playlists – PSafe Blog

How to Create a Playlist for a Cinco de Mayo Party

PSafe Newsroom — Fri, 05 May 2017 13:00:43 +0000

So, you’re planning a party for Cinco de Mayo. In addition to festive decorations and food, you’ll also need a solid music playlist for the occasion. While purchasing CDs and downloading music are still a common practice, many party hosts may choose to stream custom-made or ready-made playlists online. This allows the host to have access to a wider variety of music — which can be great for themed parties, such as a Cinco de Mayo party. However, the last thing you want is for the music to suddenly stop because your Wi-Fi connection is terrible. Click here to check your Wi-Fi speed:

Wi-Fi Check will make sure your network is up to the task at hand. It will also check your DNS and network security, overall connection, and your download speed. If you have any issues playing music before or during the party, Wi-Fi Check will be able to quickly pinpoint if the issue is related to your Wi-Fi connection.

Cinco de Mayo Today

Historically, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Today, though, the holiday is observed in the U.S. primarily as a day to celebrate the history and culture of Mexican-Americans.

Party Prep: Boost Your Device

If you’ll be using your Android to stream some of your favorite tunes, then you should also make sure that your phone is performing efficiently. DFNDR’s Memory Booster feature will close applications that are running in the background of your device in order to improve its performance. Doing so will free up your phone’s RAM and speed up your device. That way, your phone will not crash or freeze during your Cinco de Mayo festivities. Click here to boost your device:

Creating Your Ultimate Party Playlist

Overall, your music should be reliable. Address any hiccups beforehand — such as a slow phone or a poor Wi-Fi connection — so that there are no disruptions to the music. You don’t want the mood of your party to be ruined because of technical difficulties.

When you’re choosing music for your Cinco de Mayo party, you want to make sure that you’re playing music that’s relevant for the occasion. That doesn’t mean that all of the party’s music must be more traditional or festive, but you should should include some mariachi and tejano. You should also include some songs by popular Mexican, Mexican-American, or Latino artists today. Some artists you may want to have on your playlist are: Santana, Selena, Thalía, Juan Gabriel, and Romeo Santos.

Pandora and Spotify are great sources for streaming music for your party. Pandora has lists of specific Cinco de Mayo playlists you can choose from, while you can build your own playlist on Spotify. If you choose to buy CDs from select artists — or if you’re using Spotify, YouTube, or another service — make sure to listen to the songs you’re interested in beforehand, so you can get a feel for the mood they’ll create.

Refrain from putting the music on shuffle, find an order for your playlist that allows the songs to mesh well with one another. This means that you should space out certain genres or artists, so that you’re not playing 10 mariachi songs in a row. You should have enough songs in your playlist to last the duration of the party, as well.

Ultimately, you want your music to be fun and hopefully get people dancing too. If that means three hours of festive songs and two hours of pop songs, go with the flow — you want your guests to have an awesome time. Finally, don’t forget to serve tasty, Mexican food along with that music.

Google Music Tunes Into Where You Are and What You’re Doing

PSafe Newsroom — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:00:16 +0000

Who knew something so innocuous as playing music could find its way into concerns over privacy and surveillance? Google Music is now leveraging the benefits of big data, for your convenience (and moderate, healthy skepticism), to deliver you playlists that best suit any given moment. In this post we’ll give you a glimpse into what exactly Google Music is doing, how they’re accomplishing it, and whether or not you should be concerned.

What are these intuitive playlists?

We all know that somewhere out there is that perfect, elusive, and enigmatic playlist for every occasion. There are dedicated playlists for commuting, taking a walk, studying, going to the gym, or wallowing in the angst of a horrible break up. Dedicated music aficionados will meticulously craft each list with fastidious precision. But for the rest of us, that isn’t an option. Most of us lazily scour Spotify’s options and hope for the best, or choose the closest fitting Pandora assemblage based on an artist.

Google Music has taken this one step further by intuiting what you want based on where you are. The obvious example here is, if you’re at the gym you likely want a workout playlist, and if you’re on the bus or train, en route, then you’d opt for something different — maybe something relaxing and contemplative. If you’re at home, perhaps you tend to listen to classical music while you read or study. Google Music wants to satisfy your music needs without you having to resort to tedious list-searches.

How does it work?

Google uses a combination of tech and curation to bring you the most intuitive playlist. Where tech is concerned, “intuition,” at least at the moment, means discerning the most probable option through pattern recognition. Google’s machine learning technology relies on algorithms which process data, such as your location, the weather, and your history of habits to optimize the music it streams. Then, they use human curators to tweak and perfect the data that the tech conveys. Using this combined method, Google can get a pretty good sense of your musical tendencies. Are you the type who blasts dance music as soon as you get home? Do you fancy some Blues as you unwind? Though we are all complex and nuanced in our behavior, over time most people will display consistencies in their preferences overall.

