I first got introduced to Spotify in 8th grade, and since then, I’ve been an active user. I wouldn’t say I use Spotify daily, because that would be a straight-up lie. However, I do use it every day at work and when I was in school, I used it daily. Obviously, I get the whole “we hate capitalist brands” thing going on in society, but Spotify is by far the best music app. This is coming from somebody who’s experimented with a little bit of everything, including Amazon Music.
In this post, I’d like to give my personal history with the app, some artists and songs I love, and some songs I use to find new music. I’d be willing to make more posts regarding Spotify including monthly updates on favorite songs and artists, different songs for different vibes, and so on. I love recommending music to friends so comment below if you’re looking for something in particular. You can find my Spotify account here, as well as on my “about” section of this website.
History
First, let’s hit everybody with a little bit of personal history regarding the streaming platform. Spotify doesn’t actually give you access to the data that says when your account was created, but my first song added to my first playlist (a Classic Rock playlist, titled, wait for it, “Classic Rock”) was on September 24th, 2016. So we’ll just go ahead and say that was the establishment of my Spotify “career”.
I was strictly adding to the classic rock playlist because that was just about all I listened to (thanks, Dad!). The following playlist was added called “Rap Classics” which started more as hip-hop and 90s rap, but now has evolved to be more all-encompassing of hip-hop, rap, and RnB. Everybody knows that Biggie got along great with Eminem and slowthai.
It was June of 2017 when the playlist “NQCR//Uncategorized” was established. It should be noted, the “NQCR” was the original title and “uncategorized” was added after for clarification. What does “NQCR” mean you might ask? Get ready for this one, it stands for “Not Quite Classic Rock”. Yes, I was very creative. The year also saw the creation of funk, 80s, and jazz playlists which still remain some of the smallest playlists I have.
For the next two years, it was mainly those three playlists (classic rock, rap classics, NQCR) being utilized. The year of 2019 is when everything changed, and playlists were added like there was no tomorrow. This year introduced me to Alternative/Modern rock, EDM, and Classical playlists.
2020, the year of the quarantine and COVID-19 brought even more music to my life. It brought me NBGV (another abbreviation, which is “Nothing But Good Vibes”), Horror Country, Neurofunk, and Drift Phonk. You’re probably thinking, oh man this dude is getting so obscure with his playlists. But to me, they all make perfect sense for the size of their genre.
The last four years have seen a few more additions, including a “Sad” playlist which is now dedicated to my love, 2010s pop, house music, dark trap, and so much more. I created a playlist that has my top five favorite songs of each letter, A-Z (excluding X, Q, and Z), a playlist that I put songs into when I don’t know if I like them or not, and a “Speed House” playlist.
Artists and Songs that have made an impact on me
When I say I’ve listened to a lot of music, I mean I’ve listened to months worth of music when it’s added up. So obviously, I find it tough to pick out my favorite artists and songs of all time. I mean, I have to think about every song I’ve ever listened to from every genre. There could be a classic rock song next to a dark phonk song. But, I’ve tried my best to put together a top five song and top five artist list for the sake of this post.
Over the entirety of my time on Spotify, there’s only one artist that shines above the rest. That artist is Apashe. Apashe’s been in my playlists since late 2019, and I remember impatiently waiting every other Friday for new music drops from his upcoming Renaissance album. The album helped me through a lot of tough times and kept me empowered. He’s also released the “I Killed The Orchestra” EP and “Antagonist” album since then, both 10/10 albums for me. Apashe is also one of two artists I’ve been to concerts for, the other being Black Pistol Fire.
Some other artists that have had a huge impact on my listening include Black Pistol Fire, blackwave., Black Tiger Sex Machine (there seems to be a pattern I now see), MILKBLOOD, and Tyler, The Creator. There’s no one specific genre between all of those artists which I think is special and shows my uniqueness of music taste.
I did make a top five songs of all time list for myself, but only including one artist per slot. I think this makes it a tad more fair instead of having five Apashe songs. Number five would go to “Bittersweet Baby” by blackwave.. This song introduced me to jazz rap and more importantly introduced me to the Belgian rap duo. There’s something crazy about the rhythm and lyricism.
The fourth favorite song of mine is going to be a special one, “Radar Love” by Golden Earring, specifically the extended version. When planning out my first novel (which was eventually scrapped), all I could think about was this song. It’s a classic of the classic rock genre. My favorite part is the percussion solo towards the end.
Number three goes to “Act Up” by Terry Presume. When I tell you this song took over my entire personality when I was in Dublin is a complete understatement. It was my most listened to song of 2022 and I listened to it probably at least seventy times through the year, which is a lot for my standards.
Pharmacist’s “Don’t Like ‘Em All” belongs at a very high number two. I can’t even put words to this song. You just have to listen to it, and maybe you won’t understand how good it is after one listen, but keep listening to it. Just listen to it over and over, and maybe it’ll hit you. The bass isn’t too overpowering, the added vocals help keep you into it, it’s perfect.
Number one belongs solely to Apashe’s “Distance“. This was the hardest pick because I could honestly choose one of twenty songs that belong at number one, but “Distance” was the song that got me into Apashe, and more specifically his unique genre. Geoffrey shines so brightly on this (similar to “Lost In Mumbai”) but because of the nostalgia factor, it sits at one rightly so.
Keep in mind, this list was nearly impossible to put together. Every new day brings a new mindset of a song and sometimes I’ll hate a song but the next day it’ll be my favorite. And just because I didn’t put a song up on this list doesn’t mean I adore it. I only had five slots, please understand. I could list one hundred songs and still feel bad I left a couple out because they deserve their flowers.
Sites I Use To Discover Music
As someone who loves finding new music to listen to, I have a lot of sources. Now, keep in mind, this is solely my opinion based on years of finding new music and they might not always work. But, most of the time, they help even if it’s just a tad bit. I feel weird giving my sources away, but I’m not gatekeeper. So, without further ado, I’ll quick-fire each website/source and give a small tidbit on each.
Discover Quickly – Choose from your own playlists and beyond to find similar sounding music to what you like. Each small tile presents a small snippet of each song and let’s you export the songs to Spotify to listen to them quickly.
Mixmoose – Customize your own playlist based on different features including acousticness, energy, and popularity. Add your own music as “inspiration” to create your own playlist.
Stats for Spotify – An essential app to see your most listened to artists, songs, and genres over a 12 month, 6 month, and 4 week period.
Every Noise At Once – Another essential to see nearly every music genre out there. It’s complicated to maneuver at first but once you get the hang of the website it’s extremely helpful.
Spotify Release List – Shows the release dates of your followed artists’ music and past releases. This is a good app if you’re keen on only listening to the artists you currently enjoy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, music is a huge part of my life. If I had to go without music or television, I would pick television. Screw video games, television, and movies. Music would be all I need to continue going on. I hope this was informational and helpful to an extent. If this gains traction, I’d love to make more posts on Spotify and music in general. Thanks everyone for reading, and remember on desktop Spotify to type “THX1138” on your search bar for sick lightsaber music bars. And be sure to follow me on Spotify to see what I’ll listen to next!
Today’s cover photo is from my apartment in college during a pretty sunset, which I usually didn’t catch. It’s from April 5th, 2023.