Getting Inside My Head... phones

Sometimes, instead of talking to my shrink, I want to say "Look, you'd understand a lot better this way", hand him my iPod set to whatever playlist I'm currently rocking, and just let him listen to that for an hour. 


I have different playlists for a lot of things. I have some for certain activities - music I like to listen to when I'm walking, because it has a good beat, or when I'm driving, because I like to sing along. I have some for certain people. Don't worry, That Man has a full 64 song playlist of songs that make me think of him. (It all started with one Sheryl Crow song that was playing one night at his apartment...) I update those playlists, and change them according to my moods. Some of them have a lot of overlap - some of the songs I like to bake to are songs I like to drive to, and some of the songs I like to exercise to are songs on That Man's playlist.


I really think that an interesting way to get inside someone's head is to look at the kind of music they're listening to, enjoying, and relating to. Music is an incredible thing to me, in the way it can express so much, and connect so many people. So I'm going to share a snippet of my playlist of choice these days:  

• "I'm Not Waiting" - Julia Murney, I'm Not Waiting
• "Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You" - Sherie Rene Scott & Norbert Leo Butz, The Last Five Years
• "Tom's Song" - Geoff Packard, Fairy Tales and Fortunes
• "Dear John" - Taylor Swift, Speak Now
• "I Don't Remember Christmas" - Megan Reinking, Starting Here, Starting Now
• "I'll Wait For You" - Ruth Brown, Sirens Of Song: Classic Torch Songs
• "Miss Halfway" - Anya Marina, Grey's Anatomy: Season Three
• "Fairy Tales and Fortunes" - Geoff Packard, Fairy Tales and Fortunes
• "Hey Stephen" - Taylor Swift, Fearless
• "If It Makes You Happy" - Sheryl Crow, The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow
• "You'll Never Know" - Kristin Chenoweth, Let Yourself Go
• "Drops Of Jupiter" - Train, Drops Of Jupiter
• "In Between" - Geoff Packard, Fairy Tales and Fortunes
• "The Call" - Regina Specktor, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• "Still Hurting" - Sherie Rene Scott, The Last Five Years
• "This Time" - Heidi Blickenstaff, Keys: The Music Of Scott Alan
• "Crash And Burn" - Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions
• "So Close" - Jon MacLaughlin, Enchanted
• "Going Going Gone" - Geoff Packard, Fairytales and Fortunes
• "Beautiful Disaster" - Kelly Clarkson, Thankful

Some of these songs, I'm sure you guys have heard before. Some of them, I'm pretty sure you haven't. I've included YouTube links to listen to the songs when available, or a site where you can listen to clips if it's not on YouTube. One thing my playlists never do is stick to one genre - I have a rather interesting mix of songs on most of my playlists because I care more about relating to the song than whether it fits a specific genre. 

Some of them have a very pointed sense of irony to them, for one reason or another. Some I can relate to so much, it's a little frightening. Some of them are go-to favorites for karaoke. (That's mostly the Sheryl Crow) Some make me cry. (Seriously, go watch the video for "So Close", at 1:59 my heart breaks just a little bit every time. Ironically, Prince Charming didn't like that song at all, thought it was dumb.) 

They're all there for a reason, and they all mean something to me. I hope you find a couple that you like.

~Jessica