By Joel Keeler

I’ve always been a sucker for a good beat. Growing up in the SF Bay Area in the 80’s meant a steady diet of Huey Lewis and Too Short, supplemented by the sounds of Hall and Oates and Journey from my mom’s vinyl collection. While none of those artists appear in this playlist, from those early days grew a love of, and even obsession with, music.
Finding music that helps me access a flow state at work is something that I spent over 20 years pursuing. Working as a TV editor for two decades meant that most of my waking hours were spent wearing headphones, and when the task allowed, listening to music was the juicy carrot that helped keep my butt in the chair and my mind focused on work.
Nearly all of the shows I cut were scored with library music – meaning I selected and edited the songs that became each show’s soundtrack from a pre-licensed trove of thousands of songs. This practice of scanning and sorting songs for their emotional impact grew into a reflex that is now hard-wired into my consumption of music. Simply put, I love it when music can make me feel something.
Digging back through the crates for this project has offered me the opportunity to reflect on the evolution of my life and the importance of music’s role in that change. Scanning the songs that touched me 10 years ago instantly takes me back to a time and place – much in the same way that a scent can serve as a portal to a forgotten memory. Many of the songs included here have helped guide me through a process of renewal and reinvention.
There is no central theme to this collection of songs, other than the fact that they have each touched me, made me feel something, inspired healing and creativity, and provided a soundtrack to my own life. I hope they might do the same for you.
If you've got your own favorite wordless music to share, check out our open and public collaborative playlist. where you can drop songs. And if you want to create one of these 100-song mixes and write a blog about it, send us a note! wordlesscollective[at]gmail[dot]com.
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