How many of you – when younger – have enjoyed making mixed tapes? I am among those who have made tapes. And many. Carried away by a friend, in 2004 I made my first “official” compilation, one of those with great attention to detail, from the cover to the tracklist.
A few important notes: (1) the order of the tracks is not random, so I suggest not setting the mode to random (thank you Adele), and (2) Spotify adds tracks to the queue if the playlists do not reach 15 tracks, and mine, by choice, reach about 10.
Making a playlist is a delicate art.
It’s like writing a love letter but better in a way.
You get to say what you want to say without actually saying it.
You get to use someone else’s poetry to express how you feel.
And then there are the rules.
High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (the image is from the movie adaptation of the book, 2000)
#23, Apr 2021 – Quando i giovani saltavano i fossi per la lunga
A journey through the artists we first encountered as ‘Newcomers’ at the Festival di Sanremo in the ’90s, with songs so beautiful they would easily win today. The title is ironic, inspired by a famous popular saying that I prefer not to translate to preserve its humor.
#23, Apr 2021
Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was born out of mixed feelings—a blend of nostalgia and softness, much like this spring, which invites us to slowly shake off the weight of the past thirteen months(photo by memorieson35mm on Unsplash).
#22, Jan 2021
Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a summary of the songs that filled our days in 2020—moments with Giacomo in our arms, sometimes dancing together, other times gently putting him to sleep, allowing us to briefly forget why we were confined at home(photo by cestsibon on Unsplash).
#18, Sep 2009
In the summer of 2009 I made the MusiCenando evenings in which I brought live music to some clubs in the province, with related exhibitions of photography, literary interventions or other forms of art. This is the playlist I put on before the concerts started.
#1, Aug 2004
The first playlist, this doesn’t need too many explanations. It may be that it was the first, it may be that I connect this to a period (work in discography) which I missed much over the years, but after many years it is still one of my favorites.