I swear when im on spotify and i turn on "shuffle" it just gives me a curated playlist of things ive been listening to lately. Cant count the amount of times where certain songs by certain artists just seem to ALWAYS be in the rotation when i have thousands of songs. Wouldnt be suprised if these services are getting money from the labels to push their artists.
I hate when I start listening to underground hip hop and it just turns into a playlist of Kendrick Lamar and Nas, And it's not that I don't like Kendrick Lamar and Nas. But if I'm listening to open mic eagle , uncommon NASA, and homeboy sandman I wish it would maybe suggest me like pharaoh monch or something, but it never does. It just plays me section 80 again 😂😂😂😂
TH-camr Gabi Belle did a video on Spotify shuffle and basically confirmed it does play some artists in your playlist a lot more than others. Don't know the reason behind it, but it was an interesting video regardless.
My gf is tired if me telling her Weezer came up again in a Spotify recommendation, but I'm only getting them feed to me cause they came up on once I didn't skipped? I guess??? Ooohhh weeeee ooohhh I look just like Buddy Holly 😭😭😭
@@Nerfyboy800 The reason is everything online is engineered to an insane degree. Long gone are the days of organically finding stuff, even shuffle on Spotify is not real shuffle.
Don't think it's necessarily agendas, rather their stupid algorithm that keeps playing you the same 2-3 songs you've been playing for a few days instead of the other 40+ you just added. I've experienced it too and it's fucking annoying
surprise surprise, having a device for a sole purpose makes the experience of that purpose so much better. its still the best device apple ever created
You literally brought me to tears when you found the 30pin adapter in your car…even if it was staged I don’t care I love that! I moved to NY in 1998 in a drive away pick up. All I had was a bag of cloths, 6 African drums and a trunk of 1000 cassettes. Now I teach at a University to kids who grew up on Spotify. lol!
Most cars STILL support ipods, actually basically all cars with USB ports do lol. My parents' electric toyota runs an ipod touch we stuffed in the glove box
The grip that social media has on the world is crazy. I have unsubscribed to many music platforms, got rid of cable TV, and killed the radio in my car. All of this in the last 10 years. As a DJ and Karaoke host. I have found myself looking at music much differently. I stared collecting CD's, Records, & Cassettes once again. Reconnecting to what I really loved about music in the first place. The connection of physical media in your hands. The manual movements required to play such media, and being able to kick back, read the lyrics, and stories within the booklets, liner notes, and j-cards are amazing. I didn't realize just how much I was missing. Going digital made life easier, but it also stripped away many things that I really enjoyed in life as well. Now I find myself going out more to listen to new and local bands around my area more often. Looking and listening for the next great thing to come along. It is really amazing what happens to you when you disconnect from the digital world and return to the world of analog.
I want to do this. I hate algorithms because I've grown addicted to short form content. TH-cam Shorts, Instagram Reels etc. I want to get rid of it all and start living my life away from a phone.
@@jamesfrancese6091 You may be reffering to the tune prior to 1:26. But I'm looking for the clip that plays from this timestamp and also 13:29. Very "chiptune-y" yet interesting.
I‘m not using music streaming services because of two reasons. One: I was a professional musician until I couldn’t pay the bills anymore. Spotify kills most musicians. I buy music I like and download it, when I‘m not going for Vinyl. Two: I can‘t stand compressed sound. Yes - I can hear it. Tested it more than twenty times in blindfold tests. I had my iPod classic 7 built by PlayerMods in the Ukraine. They’re highly recommended. Bluetooth, 2 TB SDXC, 3000 mAh battery, USB-C, new everything. I love this thing.
@@krzysztofobodzinski2529is not the same, DACs nowadays are not very different from smartphones (they’re android based, touch screen, streaming apps and all that) and whole thing is to disconnect from that and actually enjoy the music
@Kikiclarak I think you're overthinking it. The problem is with you, not the device. Just load your music, don't turn on the Wi-Fi, and there you go. The touchscreen or the Android aren't evil or somehow making you enjoy the music less. Also, DAPs have physical controls on the sides.
I just cancel my Spotify sub and bought a iPod Nano this week! Ripped all the CD collection that I own! And started buying Music again! It feels good!!
Unless it was 6th or 7th then no do not buy the nano 1-5th gen the battery will expand sooner than later and it is hell to replace it if you even can if you can’t it just lays there waiting to break or even worse explode the more you charge it, its not worth the risk
over the last few years, I've built a fairly sizable collection of over a thousand mostly second hand CDs and ripped them to my computer to play locally. Even though they're effectively the same files as on streaming, the disc being there beside me on the wall gives me this sense of gratitude towards having the music i have and makes me engage with it a lot more. When I'm going outside, I usually just pick a couple albums to bring and pop them on my discman, and for me the appeal of just carrying around the actual music with no need to link up to the big internet is immense. Wonderful video
Nice 👌 I'm similar, but instead, I put it on my server (along with my movies) because I'm a weirdo, and I set up a plex server to stream in and out of the house. I love it, and the physical collection of movies, TV shows, and music is awesome. The only difficulty now is when I can't find a physical copy because one doesn't exist
I always buy cds idk why. I just put it in the car and listen while driving as it kinda forces me to listen to the entire album and understand it more as the more I listen, the more I learn and crave the music. I just find it better than Spotify idk why
I bought a CD of "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac the other day because I couldn't get it to play in my car from my Bluetooth transmitter via Spotify. It was the first album I've listened to in years where I played it twice in a row upon first listen
It really does feel different. I think part of it is that there are less distractions…like you can’t just switch to something else in an instant. I mean you can switch tracks, but it’s often just nice to let it play and take it all in as a whole. It’s just you and the album, you know?
@@jakefromstatefarm1405 does the same. Never changed it. if I want to hear something else I just use TH-cam. Type the song and save for later use but I rip cds to my phone and keep them there.
@@Jack-zj1ug YES exactly my point. If you switch tracks lets say on a cd, it kind of gives you a sense of guilt somehow and forces you to listen to the entire thing
Some of my all-time favorite albums are albums that I didn’t really “get” when it came out. But it’s different and you stick with it, and then suddenly it becomes something you never expected. So many of my Top 10 albums were this way. No algorithm predicting what I would like based on previous likes… it was organic and natural… and something lost today.
Gonna have to check out Filterworld. I think one major reason I love this channel is the "human curators" idea you discussed. I realized a couple years ago that my Spotify algorithm was turning into a snake eating its own tail. I didnt seek out new music, and I was paralyzed by limitless choices to the point I couldn't even choose between things I knew I loved to listen to. I had become the least interested in music that I'd ever been. I started watching this channel and around the same time picked up my guitar again. Now I play guitar more at age 36 than I have since I was 22, and I'm actively improving my music theory in preparation for teaching music to my young kids.
I've noticed, too, that if Spotify (or TH-cam Music now) suggests something to me, if I don't LOVE it within 30 seconds, I'm angry. Like, I've developed this hugely high bar that all new music has to hit. It's depressing. I basically don't seek out any new music any more.
@TonyBullard It's unfortunate that the disc jockey has lost nearly all influence in both the available library and the choice of what to play on air. In a world where choices are endless, the consumer could really use a system of thoughtful curation. It takes nearly as much effort to find good new music as it does a curator for good new music.
Something I've always agreed with in regards to anything with an algorithm is that its designed to benefit them and not you, and it's part of the reason I bought an iPod a couple years ago. Found a guy in California that refurbs and updates iPod Classics, and got one shipped over to Australia with an upgraded battery and 1tb hdd. Don't use it as much as I should, but always been contemplating dropping everything for it again. Also for those that have the bluetooth problem, and don't magically find a 30-pin in their car, I'll let you in on a little secret of mine. UGREEN Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter for Nintendo Switch. Happy listening.
☝This is the way friends! I've got a 7th gen that's been modded with 1TB of space & an awesome battery & even with the bluetooth "leaching" the battery life, it still holds a charge for easily at least a week of long daily use. I barely charge my ipod at all. I have to charge the bluetooth transmitter daily though!
Just took out my old brick and preparing to SD card it. How did you go about bluetooth'ing it? I want to explore all the mixes I've saved over the years.
