Accepting friction - listening without a streaming subscription (Part 1) – Tracy Durnell's Mind Garden

Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick remembers the “homework” we used to do as music fans – reading reviews, seeking out the opinions of music critics – “all in the service of purchasing music.” Now there’s a pre-made playlist for every moment; we no longer need to spend hours curating playlists for ourselves if we want a different mix for working out, for writing, for cooking dinner. Streaming saves us a lot of work… but, ironically, people like things better when we have to work to find them. Being served music instead of seeking it out for ourselves makes us into consumers moreso than listeners. Fitzpatrick continues: “This passivity makes us as audiences, as people, less engaged with what we’re doing.”

Being more mindful, present, and engaged with whatever I’m doing is in line with this year’s theme of Getting Real¹. I’ve been thinking more about my personal music collection, and how important music used to be to me. I remember doing a presentation for one of my clases on how impactful music can be back in 8th grade. I’ve even started building up a vinyl collection, and have really enjoyed the ritual and intentionality of spending time “listening to music”.

I’m not ready to cancel my Apple Music streaming account, my entire family uses it. But, I think it might be fun to sign out on my MacBook and rebuild my personal, curated, and beautifully organized mp3 collection again.

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