This afternoon I sat down to write a poem inspired by Kayo Chingonyi’s recent collection Kumukanda. It’s a wonderful debut collection, rooted heavily in a childhood spent immersed in music. It finds him laboring over mixtapes and old cassette players, spacing the seconds between songs to ensure smooth transitions and optimal exposure. I read it and recalled my own childhood, particularly those memories which play out in a similar vein. I remember with clarity staring at a limited iTunes library in 2006, trying to pick twenty songs which might communicate to a listener everything I wanted them to. I had friends who, knowing how much I loved my music, would ask me to make them CD’s (the early 21st-century mixtape equivalent) and I was more than happy to oblige. I saw it as a challenge, a way to test their knowledge against mine and enlighten them a little in the process. It made me feel a little like a DJ, dictating track order and mood, and I looked forward to their feedback as a heightened form of social approval. Most of the time, I think I did a good job.

Anyway, my poem didn’t turn off to be worth shit, but it did make me want to set something in motion which I’ve wanted to for a while. I miss compiling playlists, mostly for myself, but also sometimes for other people. So, I figured I’d do something similar here; throw together a Spotify playlist of songs I’ve been listening to, to be posted on this site every Monday. Twenty-five songs – some new, some old. Curating playlists is always something I enjoy more than I should, and maybe those who still visit this site (if there are any) might unearth something or find they share similar tastes. Anyway, here’s the first one, featuring:

Camp Cope / The Wonder Years / Hobo Johnson / Kailee Morgue / Hodera / Boston Manor / Pianos Become The Teeth / Blossoms / Courtney Barnett / Tigers Jaw / Rejjie Snow / Sidney Gish / Turnstile / The Receiving End of Sirens / Hop Along / Kendrick Lamar / Rolo Tomassi / Foxtails / Gulfer / Lucy Dacus / Soccer Mommy / Slaves / The World is a Beautiful Place / MGMT / Kevin Devine

Open in web: https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:1110491203:playlist:6SptqduuY2Svpasnza4SUj&theme=white