I never listen to the radio nowadays. I never listen to the more than 500 CDs we own, either. And since last year, the only tape player we own is a small boombox that is up on the top of a shelf… so I never listen to any of the mixed tapes that I made or received long ago, and haven’t for years.
But I listen to music all the time. All day long at work and whenever I’m in the car. I’ve built a Spotify list with over 2000 songs on it and that’s what I listen to. It’s the best playlist in the world and it makes me happy every time I hit Shuffle-Play.
For Christmas, Anders gave me a stereo docking station that I can use with my iPad or iPhone. It has a built-in CD player as well, and he bought a little tape player to go with it. So now, I can listen to just about ANYTHING* at home, too. I’m playing a mixed tape right now, in fact. It’s a tape I made in 1990. It’s dated on the inside of the label: 2-24-1990. 4 years and a couple of months before I met him.
It, along with the majority of the music I have in my tape and CD collections, has lots of songs that aren’t on my Spotify list. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good songs…it’s just I don’t put EVERYTHING on my playlist and lots of the music I have on vinyl, tape and CD isn’t always available on Spotify, sadly. I confess, my playlist’s primary purpose is to soothe me. It’s not for dancing or exercise or cleaning house or anyone else. It’s for running as a background soundtrack for my life.
For a few weeks of December, I switch to a Christmas playlist that I’ve also compiled on Spotify, but I tire of Christmas music fairly quickly. I never tire of my Spotify list. It says a lot about me, I suspect. It’s a hint to the person I am, the level of energy I live at, the melodic rhythm that defines my pace.
Don’t think I never listen to anything new, though…Spotify is great that way. Finding new artists that are recommended for me, based on my preferences is a snap. I add new stuff all the time. But sometimes it’s really nice to listen to a set of music that defined a particular place and time in my life. A tape that holds a key to what I was enjoying, listening to, doing, years ago.
Even if I do have to get up and flip the tape at some point.
*Except vinyl. Our record LPs are still gathering dust, alas.