For our Labor Day Mix Tape this year, we’re going to talk about a different kind of labor — not necessarily a nine-to-or five job or labor to earn a living, (though it might be that). We’re talking about working on something. Something good, something big, something small but important, something that pays no money but is still valuable in some way. Songs about creating something, or the difficulty of not being able to create something, or admiring someone else for creating something. Songs about the satisfaction of working on something, the frustration of not being able to work on something, the difficulty of balancing your vocation and your avocation, the warmth of creating something for someone else. Songs about working on a building, or a movement, or a story, a painting, a photograph, a song, something mysterious, a career, a musical career, or breakfast for someone you love.

There is satisfaction in a job of work, a paying job, a job of service or sustenance. “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” But there’s a different kind of life-sustaining value in creating something. In lying awake thinking about the characters you’ve created, the lyrics you’ve written, the ingredients you’ve gathered, the message you want to share with the people you’ve gathered. It feels good to work on something you believe in, even if seems a little crazy to others. So this playlist celebrates the joys, sorrows, doubts, and soul-nurturing importance of the labor of creation.