Alexa, play something we all won't be bored with

November 23, 2018 1:51 PM

Our family get together have alexa playing music in the background. Invariably the mix will turn very, very dull. Part of the issue is that we have a mix across generations, religions, and political sensibilities. Can you please recommend some magic phrases that start with"alexa, play... " that will keep the mood upbeat an include a good variety of genres and artists?
posted by rebent to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

"Alexa, play thanksgiving music on spotify on the everywhere group" was a good mix. Pretty upbeat, a few songs were a little too old-school. When it got tiring, I chose the oldest member of the house's favorite bands in their hayday. So, we used "Alexa, play rush". Everyone seemed to like it.

Edit: I just realized you were my brother. I too am looking for a playlist that does what you need.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:59 PM on November 23, 2018 [20 favorites]

Can you just go to Amazon Music and find a playlist/station that you might like, then ask Alexa to play it?

(I think you might need to download Amazon Music app on your computer or phone to easily search for the stations or playlists.)

You can see the content of each playlist or station, and determine if it's something you want. Better, you can create your own playlist!

(A lot of the music is free if you have Prime. You don't need the Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.)
posted by Ender's Friend at 3:18 PM on November 23, 2018

We have decent luck with "Alexa, play classic rock." (But we may not listen long enough for it to get repetitive)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:23 PM on November 23, 2018

I don't know if you can do it with Alexa directly, but in my experience the best kind of playlist for a diverse group like that is one of multi-decade top 10s. Like you get a playlist that has everything that hit the top 10 billboard from 1960 to 2018 and then you shuffle that beast.

Playlists like that exist on Spotify so if you have at least one family member that subscribes to Spotify you could use something like this playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ABf55TlOV5ZvpHL7BYVCY. You will need to enable the Spotify service in your Amazon Alexa settings.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 4:24 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

We like jazz on Alexa for background music for family gatherings. There are a bunch of jazz stations on Amazon Music, you can access it through the Amazon Music app.
posted by chocolatetiara at 5:10 PM on November 23, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks for the feedback so far everyone (hi brother!)

The interface does need to be as simple as "alexa play....". Could I say "play top hits from the past 40 years"? Could I say "play downtempo jazz without naughty words"? I don't know. Please help
posted by rebent at 5:56 PM on November 23, 2018

With my Google home, I've had luck with "play music like Chick Correa."
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:15 PM on November 23, 2018

We were doing “Alexa! Play hits from year X” where year x was a rotation of the years everyone graduated from high school.
posted by wowenthusiast at 7:51 PM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]