Quitting Spotify/Album recommendations/

[Chris Johnston]

I'd love your guys thoughts/opinions on this!

(Apologies in advance for the long rambling story)

So I was talking to a friend the other day about the way we got into our favourite bands, back in the day when music wasn't so easily available in an instant on Streaming apps, and it made me realise just how little I've really connected with any of the new music I've got into lately on Spotify, vs when I had to go out and buy the physical album (with the whole ritual that surrounds listening to it, the callofane picking, artwork book, remembering that track 4 was your favourite etc)

It's like I'll hear an amazing song on Spotify, but I just won't feel any emotional attachment or fascination towards the song or band because I feel like it's this digital, rented, experience, and the lack of limitation to what I can listen to leads me to be less appreciative of what's there because theres an abundance of choice - if that makes sense?

So this got me thinking - I desperately want to get the feeling back I had at 12-13 as a music fan, when I actually had to put effort into consuming music & It was more limited.

My plan is basically to limit myself to a few albums a month but to buy the CD and really soak it all in properly - and to quit my Spotify Subscription.
The question is, which albums should I buy? Also does anyone else feel this way when they stream music?

Apologies for the large essay, thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Dominik Gräber]

I totally get you my friend! That's why I use Spotify more as a way to discover Songs and Test If I really Like them. Then I usually buy the single or Album, listen to it in my mp3 Playlist or the CD in my Car.

Now, amazing Albums that I recommend listening to as a whole?

Trivium - Shogun
Parkway Drive - Reverence
Tool - Aenema
Twenty one Pilots - Vessels
John Mayer - where the light is
Maybe Eminem - Music to be murdered by

Some Bonus:
Linkin Park - Meteora
Slipknot - We are Not your Kind
Ghost - meliora
Gojira - Magma

 

[Chris Johnston]

That makes sense man and thanks for those, I'll add them to my list!

 

[Alicia Willis]

100% understand what you mean. It’s probably why 90% of the time I still listen to the exact same albums/artists I did when I was a teenager lol.
I would literally just lay there and read the lyrics as I listened to the songs from the inserts. God I forgot how much I loved those !

Now though, when I do find a song I like on Spotify I’ll check out their others and if I like those I usually check and see if that artist has an Instagram and I’ll follow them there.

As for suggestions what are you into ? Are your strictly into hard rock and metal or a more broader net ?

 

[Chris Johnston]

Yes! I was the same. I remember the artwork & lyric books for the first System Of A Down albums I bought just blowing me away

In terms of what I'm into, I have zero preference towards genre; I'll go from A7X to Harry Potter Soundtracks to Steely Dan - I'm not too picky I love jazz stuff too. So really just anything!

 

[Alicia Willis]

Awesome sauce !!! So I’ll give you a few of the ones I really enjoyed in the past few years.

Volbeat- Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie

Zakk Wylde - Book of Shadows (super mellow)

Seether- Isolate and Medicate

Rob Zombie- The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Conspiracy (if you don’t like zombie you won’t like this though…I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea)

Nevermore- Dead Heart in a Dead world
(this is an older album but I recently got into it via the hubby and LOVE it…”The Heart Collector” is fucking AMAZING )

 

[Chris Johnston]

Awesome sauce !!! So I’ll give you a few of the ones I really enjoyed in the past few years.

Volbeat- Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie

Zakk Wylde - Book of Shadows (super mellow)

Seether- Isolate and Medicate

Rob Zombie- The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Conspiracy (if you don’t like zombie you won’t like this though…I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea)

Nevermore- Dead Heart in a Dead world
(this is an older album but I recently got into it via the hubby and LOVE it…”The Heart Collector” is fucking AMAZING )

Thanks so much for all that! I've actually seen Volbeat, Rob Zombie & Zak Wilde live and loved their stuff, so I'm sure I'd enjoy those albums

I definitely need to get more into Seether too. I've not heard of that last album so that's interesting for sure!

Thanks again!

 

[Ed Seith]

I first went with Amazon Music, and switched to Apple music a couple years ago on the family plan. I don't go down the playlist rabbit hole for new music. I still listen to albums end to end, like I always did, and Apple Music makes that work. I can just add whole albums to my library and choose or shuffle them or whatever in the same way I used to when I was doing it on an iPod with music I bought or downloaded.

Discovering new music seems to be a little more old school for me, too. I follow some artists I like on different social media - individuals as well as bands - and listen for their recommendations or when they mention that their friends in so-and-so band have a new album out. It's easier now, for me, because I don't have to BUY that album to find out if I like it. I can spin the first two songs and know if it's worth more of a listen or if it's really not for me.

