Grill Marks, Iced Tea, and the Power of Sound

If you have ever been in the car with me, you know that there’s absolutely no way to guess what the next song will be. I usually just throw on my “Liked” songs in Spotify and go. While I allow this chaos for random trips to the mall or grocery store, during my quieter private moments, I prefer to have a dedicated soundtrack. These playlists guide me through workouts, house chores, writing time, meditation, even my trip to work has a unique sound.

This summer, I had the distinct pleasure of testing out my hosting chops (more to come) and I realized that having a dedicated playlist for socialization plays a pivotal role in enhancing the outcome of an event. I tapped into my hyper fixation on controlling the narrative down to the smallest details. I realized that I was missing the opportunity to do the same in this space.

Digital community. A concept known for the sharing of ideas, common interests, and providing support. Music helps me navigate the world and I realized that sharing sounds can be quite vulnerable. We have all been asked, “What kind of music do you listen to?” For some reason, this exact line of questioning forces me to draw a blank and suddenly, I cannot recall any of the over 2,500 songs in my library.

After my post on dating yourself, I received a text from a friend declaring that I needed to drop the playlist for my dilly dally days alone. I thought about that for a while. We all have watched films and wondered, “What would the soundtrack of my life sound like?” This welcomed nudge made me more sensitive to the various artists, genres, and time periods that traveled with me throughout my journey through the world, which forced me to play a more active role in my sonic selection as opposed to throwing my labyrinth of sounds on shuffle.

For the weeks thereafter, I found myself making a playlist for everything you could imagine. Driving to the beach? New playlist. Cleaning the house? New playlist. Nephews in the car? New playlist for sure. In having these little moments, I noticed something. I found myself much more excited to start whatever I had laid out for the day because there was an additional layer of curiosity and creativity baked into the journey.

On Sunday, I wasn’t being a full-time host, I was simply enjoying some sibling time in the sun doing one of my newfound favorite activities—grilling. Me, a tumbler full of iced tea (IYKYK), and a speaker gifted to me by someone who knows how much I love a tune. The sky was bright after early morning showers and I felt the need to sing along while I fought back smoke and hot temperatures.

The playlist I made was anything but cohesive; however, it kept me occupied for the four hours that I was out there, Hokas in sport mode, flipping racks of ribs and other staples. Today, it is yours to explore. As a fair warning, I do not believe in consuming songs that are censored (just the artist in me). So, if you choose to let your curiosity get the best of you, listen with headphones.

You’ve been warned!

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