First things first, play the above song while you read the following post to get an idea of the moods I’ve been in for the last six hours while creating playlists on Spotify. Or, if you don’t multitask (for example, my brain can NOT listen to lyrics while I’m reading something else), listen to the song before you start reading further.
Music can have a really profound effect on emotion and energy, particularly when it comes to sexuality. It can put me in an entirely different headspace, bring back waves of nostalgia, motivate me to “do the thing!” or even leave me so confused as to who could possibly enjoy what I’m listening to (how is there a Kidz Bop 32 now?).
So, I have zero musical talent. But apparently I have a finely tuned skill at making mixes which began in the sixth grade when I used to record radio songs onto tapes and give them out to my friends. To this day, I still have that god awful stereo I painted in multicolor nail polish and I occasionally make cassette mixes for my one friend whose Crown Victoria uses a tape deck. In my late teens and early college years I discovered CD burning and Napster/Kazaa/Limewire/The Pirate Bay (I mean, the iTunes store?) and proceeded to woo my potential lovers with really well thought out mixes that somehow applied to our relationships. To this day, my mixes contain lyrical significance and have deliberate song orders.
I’ve noticed my sex mixes usually have three or four different themes. I have my “Dark” mixes, which usually include heavier, angrier music that helps put me in a kinky headspace, my “Chill” mixes which usually consist of slow beats, someone singing seductively, and an occasional synth beat, and my “Tender” mixes which are a whole blend of lyrical mushy business and variations of your typical I–V–vi–IV progression (aka the love song riff). I notice that no matter the mix I choose, they all make me very toppy, whereas if I fuck in silence I’m sort of aimless, easily distracted, and less confident.
Back when I was still working at the adult store and using my birth name, my dear friend Lynn from Homoground (we met back during the dyke_riot community days on Livejournal 10 years ago) posted one of my mixes here. Yes, that is a bandolier of vibrating bullets I’m wearing. I seriously had SO much fun making that mix.
And today I’ve made some mixes for YOU!!!
THE ROUGH! THE SMOOTH! and THE SWEET!
These Spotify compilations include some songs that I’ve been fucking to for over 15 years. Some are songs I’ve just discovered by listening to the Nice and Slow channel on Google Play music. I am a little bummed that Spotify didn’t have Tattle Tale’s Glass Vase Cello Case so I’m including it here because it’s that important to me. After I saw But I’m A Cheerleader in high school this became one of my favorite songs for really intimate moments.
So what songs get you in the mood? Do they fit into any genres? Comment with some songs and I’ll make a Palimpsex Reader Playlist on my Spotify!