easy listening for the modern age

a playlist of music perfect for: lounging around, doing your chores, waltzing through your home, ushering you into inner peace, feeling groovy

this playlist is apart of funky+, the kitchen sink section of funky’s dilemma. with playlists, essays, reviews, analysis and historical overviews, funky+ has no bounds!

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Easy listening, as a genre, is almost extinct. It has steadily decreased in popularity since its peak in the 1960s when the introduction of FM radio brought easy listening music into homes across America. Unfortunately, as more genres have grown and expanded, easy listening feels stuck in the past. Adult contemporary is probably the closest modern iteration of easy listening, but still, there is a deep lack of true easy listening music in 2024.

That’s why I’ve compiled this playlist to reintroduce the world to the beauty of easy listening. Existing at the intersection of jazz, singer-songwriter, instrumental, and bossa nova, easy listening fills a unique role in the musical world.

I’ve included both traditional easy-listening songs from the 50s and 60s, as well as more modern choices that fit the bill in their own, contemporary ways. Most songs on this playlist are not traditional easy listening songs, but instead examples of the way easy listening has permeated genres and found its place in corners of all types of music. Press play and let easy listening usher you through the middle of your week, hopefully granting you a little bit of tranquility amidst your busy life.

Enjoy your listening! I hope it’s easy :)

<3 alex