New Music Therapy Playlists Debut

Today I am releasing 2 new playlists that begin a new and important path on my life’s journey. This series of playlists (an addition to the Beyond Radio playlist family) will be called Music Therapy Playlists. Some will hopefully be truly therapeutic while others will be more tongue in cheek. All will be about 45-60 songs and will include a mix of music nostalgia and discovery, much like the podcasts.

When I started the website back in the mid-90’s it was purely chart driven, and a forum for the personal chart community. I hoped to help music enthusiasts find new music through the lens of that community. The gift for myself was the constant discovery of new music.

When I added the podcast, the initial intention was to reach people stuck in nostalgia and open their minds to the discovery of music new to them. This was a step beyond the chart enthusiast, an attempt to reach a new audience. Never having been stuck in nostalgic it has made me look back and that gift has been extraordinary and emotional.

The impetus to this next phase came from 2 friends, Cristina and Lisa, who both told me that I helped them to bring music back into their lives. This was not an “I’m stuck in nostalgia” or “I don’t have time” scenario, but for more deeply personal reasons. To have 2 separate people touched in this kind of way let me know how I had helped them, affected them or whatever; these were special gifts given back to me that I do not take lightly. I had not considered the idea of it being a therapeutic medium, though it certainly has been for me.

The beauty of music and its subjective nature is that any kind of music can be therapeutic. With that I am introducing 2 playlists that exist on somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum. The first is called “Rock Decompression Therapy” and is meant to be a way to perhaps release the rage of your workday. My friend Colleen inspired this one and gave me a thumbs up, saying “great playlist, songs I had totally forgotten about and would never have remember the artists”.

The other playlist is called “Positively Happy Therapy”, which I had made for Lisa. It is a mix positive, spiritual and happy tunes in a variety of genres. It includes a song that is a mantra to me and will also be included in the upcoming podcast “Old Man Rant, Rave and Respects”.

The song is “Live The Life” by Michael W. Smith from 1997. While the lyrical intention of that song may travel a different path, another beautiful thing about music is what we individually take out of it. For me, living the life is living your truth and my truth is about appreciating music and creating a platform of music exposure for others. For those who know me it is a joyous, emotional and transforming journey, full of love. One of my favorite lyrics ever is from this song. “Be a light for all to see, for every act of love will set you free.” This has been my intention all along and I hope it is a gift to you.