The Power of a Playlist

Well folks, here we still are, at home waiting for all the scientists (I do believe in science) in the world to come up with a way to control Covid -19. Unfortunately, my attempts to drum and strum my angst away hasn’t really been enough, but happily, being outdoors has. My afternoon outing is the highlight of my day, and social distancing is a breeze in our mountain landscape. I like to consider it my “Geography of Hope” a term coined by one of my favorite authors, Wallace Stegner in his famous Wilderness Letter, written in 1969 in support of land preservation. What has made it even better, is the uplifting music that I have newly tapped into.

I had a relatively late arrival to the world of headphones. The earbuds that come with the iPhone never fit right in my ears, so I reserved them for airplane travel. For a while, I had a wired headset that was strapped to my arm. This set-up made me feel confined rather than liberated so I swore off music on my runs, skis and snowshoes, tuning instead into the world around me; all good. Meanwhile, technology continued to improve ways to embellish your exercise routines and soon enough, everyone seemed to have those white airpods dangling from their ears. Again, my natural instinct was to disdain these plugged in people for not being totally present. Then, this winter, it all changed….

My weekly workout at the local hospital’s fitness center was followed by a solitary Nordic ski in Park City’s version of Central Park, Round Valley. A section of the Valley, The Land of Oz, is reserved for skiers only, and it became my refuge.

A new Bluetooth headset from a local company called Skullcandy (HQ pictured in header) daintily hung around my neck and the spongy ear plugs filled my head with music. I felt like I was dancing on snow.

David Byrne explains it like this in his book, Bicycle Diaries, “Performing a familiar task, like driving a car or riding a bicycle, puts one into a zone that is not too deep or involving. The activity is repetitive, mechanical, and it distracts and occupies the conscious mind, or at least part of it, in a way that is just engaging enough but not too much -it doesn’t cause you to be caught off guard. It facilitates a state of mind that allows some but not too much of the unconscious to bubble up.”

Now the snow is gone, but will the music continue? This week’s gentle runs have given me the answer: an unconditional yes. Three miles flies by if you have the right playlist. I first fell for my aformentioned guitar hero, Tony Polecastro’s Acoustic Tuesday playlist, which has over 100 songs from 50 acoustic musicians. As with much folk and acoustic music, some are sad but more are joyous and seem appropriate for the times. One afternoon’s ski, which started with Steely Dan’s Deacon Blue, morphed into another playlist which included many of my favorite artists from the 1970s. I only wish I knew how to access it again!

All this streaming led me into a bit of problem as data costs money. Mr. Senior Ripper politely requested that I download my lists while on WiFi so I can be offline during my outings. New skills were acquired as I learned to explore the Spotify menu. But my library is lean.

So that leads me to a question for all you Senior Ripper Fans, do you have a favorite playlist to recommend or share?

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