A fact I learned last week that blew my mind is how not everyone is pushed to have an emotional experience when listening to music. Music has always been a medium I use to either reinforce feelings I’m currently confronting or get into a specific mood, so it surprised me to find out that some people have only a neutral reaction to the cultivation of sounds. In the spirit of discovering the different reactions people can have to music, here are some of the Spotify playlists I’ve been playing on repeat lately to reach a certain frame of mind.

When Relaxing: fruit preserves

A TikTok randomly graced my FYP by plugging this playlist for supplying the perfect songs to set the tone for a chill, yet refined end-of-summer dinner party. It includes an unexpected assortment of music genres, ranging from the classic rock songs your dad used to play in the car to Harry Styles’s newest album.

When Pregaming: All Out 2000s

There’s something to be said about the unparalleled energy that 2000s music is able to draw out of a crowd. It could be from the nostalgia it stirs up or the upbeat pop sounds this music genre is so famous for. Nonetheless, listening to this playlist while I’m getting ready to go out is an infallible way to get in the right mindset to socialize and have fun.

When Walking to Class: House – Energetic Groovy

Created by my dear friend Sam (aka DJ Masto), this is the ultimate playlist to listen to when in transit from one place to another from the upbeat house songs it includes (most namely ‘Clouds’ by BUNT.). I’m listening to it as I’m writing this post and can attest that the vibes are indeed immaculate.

When Studying: svh

This playlist has been in the works since my sophomore year of high school, so it’s been around the block quite a few times. I started it to serve as a physical archive of all of the music suggestions I would receive from family and friends, as well as the screenshots of songs that random people I follow on Instagram would post to their stories unprompted. Although I used to be a lot better at updating it, svh has now almost amassed 1,000 songs. This is the type of playlist I like to pull out when studying or doing work because the songs aren’t ones that I would listen to on a regular basis (otherwise cue the lipsyncing) but that still have pleasant memories attached to them to keep me motivated.

When Searching for Newness: january ’23

A period of my life that I’ve been missing the most lately is when I was the chauffeur for my siblings to and from high school. Don’t tell them this, but my brother and sister have the best music taste out of anyone I’ve come to know. I’m constantly discovering new songs and genres from them, and I feel as though my awareness of music has slightly stagnated since we’re not frequently in a setting together to exchange songs like we used to. To stay fresh, I like to listen to the monthly playlists my sister makes, which are always full of surprises. Now that I’ve given a spiel about my siblings’ impeccable music taste and only given an example of one of my sister’s playlists, here’s a plug to my brother’s most liked playlist on Spotify, rocker roller. Emma and James if you see this, consider it your Christmas present for this year, k?

💘 Hanna