DJ Jim Q's Playlist: TRUST

The theme for this month is TRUST, brought to us by the Islamabad chapter of CreativeMornings.

“Trust the process” a common instruction in creative endeavors, can be easier said than done, especially for those like me who struggle to relinquish control. Trust, like faith, requires bravery and resilience in embracing the unknown. Beyond one’s comfort zone lies the realm where great things happen, and this requires trust to conquer. Personal creative journeys are predicated on these risky choices. To grow, you must have trust in yourself, but that faith can be hard to muster. Trust, even within oneself, is earned. The more you exercise your faith and see it pay off, the easier it will be to trust in the future. Even when you fail, building up a tolerance for failure and learning from your missteps can be its own reward. Trust in that.

Trust among musicians is uniquely dynamic and often hard-won. I think about the volatile and complicated relationships throughout music history. The distinct and sometimes contradictory individuality of the Fab Four, the notoriously contentious sibling relationships between Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks or the Gallagher brothers in Oasis, the fistfights between the members of Cream, the persistent animosity between Police drummer Stewart Copeland and singer/bass player Sting, and the surprising rift between the soft-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel all illustrate that creative relationships aren’t always easy. Despite their disagreements, these artists must have had a great deal of trust in one another to overcome their differences and create great art together. This is another example where trust and respect are more consequential than harmony, even in music. This is not to suggest that disagreement and strife are prerequisites to great art, but it’s clear that trust can overcome even the most potent disputes.

Trust me, I think you’ll be pleased with this month’s collection of songs. I hope these songs of faith and reassurance relieve even the deepest skeptics. Public Enemy challenges the authenticity of the American Dream in “Can’t Truss It”, The Go-Go’s profess their trustworthiness in “Our Lips Are Sealed”, Diana Ross warns us to “…keep an eye” on our friends, and Bob Marley shares Ms. Ross’s suspicion of close friends in the accusatory tune “Who the Cap Fit”. These 40-plus songs of trust will help us keep the faith and keep on dancing.

Thanks for entrusting me with these curatorial duties. I’ll be back next month with another playlist and post. If you are enjoying these collections, please follow me on Spotify and give a shout on X.