Spotify’s DJ: A return to radio days of yore or more narcissistic BS?
I think you know my answer.
I don’t have to expound at length to explain how much I dislike Spotify’s new DJ feature. It’s another ploy to engage with our growing narcissist tendencies. But, hey, we’re all just exuding main character energy, right?
It would be so much more enriching to think about discovering new music in ways that haven’t been developed from some kind of algorithmic dystopia. So, to celebrate diversity in music—and, frankly, thought—here is a quick and dirty on some stations worth your time:
KXLU: I have absolutely zero ties to the institution, but I have loved Loyola Marymount University’s radio station for quite some time now. It’s the very definition of eclectic. I have tuned in to the indiest of indie, only to listen in on other moments to the wailing emotion of opera or the snappy, can-I-just-be-dancing-salsa-now latin jazz. Listening to this station has led to my happy discovery of new, criminally underrated bands. Who needs an algorithm when you have KXLU?
NTS radio: If KXLU is varied and diverse in its offering, so is NTS. But there is something about this global station that oozes cool. NTS offers different channels within the main radio station, such as Otaku (listen for anime hits with accompanying clips from media on loop—oh, hi Canary). The number of playlists for the different genres is almost dizzying. Dig away into the archives and discover some new faves. I’m listening to this one as I type this. I’ll take Félicité Ventilateur’s deftly curated selection over a disembodied voice telling me what I already like, any day.
Youtube: Lo-fi girl aside, there are other fun stations on the site. Here is one specializing in Future Funk and City Pop. Here’s another on Relaxing Jazz Piano. Another on Indie Pop. The beauty of these channels lies not only in the uninterrupted stream of music within a particular genre, but also the chat features that serves to connect people. If you’re working whilst listening to the station, there could be something comforting knowing the number of other people also tuning in at the same time as you.
Bonus (a dear friend’s recommendation): Don’t forget the wealth of resources with international radio stations, such as Radio Neige-Folle, Toronto’s station playing Christmas music since 1915. Don’t you want to hear Christmas classics en français?
Keep your ears happy and your mind clear!