Perfect Playlists

I don’t listen to the radio a lot these days, but getting in the car this morning it happened to be tuned to 94.7, a station which holds a commercial-free day every time they add another 1,000 fans on Facebook. Commercial-free is always a good thing, but better yet, they devote the day to “7-Song Perfect Playlists,” provided (and introduced) by their listeners.

It’s a very simple concept – but brilliant at the same time. It’s brilliant because the perfect playlist does not exist, but on the other hand, an infinite number of perfect playlists exist. And from the ones I heard in my drive to and from work, it was obvious that the fans had put a lot of thought into their playlists. Even the ones with songs I had not heard before worked very well, and just from listening to those seven songs, you felt as if you could tell a lot about the musical taste of the listener. So yes, they were perfect.

It’s a great idea – sort of like a musical Haiku – so I think I’ll do one every now and then.

Perfect Playlist #1:



“Lightning Crashes,” Live



“Listening Wind,” Peter Gabriel



“Lonesome Tears,” Beck



“Alicia Ross,” Kathleen Edwards



"Rain," Patty Griffin



“Horses in My Dreams,” PJ Harvey



“My Body Is A Cage,” Arcade Fire

Enjoy.