Monday, January 9, 2012

THE SACRED RITE OF THE PLAYLIST

I had the privilege this past October to host an evening social with some wonderful people, some of whom I had met previously via a mutual love of music through various blogs and social media.  I was also fortunate to be acquainted with some fine new folks as well that night.

To me the best part of the evening was the sacred rite of passing the iPad around to take turns selecting songs (connected remotely to my digital library) resulting in a collectively curated playlist that evolved throughout the evening.

As the evening progressed stories were shared of what was behind each song choice (thanks to the persistent bidding of  Sean Wraight). It felt like the 21st century version of passing the talking stick around the campfire, though in this case we didn't have to be worried about being eaten by wild animals.

There were tales behind many of the songs or anecdotes that in the tellers mind was inextricably connected to their chosen track. Many of the stories were humorous and even touching at times, revealing tiny snapshots of the spark in each person present that evening. It was a wonderful and inspiring experience.

In the spirit of this I hope to facilitate an ongoing virtual version of this sacred rite by doing a series on this blog called "songs have stories", where I hope many songs and the stories behind them will be connected or shared.  I am curious to see what commonalities or themes emerge around certain songs.

More to come!

(A big shout-out to Barbara Bruederlin who was the force behind Communique 2011 and made this event happen)

6 comments:

Wandering Coyote said...

Yes, that was such a great night! I was happy to find stuff in your library that I even liked, and for that matter, recognized! :)

Westcoast Walker said...

Thanks Allyson - I still contend that I might find quite a few unknown gems in your library!

Allison said...

That's one of my favourite musical memories of 2011. I love hearing the story behind the choice especially.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

That was such a wonderful evening, and the passing of the talking istick was a particularly magical part of it all.

I love the idea of continuing the conversation!

Sean Wraight said...

That was a very special evening Matthew and I thank you again for hosting it. Hearing those stories was as much illuminating as it was heartwarming. Music is indeed our common bond and hearing the stories that endear it to us all is a necessary thing.

It's so important to share this compelling stuff. I am very interested in carrying on this age old tradition in a virtual way and look forward to what lies ahead.

s

Westcoast Walker said...

I appreciated the affirmation and responses - my conspiratorial mind is in overdrive this week and I've got a plan in the works to pass around the virtual iPad (or talking stick) shortly!