#Rob Gordon

[hopeinthebox]

how do u curate your playlists? they're so good (listening to the glen powell one rn lol)

dearest anon, please know you've made my entire summer with this ask <3333 (here's the playlist in question)

now while i recognise you probably weren't looking for a legitimate breakdown of the process here, you've inspired me to take a deep dive, and i'm prone to getting carried away (and yes, i read high fidelity recently and rewatched the film and the series. but i'm sure that has nothing to do with it). so here goes, under the cut:

Lizzy's Guide to the Delicate Art of Making a Playlist

#1 - What's the Point?

There has to be a theme or mood or connecting thread for the playlist. That being said, as long as it makes sense to you, you've pretty much got this covered.

What's the story? Is it based on a mood, an event, a time in your life, a person, a character, a genre, an era, etc. etc. There's plenty to choose from, so there's plenty of playlists to be made. Go crazy, get weird with it.

(In this example, the overarching theme is: Glen Powell Hot (Twisters Edn.) with a sub-theme, if you will: Country Music for Beginners.)

#2 - Song Selection

Once the theme is set, I gather a few tracks that spring to mind immediately. In this instance:

• Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That - Dolly Parton

• Cowboy Take Me Away - The Chicks

• Country's Cool Again - Lainey Wilson

All of these are fairly self-explanatory if you have been caught up in the Twisters press tour at all recently. No further comment.

From here I flesh out the ~general vibelist~ with more tracks, some classics and some deep cuts. I'm cross-referencing my own musical knowledge, previous playlists, spotify mixes (god forgive me, the occasional algorithm picks), and other user's Powell playlists (topgun-heavy, but you certainly can't blame them).

#3 - Order Matters

There's got to be some sort of flow to the playlist front to back, unless your theme is audio whiplash, for example.

Now here I am a devout follower of the High Fidelity rules, which are as follows:

Track 1 - Open with a killer - sets the tone, gets people invested

(Here, Lady Gaga's You And I ~ it's a banger, and it's country enough to get away with. Can't bring out the banjo prematurely, we'll lose people)

Track 2 - Bring it up a notch - let them know we're just getting started

(Alannah Myles, Black Velvet ~ country-ing it up a notch but staying firmly in the mainstream, because again, we don't want to scare anyone)

Track 3 - Cool it down - now we're settling in

(Chris Stapleton ft. Dua Lipa - I Think I'm In Love With You ~ Dua keeps us firmly rooted in the crowd pleasers, and we can sneak in some Stapleton)

N.B. There is a rule here that I don't abide by, the "only one track per artist" - there's three dolly tracks in this lineup alone and i stand by all of them. Provided you're not adding an entire album or two, I think you can get away with it.

Anyway, this three-track run fires us into a classic (Islands In The Stream) which melts into Tyler Childers and suddenly we're knee deep in Kentucky and you didn't even know it.

The trick is to not overthink it, which is always easier said than done. Ordering only has to make sense to you from start to finish. This journey's gotta go somewhere - throw in a few peaks and troughs, and the songs are just connecting the dots along the way.

#4 - As Does Shuffle-ability

Now, having said all that, I feel like this is a safe space to admit I am a chronic shuffler, so a degree of shuffle-ability is required.

All this means is that your underlying theme is evident throughout. Any wildcards are going to make sense wherever they pop up.

With this one, the thread of country through all of these tracks is what ties the theme together (saving a horse). There are some classics (Faith Hill, Willie Nelson), soul-heavy tracks (Secret Sisters, Leon Bridges), and and few more pop-adjacent (Haim, Ashe) but they've all got that twang - so it's shuffle proof.

#5 - Points for Presentation

A good cover, title and description can offset a multitude of sins. Don't underestimate the power of presentation.

Duration comes into play here also, where anything shorter than half an hour feels like it has nowhere to go, but over three hours feels insurmountable. Unless you're going for a compilation, year in your life playlist, or some background low-fi stuff, keep it tight.

And there you have it folks, my (lengthy) guide to playlist curation. Final note, don't love it and leave it. If you come across something new, jostle things around to get it in. Similarly, if something doesn't fit anymore, toss it. The beauty of the modern mixtape is you can edit it as little or as often as you like.

If you made it this far, I'm personally sending you a little kiss on the forehead. And to the anon who inspired this article of a response, I can only apologise. MWAH

[nearsighted-calliope]

[fght-ff-yr-dmns]

High Fidelity (2000) Directed by Stephen Frears Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey

[picspammer]

[danobaggins]

me after any minor inconvenience

[fat1ma3]

[mannytoodope]

[nofatclips]

Piano-vocal version of The Secret Seven by Owen Pallett [Free Download on SoundCloud]

[andrewisdoing]

inspired by @lovreams

[codename-adler]

3.

Welcome back to the Neil & Seth shitshow!

i love my dummy sweet pea princesita seth sm we were robbed of his 3 brain cells

*Context for the Aaron tweet: in my Kevaaron fic “dance ‘til you find someone to die for” as well as my Kathea 🌺 wip et general hcs where Aaron and Katelyn have to separate, Kate has a mental breakdown from her multiple undiagnosed mental illnesses and thus is interned into a psych ward for months while events unfold on the outside. i just saw the tweet and thought it was funny and a lovely coincidence :)

>> GC next >>

[gordon-freeman-phd]

fear not @sparkledragon04 i know exactly which place youre talking of becuz i shrimply have the maps of half life memorized so i can play it in my brain when i cant access a computer

also heres a bonus doodle page of chief being too big to do things becuz i love how big chief is

[fangirloverlode]

the OG Saw script is absolutely insane but I’m so sad this in particular was cut what the fuck is he doing 😭

[canthandlethishit]

in my other fandoms i would make coffee shop, convenience store, bakery, etc aus but istg you put one of the batkids in a customer service job (sans Barbara being a librarian) and they’d draw blood, lawsuits and lose the job in maximum a month

OR IT COULD BE AN UNDERCOVER JOB

this came to me while trying to make a tim barista au in my head and he’s having no restraint he’s just roasted 3 people fired the manager and taken over the chain store online system as hostage (he’s gathering intel to sue the brand for unethical labour practices)

jason as a grocer would be like pimento from br99 and it works holy shit he’d pull out a gun if you tryna bitch with him tho

steph could be like working at a cosmetics store she’d slay she gives good suggestions and the business is boomin but in my experience those stores get the kind of entitled karens and douche boyfriend/husband that boils your blood shes gonna let loose on a lady/man and lawsuits will be made

cass…. hmmm she could analyze what people want and need real fast she could be hairdresser utilizing the knife skill give you the sickest fade, stopping at the appropriate length from body language alone (no more nervous breakdown)

damian…… ????? y’all say he could he a vet but i dont see that the insurance paperwork, overpriced pharmaceuticals would kill my man he’d switch to law real quick pro bono n shit (the medical industry is so fucked in the US things are wayyy too expensive)

=> conclusion cass would last the longest with a normal job (excluding dick & barbs)

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[mannytoodope]

[thevixenator3000]

art dump!!! TW: DRVGZ, BL00D, WEAPONS sorry it's been so long, hey bitches :3