The ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius believed that rituals were some of the most efficient ways for people to connect and form lasting bonds.

Think about the rituals around things like getting married, holidays sports events, or even how we conduct ourselves in restaurants. When you stop and thing about it, our days are filled with rituals. Consider the number of lives that have been influenced through the simple ritual of shaking hands.

Most of the time, I don’t get too hung up about rituals when it come to listening to music. Whether I’m listening on my Bluetooth speaker in the morning, or streaming from my phone in my car on the way to work, music is a part of my daily life. But my favorite way to listen to music is on vinyl. I think it has a lot to do with the ritual of it.

I love the act of taking a record out of the sleeve and putting it on the turntable. I even have a special place to put the jacket while I’m listening to the record. Sometimes I light a candle. I have a rocking chair that has been in my family for a while that I like to sit in while I listen to records. I feel more focused and connected to music when I’m listening this way. It’s fun to see something mechanical happening. It adds weight to the experience and keeps me in the present. I feel like the music takes center stage and I can just disappear into the sound.

Even if you’re not into vinyl maybe see if you can notice some of the rituals you have around listening to music and what they might mean?

Below is a playlist of songs that have resonated with me in the past month. I hope they bring more joy to your life. Thanks for listening, MMM

Included are songs by: Gojira, Lou Barlow, CZARFACE, MF DOOM, St. Vincent, Mdou Moctar, Sons Of Kemet, A Certain Ration, Gustaf, Mia Doi Todd, Jeff Parker, Money Mark, Wu-Lu, Lex Amor, Sharon Van Etten, TV Priest, Juan Wauters, Abbey Lincoln

(Subscribe to get a new playlist every 1st Monday of the month. Click on my user link or search: Major Matt’s 1st Monday on Spotify to cruise past playlists and discover more music.)