@@CloudCoderChap you need the big back version depends on your model. For the 5th gen I think there is a 60/80 gb version so you have more space in side. Then you also need to take out the hdd and replace it with an ssd Adapter because they are smaller. And you have to get an Bluetooth transmitter and solder it to the headphone jack. That’s about it. But it’s not easy to do.
@@CloudCoderChap there different options. I saw an back face replacement. Wich is probably the easiest way to go. But a lot of people put in a larger battery, replace the HD with a bunch of sd cards and add Bluetooth. Some people install other firmware too so you're not longer depended on iTunes. The iPod will dual boot. All can be found here on youtube.
I've been preaching that "ownership" feeling with music for years now to my friends. Even as band on all the streaming platforms, like everybody else, I still get a small handful of CD lovers in Europe on the USA and I love sharing my music through physical media. Thanks so much for sharing this. Great insights on algorithms and taste-making.
Even in the age of Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music, I *STILL* own my iPod Classic. Why? No algorithm to depend on, and no ad breaks to interrupt my musical experience.
@@borstenpinsel one of the points in the iPod is that is indeed a player, and just that, being excellent at it. why carry your phone if you don't need to? fiddling with it while doing sports, etc. it's just become rly ridiculous..
@@borstenpinsel Or, with iTunes you can seamlessly sync all your music to your iPod. I'm far from an Apple fanboy, but the iPod classic is the BEST way of curating your own music.
@@borstenpinsel Yeah you could... But the iPod (or Zune I guess...) has several advanced features that haven't made their way to phones yet... There's "Don't fucking interrupt me with phonecalls, software updates, advertising, buffering, or network blackouts". It's neat, especially for someone who loves to listen to an album uninterrupted. Then we have the tactile, physical controls - "Now with REAL Buttons!" - which can be safely and accurately used while driving or when my music-box is in a pocket. There's no risk of accidentally calling 911 or my ex, and only a small risk of skipping tracks instead of adjusting the volume. Please forgive my sass, I say this all with love. Oh yeah, my iPod Nano was* waaay smaller and thinner than any phone I've ever owned. Man I wish I'd never transitioned to using my phone for audio ... * deceased, crushed in a work incident in 2018. Still, it served me so very well for a decade. R.I.P. little electric pocket dee-jay, you are missed.
i prefer listening to music on my walkman than listening to music on my phone. less distractions, less irritation from ads. just your own curated playlist
Nothing like digging in the crates back in the day. I miss going to Flip Side and taking a chance on an entire album by a person I never heard of cause the album cover grabbed me. I've been going "analog" for a while too, and man, this has me convinced to stay that way.
Keep it up man. I do the same. I like to take a chance on music without someone else choosing it for me. It's more fun. Best album I've bought in the last 12 months is Criminal Nights by Lazer Club, an Italian synthwave band. It's funky, it's catchy, it's heartfelt.... great album! My next project, one day, is to create a mix tape (yes, a tape!) 90 minutes of my favourite synthwave tunes, maybe run them through some filtering software to make them a little more lo-fi, cobble together a solution to record them onto a tape and rock my old Sony Walkman WM-EX610!
I had to subscribe after the small editing nuances. The path of consuming content from great TH-camrs with killing edition is un-returnable. The subtle biping from the car turning into music some frames later is amazing. This small thing just got you one subscriber. For those interested it starts at 1:18, countinuos biping through the next frames, and then turns into music when the car is back. AMAZING. Congrats man
I don't think this is a vlog it's more like something different that is not nostalgic, more like what happened. People don't need smartphones for an mp3
I just went into the attic and found my old iPod from 2006. It's got all these weird podcasts on it from back in the dizzay relating to software development that are insanely out of date now. What is amazing is there are loads of beats on there that I made that I thought I had lost forever, I don't even remember making any of them. The best bit though is the 10GB of music - it's a snapshot of my life then before wifey, before my three kids, before I stopped DJing professionally and became a software developer to pay the bills (the REAL bills like school fees and mortgage payments). I would not have gone near this piece of musical ephemera if it wasn't for this video. Thank you!!
Part of the reason why I got into vinyl is to listen to music with a purpose. I can’t skip the songs so I have to think a bit more about which album to play. And that makes me enjoy it more. You should also read the book “Stolen Focus” about how all those apps affect you focus and daily life. It gave me a similar feeling to what you describe in the video. Looking forward to the next episode
Been using an iPod touch 5 for the last decade (never been connected to internet) for listening, and Spotify freemium for sorting out music and organising my playlists(that would go on the iPod later ). I don't mind the extra work.
@@globalmarauder8682 agreed man. Wish I never stopped using my iPod. I now have my iTunes with 2,000+ of all my favorite songs and I’ll find music on TH-cam once or twice a month for new music to illegally download 😂😂
I found myself a year or so ago, re-engaging with my bandcamp collection. I also started buying a LOT more albums from underground artists and popping them on my phone. As it's gone on, I mostly only use Spotify for a few podcasts, and all my music usage is from my local collection now. It is hell to curate it all in one place, and I have numerous digital collections over several devices between the phone, PC, and a few old Sansa Clips I still use when running because they are so small. I rarely get to use my vinyl collection any more. I know I am in the minority of music listeners. I mostly listen to underground metal stuff and find it through several youtube channels and blogs which include member recommendations in the comments. It takes work but it is worth it. I now spend 6 hours of my workdays alone in the early morning with no one else around, and that engagement is time well spent.
I did something similar about 6 months ago. Since I have digital copies of almost all music I own on physical media, I'm not going to run out of music to listen to anytime soon, so I cancelled my streaming subscriptions and switched to manually transferring music to my phone via MusicBee. Couldn't be happier about it. I'm listening with much more intent because I actively seek out the music I listen to, and I just enjoy my music more. Great bonus to know that the artists are supposedly benefiting more from my buying physical media. Also, 2:50: Fela Kuti - Zombie was incidentally one of the first albums I transferred when I made the switch!
Your reaction when your iPod connection to your car worked was so good. Thank you for making this, Brandon! Thank you for the work you put into your channel!
I was at Pharoah Sanders’ final concert before his death in 2022 - thank you for reminding me of a special memory. Honestly, I think a lot of what you described about music can apply to TH-cam too. I’ve loved every one of your videos I’ve watched and have been subscribed for well over a year. Yet somehow it doesn’t pop up in my suggested feed so much. I think it’s because I don’t always click on your videos right away, knowing that it’ll likely make me think and require me to pay attention. It’s much easier to click on brainless ‘ambient’ content. But the rewards from watching videos like yours are much greater.
We used to have a tape that had an aux wire on it, press play and it send the signal down the wire from Phone/tablet etc and to the tapes head where that was converted to music...
I would have thought that the van would have had one too, hidden somewhere. Maybe where you'd be able to connect by USB? I thought it strange that it didn't have it.
I don’t even know why I’m commenting here when I’m a patron subscriber but I’m watching this video now. I skipped past it several months ago because it wasn’t about whatever artist I wanted to hear about. I’m clicking it now after getting on my phone for the first time all day and it happens to stand out. I’m about a week out of a kinda mental breakdown and since then, I’ve really taken a step away from anything to do with an algorithm. 1:25 into this video and hearing you talk about your life changing. Things are just clicking now in ways they weren’t before and this video is already letting me know I’m on the right path to better mental health and a happier, more fulfilling life. Thanks for all your hard work you do on this channel!! Now, onto the rest of the video!
I haven't had a lot of algo influence in my music. I fixate on a handful of albums at one time. But I'm extremely tempted to join this iPod conversation.
Same here! I was just looking at iPods last night to purchase. I had an iPod shuffle and later got an iPod nano. The iPod nano still works great. I bought a cable for it and gave it to my aunt. I might be an indian giver and ask for it back. Because I don't think she's using it now.
I love your channel. I am a music producer for the last 30 years. I think something happened when we stopped having to fight to find new music, we stopped having to wait for something we love, we stopped awakening when we meet someone who knows about the music we love. In a lot of ways the internet has empowered us to learn about everything, but it ruined our ability to take ownership or identity in anything. When buying music in a store, we had to make decisions and then live with them. When recording music we had to make decisions, hopefully artistic ones, and live with them. You are right, now the "content consumption" is not the only thing that AI and algorithms control, the "content creation" is an assembly line as well. That content factory is knocking out widgets that are more and more narrowed down and focused on success, leaving any creativity, risk or passion to die on the roadside. Stay passionate about music. Stay passionate about digging. Turn off, tune out and live.
