Look, we all have different tastes in music, so I’ll be the first to concede to the fact that any playlist made by anyone, anywhere, is indeed subjective. However, there is no denying the talent some musicians clearly possess, especially when you compare the popularity of their music as it is received and lingers through the generations. Think about those pop songs which linger and are still re-visited to be featured in one or more of those music shows in which they focus mostly on playing the latest music.

Think about the likes of artists such as Michael Jackson – is there anyone in the world who doesn’t have at least one Michael Jackson song they like? I mean honestly here – if we take an honest look at ourselves, no matter how it might ‘appear’ via hipness and what not…

Okay, so before I go too far down the off-ramp, what I really wanted to discuss here is the power contained in so-called power jams. I probably don’t need to explain what a power jam is to the discerning music lover, but just briefly, a power jam is a song which induces some kind of motivation inside of you, so you feel inspired in some way by merely listening to that song. Usually a power jam is song which you’re already acquainted with and it appears as if power jams have their biggest impact when they’re played by somebody else or pop up randomly as opposed to when you purposefully pick it out of your collection and play it.

But why do these aptly named power jams have such power though?

Inspiration to feed off of

I’ll bring back the debate of the subjectivity of music, if I may, in pointing out the generally lower quality of music we are flooded with these days. I maintain that we have different tastes, but something has to be off if new music only really hits the circuits for about a week and then it’s considered to be ‘old,’ never to be heard again.

This is why you hardly get any classics in terms of power jams in this day and age, with the real power jams that actually have that motivational impact existing in the form of the classics of times gone by. The power they contain isn’t necessarily in the lyrics of the song, although the lyrics are indeed a bit part of the equation. Just listen to the likes of “Isn’t it Ironic,” by Alanis Morisette or “In the Shadow,” by The Rasmus and it is indeed about the lyrics, but the inspiration behind those songs is what makes them the power jams they are.

When somebody who is talented in their craft, i.e. music in this instance, and they are inspired to write and perform a song about inspiration, magic happens and that inspirational power is subsequently contained in that song they release.

So if a power jam doesn’t surprise you by popping onto the radio, then you can take it upon yourself to compile a playlist of power jams. That’s a free source of motivation!