Wednesday, November 18 , 2015 // The Statement
6B
Personal Statement: Spotify and modern honesty
by Amelia Zak, Daily Music Editor
I
recently argued with a friend who was frustrated with
my Spotify etiquette.
“You listen to my playlist all the time but you don’t
follow it?” he asked, irritated.
“Yes,” I responded, amused.
This set off his berating: “There’s no honesty left on this
godforsaken planet. No one practices it anymore. I recently
realized that I needed to be more honest. We all should
work to be more honest.”
“What does this have to do with my Spotify activity?” I
retorted.
“It has everything to do with it,” he responded.
And he’s right.
I had just thought of Spotify as another outlet for my
obsessive music exploration. I had thought of it selfishly,
too. It was a way for other people to dote and admire the
numerous playlists I had made and music I had found. There
is a Spotify hierarchy, and I was to acquire a title within it.
Pondering about, and consequently writing about, these
thoughts was a therapeutic experience for me. Following the
realization that I a) spend too much time on the application
and b) should probably find some other topics to marinate on
on a day-to-day basis, I realized that my friend’s correlation
between the two topics (Spotify and honesty in modern
times) did, in fact, have everything to do with one another.
Of the various music streaming apps and websites, Spotify
is the most popular, and the most widely used. Whatever
your music taste, there is a function on the app that will
satisfy you. Party time playlists, rainy day songs, fresh R&B,
that new single from Justin Bieber — it’s accessible to all
interested.
Spotify is also the music streaming site with the most
interconnectivity. You can view on a play-by-play basis
what others are listening to. By clicking on another person’s
profile you can access all the music they have collected
and playlists they follow since joining the site. You can
view what others have “Starred.” You can view what they
categorize as “Hungover” songs. Most Millennials have a
pretty comprehensive “’90s Throwbacks” playlist, too.
The social media aspects within Spotify are fun and
engaging in most situations. I love seeing what my friends
are listening to. I love sharing new songs I’ve found. I
love creating new playlists with people. I love stalking the
profiles of people I know (and people I don’t) to admire and
investigate what they are listening to. In those moments,
usually at 1 a.m. when I still haven’t finished my reading for
tomorrow, I’ll lie in bed and admire their personal musical
anthology. I’ll add songs from their playlists to my own.
Songs are just songs for some. By this, I mean to imply
that not all will emotionally attach themselves to the music
they listen to.
But most people I know are.
The “most people” I know choose the music they listen
to because of the way that it makes them feel. That feeling
is unusual and subjective. They’re searching for something
sonic to match their happiness, sadness, or anxiety. They are
searching for a song to match something they themselves
don’t understand. These “most people” look for the beats,
the trumpet sounds, the lyrics or the guitar plucks that
locate something within themselves they couldn’t define
before.
It will fulfill some insatiable thirst for grandeur. It’s the
magic of “most people.” The lovelorn look to it for respite.
The cynics look to music as a backboard of their inner
frustrations and self-deprecations. The happy use it to
remain happy. The depressed use it to remain depressed. It’s
kryptonite, it’s an antidote: it’s magic.
So why do you we ignore the intimacy of Spotify? Do I
stand alone as an individual who loves to know about the
listening decisions of the people I know? Are there few
people who wonder how one’s listening decisions correlate
with the current conditions of their existence? Why is my
friend Maura listening to so much Bruce Springsteen? Is
she feeling nostalgic? Does she miss home? Why is John
listening to so much Adele? Is he sad? Is she helping him
through some rut?
Music listening isn’t always intimate, but it surely can be.
And when it is intimate, or when what we are listening to is
too revealing or embarrassing, we have the option to resort
to a “Private Session.” We can hide what we’re going through
from the people who follow us. We can examine that pretty
girl or boy’s playlists, searching for music compatibility. We
can listen to Britney Spear’s seminal classic, “Lucky,” fifteen
times on repeat without judgement or forced justification.
We don’t have to be honest. Just like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and the like, Spotify allows us to form some sort
of facade. We can create a fake reality for the outside world
to see, and hide the true reality within ourselves. We don’t
have to be honest.
Honesty in our modern age is difficult to achieve. With so
many options for deceptions, and with so many intangible
barriers, we are constantly given the option of dishonesty.
And with this, the magic of music dissipates ever so slowly.
As easily as it can be shared, it can be hidden. We don’t have
to be as honest. We can pretend.
And so I decided to follow my friend’s playlist last night.
Does that mean anything at all? Probably not. Will anyone
else see the bravery or intimacy in that? No. Because it
doesn’t require much of either.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHERYLL VICTUELLES