Josh’s All-Time Favourites

Welcome to my obsession with music

Today is my birthday. I started a tradition a few birthdays ago to keep an “All-Time Favourites” playlist on Spotify and add one song per year, around this time. Creating playlists is a cherished and constant hobby of mine – usually solely for my own amusement, sometimes shared with friends, and rarely (but happily) for someone special. According to Spotify, as of writing this, I’ve created 710 playlists. I’m the persistent guy who commandeers the sound system at a party — always asking the host first, and usually taking requests. Music is my favourite aspect of being alive, and I love sharing the experience.

Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

I was inspired to start this Substack after attending the writing retreat A Haven for Stories in October 2023, which I heard about from the OneTrackMinds Substack. At the first workshop, one of the retreat’s founders and tutors, author and journalist Alice Vincent, spoke about Savour, her successful Substack, and it made me consider if my compulsive playlist-making might have a home here. 4 months later, here it is… launched with my favourite songs, on my favourite day of the year!

Despite my penchant for lists and rankings, I have organised this playlist in alphabetical order by song title. I suggest listening to it on shuffle. I like the surprise of hearing “Superstition” by Stevie, followed by the punk epic of Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbia” and then maybe Don MacLean’s classic “American Pie,” for example. They’re all equally amazing songs in my mind, and worthy of classifying an all-time favourite.

Ok, enough preamble, onto the playlist:

Link to Spotify

Hopefully this introductory post has piqued your interest, and you’ll subscribe to Soundtracks to Adventure.

The plan is to release a new playlist, accompanied by 200-500 words, every Sunday. I’ll occasionally make them free but weekly posts will be behind a paywall. I’d be delighted if you upgraded to a paid subscription to support me doing what I love.

In the same spirit of sharing music, feel free to tell your friends about Soundtracks to Adventure, and comment with your reactions to my playlists and words.

Enjoy!

Josh