A Solid Fire Playlist

I was talking the other day with a friend who was complaining about how dull Zoom meetings are getting at their organization, and I asked them if they ever started them with music. “What?” he said, “You can do that?” It blew his mind. It’s been nearly two years of meeting virtually during the pandemic, and music still hasn’t entered their Zoom room. He immediately grasped how enlivening it would be.

You, too, can make a simple, easy fix if you’re stuck in the Zoom doldrums. Music is energizing, mood shifting, community making. I like to ask meeting participants to share with me a favorite tune or two, assemble a playlist, and play different works at the opening and closing of meetings, as well as during breaks and transitions. People can guess who picked which songs. It’s a fabulous way to hear stuff you don’t normally hear and learn something about your colleagues.

So, in service to music and fun, I’m reprising a Solid Fire Playlist I shared a few years ago, with some tweaks and changes. Warning: I tend towards 70s disco and funk!

Solid Fire Playlist   

I hope you enjoy it, and write me back with your favorites. Please! I’m a little musically challenged and always benefit from external input. Future meeting participants I work with will thank you!

A Solid Fire Playlist

1. Serpentine Fire (Earth Wind and Fire)
2. Got to Be Real (Cheryl Lynn)
3. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John/Kiki Dee)
4. Crazy on You (Heart)
5. Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
6. Venus in Furs (Velvet Underground)
7. Why Can’t We Be Friends (War)
8. Friends (Whodini)
9. Changes (David Bowie)
10. White Room (Cream)
11. I Say a Little Prayer (Aretha Franklin)
12. Witchi Tai To (Jim Pepper)
13. Empire State of Mind (JAY-Z & Alicia Keys)
14. He’s the Greatest Dancer (Sister Sledge)
15. Stand on the Word (Joubert Singers)
16. Le Freak (Chic)
17. Wake Up Everybody (Harold Melvin)
18. I Will (Paul McCartney)
19. Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone)