Re: so long, spotify, by Tiramisu
Reply to Tiramisu's post about quitting Spotify.
My friend wrote about quitting Spotify at a peak average daily usage of 9.5 hours.
For the last month, sitting with the inevitable moments of discomfort, quiet, and unwanted background sound without the help of my typical tools [music] has been weird, rewarding, and exciting. I feel more physically, emotionally, and socially present.
Spending so much time in a world of my own making [through music] was comforting, but I’ve realized that it only further disconnected me from my concept of identity and enforced some self-centeredness (in terms of mental health) that I was already struggling with. It’s hard to put into words what feels different; I can’t help but think I’m just returning to a baseline human experience of the world that I had been opting out of.
Recently, I have done the complete opposite with respect to Spotify. After being off since 2021, I returned 1 month ago, solely to connect with one user. After coming back, WOW there have been so many releases I missed and amazing songs and artists I am being introduced to and enjoying. It feels somewhat child-like to come in with a relatively empty plate, able to accept a wider array of suggestions and recommendations than if I were an overlistener. This ecstasy has nothing to do with something special Spotify is doing. They simply have most music available. I did use it occasionally to catalog and save songs, which may be part of an end-game scenario where I perform the "Exportify" service to send it all to offline files. This is actually something I used to do in my teens, before Spotify, and I still have that spreadsheet backed up. I was using Pandora, exploring music outside of what was on local radio, what my parents liked, or what my guitar instructor assigned me. First item on that list: GZA. Third item: Madlib. One hundred second item: Project Pat. It was a fun journey, hearing new songs on the radio, taking interest into certain ones, and logging those to remember and research. Then those artists or songs may have led to another, and another.
However, this seems opposite to what you're embarking on. Intentional reduced exposure. Simplified exposure medium. Active utilization of silence. I commend these efforts with equal impartiality. From my brief time spent in large metropoli, I found it nearly impossible to achieve the true silence or solitude within public space I am accustomed to. Vehicular, construction, and mechanical noise on the street gets traded for chatter, laughter, and barking in parks. Reusable earplugs help for the times when the metro is too loud and music is still paused. It seems like Gen Z is all in on reusable earplugs, or maybe that's just my personal circle. From my parts, I can drive 15 minutes or bike 30 to find myself outside, in a location devoid of noise and people. The external stimuli that remain being birds, mammals, arthropods, and flora; seemingly silent, until you notice the peeps of moles unburrowing and scurrying across the forest bed into another nook. A bee, systemically draining every nearby flower of nectar so that it may consume enough energy to continue its flight. A millipede, crossing a footpath intended for humans. When you press pause, you open yourself up to everything nearby, good and bad. And like you mentioned, you also open up to everything inside: reflections, ideas, feelings, silence.
Lately, I have taken to mainly two types of music listening: whole album listens and internet radio. Both of these offer a minor choice, and then afterwards, there is no need for choice for the entire album length or until the listening session must end.
For radio, there is a website called Radio Browser with apps and VLC plugin based around it. EuroDance, Amapiano, Dance Hall, Jazz, Nepali Folk, Chinese pop, Classical, 90s rap, Beatles, the list goes on. A modest saved station list provides good variety with minimal selection process and no skipping songs.
For albums, one method you've already mentioned: CD's from the library, from family and friends, sales at thrift stores, library sales. I am currently listening through some hundreds of CDs from my late grandfather. Some I rip because I enjoy them. Others are left as a one time experience, valued nonetheless. The true alternative to streaming that the industry has not accepted yet is Bandcamp. Its design is amazing. You can stream, wishlist, and browse all kinds of music. The catch is after X amount of plays, maybe 10, they start prompting you to buy the music. Eventually, the music will not play unless you purchase it, unable to dismiss the plea and continue. That's very reasonable. Listening to something 10 times must mean you really like it and could fork the $10 to own it, support the artist, and listen again and again. Or you don't, and continue on your merry way. Very forward and generous artists even do an open pricing structure, allowing users to name any price. Some people will pirate it regardless, so it enables a more equitable method to acquire and cherish the offline, owned, real audio files. I would love to see some statistics about earnings via "Name Your Price" vs a standard flat fee.
The final service is SoundCloud. I see it as the polar opposite of listening to library CDs, flooded with discontinuity, high exposure, and honestly, lots of low quality music. Kids in high school making jersey remixes, new artists developing a following, subcultures experimenting and creating new genres as we speak. The unique remixes that DJs play live are largely found here. It can be exceedingly entertaining, and also exhausting and overwhelming from the sheer amount of creativity and junk on here.
A key theme is that it feels nice when recommendations come from people you know, or at least people period. Friends, family, partners, DJ sets online, DJ sets heard live, radio stations near and far. Even the CDs at the library or those of a deceased person are in a way, a loose recommendation. They cared enough to buy and store those releases over other ones.
There is a entirely different argument about quitting Spotify for ethical reasons. I did not expect to find a bearblog site and post from a band I used to listen to, Deerhoof, about the Russo-Ukrainian war, AI warfare, Daniel Ek, and class solidarity. They completely left Spotify and are on bandcamp now.
Anyways, long reply. Not sure if this is how they're supposed to go. I appreciate your existence and writings. Ending this with a Tiramisu-esque photo.
凉皮 and 长安豆花 from Xian Famous Foods. Very much vegan, very much not gluten free.