Allow me to introduce my Spring 2013 playlist. For the last six years, every spring and fall I have created a playlist that represents my thoughts, emotions and outlook during the current season. This year I may have the seasons backwards.
As I’m compiling the playlist, I try to follow a few rules. First, I try to keep the total playlist less than an hour. Old school I know, but the old constraint of a mixtape or CD forces careful selection. Also, I try to include at least one of the following:
- Representative of the season
- New song (released in the last 3 months)
- Old song (released before 1976)
- Upbeat song
- Reflective song
Over the years, I have created a dozen or more seasonal playlists. Sure, I’ve created lots of themed playlists, but these are curated, thoughtful, and special. Some are better than others, but all of them can instantly transport my mind to the season when I created the list. Typically, the spring mix lasts through summer and the fall list lasts through winter, so they all typically have some level of survivability.
For years, I’ve tried multiple services to share the list, but the best service to share the playlist is Spotify. Enjoy!
[button link=”http://open.spotify.com/user/jeremypfloyd/playlist/1ZJUPUKFPtemN693xIUfYM” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Listen to the 2013 Playlist on Spotify[/button]
Spring 2013 Playlist
This spring’s playlist is heavy on Americana acoustic with a few fun rump-shaking hits in between. Winter’s bite seems to grip deeper each year into my thirties. In the dark and lifeless winter, I earn my rings by chewing on the previous year. Starting with The Brilliance, spring’s first bloom offers hope that indeed the sun will rise and the darkness of winter’s bite will soon be but a distant memory.
As I’ve flown through life working, raising kids and trying to keep up with all of life’s demands, it’s sometimes tricky to look around and see the texture of life as a thirty-something. Â I found myself hanging onto Ryan Adams’ Lucky Now for hours. Realizing what you are and where you are is not altogether painless as it is juxtaposed against what you are no longer are and where you will never be again.
The hope and promise is fulfilled by seeing the deep and priceless impact that my family has on my life, so In Spite of Ourselves and Better than Love are markers of the quirky but enduring romance that I began with my wife thirteen years ago. As a bookend to Lucky Now, The Lumineers’ Stubborn Love is a reminder that any relationship worth having is a relentless pursuit. Sometimes in the middle of it all, that’s a lesson that gets lost.
Enough with the sap. 🙂 The tempo of this playlist tracks a bit slower than usual (for a spring list), but there are several upbeat tracks especially chosen by the kids. Hip shaking and somersaults accent the beats of Will.i.am and Justin Timberlake. The bridge in Work it Around may be one of my favorite thirty seconds on the whole playlist!
I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to hear your feedback.
| Track # | Artist | Song | Album |
| 1 | The Brilliance | The Sun Will Rise |  The Brilliance |
| 2 | Ryan Adams | Lucky Now |  Ashes & Fire |
| 3 | Kate Earl | One Woman Army |  Stronger |
| 4 | Will.i.am | Fall Down |  #willpower |
| 5 | Etta James | A Sunday Kind of Love |  At Last! |
| 6 | Passion Pit | Carried Away |  Gossamer |
| 7 | Griffin House | Better than Love |  Flying Upside Down |
| 8 | John Prine & Iris Dement |
In Spite of Ourselves |  In Spite of Ourselves |
| 9 | Mumford and Sons | I Will Wait |  Babel |
| 10 | The Lumineers | Stubborn Love |  The Lumineers |
| 11 | Tristan Prettyman | Simple as it Should Be |  Twentythree |
| 12 | Them Swoops | Work it Around |  Work it Around |
| 13 | Peter Bradley Adams | The Longer I Run |  Leavetaking |
| 14 | Justin Timberlake | Let the Groove Get In |  The 20/20 Experience |
