Residing on the west side I grew up on that gangsta! Nwa, ice t, boogie down productions slapped back in the day cause knowledge reigns supreme over nearly everyone. Too short “I grew up on the funk called p, but these muthafuckas growing up on me.”

 Went down and visited my white cousin In LA and he was like listen to this Metallica “ride the lighting” it was cool. Then I got into Motown talking bought the 4 tops”greatest hits” the temptations and Smokey! My wife and I fell in love at a smokey concert in Reno. Flew out to visit the black side of my family in Bridgeport/New haven/nyc listening to a lot of Pete rock and cl smooth “Troy” and nirvana”sliver”. 

Went to alot of parties out in the hills listening to The Stevie Miller band. Turned up with my wife in the club to 50, e-40 “tell me when to go”, and lil Jon! Spent alot of time driving up to snowboard with dire straits”sultans”, the pixies” hey / gone to heaven”, and southern crunk” ugk all damn day getting me hype. 

  Finally, and if your still reading this. I’ll get to my point. Currently the most listened to playlist includes “shy away” and “level of concern” by 21 pilots, “then it all goes away” by Dayglow, and “cigarette daydreams“ by cage the elephant! Now that’s in about a 35 song playlist so the similarity is kinda uncanny. Yes I listen to them specifically for all the reasons you do. Also in the current rotation is the war on drugs, my morning jacket, j-cole, foster the people, gorillaz,lil Wayne, sylvan Esso, and spoon. Dcfc, the postal service, the neighborhood, and local natives probably round out the list. 
   I think I’ve listened to all this different music over these many years to drown out the voice in my head before it starts to tell a story with a wild, grim, or improbable outcome. That just causes anxiety. I think we also listen to music to put us in a certain headspace (when we are having fun) and because we know that a relisten to the same playlist will put us back at the party with our friends or flying down the mountain snowboarding even if we are just driving to work in the morning. 

   I think we also listen to music so we can fall in love again with our spouses, go dumb on the dance floor, and connect with people across the inter webs who happen to be listening to some of the same  artists. Hope you get some of the same enjoyment, make some new memories, and can reminisce with some of these artists to. Peace!