listening to music is its own activity
After reviving a long-abandoned iPod and using it for the last week or so, I have a few thoughts about how my music-listening experience has changed, as well as some new songs I've found since leaving Spotify.
For starters, listening to music digitally has become its own activity. It's more time consuming to create playlists, organize my library, or even find new music in general than it was on Spotify. Finding new music used to be as easy as opening an app and being greeted with new releases right off the bat, but I now find myself checking up on musicians I follow on YouTube or using other outlets to source updates on emerging music. I experienced my first Spotify-free discovery today when Julia Wolf (listen to In My Room) popped up in my recommended on YouTube. I watched a few of her music videos, then plugged in my iPod and added her songs to my device. Though it took considerably longer than if I had just popped those songs into my Spotify playlist, the reward of listening to the songs after on my own device made it well worth it. The act of slowly collecting songs that really resonate with me on my iPod has been a great joy over the last few days, and forces me to deeply consider the massive catalogue of songs I've amassed on Spotify over the years and par that down to the essentials (or at least 60 out of 120 more gigs worth).
When it comes to actually sitting down to listen to music on my iPod, I'm more focused on the songs than I am when streaming them. The distractions on streaming platforms like lyrics and artist pages are absent from the iPod, which makes the experience more about the music and less about its presentation within the app. I also enjoy the customization I get on the iPod, as I can change artist names, album titles, and album covers to my heart's content. My organization is entirely up to me, and I can have as many versions of a song (live, remastered, etc.) as I like. The ability to upload some of my favorite live performances (like SE SO NEON's Midnight Train) onto my iPod and listen to them alongside other songs in my playlist is a luxury, as Spotify doesn't allow users to upload content like that without categorizing it as a "podcast episode", which is infuriating and ridiculous.
When it comes to using my phone less in general, the iPod has been a life saver. I've brought it on walks, in the car, and just about everywhere I would have needed my phone for simple tasks like telling the time, but didn't want to end up scrolling or getting pulled out of the moment. The battery life on my iPod Classic 7th Gen is incredible, so I don't have to worry about it dying on me if I'm out all day without my phone. I've also tried getting used to not relying so much on Apple Maps, as I'm one of those people who will use the map even if I've been to the destination a thousand times. My anxiety tends to convince me that the grocery store has grown two legs and walked to a new intersection since the last time I went. Using the iPod in the car and keeping my phone in my bag prevents me from compulsively using the maps when they're not really necessary.
Though I had become convinced that I couldn't listen to music and read or write at the same time, the issues appears to have stemmed more from my phone being distracting than the music itself. When I try writing while listening to music on my phone, I always end up abandoning my task to scroll around on Spotify or social media. The iPod's simplicity lets it fade into the background while I work on whatever I was intending to work on in the first place.
Overall, I've had an amazing experience with my iPod this week, and I can't wait until my library is converted entirely into mp3 and I can delete the Spotify for good! If you've been contemplating buying one for years, this is your sign to either go back on Ebay or start rummaging around some drawers in your house like I did. You might find a hidden gem!