The Sounds She Collected is a newsletter about mixtapes and mixed emotions. Thanks for being part of this hive mind for empathetic, hopeful people.
As a media-induced escape from this ever-chaotic world, I have been watching HBO Max’s Hacks on repeat. Three times in two weeks, to be exact. The show follows legendary female comedian Deborah Vance (played expertly by Jean Smart) as she gets edged out of her long-running Las Vegas residency by a casino owner who is trying to land Pentatonix instead. The answer for the next phase of her career? Partner with a Gen Z comedy writer, Hannah Einbinder’s Ava, who was just cancelled for a problematic tweet.
I’ve been trying to unearth why I literally cannot stop watching this show, and other than the fact that Smart and Einbinder make a supremely hilarious duo, I think it’s this scene in the second episode. Ava is driving with Deborah’s on-demand blackjack dealer Kiki, who interrupts Ava’s rant when a Selena Gomez song floats through the airwaves. She sings at the top of her lungs, then gets Ava to join in. Then comes the precious commentary on the meaning of playlists.
“This is a playlist? Then why did I have to stop talking?” says a confused Ava. “Honey,” Kiki sighs. “When you’re on shuffle, any song can play at any moment. And it is through that randomness that you can totally receive meaning.”
It is through that randomness that you can totally receive meaning.
In 2022, even before my Hacks-athon, I’ve been taking walks with playlists on shuffle. Whatever I am meant to hear, I’m meant to hear. I’m reminded of my favorite song at 13, a song I actually now hate, a song that makes me cry.
As I near my 500th playlist on my personal Spotify account (currently at 484—let me know what 500’s theme should be!), I’m reminded of why I love making them. Through playlists, we can excavate our emotions, energize our brain waves, make meaning out of what was seemingly nothing just moments before. The connections between song lyrics and our experiences are wholly beautiful, an emphasis on music’s power to heal.
I made a playlist for you all this week in hopes that through randomness, you can all totally receive meaning. Each of the 30 songs played in succession on shuffle, no skips.(What are the odds that one of the songs is “Sarah”? I mean, really.) Playlist 65 is a 30-song ode to the randomness of it all, the sublime connections that enhance our lives.
Take good care,
Sarah
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Bookmark a good read: Life’s a Party, Not a Race
Something to remember: “So Russell…what do you love about music?” “To begin with, everything.” —Almost Famous