I was reading an article on a UK newspaper website, ‘How Spotify silenced rock bands’  (The Telegraph, 11 August 2024), about the small number of new bands who made it to number one, and with it the challenge of finding new music via streaming services. The article indicated the music we listen to is selected using algorithms that are driven by our listening habits and those of your cohort. 

It was something my own experience completely bore out. Overwhelmingly my listening habits are centred around the 70s and a decade either side. I have posted before about 1975 as the greatest year in music. This apart from my other passion country, an occasional dabble with Christian/Gospel and classical, pretty much reflect my preferred listening.

It had occurred to me that for my more recent interests in classical, country and Christian/gospel saw new releases were coming up, but never in my broader music listening which always seemed to be centred around the 70s.

So how to find new music? As I read further on this subject, I was reminded that I used to find new music from the radio, my friends, or a visit to the record/cd shop.

• These days the radio seems to be made up of inane nonsense, people talking, or is a curated channel that reflects your tastes. None of these will expose new music.
• Chats with friends don’t seem to have music on the list. It’s more what’s happening with our children, grand children, holidays, etc.
• A record or cd shop. Good luck in finding one!

As a result, I, pretty much like everyone else, find myself stuck relying on algorithms from my preferred streaming service. The impact is that the music that comes up on my Home and Recommendations pages matches what I’m listening too, and will not suggest what is new or different. Apparently this is called a ‘filter bubble’  which can be balanced by a human entering the process to add some different music i.e., they curate it. I couldn’t help but wonder how quickly that human will be supplanted by AI and we will be back to square one.

So it’s a challenge, streaming services are great at giving us what we want to hear, but sometimes even that can become repetitious and boring. For example, I love America’s, Sister Golden Hair, and Gordon Lightfoot’s, If You Could Read My Mind but even they become a bit much in every playlist.

All of this made me think, that I need to see these streaming services like a record bin or cd rack, that I used to flip through. I need to use the search button and start exploring. Pick a song, artist or genre and use the radio button or its equivalent, or maybe pick an artist you like and listen to their playlist.

It’s daunting but I need to give it a go.

So how did I find the song that is the title of the post,  Angel of My Dreams. I discovered it through a totally unexpected source a week or so ago.  A football podcast from The Athletic, called Handbrake Off, always finishes with a song suggested by the panel. On this occasion it was James McNicholas suggestion of English artist Jade’s, Angel of My Dreams. It’s a song so far from my normal listening habits. It was a chance find, and one that I have quickly added to my liked songs. I’m sure it  will come up on my Liked Songs playlist between the likes of Brian Cadd’s  Show Me the Way  and Glen Campbell’s  Galveston .