Over the years since I opened my private practice, I’ve gotten compliments, or at least curiosity, about the music in my waiting room. My own therapy experience was life changing, so the only downside I can think of was that while I’d wait for my appointments, I’d have to listen to commercials and the station ID jingle for the smooth jazz channel being pumped in. I can still hear it, “94.7, the Waaaaave!”.
My clients know I’m a music lover and often quote lyrics in session. So when I opened my practice I made sure to curate a playlist from my personal collection that was simultaneously meaningful and mellow (mostly) for my patients to listen to while waiting for their appointment.
Recently I updated the playlist and meticulously re-created it on Spotify so you could check it out on your own.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09WIgutLFfgNDCb2AfQWWt?si=1M8L0WJTTWaiZPwNReBOsA
Yes, there’s a lot of Beatles, Avett Brothers, Harry Nilsson and Phish on here. But there’s also Ravel, the Minutemen, Charlie Daniels Band, segments of John Barry’s score from the James Bond Movie “You Only Live Twice” and, believe it or not, Black Sabbath and the Beastie Boys. My music matches my therapeutic style – I pride myself on variety and eclecticism. As my old friend, the comedian Larry Miller once said, “There’s only two types of music – good and bad.”
Of course not everything I’ve gathered over the years is available on spotify so here are some supplementary YouTube links for some of the very obscure covers and live versions.
Give me Love – Avett Brother’s Live on Stephen Colbert
The Cost of Freedom – Live version with David Crosby, Graham Nash and David Gilmour
Don’t Let Me Down – Annie Lennox
Je Croise Entendre Encore – David Gilmour
Theme from the Pink Panther - Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia
Shakespeare’s Sonnet #18 – David Gilmour
Yesterday – Bob Dylan & George Harrison
Enjoy!