Playlists are Time Machines
I recently revisited Virgil Abloh's playlist for Vogue.
Virgil is gone. The playlist remains.
We now know he was privately battling a rare disease when he curated this. That context changes the signal. The tracks are no longer just a selection of music. They are a window into his mind during that final chapter.
They capture exactly what he was feeling. They lock that moment in place.
A playlist is a time machine.