Music Store I saw numerous such playlists posted. These, in turn, were outnumbered by more optimistic pre-election playlists. So far, no jubilant Bush supporters have checked in with their playlists. I suspect they're too busy celebrating.
Years ago you wouldn't have seen such an outpouring, so quickly. Mix tapes took real work to create. Now, thanks to jukebox software that makes the job a snap, mixes and playlists are proliferating. The appeal is undeniable. Why listen to a whole album, when you only like two or three songs? Better to distill your favorites into playlists and maximize your listening pleasure. Or create thematic mixes to match the mood or the moment. Whether you're sad or happy, or planning the perfect party, the right playlist will provide the proper soundtrack.
If you want ideas for a good mix, check out the aptly named Art of the Mix Web site, where you can browse mixes posted by others and post your own. A helpful taxonomy of mix types is given for you to consider.
If you have the free iTunes software loaded on your PC, you can always troop on over to the iTunes Music Store and peruse the iMix section, where customers post their mixes. Mixes created by celebrities and iTunes Music Store staff are also available. Even if you don't buy the songs, the mixes can be useful for ideas (I play the songs on Rhapsody). Another good resource is the Mixtaper site, used by eMusic subscribers (and others) to post and listen to MP3 playlists. Forums for discussing music are also available.
If you want to create your own "Election Blues" playlist, you can turn to the Soundflavor site, where a search for songs about "political tragedies/oppression" turns up 458 songs. Narrowing this to "manic" songs drops the total to 50, including Come Join Us by Bad Religion. Alternately, if you just want songs with female vocals, the total drops to 24 songs, including the Pretenders' Middle of the Road, and Tracey Chapman Talking about a Revolution. Likewise, you can search for songs by genre, instrument, tempo, and year of publication. Another option is to select a song and request "more like this." Songs that you find on Soundflavor can then be saved to playlists.
Another playlist resource can be found on the Allmusic site, which now lets you explore music by mood and theme (registration required). Looking for "dreamy" music? Or perhaps "road trip" music? How about "scary" music? You'll find lists of songs and albums to consider.
Of course, sometimes the best finds happen while you're listening to the radio, which is why I like the "wish list" features on Internet radio services like Live365 and Musicmatch Radio. In each case, when I hear a song I really like, I can save it to my wish list for future reference. Also interesting is MSN Radio's SoundsLike feature, which lets you request a list of songs that "sound like" the one you just heard.
If you're working on a theme oriented playlist, you might be able to find an Internet radio station devoted to that theme (e.g. love songs, workout music). For example, type the word "rain" into the Live365 search engine and you'll find the following radio stations: Rainy Day Radio, Jazz for a Rainy Day, Raindrop, and Evening Melancholy. If the station is good, you may find no need to create your own playlist. Somebody has done it for you.
Online jukebox services like Rhapsody and Musicmatch On-Demand let you create playlists and share them with other subscribers. Musicmatch also lets you share playlists with non-subscribers, who are allowed to play them up to three times. This is an added benefit to the online jukebox services: because your friend has same record collection, in effect, it's easier to share music. This gives you an incentive to nag your friends to join, so that you can send playlists back and forth. Whether they like what you send them is, of course, another matter.
—Andy Breeding
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