Wrote this in a hurry, gonna clean it up when I get home. You get the picture! Isn’t this what Substack is for? No editors allowed! Thanks for reading!
Dear Sondre, this really resonated with me. While I'm not at all a musician, I also love to share and discuss music with people, and I've noticed the same shift you describe—how the centering of myself and my "taste" has become less relevant over time. The need to be identified with certain genres or artists loosens, and there's something freeing about connecting with music that isn't tied to identity or social signaling.
These days, I channel my obsession with music into a playlist I put out four times a year—100 songs from 100 artists, released within the last 365 days, loosely thematic to the associated seasons. My springtime playlist just came out, and I'm pretty proud of it. (Although, is being proud a contradiction if I just said I wasn't centering myself? Whatever.) I of course had to include a *Sea of Sighs* track in there. (Playlist links at the bottom of my post from this morning: https://open.substack.com/pub/timmytangents/p/a-breath-of-freshish-air)
Now that my obsessive work on curating this quarterly collection is complete, I have room to breathe and explore beyond stuff from the past year. I'm looking forward to diving into your selections from that impressive list of favorites you shared. Perhaps loud enough that the neighbors might share an opinion too.
Thank you so much, Sondre—for the music, the recommendations, the philosophy, everything! It's a gift to have artists who not only create beautiful work but also thoughtfully articulate the changing relationship we have with music in this strange era.
Timothy -- this is so lovely to hear. I'm glad it's resonating. Thanks for reading -- and sharing. A great ritual, your quarterly playlist. I should follow your lead! All the best! SL
Wrote this in a hurry, gonna clean it up when I get home. You get the picture! Isn’t this what Substack is for? No editors allowed! Thanks for reading!
UPDATED! It's a work in progress, may continue to edit this post forever! Enjoy!
Dear Sondre, this really resonated with me. While I'm not at all a musician, I also love to share and discuss music with people, and I've noticed the same shift you describe—how the centering of myself and my "taste" has become less relevant over time. The need to be identified with certain genres or artists loosens, and there's something freeing about connecting with music that isn't tied to identity or social signaling.
These days, I channel my obsession with music into a playlist I put out four times a year—100 songs from 100 artists, released within the last 365 days, loosely thematic to the associated seasons. My springtime playlist just came out, and I'm pretty proud of it. (Although, is being proud a contradiction if I just said I wasn't centering myself? Whatever.) I of course had to include a *Sea of Sighs* track in there. (Playlist links at the bottom of my post from this morning: https://open.substack.com/pub/timmytangents/p/a-breath-of-freshish-air)
Now that my obsessive work on curating this quarterly collection is complete, I have room to breathe and explore beyond stuff from the past year. I'm looking forward to diving into your selections from that impressive list of favorites you shared. Perhaps loud enough that the neighbors might share an opinion too.
Thank you so much, Sondre—for the music, the recommendations, the philosophy, everything! It's a gift to have artists who not only create beautiful work but also thoughtfully articulate the changing relationship we have with music in this strange era.
Timothy -- this is so lovely to hear. I'm glad it's resonating. Thanks for reading -- and sharing. A great ritual, your quarterly playlist. I should follow your lead! All the best! SL