I do not use an iPod. But I do host my own music on my own server. There are no algorithms. Just shuffle and picking what to listen to. I refuse to pay for music streaming services. I try to buy direct from the artists as much as possible.
@@Andrew_On_KeysNo, AirSonic for music and a mix of Emby and Jellyfin for movies and TV Shows. Jellyfin is still rough which so I can’t switch completely. Neither of them are good for music, same goes for Plex.
@@skuzzbunnySame, I got a whole curated collection and it takes up about 40 gb on my phone, which isn’t a problem for me even at the default 128gb size nowadays
Yepyep, this is a genuinely good film @diggingthegreats - proper documentary with heart, story, drama and your usual high production values. Thankyou. Oh, and it's good to get another reminder that I need to actually follow through on my long-needed migration back to my own collection.
I’ve been deejaying since 1965 in Jamaica 🇯🇲, now living in the USA , and being a former Radio Shack Manager for over 30 years, I still own a ipod 160gb just like the one you have that I currently use in my car. It’s just great 👍🏿
Great edit. You’ve inspired me to start uploading all of my thrifted CDs to my computer to eventual add to an iPod. Looking forward to the remaining episodes
This topic has been on my mind a lot as well lately! Cool to see it covered in this way. I use Spotify every day but never use any of the features that use the algorithms. I just have 1 playlist with all the albums I want to listen to, then after listening to an album I either add some songs to one of my own playlists or save the album itself (and look for it on vinyl or CD if I really love it) or do nothing with it. I encounter albums I want to listen to by 1. checking out featured artist on albums I love. 2. checking out other albums of artists I like that I haven't heard yet. 3. Recommendations by friends or colleagues. 4. Curated lists found on for example Rolling Stone or specific Reddit subs. 5. Music mentioned in podcasts. 6. Playlists from artist they have made themselves. 7. Music mentioned on this channel or in the podcast :). This way I basically use Spotify more as a music library: doing the actual finding/searching myself and creating playlists with only music that I have added myself and know something about (I also almost always read the bio of an artist to have some context). Anyway, very curious for the next episodes!
I have a 160 ipod and I've never looked back. I spent years building up numerous playlist from favourite artists and genres that I've unsubscribed to more than a few streaming platforms but yes, silence is also good for the soul. Break the habit, break the chains that bind.
As a musician this is a thing I've always struggled with. A lot of practicing nowadays is learning from as many of those who came before you as possible, but it quickly gets overwhelming. One of the best things I did during the pandemic was order a bunch of parts and rebuild my old iPod that I used in high school, and I've started towards being intentional with my music consumption, and really focus on what I enjoy. Curation not collection.
This was so great to watch! I transitioned to using an ipod four and half years ago, and I absolutely love it. At the time, I did it mainly so I could have something with an AUX jack, and to save battery life and storage space on my phone since I mostly used my phone for music anyway. I have never looked back. The lack of an algorithm is super amazing. Especially when I first started using the ipod, I was being shuffled into songs I hadn't heard for so many years because they'd just been buried in my library, never picked up by the modern shuffle algorithm. Having ownership is super important, too. There are so many songs and remixes on my ipod that have been removed from the internet. Being able to listen to whatever I want without being at the mercy of Spotify or Apple Music is so liberating. I still like to use Spotify and Apple Music to discover new music, as I do think having an ipod does leave you more susceptible to being walled in, which you referred to when you talked about only ever listening to music you like. If I didn't actively seek out new music and just only ever listened to what was on my ipod, things would stagnate too quickly. I have added around 600-900 songs per year to my ipod since I've had it, and I still get excited every time I put a song on it. I do feel more engaged with the music when I have to go through the extra steps of adding a song to my library compared to just pressing a button. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of this mini-series! Awesome work!
Duuuuude!!! Love this! Can't wait to see where the journey ends up at the end of the month! Also, the iPod and CD jewel cases, taking me back soooo much!
I love this! I think it'd be interesting to bust into someone else's old iPod because it's a little time capsule of music curated by an actual human and all the quirks of that individual. It's not that the songs are similar to each other... There's no algorithm predicting you'll likely enjoy it. Instead, it's a collection of songs that belonged to someone... They might seem random, but they're tied to the memories and experiences of that person. I think that's kinda beautiful! During a time where algorithms are driving the world, I think a lot of us are looking for more human connection!
Some incredible work you made here man! I absolute loved the sounds, the storytelling, the developing white page of your phone coming undone. I'm super stoked to see more and I'm super inspired, thank you!
I want to know from what library did he fill up his iPod? Was it stuff from a certain timeframe? Or did he just throw on all the music he purchased digitally?
I'm not on any streaming platforms (unless you consider TH-cam a streaming platform), and I'm still finding this video series intriguing. Love the breaking down of what social media was vs what it is.
I use 2000s iTunes since, well, the 2000s. 150k tracks, all rated, smart playlists. That library is my baby and could never ever be replaced by a streaming service.
this video has really has me reevaluating my relationship with media. I love music, but all my music curation has been facilitated by spotify. I started a record collection a while back, it’s my pride and joy. I noticed my relationship with my vinyl is uniquely different. as someone who is part of gen z, I have noticed a lot my life is in front of a screen. I desire for an analog life I never known. this is a long way of saying you made a great video. look forward to watching the rest of the series.
I actually just got my iPod out of storage. Got it for Christmas 2004, works great still. Such a time capsule of who I was and where I got my taste from.
Only half way through, and know I’ll watch all of these. You’ve captured so many great thoughts here. Think this applies to the consolidation of other tools into smart phones as well.
This whole video is amazing, and takes me back to when I was working overseas and my 60GB iPod was my lifeline. It kept me grounded when I was in new countries, it became a gateway to so many conversations about music, and finding and loading the albums that people wanted me to hear, spending hours on flights isolated from everything and just immersed in music as a way to make hours go by enjoyably. Thank you for this, there is a middle ground to be found here I am certain.
Mic the Snare did a similar experiment with modern CDs and MAYBE an iPod as well. Very interesting to see a return to old media streaming as a response to contemporary media streaming.
I bought my truck, a ‘94 Toyota, about 10 years ago. It came with an iPod hooked up to the stereo. I swapped the music for my own, plugged it back in and it’s been there ever since. People chuckle when they realize where the music is coming from. But I love it. And I’ve kinda been thinking more about iPods lately for my day to day use and I’m sure that’s why your video found its way into my life. Love it man. Gonna grab another iPod here shortly and cancel a couple of music subscriptions…
Welcome to my world, no social media, no spotify, no Bluetooth, algorithms, subscription fees and even no ads! I work plainly with bygone physical media, started this trend in 2007 with buying my very first vinyl. Today I make my own cassette tapes and cd's to take on the go otherwise I carry my mp3 player. I have all my music digital on the computer all sorted out manually (talking about 5000+ songs). I waved goodbye to socials in 2017 and never regretted it to this day. I love it this way and I can tell you once you go that way, you don't want to go back to the mainstream world people are used to today. I hear people all the time talking they don't like socials and how algorithms and AI are taking over when I tell them about my way of living yet everybody keeps sticking to it, it sounds like a disease sometimes and it makes me feel good knowing I have no part in that. Not even starting about the funny conversations I get with people when they see a real cassette walkman, discman or mp3 player when I'm traveling by train, or when people ask me for my socials but I tell them I don't have any.
