Monday, March 16, 2009

Playlist

I've mentioned before that we make a big deal out of Saturday night dinner. We put out the matching glasses and napkins. We light a candle. We turn down the lights and gather in a way that's different from our day in, day out dinner routine.

We listen to music at the dinner table on Saturdays and we take turns choosing what we listen to. In the past, The Kid's choices were pretty predictable. For months it was "The Best of Van Morrison." Then it was REM's "Green" (which I love with a white-hot passion). Recently, his musical world is expanding. He listens to Bob Marley and Foo Fighters and strange ambient, new age stuff.

Last week we decided to up the musical ante for dinner music by taking turns creating a playlist for Saturday night dinner. Lefty's turn was Saturday (great list, heavy on jazz). It is my turn next week.

Planning my playlist has plunged me back into the memories of the mix tapes I used to make. My sister and I used to exchanged them and we created some classics. Her best one was titled "water is falling from the sky." Mine was, "I Was Stung by a Poison Toad from Hell." These are tightly woven thematic collections of music that I still love in all their warped cassette tape glory.

So I've gathered up a big pile of cds and I've started listening and making notes for my playlist. (This whole process is infinitely easier on a computer, I might add.) If I like the way it turns out, I might even send a copy to my sister.

5 comments:

  1. I thought Blogger didn't let "U" use bad words like uh, "U" know what I mean??

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  2. I love your Saturday night tradition. We're huge music fans. What a lovely idea.

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  3. Wish we had done this when the boys were younger.

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  4. Okay, you can't give us those titles and then not share some of the songs! I'm so intrigued!

    Ah, I remember those days...did you used to spend hours listening to the radio, waiting for that special song to come on so you could tape it?

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