Cover Story: CANDID MUSIC Playlist

The world’s a stage. Whether the stage is the sidewalk, or a cafe in Portland, or Madison Square Garden, music is always being celebrated in some form or another. This playlist exists to celebrate those stages that carry a key and unacknowledged element of this art: candor. All of these friends I’ve specifically asked to record themselves, but in a situation that’s clearly not performance-ready or even prepared at all. They don’t all have the same amount of honesty in them, because not all people have the same amount of honesty in them. Humans are filthy and unique creatures, and the glitz and trimming that is added to art—especially something as basic as literally producing noise—is not as scarce as it should be. This playlist, a Christmas present from me to you, is a nod to all of the performances that go unnoticed, and are therefore shucked off the stage. Here is its stage. And here is it.

Author’s Note: I’m self-centered and ridiculous. I know that. Everyone is, and if they’re not, they’re so self-centered and ridiculous that they feel the need to lie about it. For this reason, I wanted to put my own cover last. Because after all the smoke and dust has cleared from all the problems the world has given you, you’ll still be at the sink brushing your teeth.

Author’s Note, Part II: The one or two-word phrases in caps are code names for all the women who have provided me with my material. Because several of my contributors wished to remain anonymous and because I am a slave to the aesthetic (a slave to the cosmeticism of it all, honestly, I am a hypocrite if ever there was one), I had to give all a code name. Don’t worry, it’s not some hidden meaning or secret insult to my friends, they are all simply derived from association with the jumbled letters of the contributor’s name. For example, if a Catherine were to contribute: Catherine = Cat = Tac = Tic-Tac = Mint = Peppermint. Therefore, the codename would be PEPPERMINT. You get the picture.