In an inspiring story of letting chaos take hold emerging from Brooklyn, NY, 27-year-old Joanna Hart started a playlist a couple of months ago entitled, “Brooding Morning,” but what was once a cohesive, genre-specific collection has now become a holding space for every single song she has ever liked.
“My playlists are painstakingly curated by mood, weather, and even time of day,” she told reporters gathered at the scene. “Well, all of them except for ‘Brooding Morning.’ That one’s kind of my catch-all, you know?”
The playlist’s first twelve songs perfectly captured the feeling of waking up on a rainy day, making a cup of coffee, and staring out the window, thinking of the past year’s mistakes. The rest, however, make no curatorial sense.
“It started as a collection of expected Phoebe Bridgers and Jeff Buckley picks mixed with some sneaky Alvvays and SZA additions,” said music producer Tyrell Matheson, who took an interest in Joanna’s work. “But then she found a Troye Sivan song she liked, and everything was shot to hell.”
Joanna maintains that she didn’t really know where to put the new song, as it didn’t really fit with any of her other playlists, so she snuck it into “Brooding Morning.” It was the beginning of the end.
“After that, any time I liked a song, I’d kind of just stick it in ‘Brooding Morning’ to remember it for later,” she continued. “I figured I’d find a place for them to remain permanently, but a couple months passed and it became clear that no songs would be leaving.”
Since then, Joanna has added hyperpop, R&B, rap, even upbeat country songs to the playlist. What was once a cohesive vibe has turned into a minefield of different genres and styles.
“It’s a dangerous playlist to put on shuffle, but it totally works when I just want to listen to every single thing I’ve liked in the last five months,” she continued.
When reporters explained that’s what Joanna’s “liked songs” playlist was for, she looked confused.
“Why would I use a ‘liked songs’ playlist?” she asked. “That’s not descriptive at all.”
As far as why she’s chosen not to rename the playlist, Joanna says she would never be able to find it if she did.
As of press time, Joanna had awoken to a bright, sunny morning and decided it was the perfect time to play “The Wizard and I” from the Wicked musical, which was conveniently located in “Brooding Morning.”
