Halftime How-To: Build a Better Playlist

Halftime how-to: build a better playlist

By now we all know the power music holds to set the tone for almost anything—an event, a work day, a Sunday afternoon reading sesh. And the perfect playlist? Let’s just say our mix tapes—the playlist precursor—have survived multiple moves and downsizings. Here’s how to find your inner DJ and make a mix that sparks earfuls of joy.

Choose the mood.

And that means reading the room. If your list is for you and you only, your mood is the mood. But if you’re planning to shuffle it, say, for a chilled-out dinner party, you may want to forego your favorite 1980s Glam Rock. 

Literally, mix it.

Think of it like building a balanced bouquet of flowers: to create depth and interest, you’ll want to cultivate a blend of genres, tempos, and familiar and newer tunes. Like all good storytelling, the beginning of your list should lay the groundwork for the desired mood, with a bit of a crescendo in the center—this is where you break out the crowd-pleasers—then a smooth and satisfying end. 

Cultivate the season.

There are certain songs that just go well with certain seasons, both on the calendar and in our lives. That’s why we like creating new playlists for each new season, starting with the music on our minds and then adding new discoveries that pop up along the way. It’s a great way to quickly collect that new song you hear in passing, and to look back on seasons past and remember what you were doing when you last heard a tune.

Crib all you want.

Music services like Spotify provide lots of opportunities for inspo. Let’s say you love “The Muse” by the Wood Brothers. You could:

• Search for that song, then scroll and find playlists others have created that contain it, for similarly vibed songs 

• Start a playlist of a few songs and then scroll down to see what Spotify recommends based on your selections so far 

• Try your luck by right clicking on a given playlist and selecting “create similar playlist” to see what pops up. 

We also love Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” feature for the occasional aural serendipity. There’s no such thing as cheating when it comes to “copying” others’ mixology. As the great Stevie Wonder sang, “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand; with an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance and clap their hands.”