How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Spotify

Spotify, Yppah, Calvi, Maps & Atlases

Spotify has changed the way I listen to music. The only reason I keep iTunes open is to play my pirated tv shows or movies on my Apple TV. Aside from that, I have no use for iTunes. It bungles my contacts on my phone, messes up, deletes and re-arranges the apps on my iPhone… It’s generally an insidiously, frustrating experience. Not to mention buying and trying new music $1 at a time is a costly aural indulgence. Spotify lets me hear my music remarkably fast. The iPhone app, with subscription, allows mobile streaming of your own curated playlists, starred music, or playlists you can subscribe to. Hit play on the song, it starts 1 second later.

Spotify has introduced me to new music through shared playlists;  like the Sock Monkey Sound Playlist (click here) that has opened my eyes through shared music and new genres I wouldn’t blink twice at before. (Thanks to Chip, Andy, Danger and Pablo who have added to the list… I look forward to more.)

Anna Calvi

1. I’ve never heard of Anna Calvi before Spotify… and she grabs my soul — I can’t help but compare her to Jeff Buckley. She just reaches in, with the same ethereal reach, and grasps at your heart. Squeezing it so tight it turns purple and slowly letting go, but with a release so slow its an additional pain— and you love it. You love it, but can’t wipe away the memory of the robbed life of Jeff Buckley.
2. Yppah was another fun discovery. It’s the reverse of the word Happy. Spotify’s guilt free browsing led me to them on a compilation of Ninja Tune record label’s NinjaTune XX. Ninja Tune has long been the label for my favorite band The Cinematic Orchestra…
3. I can’t put a finger on why the voice from Maps & Atlases sounds so familiar, but their catchy pop indie songs haunt me. Not in the haunt you don’t want, but the casper the friendly ghost haunt. It’s not lollypops and sourpatch kids, its indie rock, and it’s infectious.

Frustration:

I was a big fan of RDIO months before Spotify came on the scene, and its social integration with recommendations in a RSS like module from many different music blogs. As I work on the line at Chrysler, I don’t have a lot of time to sit in front of my computer and search for new music, I look to these sites for recommendations. So far, Spotify has been slow to adapt the ability for me to channel their recommendations for my personal taste.

I look forward to much more from the delving into Spotify, which is a no risk low cost smörgåsbord but I can’t help but wonder how much is being robbed from bands by my scale back of purchases. I wonder how much ‘per play’ artists get. Perhaps this question can be answered in the comments?

DH