Welcome to Emerging Futures -- Volume 151! Random Roadtrip Radio...
Greetings, future and past passengers of the late summer road,
As you read this, we are on the road, out and about exploring, researching, and working beyond the borders of our normal journeys. We’ll be vacationing between the Grand Canyon, New York City, the Jersey Shore, Scotland, and Germany, and then working in Alpbach, Austria, at the European Forum Alpbach conference (if you are going to be there, drop us a line; we'd love to connect), where we will be facilitating a 5-day seminar on Emergent Innovation and Green Changemaking - a week-long experiential and hands-on seminar to empower young European Forum Alpbach scholarship holders, who are coming from around the globe, with innovative tools and frameworks to develop a fused approach to creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship that is strategically poised to have a broad and meaningful impact across diverse terrains – from ecology to politics to business. At the core of what we will be teaching is a radically emergent approach to changemaking that avoids the fundamental problems of future backwards thinking. We're super excited to be a part of it and look forward to sharing the outcomes in a future newsletter.
In light of it being roadtrip season, we have a roadtrip game to share with you. We hope you find it to be fun, entertaining and enriching.
Music is the center of my (Jason) universe. Has been since chilling in the backseat of the Oldsmobile when Yacht Rock songs were the weekly hits on Casey Kasem's American Top 40. Then riffling through my older sister's record collection of Pink Floyd, Meatloaf, The Grateful Dead, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, and the Doors - knowing them all inside and out - before I stepped foot into Kindergarten - which is when I got my very first vinyl - Kiss' Dynasty.
Now, when we go for roadtrips, which could be just a quick spin for ice cream or a 6 hour drive up and down the east coast, we like to play a music game I've been developing for some time...
I call it Random Roadtrip Radio:
It's an emergent, unscripted jukebox of interconnected songs that energizes bumper to bumper traffic and puts hills in the flatlands and curves in the dusty straightaways.
We thought, in light of it being late summer, you're likely headed out on a roadtrip of your own. Perhaps you could use a new game to play to connect with your fellow passengers as you trek out on your next adventure. Here's how it works:
A subscription to a music streaming service - Apple Music, Spotify, etc...
1. Designate someone to pick a song to kick things off (any song).
2. Pass the streaming device to the next person who must choosethe next song based on making some form of a connection between the currently playing song’s name, the name of the artist, or the album - either the artist, song title, or album.
This is the crux of the game – making a connection – however stretched and seemingly arbitrary between the words of the artist, album, or song title of the currently playing song to inform the selection of the next song.
Not much more to it than this... But abstractly, it can be a bit confusing (even if we were sitting in the same room together), so we have examples below to make it all clear - so hang with us; there are two more critical things to know before jumping in to the examples.
3. Game duration: length of the car ride, however long or short.
4. You lose if you are unable to find the next song (based on the artist, album, or song title connection) before the currently playing song ends.
All of this is easier to understand if we see it in action. Here's an example of a recent car ride:
Playing: River of Deceit by Mad Season; album: Above.
Next song: Violin Concerto in E Major by Vivaldi; album: The Four Seasons performed by the Israel Philharmonic
Next song: I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch) by Four Tops; album: Second Album
Next song: Honeypie by Jawny; album: For Abby
Next song: Custard Pie by Led Zeppelin; album: Physical Graffiti (could have easily gone the Beatles; Abbey Road here, right?)
Next song: American Graffiti by Waterparks; album: Greatest Hits
Next song: A Horse with No Name by America; album: America
Bold indicates the connection from the prior song to the chosen song. Loose connections are absolutely in play - plurals and similar words work (America > American, Abby > Abbey, Metropolitan Opera > Metallica), etc...
You can see how things progressed in an emergent way, spanning decades and crossing genres - which makes the experience of listening in this game so very interesting. The rhythm and tonal changes, speeds, voices and more. Nothing deliberately meshes. Yet everything comes together. As you listen across the leaps, things get really interesting. And you'd never find this combination of songs on a radio station or algorithm - there's no obvious fit. Except for how the players are making the connections (the artist, album or song title).
A divergent path of the example above could have looked like this:
Playing: River of Deceit by Mad Season; album: Above.
Next song: The Ties that Bind by Bruce Springsteen; album: The River
Next song: The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and The Range; album: The Way It Is
Next song: Walk This Way by Run DMC; album: Raising Hell
Next song: I'm Alive by Helloween; album: Keeper of the Seven Keys
Next song: I'm Alive by Pearl Jam; album: Ten
Next song: Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton; album: Traveller
Why? Ten is in Tennessee; totally works.
The game is endless.
Never repeats.
Is purely emergent.
Requires thought and presence.
Keeps everyone in the car (or room) engaged and connected.
Usually, there is a story behind every song - a place, a person, a good time or hard time - all of which create opportunities to connect more deeply with those that are playing along. "I didn't know you knew this band"... "remember when"... "I hate this fucking song"... "Again, dad, really?"... "I haven't heard this song in so long"..., etc.
Can't use search to find the song, only confirm you've got a connection.
The next song must be queued up before the currently playing song ends.
You cannot select a song by the same artist two songs in a row.
If you are really stumped, you could go theme: For example: From A Horse with No Name to Wildfire by Michael Murphey (Wildfire is the horse's name in the song).
Don't get hung up on spellings or exactness... or do -- play however you like.
I know what some of you are thinking right now - how does the driver play? Either carefully, or tells another person in car what song to queue up on their behalf. The downside to this is, because the song is announced, everyone in the car knows what is coming - takes some of the fun out of it - where the unknown next song is a thrilling reveal that is just exciting as selecting. This method is not preferred but is safe and hands free.
Starting points can vary:
Start from the song playing on the radio or throw out a word.
Theme it - only rain songs, or love songs, or...
Decade
Genre
Including or excluding words... and on and on...
You decide with your friends when the next song gets played:
At the completion of the currently playing song?
When the next song is found?
The person who chose the song has listening rights? Meaning - the next song can only be played if and when the chooser says so -- you can torture people with really bad songs this way :).
I'm certain you'll come up with your own house rules for this part...
As you get close to your destination, jump to the lightning round, which is: As soon as the next song is played, search and play the next song immediately so you can play as many songs as possible at the end of the journey. Puts the pressure on.
This works equally well when your running to the store for ice cream or a six pack...
Because this can all seem a bit abstract, my son and I created a Spotify playlist of a recent road trip we took to the Jersey shore. Have a skim through the tracks to get a sense of the flow or just sit back and enjoy the jams.
Note: Depending on your device, you may need to click into the song to see what album it is playing from.
I suspect you'll come up with your own variations, and we'd love to hear about them, so hit reply and share what you come up with.
Enjoy your travels!
Till next week...
Keep Your Difference Alive!
Jason and Iain
Emergent Futures Lab
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P.S.: Looking to connect more deeply with our work?
Have a look a our book, or hire us! Innovation workshops, corporate talks, webinars, one on one coaching, innovation facilitation, + more… Something else in mind? Great - let's chat.
