Today I am taking you on a journey with me. Think back to the first time you discovered Spotify (sorry Apple Music users). I remember it was in middle school one of my friends was using it, and as an avid “spend the Apple gift card I got for my birthday on individual songs” type, I was amazed at the idea that I could listen to as many songs as I wanted to for free. Granted, that was long before I could afford a premium account, so those iconic ads are ingrained in my brain somewhere forever now. Since then, music has been a part of my life far more than it had ever been before. Not that I didn’t appreciate the CD and Barbie radio player days, but this was on another level.
I’ve always felt like my taste in music was weird. I was never the type to love every song by a single artist or listen to an album front to back. I think this is an outcome of the Spotify listener in me. Why hold yourself back when there are endless things to love? Why force yourself to listen and love an entire album when you can pick and choose to your liking? I have come to understand that one of the most amazing parts of music streaming in general is the diversity of it all. If your access to music is unlimited, it makes sense that your taste would diversify as a result. Music is supposed to touch your soul, so when that barrier opened and the exploration became endless, my soul started to become fueled by music as it does to this day.
I love the feeling when you hear a song and a piece of music hits so hard and satisfies your brain unlike anything else. I’ve always had an affinity for music, never really anything singular, I think good music is good music and that idea is subjective to the individual. For me, music has always been tied to the time I loved it. When I hear a song I once loved, I can feel how I felt at that time in my life. I can see myself; I can smell the world around me as I did, and I remember the people who were around me and the defining moments of that time. Sounds bring it all back. The best is when you hear something in a song you feel describes you so accurately, then the song goes on and you begin to understand yourself even more. I find that experiences in general can be more similar than we think. Feelings often come with other feelings that we may not have uncovered yet. Sometimes little relatable things can lead to understandings about yourself you never thought were possible. I feel that I have learned a lot about myself through lyrics. I think I resonate so deeply with a song when I love it that my world becomes intertwined with the sounds that bring me solace and joy. There is something meaningful about connecting with a song so strongly, it’s as if your feelings are being screamed from a rooftop by someone with a voice that people care about and the love they receive is a validation of how you feel.
I’d be willing to bet that people felt this way before the era of Spotify, but for me, it introduced a level of musical exploration I never could have imagined before. I attribute the emotional connection I have to music through my trusty streaming service. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a handful of artists I could attribute it to as well, but I have developed an appreciation for this modern method of music, what it has done for me, and what it has done for music lovers everywhere. So I encourage you to embrace your niche taste because it is not weird, it is simply modern, and it is you.