Weekend Road Trip to Tulsa with SharePlay and Apple CarPlay

We went on a road trip to Tulsa, OK for the weekend to celebrate Greg’s 50th birthday, which was last Thursday. The trip was a surprise, and we hit the road Friday morning, picking up our friend Jason along the way to join us.

Once the queue started playing, it was cool to see who added each song displayed on the CarPlay screen. That added a fun, social element to the music experience.

We did run into a few hiccups when driving through areas with poor cell signal. When the signal dropped, everyone was disconnected from SharePlay. Once the signal returned, each person had to reconnect to continue adding or viewing songs in the queue. That felt a bit clunky, especially since I had read that SharePlay supports Bluetooth sharing. Oddly, Bluetooth didn’t seem to keep the connection alive when the cell signal dropped. It seems like Bluetooth should have been able to maintain the session, but that wasn’t the case for us.

Despite that, we had four people in the car all sharing songs, and it was a blast letting others take control of the playlist while I drove. SharePlay also lets passengers skip or replay songs, which came in handy. At one point, someone was sleeping, and we wanted to replay a song that had played earlier. With SharePlay, it was no problem to go back one or multiple songs so they could hear what we were all talking about.

What a fun way to have full car participation what to listen to while on a road trip. I highly recommend giving this a try. I did read that this is also available on Apple TV, but I have not tried that process yet.

Nostalgia Through Music

I enjoy Apple Music and the fact that it can give a summary at the end of the year of songs that I have listened to frequently during the year. Prior to Apple Music, I was using Rhapsody by Real. It is sometimes fun to go back to see what I was listening to in heavy rotation when I first start using Apple Music. There are top songs for each year going back to 2015. I am not sure if I was using Apple Music prior to 2015, but that's the first playlist that shows up in my history with heavy play rotation.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Carrie and I stopped at my Mom's in Lawrence. Mom mentioned she had been listening to CD I used to listen to back in the early 90s. I was curious of the name and she told me it was Painted Desert Serenade by Joshua Kadison. I had completely forgotten about the CD until it was mentioned. I searched for Joshua Kadison on Apple Music and immediately brought back memories of college. I think it was a CD that when I moved out of the house, I left at home. My Mom came across it in my old things and started listening to it in the afternoons.

Since last weekend, I have listened to the songs a few times through Apple Music. It is crazy how hearing those songs takes me back to the early 1990s. Of course this is true with other songs in the way the song can take us back to another time. 

As I look back on my prior years through Apple Music going back to 2015, I see a number of similar artists that I listen to regularly throughout each year with one being Neil Diamond but also mixed into the mix includes James Taylor,  Bruce Springsteen, Steve Winwood, Brett Dennen, and many others that show up year after year. 

What are some ways you keep track of music from your past?

I wish there was a way to look at back what I listened to as a kid, young adult, or into college. Yes, I remember some of them, but I know there are many CD's that I bought that I do not remember. Some I would like to find again that I know are in the house somewhere, but I have not been able to find them.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week...