1/

I used to listen to music on Spotify and noticed a difference in how I perceive and remember it. Before streaming, music was associated with periods of my life, mostly through albums.

2/

Green Day’s American Idiot is the album of the summer after I finished 8th grade. Northlane’s Singularity is the album of a cold winter in 10th grade. Even now, if I hear any song from those albums, my mind travels back in time.

3/

With Spotify I stopped listening to albums. The algorithms give you nice playlists, and I enjoy them, but they usually don’t create a specific vibe. And I stopped having a specific vibe tied to a period in the past.

4/

So I changed my habit. Now I pick one or two albums and buy them on Bandcamp or Qobuz. I also have a vinyl collection. Instead of random shuffled music, I have a small set of albums that I actually live with.

5/

I can listen to one album for a month and it’s still interesting and pleasant. I discover something new on every other pass.

6/

But what I really enjoy is that the link between music and moments of my life came back. I’ll remember this August as A7X’s Waking the Fallen and Muse’s The Wow! Signal.

7/

I literally remember what I was doing while listening, whether it was sitting in my armchair or walking in the city drinking coffee. It’s such a nice feeling.

8/

And it’s not even expensive. I don’t need the hundreds of albums streaming provides. I buy about one album a week, around $10–12. That’s by no means a huge sum for a hobby I enjoy so much.

9/

How do you listen to music? Streaming, buying albums, or sailing the seas? And do you have albums tied to a specific time in your life?