As concerts start up again, of course, there's the old Opening Band thing. I discovered one of my favorites of my early years, Tesla, that way in 1987. Picked up Volbeat and Parkway Drive that way more recently. I don't remember how I discovered Ice Nine Kills, but they're absolutely my favorite newer band, and Silver Scream was my Covid Jam for well over a year.

I wonder if you're just suffering from Single-itis and need to immerse yourself in whole albums again? I don't have interest in studying liner notes most of the time, but I also know that if I want to know who engineered it, or if I hear a familiar guest voice (or just one I like) Google is my friend.

Also, just as you grow older, the way you relate to music changes. Some of that is just natural, and maybe you're feeling the call of your younger self? If so, we can get together and talk about how much we can't remember anymore.

 

[Rad Synner]

What is this Spotify you are talking about? To discover new music, I do it the good old fashion way: I go to the opera or to a ballet and let myself be entertained by the glorious orchestra!

All jokes aside, I don't really have that problem because, honestly I don't try to discover new music. I prefer to let the music come to me. There is no bigger pleasure than to have no expectations at all and just hear a music randomly and just fall in love with it (for me). That's how I discovered most if not all of the music I love. And yeah, maybe I don't have the biggest range in music taste but honestly, I am just happy to way I am with what I have so why should I change anything.

I am also old school in the sense that I really enjoy to listen to an album from top to bottom. I get the concept of singles, and it's the right approach considering the industry today but, idk I just don't care. I do what makes me happy and that's it

Now, I gotta leave to go enjoy the string quartet I hired to come play some Mozart for me while I lay on my couch trying to find the meaning of life!

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Awesome sauce !!! So I’ll give you a few of the ones I really enjoyed in the past few years.

Volbeat- Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie

Zakk Wylde - Book of Shadows (super mellow)

Seether- Isolate and Medicate

Rob Zombie- The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Conspiracy (if you don’t like zombie you won’t like this though…I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea)

Nevermore- Dead Heart in a Dead world
(this is an older album but I recently got into it via the hubby and LOVE it…”The Heart Collector” is fucking AMAZING )

Volbeat, yesss! But Seal The Deal? Let's agree on Beyond Heaven Above Hell at least

 

[Jesse Salmons]

Volbeat, yesss! But Seal The Deal? Let's agree on Beyond Heaven Above Hell at least

Duuuude seal the deal has some bangers on it you cant deny that! But lets be real here, Outlaw gentlemen and shady ladies is their best

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Duuuude seal the deal has some bangers on it you cant deny that! But lets be real here, Outlaw gentlemen and shady ladies is their best

Nope strength, Sound, Songs > heavens/hell > the Rest

 

[Jesse Salmons]

Nope strength, Sound, Songs > heavens/hell > the Rest

I respectfully disagree

 

[Alicia Willis]

Volbeat, yesss! But Seal The Deal? Let's agree on Beyond Heaven Above Hell at least

Both are great, I like them equally

 

[Donovan Etue]

I've kind of been feeling the same way man. I go through periods where I find myself listening to the same group of 40 or so songs and I tend to skip past anything that isn't in that group of songs. When I notice I'm doing this and I'm tired of it I'll force myself to shake it up a bit. Listen to a different genre or artist. Pretty much the same thing I do when I feel like I'm in a rut on guitar. Find something that challenges my current taste and go play/listen to it and try to find something I like. I was playing a lot of Gojira/Metallica/Avenged riffs over and over and I wanted to play something else. I ended up picking out the main lick/melody/riff/whatever it is to Snow (Hey Oh) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It forced me to do something new and play in a way I hadn't done before.

When it comes to new music I rarely go searching for it. The way I've weirdly been listening to more new (to me) music has been through my "collecting" of concert videos. I have absolutely garbage internet for 75% of the month. Due to that, when my connection is decent I'll think up a name of a band, see if there is a full concert video on youtube that's properly recorded, and use a youtube video downloader to download it and add it to my collection. I'm currently up to about 120 concerts/126gb's in my concert folder. A few individual songs are in there since the original full concert is either not uploaded, hidden behind PPV, or I just can't find it. That's been helping me discover different songs in my favorite bands catalogs, as well as new bands in general. I downloaded Volbeat's show at Wacken 2012 a week or so ago and I've been thoroughly impressed! I had a song or two on my playlist before but I'm about ready to dig more into their catalog since the live show was so good. This introduces me to their hits as well as some of their deeper cuts and their "filler" material in a live setting.


I don't regularly listen to full albums but I do have a few that I have listened to from front to back that I'd absolutely recommend.
Allen Stone's debut/self titled album Allen Stone is an awesome album. He's got a similar vibe and a similar voice to Stevie Wonder. Absolutely friendly fellow. mom's side of the family knows his family pretty well.

Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage. The second album I ever listened to from front to back after A7X's Nightmare album. L'fant Sauvage is what got me into heavier music.