I'm in a similar boat but not quite as deep. Got hundreds of records and cassettes and like you all the stuff I downloaded in the early aughts are loaded on my phone. Though I do get albums from Bandcamp and steam DJ sets on SoundCloud. And I still use Instagram for art and I find SOME value in it. But the societal shift from physical, you do the legwork, media to sit back and let the algorithm tell you what you should be listening to is becoming way more obtuse in the space of art. But I'm also seeing many more people rejecting it to some degree. Maybe not and never to the extent you or I do but they see what's going on. And to me what's going on is the devaluing of art. It's why I want to read Filterworld because I think it talks about this. With Instagram and Spotify what we see and hear, without working for it, is given to us without asking for it and it's mostly what gets the most likes, which is a mindless click of a button. The more mindless clicks the more we all see it. And the game is how to get those clicks and it's mostly through Pavlov reactions. Like boobs. Which are great, but put a boob in it and you're going to get more likes. And society isn't connoisseurs like we are, they just consume what's given to them and this all is a recipe for the dumbing down of society. More so. Either way I too got a walkman and listen to everything on old stereos and speakers because I worked for it as did the artist making it and I feel it's a good trade-off and I appreciate it more that way. Thanks for response
I have a 2010 car as well and was heartbroken after upgrading my head unit only to find out it didn’t support “old technology” unless I modify a few other parts. I think I may just do so. I found my old iPod recently and have been having a blast re-learning my palette and being patient with the non-bangers of albums. Kudos brother 🤙🏽
I dug out my ipod classic 120gb and bought a 30 pin cable off marketplace (theyre impossible to find today) and ive been loving it lately. ive been inspired to digitize my physical music collection and ive found so many great albums i forgot about from my childhood still on it. Ive been using it in tandem with streaming for all the things that are newer, but its been great to listen to music uninterrupted by spam calls.
Had a conversation just last night about this. In the UK genre specific radio are not that old. This meant that daytime radio played all styles on music and exposed listeners to lots of new music. This in return made the UK charts very varied. Now because of streaming and algorithms people don't get that exposure and don't come across other music they may love. But this is also true in other areas of live, such as job sites. Algorithms filter out applicants without the "right" qualifications that if the employer was to speak to they could find they other skills or attributes that make them perfect for the job, and even help the company expand.
This video fills me with so much joy. I’ve been religiously using my iPod Classic for several years now and I love it. It’s a 6th gen with 128GB of SD cards in it and a huge battery. I love owning my music and making my own playlists, it all feels so much more personal to me.
In a weird sort of way I think this homogenization of music is kind of what finally kicked my ass into gear with taking music lessons to make my own music.
Extremely interesting. Six months ago I reconnected my (Technics!) CD-player and have been going to the music section of our local library (which is similar to an old school CD store), so I relate. Looking forward to the next episode. (Btw: switched to Blu Rays for movies as well 😅)
I have been using my IPOD to listen to music forever. My car is old enough it as an aux input as well. I enjoyed this video so much. A lot of thought-provoking elements. Thank you.
As someone who notices the changes in music consumption and other stuff like it since I am ok the generation where physical media was the main source for years into the hyper-consumption of digital media of our generations. It’ll be a great video series over and I hope that this series reaches out of your normal sphere cause more people should hear about you and specifically these video topics. Great video my man.
Welcome to the community! We've been rockin iPods since the pando. It's a rabbit hole. You'll start modding and customising and get into high capacity storage and lossless music files and then Bluetooth emitters and sourcing old Apple accessories.
This really is an awesome concept. I have spotify but I never use it. My spotify wrapped from last year said I listened for 75 minutes total in 2023. I only have it so others can easily share music with me. I still add music to my itunes and sync it to my phone to this day. I feel more in control of what I consume and the playlists I make mean so much to me because I actually take the time to curate them myself and carefully add to them over time. I am really interested to see how the rest of the journey went. Great content!
Started on a similar journey with cds end of last year and have also just rediscovered my wife's 7th gen nano. So liberating. You've captured how I've been feeling for some time. Great vid. (Thanks to the ...algorithm for bringing me here!)
I’m not dismissing the idea that algorithms are problematic. But back in the olden days, you still had to find out about music from someone (friends, family, the music store guy) or something (magazines, radio, tv) unless you just bought an album based on artwork. The way I’ve been discovering music that is new to me is by thinking of all the music I never got to. The stuff that intrigued me but didn’t want to spend my money on. I make lists and take them on one by one. If I like them enough, I add them to my own library. I make my own playlists. It takes time, but there’s no need to rush! We can still use streaming services and not depend on the algorithm.
I agree with this sentiment but I have one small gripe. And this may be just chance but maybe not. You know what’s weird? So my Spotify I did what you say I made my own playlist. It’s like 2000ish maybe 500 more or less songs and when I play shuffle at the end of everyday WITHOUT FAIL it plays mostly the same handful of songs. Isn’t that weird? It’s annoying as hell lol
You hit on my immediate thought. Almost everything we ever hear is curated by somebody…live music, music broadcasted or streamed, physical media you obtain…”somebody” made a choice to put it out there for consumption. So this has more to do with your habits and practices…how you seek and collect your music. I think the real problem that the streaming platforms present is over saturation. Most people, even hardcore collectors, faced limitations on how much they could consume. With a virtually limitless menu to choose from, it has become easy to stay in that single mode of exposure to music. The other apps on our devices make it even easier to stay engaged with that experience…which of course, reduces the amount of time you may otherwise spend seeking music from other sources external to the digital realm.
For the last few years I've actually found Spotify premium's algo for recommendations really good for me - I've come across lots of great stuff I'd never have heard before. But to speak to folks' point about curation, I do find human curators can sometimes send me to amazing musical journeys I might never encounter otherwise. And what a joy to be the person who recommends an album to a friend, customer, stranger, and see the light in their eyes when it hits the spot for them - love those moments of discovery whether I'm giving or receiving.
Im so excited about this series. Your content is always thought-provoking and entertaining. If anyone can't find their old iPod, but you have an Android lying around. Just load up your tunes in the music folder already there and use VLC or the like. With no data or wifi, it will last days, but without the loss of wireless headphones and likely 100gb + of storage if it's newer. I use an S23 U for this and a camera when with people, so I dont get wrapped up in youtube comments for 10 min when im high.😅
Man, I really dug this video. Don't get me wrong I love your other videos dissecting artists and songs. I just appreciated you vlogging this experience, trip, and introspective discovery. Great video. Make more videos like this one.
Excellent work as always mate. “Taking in content, and accepting whatever is given to us through an algorithm” is absolutely spot on. What a world we live in 🤦♂️
I've restored myth original 5th Gen iPod and invested in several others over recent years. Most recently, I got a 7th Gen iPod nano. This incredibly tiny device has bluetooth and works with current AirPods. I specifically got this so I could use it in the older car I just got along with a $30 bluetooth adapter for the aux input. Wires work but wireless is nice sometimes too. And, ironically, bluetooth seems more compatible with most things these days, as you've discovered. Really loving this series.
@@Bob_Smith19deaf people are different. Its a difference between not being able to hear and actively making the decision to take away one of your own senses for personal entertainement. I would doubt that any judge would throw that out as easily as you described.
I swear when im on spotify and i turn on "shuffle" it just gives me a curated playlist of things ive been listening to lately. Cant count the amount of times where certain songs by certain artists just seem to ALWAYS be in the rotation when i have thousands of songs. Wouldnt be suprised if these services are getting money from the labels to push their artists.
I hate when I start listening to underground hip hop and it just turns into a playlist of Kendrick Lamar and Nas, And it's not that I don't like Kendrick Lamar and Nas.
But if I'm listening to open mic eagle , uncommon NASA, and homeboy sandman I wish it would maybe suggest me like pharaoh monch or something, but it never does. It just plays me section 80 again 😂😂😂😂
TH-camr Gabi Belle did a video on Spotify shuffle and basically confirmed it does play some artists in your playlist a lot more than others. Don't know the reason behind it, but it was an interesting video regardless.
My gf is tired if me telling her Weezer came up again in a Spotify recommendation, but I'm only getting them feed to me cause they came up on once I didn't skipped? I guess??? Ooohhh weeeee ooohhh I look just like Buddy Holly 😭😭😭
@@Nerfyboy800 The reason is everything online is engineered to an insane degree. Long gone are the days of organically finding stuff, even shuffle on Spotify is not real shuffle.