Should I be concerned?

Whenever personal data is being utilized for a service, the knee-jerk reaction is concern. That’s a good thing! Where security is concerned you never want to grow too complacent. But like any other service that requires your location, it’s a setting you can turn on or off depending on how you feel about it. You might feel it to be a violation knowing human curators are involved, acclimating to your musical tastes, or you might be indifferent to the fact that someone will know you religiously listen to Taylor Swift. In any case, it’s not that personal, and the choice is up to you.

How to Make an Awesome Playlist on Pandora

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 18:17:51 +0000

Pandora is an excellent way to access a variety of music. With the platform, you can tailor stations to your liking. In fact, Pandora allows you to make a perfect radio station that suits your interests. Plus, you can allow Pandora to play other bands you might like that are similar to your interests. Here are a few ways you can get the optimal experience from Pandora.

Variety is the Spice of Life
Stations can become awfully monotonous if you only have one genre of music rotating. This repetitiveness is going to make you get bored of the station very quickly. Thus, adding different genres will allow the Pandora station to diversify the style of your music. If you do not want Pandora to mix up your music genres, then you can uncheck the “add variety” button in settings.

Be Selective with the Songs You Like
When you upvote every single song you like, then Pandora will play songs that are related to those genres. This can get out of hand, as the range of genres will become so broad that your station won’t be unique anymore. While it is important to diversify your playlist, making it too heterogeneous is just as bad. Finding a happy medium is imperative to having a solid station.

Skip Responsibly
You are only allowed six skips per hour. Don’t abuse this privilege, or you will be stuck listening to awful songs. Allocate these skips throughout the hour so you can skip the songs you absolutely can’t stand. Only allowing yourself one skip per ten minutes will allow you to efficiently use your skips.

I’m Tired of This Track
There’s always that one song that radio stations play over and over again, all day. Pandora has a feature called “I’m Tired of This Track” that allows you to temporarily remove a song from the station. To access this feature, hold your mouse over the album cover presented on the station. There should be an up arrow that appears. Next, there should be an option called “I’m Tired of This Track.” Clicking this will tell Pandora to hold off on playing the song for a while.

5 Spotify Playlists to Brighten the Dullest Moments

PSafe Newsroom — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:38:40 +0000

Spotify gives users access to millions of songs on all their devices, including their computers, tablets, and Android phones. The music streaming giant prides itself on having hundreds of ready-made playlists to match any mood, but it has also created playlists that can fulfill music needs we never knew we had. Check out these playlists to jazz up some formerly quiet parts of your day:

1. The Perfect Crafternoon

Featuring nearly 70 songs, The Perfect Crafternoon is the perfect playlist to rock out to while attempting those DIY projects you saw on Pinterest. Whether you’re painting, knitting, or scrapbooking, classic hits by Colbie Caillat, Coldplay, and many more will help keep the creative juices flowing.

2. Keep Calm and Stretch On

Whether you’re cooling down from a long run, or getting the kinks out first thing in the morning, Keep Calm and Stretch On creates a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere for a satisfying stretch session. The soft acoustic tracks of John Mayer, and Vance Joy will help free your mind, and body of stress.

3. Walk in Like You Own the Place

Who needs a pep talk when you have a playlist like this one? Walk in Like You Own the Place will help you take on your exam, presentation, or interview with confidence. Featuring heavy rap from Kanye, Drake, and Jay Z, this playlist is a sure way to start your day with a bang.

4. Cup of Tea With the Queen

Pinkies up, mates! If you’re in the mood for a quick, relaxing trip across the pond, Cup of Tea With the Queen will not disappoint. Featuring 20 British Rock hits from artists like Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, and John Lennon, this playlist sets the perfect mood for a classy afternoon.

5. Kitchen Swagger

At the end of a long day, you don’t need to feel as burned out as the chicken you’re cooking. Slice, and dice while rocking out to your favorite hits. Featuring classics like, “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” and “No Diggity,” Kitchen Swagger will keep you feeling fresh through all three courses.

Ready to Rock?

Never sit in silence again! Browse through Spotify’s endless assortment of playlists to find your favorites, or create your own. Then, check out our blog to learn more about top music streaming services, and see how you can release your own musical genius on Musical.ly.

Already have a favorite Spotify playlist? Share it with us in the comments below?