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Two New Playlists!

I have two new playlists to share today: Quiet Time 14, and 2020 Vision.

Spotify Quiet Time Winter Playlists

But before we get to that, let’s talk a minute about playlist sharing services. I found out last week, quite by accident, that 8tracks is no longer in business. It had become somewhat of a ghost town in the last year or so, and it was partially for that reason that I had starting hanging around Spotify a bit and testing those waters.

The first time I tried out Spotify, I was underwhelmed. I don’t really know what changed, but this time it clicked with me more. So, after a little while I switched over. I gave up paying for Google Play Music, too, since there are rumors swirling about the future of that service, and why not get everything I want in one place? So, for the last few months, I’ve been using Spotify exclusively. I had intended to keep uploading playlists to 8tracks for anyone who was still following me, but I guess that’s no longer going to be an issue.

I really liked 8tracks while it lasted. I’m sorry to see it go. Just the same, I am enjoying Spotify quite a bit.

If you used to follow me on 8tracks (or even if you didn’t), I invite you to follow me on Spotify 😊

The embedded 8tracks playlists on all of my previous music posts will stop working before long, so I will be replacing them with embedded Spotify playlists as time allows. I started that last week, but I got distracted by something else (is anyone surprised?) and so the job is not done. I’ll try to get back to it soon.

Ok, shall we get on with the new playlists?

Quiet Time 14

Yes, I’ve made fourteen of these playlists. Fifteen, if you count the Christmas one. I’m definitely slowing down, though. I made four of them in 2016, but only two last year. Who knows what 2020 will bring to Quiet Time? Maybe I’ll tire of the whole thing! Who knows?

This latest entry in the series is more of the same. It’s about an hour of music, kicked off by a single instrumental track, and followed by fifteen upbeat-but-relaxing songs. Some old, some new.

Like the others before it, this playlist is the perfect length to just put on and then go to bed.

Often, though, I listen to all of the Quiet Time playlists shuffled together at bedtime. I set a sleep timer and have it turn off after an hour. There are over 200 tracks, so it’s a bit like having a custom Quiet Time radio station to play every night 😊 If you would like to do something similar, go here to find the Collection: SLEEP playlist. If you Follow it, then you’ll get the updates every time I add a new Quiet Time playlist to the collection.

After you follow the playlist, then you can tell your Google Assistant to “Shuffle the Collection: SLEEP playlist on Spotify for one hour” and it should play on your phone or Assistant-enabled smart speaker. (Assuming it’s working properly. Don’t even get me started about things that Google Assistant used to do that it can’t do anymore 😬)

The same command probably works with Alexa, but I haven’t tried it. As long as you have connected your Spotify account with whatever assistant you use, that command will probably work.

2020 Vision

This one is my Winter mix, though I’m only calling it a “Winter mix” because it happens to be January, not because the music is particularly wintry. This is essentially my usual mix of new-to-me tunes, mostly upbeat, though it mellows out a bit here and there. My mixes always seem to do that, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise 😁

If there’s a theme at all, it’s probably one of grief. Though not in a dramatic, overly-emotional, weepy ballad kind of way.

About the Music

The first track, which has your typical Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes kind of energy, is all about asking a departed loved one to send them a sign. I like to listen to this while I’m driving around in the car that used to belong to my Dad (the same car that’s on the playlist cover). Sometimes I sing along, sometimes I sob, sometimes both. You know how it is.

The second track is a song by Coldplay, which I heard for the first time in Old Navy, just a few hours before my father died. We knew the end was coming soon. We’d gone to the mall, to get a little break from the hospital. I heard this song while I was looking at a display of red plaid pajamas, and I just loved it right away. I don’t think it has anything to do, necessarily, with what was happening in my life at the time, but it’s inextricably woven into that night for me. And, for some reason, that doesn’t really make me sad. Maybe because the lyrics are all about living your best life. I think Dad did that. And I hope I am doing that, too.

None of the other tracks are really meaningful to me in that same way. But many of them do give me similar feels to the first two tracks, for whatever reason. And the rest of the songs are just there because I like them 🙂

Have a Listen

These songs are also part of the larger Collection: WINTER playlist. Check that out, if you would like to listen to all seven of my Winter playlists all together.

Thanks for listening! I don’t get anything out of these musical posts, aside from the joy of sharing. It must be my inner DJ coming out. If you enjoy them, let me know! It makes me happy to think someone (aside from me) is enjoying the mixes I put together 🙂

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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