Don't think it's necessarily agendas, rather their stupid algorithm that keeps playing you the same 2-3 songs you've been playing for a few days instead of the other 40+ you just added. I've experienced it too and it's fucking annoying
surprise surprise, having a device for a sole purpose makes the experience of that purpose so much better. its still the best device apple ever created
Lol
You literally brought me to tears when you found the 30pin adapter in your car…even if it was staged I don’t care I love that! I moved to NY in 1998 in a drive away pick up. All I had was a bag of cloths, 6 African drums and a trunk of 1000 cassettes. Now I teach at a University to kids who grew up on Spotify. lol!
believe it or not cars actually used to have these so possibly wasn't staged
Real emotional journey this episode
Most cars STILL support ipods, actually basically all cars with USB ports do lol. My parents' electric toyota runs an ipod touch we stuffed in the glove box
so much respect
full circle moment - also starts playing the song the wedding guy requested
The grip that social media has on the world is crazy. I have unsubscribed to many music platforms, got rid of cable TV, and killed the radio in my car. All of this in the last 10 years. As a DJ and Karaoke host. I have found myself looking at music much differently. I stared collecting CD's, Records, & Cassettes once again. Reconnecting to what I really loved about music in the first place. The connection of physical media in your hands. The manual movements required to play such media, and being able to kick back, read the lyrics, and stories within the booklets, liner notes, and j-cards are amazing. I didn't realize just how much I was missing. Going digital made life easier, but it also stripped away many things that I really enjoyed in life as well. Now I find myself going out more to listen to new and local bands around my area more often. Looking and listening for the next great thing to come along. It is really amazing what happens to you when you disconnect from the digital world and return to the world of analog.
I want to do this. I hate algorithms because I've grown addicted to short form content. TH-cam Shorts, Instagram Reels etc. I want to get rid of it all and start living my life away from a phone.
@@logandeboer1009 might look into the Light Phone 3 if you haven’t. It’s on presale now for 50% off
i find using youtube through a browser app instead to be better
Old iPod shuffles can be found all day on ebay for like $50. I have three
you can use your phone without Apple Music/spotify/etc. you just directly load music onto it and can use the normal shuffle function.
@@danbo967 yeah, but I have nice wired headphones and the ipod shuffle is literally 1.25" x 1.25". The iphone doesn't even have a headphone jack
Not even 2 minutes in and man… the way you transitioned your car chime/beep into being the beat for the background song was flawless. Great job man.
1:26 this music transition is CRAZY
subtle, yeah
Yeah, what is this piece? It's also at 13:29. It's kind of awesome. Talking about curating playlists...
Louis Theroux type beat
@@jamesfrancese6091 No, that's not it. Found it on Soundcloud, that's a different tune.
@@jamesfrancese6091 You may be reffering to the tune prior to 1:26. But I'm looking for the clip that plays from this timestamp and also 13:29. Very "chiptune-y" yet interesting.
I‘m not using music streaming services because of two reasons. One: I was a professional musician until I couldn’t pay the bills anymore. Spotify kills most musicians. I buy music I like and download it, when I‘m not going for Vinyl. Two: I can‘t stand compressed sound. Yes - I can hear it. Tested it more than twenty times in blindfold tests. I had my iPod classic 7 built by PlayerMods in the Ukraine. They’re highly recommended. Bluetooth, 2 TB SDXC, 3000 mAh battery, USB-C, new everything. I love this thing.
god bless you for the suggestion. This sounds more like a computer rather than an Ipod😭
At this point, you could have just bought a modern DAP and played your locally stored loseless files. Is it because of the nostalgia?
@@krzysztofobodzinski2529is not the same, DACs nowadays are not very different from smartphones (they’re android based, touch screen, streaming apps and all that) and whole thing is to disconnect from that and actually enjoy the music
@Kikiclarak I think you're overthinking it. The problem is with you, not the device. Just load your music, don't turn on the Wi-Fi, and there you go. The touchscreen or the Android aren't evil or somehow making you enjoy the music less. Also, DAPs have physical controls on the sides.
How the hell do u buy that
I just cancel my Spotify sub and bought a iPod Nano this week!
Ripped all the CD collection that I own!
And started buying Music again!
It feels good!!
Unless it was 6th or 7th then no do not buy the nano 1-5th gen the battery will expand sooner than later and it is hell to replace it if you even can if you can’t it just lays there waiting to break or even worse explode the more you charge it, its not worth the risk
over the last few years, I've built a fairly sizable collection of over a thousand mostly second hand CDs and ripped them to my computer to play locally. Even though they're effectively the same files as on streaming, the disc being there beside me on the wall gives me this sense of gratitude towards having the music i have and makes me engage with it a lot more. When I'm going outside, I usually just pick a couple albums to bring and pop them on my discman, and for me the appeal of just carrying around the actual music with no need to link up to the big internet is immense. Wonderful video
Nice 👌 I'm similar, but instead, I put it on my server (along with my movies) because I'm a weirdo, and I set up a plex server to stream in and out of the house. I love it, and the physical collection of movies, TV shows, and music is awesome. The only difficulty now is when I can't find a physical copy because one doesn't exist
they aren't the same though, they are better.. assuming you ripped them as lossless .
Exactly gratitude! I didn’t knew how much power this has
i mean, i just play my files on my phone these days, it's not like it isn't plenty smart enough now, and LOTS storage.....😅
Sounds like Roon might need to enter your life, check it out.
I always buy cds idk why. I just put it in the car and listen while driving as it kinda forces me to listen to the entire album and understand it more as the more I listen, the more I learn and crave the music. I just find it better than Spotify idk why
I buy CDs so I can rip them to my phone. My local music library is all .wav files and so quality is never an issue 👌
I bought a CD of "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac the other day because I couldn't get it to play in my car from my Bluetooth transmitter via Spotify. It was the first album I've listened to in years where I played it twice in a row upon first listen
It really does feel different. I think part of it is that there are less distractions…like you can’t just switch to something else in an instant. I mean you can switch tracks, but it’s often just nice to let it play and take it all in as a whole. It’s just you and the album, you know?
@@jakefromstatefarm1405 does the same.
Never changed it.
if I want to hear something else I just use TH-cam.
Type the song and save for later use but I rip cds to my phone and keep them there.
@@Jack-zj1ug YES exactly my point. If you switch tracks lets say on a cd, it kind of gives you a sense of guilt somehow and forces you to listen to the entire thing
Some of my all-time favorite albums are albums that I didn’t really “get” when it came out. But it’s different and you stick with it, and then suddenly it becomes something you never expected. So many of my Top 10 albums were this way. No algorithm predicting what I would like based on previous likes… it was organic and natural… and something lost today.
Gonna have to check out Filterworld. I think one major reason I love this channel is the "human curators" idea you discussed. I realized a couple years ago that my Spotify algorithm was turning into a snake eating its own tail. I didnt seek out new music, and I was paralyzed by limitless choices to the point I couldn't even choose between things I knew I loved to listen to. I had become the least interested in music that I'd ever been. I started watching this channel and around the same time picked up my guitar again. Now I play guitar more at age 36 than I have since I was 22, and I'm actively improving my music theory in preparation for teaching music to my young kids.
We’re getting replaced by the machine lol. Glad you’re taking your creativity and love of music back. Keep it human
I've noticed, too, that if Spotify (or TH-cam Music now) suggests something to me, if I don't LOVE it within 30 seconds, I'm angry. Like, I've developed this hugely high bar that all new music has to hit. It's depressing. I basically don't seek out any new music any more.
@TonyBullard It's unfortunate that the disc jockey has lost nearly all influence in both the available library and the choice of what to play on air. In a world where choices are endless, the consumer could really use a system of thoughtful curation.
It takes nearly as much effort to find good new music as it does a curator for good new music.
Something I've always agreed with in regards to anything with an algorithm is that its designed to benefit them and not you, and it's part of the reason I bought an iPod a couple years ago. Found a guy in California that refurbs and updates iPod Classics, and got one shipped over to Australia with an upgraded battery and 1tb hdd. Don't use it as much as I should, but always been contemplating dropping everything for it again.
Also for those that have the bluetooth problem, and don't magically find a 30-pin in their car, I'll let you in on a little secret of mine.
UGREEN Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter for Nintendo Switch.
Happy listening.
