Curating for energy, not just taste
Launch library · evergreen read
Curating primarily by energy level, rather than simply by a listener's personal favourite songs alone, can produce a genuinely more functional playlist, one properly suited to its intended purpose rather than just a loose collection of generally preferred tracks gathered together, a discipline that treats the playlist's purpose as more important than any single favourite.
This particular approach requires a real degree of restraint, occasionally leaving out a favourite song entirely because its energy level does not quite suit the moment, in favour of a lesser known track that fits the overall arc considerably more precisely, a trade worth making once the playlist's actual purpose is taken seriously.
The result is often a playlist that serves its intended purpose, whether focus, exercise or relaxation, considerably better than one built purely around personal taste without any real regard for pacing or overall structure across the set, proof that taste and function are related but rarely exactly the same thing.