Lamb of God - Sacrament. The third full album I listened to. Packed full of groove, hard hitting riffs, awesome catchy chorus's that get the crowd screaming out, and some of Chris Adler's best drum work to date. I've learned a lot of the riffs off of this album and god are they so fun to play.

Mark Morton - Anesthetic. Mark Morton is the lead guitarist for Lamb of God and his solo stuff kicks ass too! Ranging from southern hard rock tunes to LoG'ish tunes as well. The album is packed full of awesome vocalists. Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, Chuck Billy of Testament, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge, Randy Blythe from LoG, and Alissa Whie-Gluz from Arch Enemy are all on the album.

Mark Morton - Ether EP. Mark's acoustic EP is great! Featuring Mark Morales, John Carbone, Howard Jones from Killswitch Engage, and Lzzy Hale from Halestorm. Lzzy and Marks cover of the Black Crowes song She Talks to Angels is fucking incredible!

For bonus albums I'd recommend Katatonia - Sanctitude. It's a live acoustic (with some light electric guitar work) album that's got a real somber feel to it.
Beartooth - Disease. A hardcore/metalcore crossover with really goddamn catchy chorus's.

Sorry for rambling on and on. I didn't initially intend for this comment to be this damn long haha.

 

[Matt Wildcat]

Both are great, I like them equally

I have been summoned by talk of Volbeat and must chime in with my two cents - Seal the Deal is a fucking banger of an album, and OG,SL is a very close second. I mean, I can't argue with an album that has For Evigt, Let It Burn and Rebound on it


Anyway, for album recs - I'm gonna suggest some stuff from one of my current fav bands (And one with a lot of personal meaning), Set It Off. I'd say either Midnight or Duality are good ones. They're more sort of pop-punk, I guess? Google describes them as alternative/indie, so make of it what you will.

 

[William B.]

Maybe search for bands, genres or known songs from that time period.
I prefer YT cause there's not just only music there.
Often I'll listen to mixtapes of whatever, mostly non guitar stuff cause I play guitar.
Sometimes there's some stuff I enjoy over others and I'll listen to them for a few days straight and forget to add them to my playlist.

Music is in abundance maybe it's hard to take the time to connect, MTV, Radio, The Box.
Having to wait to hear my favorite song, or choosing which CD/tape to buy.
Sharing music with friends keeps each other on the same page too I guess.
I feel like watching Wayne's World

I recommend Four Years Strong

 

[Chris Johnston]

Thanks for the insight @Ed Seith

The single-itis thing is an interesting one, maybe true too! The only way I can describe the feeling is that I want to be more excited about the listening process - & the way I've gone about it for the past 5 years has sort of left me feeling a bit desensitized to the way I used to feel. I guess I'm just yearning for a way to romanticize it more I guess?

The only other thing I can think of is that it's maybe a product of my Job as a Guitar Tutor, listening to loads of tunes every week for 30 students & not feeling like anything really sticks out anymore

I think you're right in the sense that I definitely am in need to some album exploration - I recently bought 'Can't Buy A Thrill' - Steely Dan as a physical album & I've listened to it like 15 times through already, jammed to it too, like I can't remember the last time I was so into listening to something & finding out about it. I think my creative geek just wants that ritualistic thing about it just now haha.

Thanks for the input man!

 

[Chris Johnston]

What is this Spotify you are talking about? To discover new music, I do it the good old fashion way: I go to the opera or to a ballet and let myself be entertained by the glorious orchestra!

All jokes aside, I don't really have that problem because, honestly I don't try to discover new music. I prefer to let the music come to me. There is no bigger pleasure than to have no expectations at all and just hear a music randomly and just fall in love with it (for me). That's how I discovered most if not all of the music I love. And yeah, maybe I don't have the biggest range in music taste but honestly, I am just happy to way I am with what I have so why should I change anything.

I am also old school in the sense that I really enjoy to listen to an album from top to bottom. I get the concept of singles, and it's the right approach considering the industry today but, idk I just don't care. I do what makes me happy and that's it

Now, I gotta leave to go enjoy the string quartet I hired to come play some Mozart for me while I lay on my couch trying to find the meaning of life!

Can I hire this string quartet to fit in with my clear new hipster phase?

That's totally fair enough man, if you're listening to what you enjoy then that's all that really matters

Also let me know if you find that meaning of life, we could bottle it!

 

[Rad Synner]

Can I hire this string quartet to fit in with my clear new hipster phase?

That's totally fair enough man, if you're listening to what you enjoy then that's all that really matters

Also let me know if you find that meaning of life, we could bottle it!

Okay but be sure to pay them with pizza!

I found the meaning of life. Okay so i'm going to reveal it right now: (This part has been redacted by Aliens)