☝This is the way friends! I've got a 7th gen that's been modded with 1TB of space & an awesome battery & even with the bluetooth "leaching" the battery life, it still holds a charge for easily at least a week of long daily use. I barely charge my ipod at all. I have to charge the bluetooth transmitter daily though!
Where are you guys getting these modded iPods from?? Any help would be appreciated
@@JustinSeara I got mine from a company called Elite Obsolete Electronics. Hope this helps
@@JustinSeara I got mine from Elite Obsolete Electronics. Hope this helps.
I’ve build a custom one for my self with Bluetooth I LOVE THAT THING
Just took out my old brick and preparing to SD card it. How did you go about bluetooth'ing it? I want to explore all the mixes I've saved over the years.
Do you have a list of materials and / or any 3D Prints you used? Sounds like an interesting project I’ll likely never get around to.
i have a last generation ipod that i just use for offline music with bluetooth earphones, it's so peaceful
@@CloudCoderChap you need the big back version depends on your model. For the 5th gen I think there is a 60/80 gb version so you have more space in side. Then you also need to take out the hdd and replace it with an ssd Adapter because they are smaller. And you have to get an Bluetooth transmitter and solder it to the headphone jack. That’s about it. But it’s not easy to do.
@@CloudCoderChap there different options. I saw an back face replacement. Wich is probably the easiest way to go. But a lot of people put in a larger battery, replace the HD with a bunch of sd cards and add Bluetooth. Some people install other firmware too so you're not longer depended on iTunes. The iPod will dual boot. All can be found here on youtube.
I've been preaching that "ownership" feeling with music for years now to my friends. Even as band on all the streaming platforms, like everybody else, I still get a small handful of CD lovers in Europe on the USA and I love sharing my music through physical media. Thanks so much for sharing this. Great insights on algorithms and taste-making.
Even in the age of Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music, I *STILL* own my iPod Classic. Why? No algorithm to depend on, and no ad breaks to interrupt my musical experience.
You can install any audio player, even winamp, and move mp3 files to your phone. 😅
@@borstenpinsel one of the points in the iPod is that is indeed a player, and just that, being excellent at it. why carry your phone if you don't need to? fiddling with it while doing sports, etc. it's just become rly ridiculous..
@@borstenpinsel Or, with iTunes you can seamlessly sync all your music to your iPod. I'm far from an Apple fanboy, but the iPod classic is the BEST way of curating your own music.
@@borstenpinsel Yeah you could... But the iPod (or Zune I guess...) has several advanced features that haven't made their way to phones yet...
There's "Don't fucking interrupt me with phonecalls, software updates, advertising, buffering, or network blackouts". It's neat, especially for someone who loves to listen to an album uninterrupted.
Then we have the tactile, physical controls - "Now with REAL Buttons!" - which can be safely and accurately used while driving or when my music-box is in a pocket. There's no risk of accidentally calling 911 or my ex, and only a small risk of skipping tracks instead of adjusting the volume.
Please forgive my sass, I say this all with love.
Oh yeah, my iPod Nano was* waaay smaller and thinner than any phone I've ever owned.
Man I wish I'd never transitioned to using my phone for audio ...
* deceased, crushed in a work incident in 2018. Still, it served me so very well for a decade. R.I.P. little electric pocket dee-jay, you are missed.
Apple music only plays what you add
i prefer listening to music on my walkman than listening to music on my phone. less distractions, less irritation from ads. just your own curated playlist
Nothing like digging in the crates back in the day. I miss going to Flip Side and taking a chance on an entire album by a person I never heard of cause the album cover grabbed me. I've been going "analog" for a while too, and man, this has me convinced to stay that way.
Keep it up man. I do the same. I like to take a chance on music without someone else choosing it for me. It's more fun. Best album I've bought in the last 12 months is Criminal Nights by Lazer Club, an Italian synthwave band. It's funky, it's catchy, it's heartfelt.... great album! My next project, one day, is to create a mix tape (yes, a tape!) 90 minutes of my favourite synthwave tunes, maybe run them through some filtering software to make them a little more lo-fi, cobble together a solution to record them onto a tape and rock my old Sony Walkman WM-EX610!
I had to subscribe after the small editing nuances. The path of consuming content from great TH-camrs with killing edition is un-returnable. The subtle biping from the car turning into music some frames later is amazing. This small thing just got you one subscriber. For those interested it starts at 1:18, countinuos biping through the next frames, and then turns into music when the car is back. AMAZING. Congrats man
This is one of the best vlogs I've ever seen, your videos are so creative, your passion is contagious!!!
🙏🙏🙏
I don't think this is a vlog it's more like something different that is not nostalgic, more like what happened. People don't need smartphones for an mp3
I just went into the attic and found my old iPod from 2006. It's got all these weird podcasts on it from back in the dizzay relating to software development that are insanely out of date now. What is amazing is there are loads of beats on there that I made that I thought I had lost forever, I don't even remember making any of them. The best bit though is the 10GB of music - it's a snapshot of my life then before wifey, before my three kids, before I stopped DJing professionally and became a software developer to pay the bills (the REAL bills like school fees and mortgage payments). I would not have gone near this piece of musical ephemera if it wasn't for this video. Thank you!!
Part of the reason why I got into vinyl is to listen to music with a purpose. I can’t skip the songs so I have to think a bit more about which album to play. And that makes me enjoy it more.
You should also read the book “Stolen Focus” about how all those apps affect you focus and daily life. It gave me a similar feeling to what you describe in the video.
Looking forward to the next episode
15:39 the pure joy just warms my heart!!!
Finally someone had the balls to do what none of us were willing to. Now...where's my iPod?
You never heard of DankPods
@@KidTonyGaming an iPod you holster in your armpit?
Been using an iPod again exclusively for a few months now haha. YOU aren't willing. We've been doing it
Been using an iPod touch 5 for the last decade (never been connected to internet) for listening, and Spotify freemium for sorting out music and organising my playlists(that would go on the iPod later ). I don't mind the extra work.
@@globalmarauder8682 agreed man. Wish I never stopped using my iPod. I now have my iTunes with 2,000+ of all my favorite songs and I’ll find music on TH-cam once or twice a month for new music to illegally download 😂😂
I found myself a year or so ago, re-engaging with my bandcamp collection. I also started buying a LOT more albums from underground artists and popping them on my phone. As it's gone on, I mostly only use Spotify for a few podcasts, and all my music usage is from my local collection now. It is hell to curate it all in one place, and I have numerous digital collections over several devices between the phone, PC, and a few old Sansa Clips I still use when running because they are so small. I rarely get to use my vinyl collection any more. I know I am in the minority of music listeners. I mostly listen to underground metal stuff and find it through several youtube channels and blogs which include member recommendations in the comments. It takes work but it is worth it.
I now spend 6 hours of my workdays alone in the early morning with no one else around, and that engagement is time well spent.
I did something similar about 6 months ago. Since I have digital copies of almost all music I own on physical media, I'm not going to run out of music to listen to anytime soon, so I cancelled my streaming subscriptions and switched to manually transferring music to my phone via MusicBee. Couldn't be happier about it. I'm listening with much more intent because I actively seek out the music I listen to, and I just enjoy my music more. Great bonus to know that the artists are supposedly benefiting more from my buying physical media.
Also, 2:50: Fela Kuti - Zombie was incidentally one of the first albums I transferred when I made the switch!
Your reaction when your iPod connection to your car worked was so good. Thank you for making this, Brandon! Thank you for the work you put into your channel!
I was at Pharoah Sanders’ final concert before his death in 2022 - thank you for reminding me of a special memory.
Honestly, I think a lot of what you described about music can apply to TH-cam too. I’ve loved every one of your videos I’ve watched and have been subscribed for well over a year. Yet somehow it doesn’t pop up in my suggested feed so much.
I think it’s because I don’t always click on your videos right away, knowing that it’ll likely make me think and require me to pay attention.
It’s much easier to click on brainless ‘ambient’ content. But the rewards from watching videos like yours are much greater.
totally agree! TH-cam doesn't show some of my favorite channels even though I watch them all the time
@@MATALOMUSIC it's like people forget there's a subscriptions tab you can click....
That transition of you getting in the car and it making the beeping noise, straight into a beat that was in that same tempo was beautiful. 🙌
Finding the ipod cable in your car is just the best.
