I couldn’t sleep final night time, so I did what most of us do: reached for my cellphone, shoved in my wi-fi earbuds, and opened YouTube Music. The plan was easy – take heed to one thing calming and drift off. As a substitute, I fell down a rabbit gap of countless scrolling, half-baked suggestions, and much, far too many selections.
I didn’t fancy listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Greatest Good friend or Haim’s I Give up for the millionth time. I wished to really feel nostalgic. However nostalgia and streaming don’t actually combine. Positive, the truth that I can immediately entry nearly each tune ever recorded is unimaginable. However once I tried to choose one thing particular, it turned work. Trying to find the best album, skipping by way of half-remembered tracks, and batting away algorithmic nudges that felt extra like adverts than recommendation.
At one level, the app pushed me in the direction of a “curated” playlist that appeared to know me higher than I knew myself (however within the fallacious method). Sure, I’ve performed plenty of indie pop recently, however that doesn’t imply I would like extra of the identical. Typically I simply need the joys of shock…
That’s what I miss most in regards to the iPod.
I not too long ago listened to Adam Buxton’s podcast with Kate Nash, the place she reminisced in regards to the MySpace period: “It was children operating the whole lot. Nobody from the trade was in cost. There was no algorithm. Individuals weren’t discovering stuff as a result of a label pumped 50 grand right into a marketing campaign – they had been discovering it as a result of different children appreciated it and put it on their profile.”
As a type of children, I keep in mind it effectively. Discovering new music again then felt natural and private. The iPod was a part of that magic. It wasn’t a window into an infinite jukebox powered by invisible maths – it was utterly created by you. You dragged your songs throughout in iTunes. You constructed playlists. You pressed shuffle and lived with no matter got here up, whether or not it was a monitor you adored or one thing you’d forgotten about totally.
And let’s be trustworthy, there was one thing deeply satisfying in regards to the tactile click on of that iconic wheel. Flicking by way of your library on a glass touchscreen simply doesn’t evaluate.
Streaming companies will inform you they’ve democratised music. In actuality, they’ve additionally created a form of digital noise. All the pieces’s out there on a regular basis, which paradoxically makes it tougher to decide on.
The enjoyment of a finite library – whether or not on an iPod or a stack of CDs – was that it compelled you to stay together with your music. You actually bought to comprehend it. You gave albums an opportunity, even the tracks you weren’t positive about, as a result of they had been already in your assortment. Now, one faucet and also you’re on to one thing else.
The iPod, however trendy
I might, in fact, dig out my outdated iPod. However ideally, I’d like one thing trendy: USB-C charging, Bluetooth, a bit extra storage, perhaps even lossless audio help. Nothing too fancy. Only a devoted music participant that isn’t continually attempting to upsell me, interrupt me, or algorithmically nudge me in the direction of no matter “sizzling new monitor” the trade desires to push this week.
Absolutely there’s a market on the market? Vinyl gross sales are nonetheless booming, cassettes made a bizarre comeback, and bodily media typically appears to be having fun with a revival. Why not a brand new iPod for the streaming-weary?
Within the newest season of Solely Murders within the Constructing, Christoph Waltz’s character, tech billionaire Bash Steed, says: “In the best fingers, expertise ought to preserve the previous alive, preserved.” It struck a chord. As a result of that’s precisely what a brand new iPod might be – a approach to protect not simply your music assortment, however a method of experiencing music that feels more and more misplaced.
Streaming isn’t going anyplace, and that’s wonderful. However I believe there’s area for one thing slower, extra deliberate, and extra private. An iPod for the 2020s.
And actually? After one other stressed night time of scrolling by way of countless digital noise, I’m extra satisfied than ever. Apple, should you’re listening: deliver again the iPod.
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