Oh no, these aren’t another set of boring playlists, are they?
Well, I hope not.  For this series of posts, I am going to feature some playlists that I feel are worthwhile, and might lead you to enjoy some songs programmed to evoke a certain feeling, mood, or style.

Check it out
Lahaina Luna Hawaiian Mix (on iTunes)

Back story
Fall is the time of year when my family often travels to Hawaii.  Several years ago, I decided that some Hawaiian music might make a great holiday stocking stuffer.  The only Hawaiian CD I owned was Facing Future by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.  This was a good start, but I wanted something with more variety, and also recalled the spirit and adventures of our travels.  Yet I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on various CDs to put together a great music mix.  The solution was digital music purchases, track by track.  I was new to iTunes, but decided it was worth a shot.  So I searched for songs that resonated with me, both serious and funny.  I am a firm believer that playlists are much more than a random mix of related songs or sounds thrown together.  Whether I succeeded in this particular playlist, I will leave you to judge.  But it’s been a favorite of ours over the years.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

Why these songs
Using several Israel Kamakawiwo’ole songs as the anchor, I added songs that evoked a strong memory of what’s it’s like to escape to sunny Hawaii from the rainy Northwest.  The playlist is bookended by two versions of Lahaina Luna, a song we heard performed live at a romantic dinner on our first trip to Maui.  I included some traditional Hawaiian musicians, as well as ‘campy’ acts such as Annette Funicello and Ray Conniff.  Some are serious, some are silly, but together they make us smile and wish we were on the shores of one of the beautiful islands of Hawaii.

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