Photo credit to Mariah Ashby on Unsplash

I have multiple playlists to use depending on what time it is while I’m walking through Walmart.

(Or, of course, what the weather is like during that shopping trip.)

(And what time of year during which the shopping trip is taking place.)

For every occasion there is a playlist.

“Occasion” is one of those words that can refer to a variety of things. A party. A trip to the park, or to the beach. A rainy May day. A family dinner. The word is used to describe events of the least significance, but also to describe once-in-a-lifetime chance occurrences. An innate strength of the English language is the ability to describe, in fine detail, anything. Yet, multitasking terms like 'occasion' threaten, through frequent use, to supplant the eloquent description afforded to us English speakers.

With regards to occasional playlists, however, there is no definition that need not apply. It doesn’t matter what the occasion may be; there can and should be a playlist created for it.

It is with this philosophy that I go through life.

If there’s a new experience coming over the horizon, part of the preparation includes a hour-or-three session putting together a playlist catered to it. Summers get an iterated, revised re-release of the one used in a previous year. Some summer songs get brought into the fold while other tracks are too played-out to make the cut. It’s important, however, that each track bottles the heat-glazed summer malaise that feels like an acoustic rendition of hot air rippling above hot asphalt.

A road trip playlist takes on different forms depending on the length of the trip, or even the scenery expected along the way. After all, a song perfect for a mountain parkway won’t be the same as a song for a road parallel to a white-sand coastline.

Don’t even get me started on party playlists.

Those are difficult, but I welcome the challenge. It’s going to depend on who is in attendance. Are we going to be doing keg stands or clinking glasses? Would you describe the party using ‘soiree’ or ‘rager’? Maybe it’s one of those Netflix-on-the-couch occasions. Different strokes, different folks, different playlists.

I want to make you a playlist.

Reach out to me. Tell me what’s next on your calendar. Got a romantic dinner planned? Going through a breakup (hopefully not via calendar event)? I’ll listen to what you’ve got going on in your life, then do my damnedest to give your occasion a soundtrack.

Or, if it’s not a mood you’re after, maybe you’ve really been meaning to get into a new genre. Or an artist. If I’m not already listening to that, I want to be. I’ll happily make that playlist for you (or us, as the case may be).

All I ask is that you give me something to go off of. As simple as photograph, or as complex as a novel — though lead time will vary on the latter.

Get this show on the road via Medium response, hit me on Twitter @johngrahamhart, or just email me.

I truly look forward to hearing from you.