Discover Yourself
Based on the title of the blog, you might think I'm going to give you some advice on how to find yourself. Let's be real, when people ask what makes me happy, it's easier to tell them what I don't enjoy (looking at you, paint night). No, I can't help you find yourself because I don't even know where I am, but I can help you let Spotify do it for you.
Every Monday, Spotify makes a custom playlist for every user based on their musical tastes. Taking coffee to the face is rule number one every Monday morning to wake up, but number two is to -- as Liz, who will one day be featured in a post entitled "Living with Liz" --calls it, discover myself.
I used to be one of those kids in high school that listened to music no one else had ever heard of. I'd be the girl saying, "I saw them before they made it to radio." I was hip. My hobby was finding new music. Since growing up, I've become a lot less trendy and don't spend nearly enough time researching new bands or following when my favorites are releasing new music.
That's where Spotify steps up and hits a home run. They give me new stuff and old stuff that it thinks I will like. Sometimes it's garbage, but most of the time there's at least 2-3 songs that aren't just pleasant, but downright speaks to me. Those are the songs I cull into my songs tab and listen to endlessly for the rest of the week, along with all the other songs that made it to my VIP list.
My songs tab has been a really amazing source of inspiration, plus musical knowledge. For example, I began my tradition of discovering myself months ago. On the Wednesday night of Firefly, we wandered up to the only stage where a band was playing, as the festival doesn't really begin until Thursday. From there, I heard the sweet, sweet melody of a song Spotify discovered for me, "Leather Jacket." No thanks to me, I again was he hipster who knew who the Arkells were without even trying to be.
Outside of the pragmatic use of finding music that you'll later stumble into randomly at a festival, Spotify has also turned me on to countless new bands that are exactly my taste. My favorite song lately has been "Hooligans" by Issues. It's this really sweet, slow song that speak of not knowing exactly where you fit in as you continue to grow. Really touching stuff.
One day I wanted to listen to it to lullaby myself to sleep. So, I turned to YouTube and typed in "Hooligans" by Issues. I clicked on the first one and almost dropped my phone. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be the same song Spotify turned me on to.
Apparently the version I had heard was the acoustic version of a scream-o song. Who knew? Not me. But Spotify did and set me up for a fun little surprise. You just never know what Spotify will discover for you and how (or when) that will sneak up and make you smile.