My Daily Soundtrack: Powered by Guitars, Bass, and Questionable Singing in Traffic

 

Some people start their day with meditation.
Some people wake up and drink green juice while stretching toward the sunrise.

I wake up looking for coffee and trying to figure out which playlist is going to stop me from becoming grumpy before 9 AM.

Music is basically the duct tape holding my entire day together.

The funny part is my music taste looks like five completely different people borrowed my phone and built playlists during a gas station road trip.

One minute I’m blasting Five Finger Death Punch like I’m about to enter a wrestling match at the grocery store. The next minute I’m singing Luke Combs songs like I own a ranch and emotionally support tractors for a living.

That’s balance.

New hard rock keeps me moving when I’ve got work to do. Nothing makes carrying lumber, fixing something, or pretending I know exactly what I’m doing quite like hearing Shinedown, Disturbed, or Breaking Benjamin shaking the walls. Suddenly even small projects feel dramatic. I could be tightening one bolt and still feel like I’m in the final scene of an action movie.

Then country music rolls in when the day slows down. That’s when Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Aldean take over. Country music somehow makes you think about life, trucks, old memories, and random roads you haven’t driven down in ten years.

It also makes washing your truck feel way more meaningful than it actually is.

Then there’s the 90s alternative phase of the day. That music hits different because it reminds me of when everything felt simpler and every song had guitar riffs powerful enough to fix emotional damage. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice in Chains still sound just as good now as they did back then.

That music makes me want to wear flannel even when it’s 85 degrees outside.

And then comes 90s hip-hop.

Nothing boosts confidence faster than old-school hip-hop while driving somewhere completely unimportant. Suddenly a trip to the hardware store feels like the opening scene of a movie. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Ice Cube can turn sitting at a red light into a full concert experience.

I probably look ridiculous half the time.

Windows down.
Terrible singing.
Air drumming on the steering wheel like I’m getting paid for it.

Zero shame.

The funniest part is how fast my playlists switch. I can go from heavy guitar breakdowns to country heartbreak songs to 90s rap in under three minutes. Spotify probably thinks multiple people are using my account and arguing over the AUX cord.

But honestly, music makes the day better. It makes boring work fun, traffic tolerable, and bad moods disappear faster than a paycheck at the tool store.

Without music, a normal day feels quiet and slow.

With music, even taking the trash out feels like a music video.