Some words on the current playlist before it goes into retirement.

The original version of this post included some reflections on the individual songs from one of my most frequently used playlists. I don’t think that it worked at all (as evidenced by the fact that no one read it). I neglected to include a narrative thread that would have tied the entries on each song together and it was far too long (if you know me at all, you know that I tend to ramble). So, I’m going to call a mulligan.

I’m a runner who is reliant on weird playlists. When I first started running, I read a great post from Brent Rose about the importance of tempo in running playlists. My first few playlists were based on his sage advice, but I quickly abandoned that for a ‘songs that interest me/get me hyped’ approach to building a playlist. At one point, I even included most of the first Run the Jewels album. On another occasion, I included most of the Hamilton soundtrack.

My two current playlists are a mix of hip-hop songs released in my teens and twenties (when I had more time to commit to keeping up with and loving hip-hop). It’s a messy blend of tempos, subgenres and styles, but they all resonate with me at some point in a typical run.

My next one will probably be a bit more of a standard one to help me get better. We’ll see how that goes.

I’ve split up my original post into a few separate posts in the hope that it makes it an easier read. Hope you like it!