free rommy New York → Kansas City → San Francisco → Stockholm → Berlin

The IPO (Initial Public Offering) of the PR Mix

When I lived in San Francisco, I began to compile a secret music playlist. It's a secret family recipe of sorts. Though it has nothing to do with my family. But it is a recipe...

...for romance. (I just came up with that)

The PR mix gained quite a mysterious reputation among my friends in San Francisco. I think I talked about it one night while having some drinks with a group of female friends. In typical "Rommy" fashion I spoke about the enchanting effects it had on women after a few drinks and a happy frolic back to my place.

The girls laughed in my face. Also typical.

But just the mention of this magical "hookup" mix started to pique some interest. Because expectedly some of them started to wonder in their own head what kind of music could possibly be on this mix. As I got further into their heads, I could tell that they started to wonder what music would get THEM in the mood. So they casually started to ask questions.

And then I was the one laughing. There was no way I would be willing to divulge the secret. It had been simply too important and far too effective for me to just give away. Particularly to girls I was HITTING on. Furthermore if I let the cat out of the bag, it was a death sentence for my sex life in San Francisco. Every dude running around with the PR mix is NOT what I needed for competition.

The mix didn't just come to me. It went through MANY iterations taking years to perfect. It's eclectic. I've listened to it over a thousand times. I've changed the order, added some songs, removed some others. And I continued to try it on women, gauging their reactions, gauging my own. If I skipped a song, I took a mental note to drop it. If I heard a great song while driving, I took a mental note to add it.

I literally got it to the point where just about every song got them smiling or relaxed or laughing or...other stuff. I knew I nailed it, when at the beginning of each song I would hear "I love this song!" or "This mix is amazing." I gave it to a couple female friends who I hadn't been romantically involved with. One of them brought it to work. She claimed she had to shut the door to her office when she listened to it. When she told her friends how awesome the mix was, they all wanted copies of it.

I'd created a monster. And it was mine. And it worked. I could just about pinpoint their mental and physical moods at precise moments throughout the mix. And I won't say that all the women were predictable. It worked better on some women than it did on others, but the success rate was almost 100%. I wish I was kidding.

So these female friends of mine had a good laugh about it. Mostly them laughing at me for being so silly and chauvinistic/douchebaggy. And me laughing at them because despite this mockery/disgust they still wanted to know what was on it.

I don't think it's perfect yet. But it hasn't changed for a while, only because I don't want to offset the balance. And for every guy, the PR mix might be different. Everything from their type of woman to their location (the PR Mix has had only moderate success in Europe) to their taste in music. My PR mix has some personal flavor with some personal meaning behind some of the songs.

Some tips for a PR mix include:

• The order is critical to its success. Shuffle is NOT your friend.
• You'll want to start with songs that serve as background music so that you can speak over it. But if you're both drunk you'd want them to be able to smile and recognize the song and feel comfortable/relaxed.
• Some electronic lounge early on is a good relaxant. Especially with some wine.
• Mix it up. Be eclectic. Show your range. Lounge, pop, 80s, crooners, jazz, bossa nova.
• It's key to throw in some songs that everyone recognizes. It keeps a conversation going when she can smile and appreciate your choice in music.
• Don't be too obvious. Don't throw Barry White on it unless you want her to laugh at you. Romance can be fun, but it shouldn't be obvious.
• Put your best songs in the middle. It's the heart of the mix. The songs below in green are the ones that cause serious emotional conflict and physical desire. They melt even the coldest hearts.
• Put your most relaxing songs at the end.

I swore I wouldn't divulge the mix, but I'm getting old, and I need to pass on the secret. Plus, it gives everyone a little something to talk about, something to laugh at, and something to disagree with (as is the case with every list).

So without further ado, I present to you Rommy's long-awaited PR Mix:

1. New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
2. I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Tony Bennett
3. Happy Together - The Turtles
4. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
5. The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room - Flight of the Conchords
6. She's Always a Woman to Me - Billy Joel
7. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
8. A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum (not on Spotify)
9. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
10. Porcelain - Moby
11. Jesus to a Child - George Michael
12. Nude - Radiohead
13. Stand by Me - Ben E. King
14. Slow Motion Bossa Nova - Celso Fonseca
15. Trouble - Coldplay
16. Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg (not on Spotify)
17. One More Try - George Michael
18. Nightswimming - R.E.M.
19. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning - Frank Sinatra
20. Hideaway - Karen O and the Kids

If you want to subscribe to it, I have the playlist up on Spotify (PR Mix Spotify), but unfortunately some of the songs are unavailable due to licensing issues. It's only at 90% over there, but it's still close.

Oh and I'll spare you the details of what PR stands for (it's not as bad as you think).