We used to have a tape that had an aux wire on it, press play and it send the signal down the wire from Phone/tablet etc and to the tapes head where that was converted to music...
I would have thought that the van would have had one too, hidden somewhere. Maybe where you'd be able to connect by USB? I thought it strange that it didn't have it.
I don’t even know why I’m commenting here when I’m a patron subscriber but I’m watching this video now. I skipped past it several months ago because it wasn’t about whatever artist I wanted to hear about.
I’m clicking it now after getting on my phone for the first time all day and it happens to stand out.
I’m about a week out of a kinda mental breakdown and since then, I’ve really taken a step away from anything to do with an algorithm. 1:25 into this video and hearing you talk about your life changing. Things are just clicking now in ways they weren’t before and this video is already letting me know I’m on the right path to better mental health and a happier, more fulfilling life.
Thanks for all your hard work you do on this channel!! Now, onto the rest of the video!
I haven't had a lot of algo influence in my music. I fixate on a handful of albums at one time. But I'm extremely tempted to join this iPod conversation.
Same here! I was just looking at iPods last night to purchase. I had an iPod shuffle and later got an iPod nano. The iPod nano still works great. I bought a cable for it and gave it to my aunt. I might be an indian giver and ask for it back. Because I don't think she's using it now.
I love your channel. I am a music producer for the last 30 years. I think something happened when we stopped having to fight to find new music, we stopped having to wait for something we love, we stopped awakening when we meet someone who knows about the music we love. In a lot of ways the internet has empowered us to learn about everything, but it ruined our ability to take ownership or identity in anything. When buying music in a store, we had to make decisions and then live with them. When recording music we had to make decisions, hopefully artistic ones, and live with them. You are right, now the "content consumption" is not the only thing that AI and algorithms control, the "content creation" is an assembly line as well. That content factory is knocking out widgets that are more and more narrowed down and focused on success, leaving any creativity, risk or passion to die on the roadside. Stay passionate about music. Stay passionate about digging. Turn off, tune out and live.
I do not use an iPod. But I do host my own music on my own server. There are no algorithms. Just shuffle and picking what to listen to. I refuse to pay for music streaming services. I try to buy direct from the artists as much as possible.
Plex?
@@Andrew_On_KeysNo, AirSonic for music and a mix of Emby and Jellyfin for movies and TV Shows. Jellyfin is still rough which so I can’t switch completely. Neither of them are good for music, same goes for Plex.
i just put them on my phone, storage is pretty damn cheap these days, at least for my music collection size.....)
Bandcamp ftw
@@skuzzbunnySame, I got a whole curated collection and it takes up about 40 gb on my phone, which isn’t a problem for me even at the default 128gb size nowadays
This was seriously the best introspective look at the iPod and streaming music I've ever watched.
PLEASE DO MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS it was incredible to see
Thank you 🙏 3 more of these coming this month!
@@diggingthegreats I would love to see you use a walkman for a week go OLD SKOOL
@@diggingthegreatsYES
AGREED
Yepyep, this is a genuinely good film @diggingthegreats - proper documentary with heart, story, drama and your usual high production values.
Thankyou.
Oh, and it's good to get another reminder that I need to actually follow through on my long-needed migration back to my own collection.
I’ve been deejaying since 1965 in Jamaica 🇯🇲, now living in the USA , and being a former Radio Shack Manager for over 30 years, I still own a ipod 160gb just like the one you have that I currently use in my car. It’s just great 👍🏿
Great edit. You’ve inspired me to start uploading all of my thrifted CDs to my computer to eventual add to an iPod. Looking forward to the remaining episodes
This topic has been on my mind a lot as well lately! Cool to see it covered in this way. I use Spotify every day but never use any of the features that use the algorithms. I just have 1 playlist with all the albums I want to listen to, then after listening to an album I either add some songs to one of my own playlists or save the album itself (and look for it on vinyl or CD if I really love it) or do nothing with it. I encounter albums I want to listen to by 1. checking out featured artist on albums I love. 2. checking out other albums of artists I like that I haven't heard yet. 3. Recommendations by friends or colleagues. 4. Curated lists found on for example Rolling Stone or specific Reddit subs. 5. Music mentioned in podcasts. 6. Playlists from artist they have made themselves. 7. Music mentioned on this channel or in the podcast :). This way I basically use Spotify more as a music library: doing the actual finding/searching myself and creating playlists with only music that I have added myself and know something about (I also almost always read the bio of an artist to have some context). Anyway, very curious for the next episodes!
I have a 160 ipod and I've never looked back. I spent years building up numerous playlist from favourite artists and genres that I've unsubscribed to more than a few streaming platforms but yes, silence is also good for the soul. Break the habit, break the chains that bind.
As a musician this is a thing I've always struggled with. A lot of practicing nowadays is learning from as many of those who came before you as possible, but it quickly gets overwhelming. One of the best things I did during the pandemic was order a bunch of parts and rebuild my old iPod that I used in high school, and I've started towards being intentional with my music consumption, and really focus on what I enjoy. Curation not collection.
This was so great to watch! I transitioned to using an ipod four and half years ago, and I absolutely love it. At the time, I did it mainly so I could have something with an AUX jack, and to save battery life and storage space on my phone since I mostly used my phone for music anyway. I have never looked back. The lack of an algorithm is super amazing. Especially when I first started using the ipod, I was being shuffled into songs I hadn't heard for so many years because they'd just been buried in my library, never picked up by the modern shuffle algorithm. Having ownership is super important, too. There are so many songs and remixes on my ipod that have been removed from the internet. Being able to listen to whatever I want without being at the mercy of Spotify or Apple Music is so liberating.
I still like to use Spotify and Apple Music to discover new music, as I do think having an ipod does leave you more susceptible to being walled in, which you referred to when you talked about only ever listening to music you like. If I didn't actively seek out new music and just only ever listened to what was on my ipod, things would stagnate too quickly. I have added around 600-900 songs per year to my ipod since I've had it, and I still get excited every time I put a song on it. I do feel more engaged with the music when I have to go through the extra steps of adding a song to my library compared to just pressing a button.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of this mini-series! Awesome work!
Duuuuude!!! Love this! Can't wait to see where the journey ends up at the end of the month! Also, the iPod and CD jewel cases, taking me back soooo much!
I love this!
I think it'd be interesting to bust into someone else's old iPod because it's a little time capsule of music curated by an actual human and all the quirks of that individual. It's not that the songs are similar to each other... There's no algorithm predicting you'll likely enjoy it.
Instead, it's a collection of songs that belonged to someone... They might seem random, but they're tied to the memories and experiences of that person. I think that's kinda beautiful!
During a time where algorithms are driving the world, I think a lot of us are looking for more human connection!
Some incredible work you made here man! I absolute loved the sounds, the storytelling, the developing white page of your phone coming undone. I'm super stoked to see more and I'm super inspired, thank you!
I want to know from what library did he fill up his iPod? Was it stuff from a certain timeframe? Or did he just throw on all the music he purchased digitally?
My guy. Dope timing for this video. I frequently use my iPod for offline music too. I only upload albums of the CDs or vinyls i buy. I dig it
The BG music is beautiful. Great job going where non of us wanted to go
I love this new series, I love this experiment, I love everything about this!
I'm not on any streaming platforms (unless you consider TH-cam a streaming platform), and I'm still finding this video series intriguing. Love the breaking down of what social media was vs what it is.
Yep, TH-cam is my only connection to "streaming" as well. I have at least 2,000 records and CDs to listen to and rarely download songs to my phone.
So spot on! Culture flattens because of algorhythms. Safe catering to the majority. Cultivating taste is a lifelong activity indeed.
I NEED THE REST OF THE SERIES NOW!!!
Dude I have the biggest smile now that you found that cable in your car. Rock Out!!
I use 2000s iTunes since, well, the 2000s. 150k tracks, all rated, smart playlists. That library is my baby and could never ever be replaced by a streaming service.
150.000 tracks 🤯
@@denzhil9099 146.212 to be precise.
@@denzhil9099 Yeah damn i thought my old iTunes was heffy with 90k.
