playlist
Beat's recommended playlist for all of your musical needs.
True Love Begins with a mix Tape
When I was a child the music around me was what my parents chose to provide. Their own musical journey had evolved throughout their own lives and they shared this part of themselves nearly unintentionally. Tom Petty, the B52s, steve miller band and the cranberries were some of the first artists of the soundtrack of my life. Music was used as a teaching aid as I learned the alphabet song to learn to read and nursery rhymes for lessons and memory tools. My mother, being a devout catholic, also introduced hymns and christian music as part of of the musical palette I experienced. Whenever I went to my grandmothers house she had classical music playing softly in the background. Music is everywhere, playing in the background at department stores and enhancing all of our movies and tv shows and selling us products through jingles. My family listened to the oldies station in the car on our way to anywhere and everywhere. In the 80’s and early 90’s the oldies station made the soundtrack of my life expand to include the beatles, motown hits, aretha franklin, chuck berry and elvis to name a few. My sisters and I watched musicals like Annie and Jesus Christ Superstar and the Sound of Music and we had most of these soundtracks on vinyl that we listened to together on an old record player at my grandparents house. In high school in the 90’s I started feeling more freedom to make my own decisions about my listening pleasure. The first cassette tape I ever bought was Don McCleans American pie album. My sisters and cousins and I pretended to make music videos while lip singing to en vogue and wilson philips and I started my ongoing love affair with weird Al Yankovic. I got my drivers license and played aerosmith and blink 182 and weezer while I drove myself and my sisters to school, all of us singing loudly together. I had first and second and third boyfriends and was consoled after breakups by the cure and Alanis morisette. At this point in my life I discovered the joys of mix tapes. A variety of music of my choosing with no commercials?!?! Pure bliss. It felt like a true art to decide the combination and order of songs. Do you start out slowly and ramp things up to bring it back down again? Does this mix start fast and heavy and stay that way? I made party mixes with music to dance to and study music to learn to and sleepy music to drift off to sleep. We had moved on from cassette tapes to CDs when I started making road trip mixes. Tom Petty and steve miller band were still showing up on the soundtrack of my life. This is also when I was introduced to the grateful dead and janis joplin who are a major staple in my continuing soundtrack of my life. I exchanged music with people and it felt like love and connection. Music defined friendships and romance and seperated us by genres. Some people defined themselves by their loyalty to a specific genre. Many of us would claim to love everything but country and rap. I made this claim myself until realizing that even those genres had some incredible gems. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was so excited to share music with her. Elton John and I sang to the Tiny Dancer as she danced around in my growing belly. I made a mix for big delivery day that would set the tone for relaxing child birth and ended with etta james singing “at last” at which point I was hoping to be holding the baby in my arms. We listened to the mix about three times while I labored and though this did not go exactly according to plan I did at long last get to hold that sweet baby and all of the songs on that playlist are a magical part of my playlist that still connect me to the first love of my life. She is 18 now and I love that she has her own style and soundtrack but still loves much of the music from my soundtrack and includes it in her own. I dont want my son to be just a side note in this story because his birth was equally significant and he is my special little fella. This is the story of the soundtrack of my life though and his soundtrack was quite similar to his sisters. Six weeks after my sons birth my grandmother passed away. This was the first real significant loss for me and it was very difficult. After her death I had six more close family members die over the next two years. These years were dark and my childrens father did not have the tools to support me through these devastating losses. We got divorced and I had one more lost relationship to grieve and two children to raise nearly on my own. A dear friend started making me mixed tapes and helping me through things with stories of his own experiences with loss. I fell in love with him and the soundtrack of my life expanded to include mason jennings, amos lee, rory mccleod and billy bragg amongst others. There are songs that I can never remember the name or artist but when I hear them it brings me back to that time and place with him. When he died tragically as well I would listen to the many mixes he had made me in that magical year together and deal with the waves of emotions as they rushed over me. About two months after he died a friend told me that I needed to get out and dance and she took me to a local concert venue. The band was called dgiin and they called their style “french flamenco gypsy funk”. The music filled my soul and I let my body move and be filled the healing magic of rhythm and dance. Music helped me through the next decade and a half of single parenting and struggling to make ends meet. I met people who added music to my soundtrack and gave me hope. I struggled against the indoctrination of the religion I had been born into and discovered that I am gay. I met an amazing woman who started sending me music that filled my soul and deepened our connection. She shares my love of weird Al and Bjork and we saw them both live. She has expanded my soundtrack to include leslie hall and kat edmonson and so many more. She also has brought new meaning to some old favorites. She sent me some rolling stones songs that now remind me of her because she is my rainbow. So now at 42 I am making my first ever wedding mix! I am nervous about getting everything ready for this big party we are trying to throw but so excited to see where this soundtrack of my life continues taking me. As the eels say in my current favorite song… I like the way this is going ❤️
By Amanda Bloomberg3 years ago in Beat
The Ever Changing Music
I started singing at the age of three and music has become a big part of my life. Disney’s the Little Mermaid was my anthem when it came out and I memorized Ariel’s song “Part of Your World” after watching it on repeat and probably driving my parents crazy.
