The Perfect Playlist- Jamie Smith

The perfect playlist I have created is a playlist for a relaxing night drive when you are stressed out. Each song has either a calming sound or relaxing lyrics and they all fit together because of their slow tempos that automatically helps to de-stress. They aren’t necessarily the best songs, but they are perfect for relaxing.

My first song would be Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I chose this song not because it is quiet and calming but because it is the song my best friends from Israel and I would always sing on long bus rides or just whenever we felt like it. I miss them, so reminding me of them through this song is relaxing for me and gets me away from the stress of my daily life and back into a time when there was little stress and I was away from home.

Next I would play Video Games by Lana Del Rey. I chose this song because of the especially slow tempo. It fits nicely after Home, which isn’t a very quiet or particularly slow-paced song, because it helps begin to bring in calmer songs. It has a slow tempo which gets you in the relaxed mood and in the right mood for the rest of the playlist.

After that I would put Fix You by Coldplay. I picked this song because its soft and toned down compared to most songs. It is impossible to stay stressed with the tranquility of the song combined with the lyrics talking about how it will work out in the end. Listening to it is always easy to just take a deep breath and relax. Also, it is quieter than Video Games, so it continues the pattern of getting softer and calmer.

Next I would put Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T’s. I chose this song because it is calming in both the lyrics and the tone. The lyrics are very certain and sung in an assuring tone, so it helps relieve stress. Just the sound of the song is relaxing. I put it here because it is not as quiet as Fix You, so it wakes you back up a little as you get near the end.

Last I would play Breakeven by the Script. While it is still relatively quiet, both the lyrics and the overall tone of the song are harsher. This finished off the drive by helping you to re-enter the real world with a song that is still quiet compared to most songs. It has a mixture of parts that are relaxing and parts that aren’t, so it at least partially maintains the relaxation you got from the rest of the music.