By Katie Lewis3 years ago in Beat
"Everybody Needs" These Songs
You know those beneficial tasks that you want to do, but they're not important enough to actually do? They circle the drain of your mind, just waiting to pass the threshold into actuality. I'm talking about: scouring the internet for organization items like beds with storage, or color-coordinating your closet, or even making a list of baby names even though you're not pregnant, yet. Some of them are chores, and some of them are recreational, but both take up space in your mind. Eventually, you have to write them down to remember them or you have to finally do them. Once you do, there is a satisfaction in bringing them to life. Funny enough, categorizing my favorite songs has been in my brain drain for months. With the Melodic Milestone Playlist challenge now in existence, its a task that has become "beneficial" enough for me to do. And, I'll definitely experience satisfaction while doing it.
By Abby Kay Mendonca3 years ago in Beat
Rick Henry Christopher's Jazz Art
Rick Henry Christopher's Jazz Art is a series of digital art I created based upon the emotions and inspiration I receive from my favorite jazz musicians. Some of these pieces are based on photographs, others are based on drawings, some are based on a few splashings of color. Then I go to work on the computer putting them through various apps. I've created more than 75 pieces. In this article I am sharing six.
By Rick Henry Christopher 3 years ago in Beat
Also sprach das Selbst
Like all children, I was born as a being of curiosity and joy. Though perhaps I had too much kindness and silence in me. Nature called to me. And like all children I had what some thing of as a secret need for love. Perhaps mine was greater than others, as I was never fed quite enough. Thus solitude and sadness lurked at the edges from a young age.
By Stéphane Dreyfus3 years ago in Beat
George's Melodic Milestone Playlist
My music journey began at a young age. I first got into music thanks to my parents and a very specific CD that I used to listen to, including tracks like Octopus’s Garden, When I’m 64, Lady in Red, Puff the Magic Dragon and more. that first introduced me to The Beatles and other tracks and artists from the 60’s, 70’s and onwards.
By George Hall3 years ago in Beat
soundtrack of the better days
Part 1: This is for the Loners (Teenage Angst Playlist) Warning: Brief mention of suicide. This playlist is an update to my current standing in life. While Part 1 was darker with moody songs that evoked loneliness and sadness, Part 2 is brighter, slightly more saccharine and feel-good. The playlist, which is separated in acts, goes over important milestones in my life such as when I met my husband and when I gave birth to our son. Soundtrack of the better days is exactly what it sounds like, the official soundtrack of the better days of my life- which is also a reminder to those who have gone or currently going through similar feelings of what I went through during my teen years and early twenties, that life does get better.
By Esmoore Shurpit3 years ago in Beat
The Transformative Power of Music
Music is a universal language that transcends boundaries and touches the deepest chords of our souls. Throughout history, its influence has been undeniable, resonating with people from all walks of life. Whether it's the symphonies of Beethoven, the soul-stirring rhythms of jazz, or the infectious beats of pop music, the impact of music on our lives is immeasurable. This article explores the profound influence of music, highlighting its ability to inspire, heal, connect, and shape our emotions, memories, and overall well-being.
By Kenneth Argüello3 years ago in Beat
Every Song A Memory. Top Story - May 2023.
If I said my life were not defined by music, I'd be disingenuous to the medium that has shaped the artist you see sitting here at her kitchen table in a cut-off t-shirt, tattooed, watching my pet make her slow and arduous recovery. Music has held me together from my earliest memories, has been a guide to my identity, has been a vent for my outrage, and has been my road home. I don't have a collective discography of cohesion. Every melody has come into my life exactly when I needed it. And this last week I needed it more than ever.
By Ashley McGee3 years ago in Beat
People Need a Melody. Runner-Up in Melodic Milestone Playlist Challenge.
Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift My little brother's head is warm against my shoulder. Why are kids' bodies always burning up? Part of me wants to move but I can tell he's falling asleep and even though I'm only in seventh grade I recognize this is a moment I'd like to last a little longer and that it will never last long enough. The prickle of his short hair against my skin, the way he snuggles into me as he drifts in and out of sleep. I wear a lot of soft long sleeved shirts that are meant to be pajamas but I wear them as regular daytime clothing. My little brother likes that my clothes are soft. My clothes might be the softest thing in his life.
By Robyn Esperanza McMahan3 years ago in Beat
When Times Are Rough.
What I Choose ~ Taylor Hall This song allowed me to see the light at the end of the tunnel; it helped me realize how important it is to experience the positive moment even when times are rough. This song gave me the ability to see that the dark times in our lives are necessary for growth. Without hard and dark times we wouldn’t appreciate the lighter, more loving times in our lives. I discovered this song at a time when I felt like things were out of my control. Which they were, but I do have a choice whether to allow certain aspects of life to ruin my day or I can fixate on the things that are going well for me. It’s what I choose.
By Isis Lyons 3 years ago in Beat