How much did you spend on that? That’s a lot
Impressive stuff
0:30 Every time somebody says “allright stop”, my mind automatically says “collaborate and listen”
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Totally on board with this! So glad the algorithm suggested this video.
🤯
this video has really has me reevaluating my relationship with media. I love music, but all my music curation has been facilitated by spotify. I started a record collection a while back, it’s my pride and joy. I noticed my relationship with my vinyl is uniquely different. as someone who is part of gen z, I have noticed a lot my life is in front of a screen. I desire for an analog life I never known.
this is a long way of saying you made a great video. look forward to watching the rest of the series.
I actually just got my iPod out of storage. Got it for Christmas 2004, works great still. Such a time capsule of who I was and where I got my taste from.
Only half way through, and know I’ll watch all of these. You’ve captured so many great thoughts here. Think this applies to the consolidation of other tools into smart phones as well.
I really love this channel so underrated
This whole video is amazing, and takes me back to when I was working overseas and my 60GB iPod was my lifeline. It kept me grounded when I was in new countries, it became a gateway to so many conversations about music, and finding and loading the albums that people wanted me to hear, spending hours on flights isolated from everything and just immersed in music as a way to make hours go by enjoyably. Thank you for this, there is a middle ground to be found here I am certain.
Mic the Snare did a similar experiment with modern CDs and MAYBE an iPod as well. Very interesting to see a return to old media streaming as a response to contemporary media streaming.
I bought my truck, a ‘94 Toyota, about 10 years ago. It came with an iPod hooked up to the stereo. I swapped the music for my own, plugged it back in and it’s been there ever since. People chuckle when they realize where the music is coming from. But I love it. And I’ve kinda been thinking more about iPods lately for my day to day use and I’m sure that’s why your video found its way into my life. Love it man. Gonna grab another iPod here shortly and cancel a couple of music subscriptions…
Welcome to my world, no social media, no spotify, no Bluetooth, algorithms, subscription fees and even no ads!
I work plainly with bygone physical media, started this trend in 2007 with buying my very first vinyl. Today I make my own cassette tapes and cd's to take on the go otherwise I carry my mp3 player. I have all my music digital on the computer all sorted out manually (talking about 5000+ songs). I waved goodbye to socials in 2017 and never regretted it to this day. I love it this way and I can tell you once you go that way, you don't want to go back to the mainstream world people are used to today.
I hear people all the time talking they don't like socials and how algorithms and AI are taking over when I tell them about my way of living yet everybody keeps sticking to it, it sounds like a disease sometimes and it makes me feel good knowing I have no part in that.
Not even starting about the funny conversations I get with people when they see a real cassette walkman, discman or mp3 player when I'm traveling by train, or when people ask me for my socials but I tell them I don't have any.
I'm in a similar boat but not quite as deep. Got hundreds of records and cassettes and like you all the stuff I downloaded in the early aughts are loaded on my phone. Though I do get albums from Bandcamp and steam DJ sets on SoundCloud. And I still use Instagram for art and I find SOME value in it. But the societal shift from physical, you do the legwork, media to sit back and let the algorithm tell you what you should be listening to is becoming way more obtuse in the space of art. But I'm also seeing many more people rejecting it to some degree. Maybe not and never to the extent you or I do but they see what's going on. And to me what's going on is the devaluing of art. It's why I want to read Filterworld because I think it talks about this. With Instagram and Spotify what we see and hear, without working for it, is given to us without asking for it and it's mostly what gets the most likes, which is a mindless click of a button. The more mindless clicks the more we all see it. And the game is how to get those clicks and it's mostly through Pavlov reactions. Like boobs. Which are great, but put a boob in it and you're going to get more likes. And society isn't connoisseurs like we are, they just consume what's given to them and this all is a recipe for the dumbing down of society. More so. Either way I too got a walkman and listen to everything on old stereos and speakers because I worked for it as did the artist making it and I feel it's a good trade-off and I appreciate it more that way. Thanks for response
I have a 2010 car as well and was heartbroken after upgrading my head unit only to find out it didn’t support “old technology” unless I modify a few other parts. I think I may just do so. I found my old iPod recently and have been having a blast re-learning my palette and being patient with the non-bangers of albums. Kudos brother 🤙🏽
For anyone looking for the camera he uses there, its made by a company called Camp Snap, and they're sold for about $60
I dug out my ipod classic 120gb and bought a 30 pin cable off marketplace (theyre impossible to find today) and ive been loving it lately. ive been inspired to digitize my physical music collection and ive found so many great albums i forgot about from my childhood still on it. Ive been using it in tandem with streaming for all the things that are newer, but its been great to listen to music uninterrupted by spam calls.
Too bad Radio Shack went out of business. You could have found your FM transmitter there 😂
Had a conversation just last night about this. In the UK genre specific radio are not that old. This meant that daytime radio played all styles on music and exposed listeners to lots of new music. This in return made the UK charts very varied. Now because of streaming and algorithms people don't get that exposure and don't come across other music they may love.
But this is also true in other areas of live, such as job sites. Algorithms filter out applicants without the "right" qualifications that if the employer was to speak to they could find they other skills or attributes that make them perfect for the job, and even help the company expand.
Father of the Bride must’ve meant “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” from Tavares. A disco classic!
This video fills me with so much joy. I’ve been religiously using my iPod Classic for several years now and I love it. It’s a 6th gen with 128GB of SD cards in it and a huge battery. I love owning my music and making my own playlists, it all feels so much more personal to me.
In a weird sort of way I think this homogenization of music is kind of what finally kicked my ass into gear with taking music lessons to make my own music.
I love how you made an actual documentary out of it. Great style. Happy to be digging in all of your videos soon.
Promised I thought it was Friday
The youtube algorithm brought me to your channel for this video to help me change my life...thank you
@3:12 bro dressed like he really bout to do a hit 😂
Wow what an amazing video. Editing writing research music. Just incredible. Earned a follow for sure
Extremely interesting. Six months ago I reconnected my (Technics!) CD-player and have been going to the music section of our local library (which is similar to an old school CD store), so I relate. Looking forward to the next episode. (Btw: switched to Blu Rays for movies as well 😅)
I have been using my IPOD to listen to music forever. My car is old enough it as an aux input as well. I enjoyed this video so much. A lot of thought-provoking elements. Thank you.
Loving this kind of content man! Getting some mild Van Neistat vibes with the shooting/editing.
🏆🏆🏆
As someone who notices the changes in music consumption and other stuff like it since I am ok the generation where physical media was the main source for years into the hyper-consumption of digital media of our generations. It’ll be a great video series over and I hope that this series reaches out of your normal sphere cause more people should hear about you and specifically these video topics. Great video my man.
the irony being, i only clicked on your video because of an algorithm
Welcome to the community! We've been rockin iPods since the pando. It's a rabbit hole. You'll start modding and customising and get into high capacity storage and lossless music files and then Bluetooth emitters and sourcing old Apple accessories.
4:42 that civic hella low
This really is an awesome concept. I have spotify but I never use it. My spotify wrapped from last year said I listened for 75 minutes total in 2023. I only have it so others can easily share music with me. I still add music to my itunes and sync it to my phone to this day. I feel more in control of what I consume and the playlists I make mean so much to me because I actually take the time to curate them myself and carefully add to them over time. I am really interested to see how the rest of the journey went. Great content!
Hold my walkman lol
walkmans remind me of film cameras while ipods remind me of digital cameras.
Started on a similar journey with cds end of last year and have also just rediscovered my wife's 7th gen nano. So liberating. You've captured how I've been feeling for some time. Great vid.
(Thanks to the ...algorithm for bringing me here!)
4:30 your beatbox snare was $! ;-)
15:46 That joy is what we are missing having any piece of media at our diposal. true emotion like waiting for your favorite music video on mtv
My 6th generation is like a time capsule.
30,000 songs where I can relive my youth.
Magic.
Love your storytelling. Well thought-out and crafted video 👌
I’m not dismissing the idea that algorithms are problematic. But back in the olden days, you still had to find out about music from someone (friends, family, the music store guy) or something (magazines, radio, tv) unless you just bought an album based on artwork.
The way I’ve been discovering music that is new to me is by thinking of all the music I never got to. The stuff that intrigued me but didn’t want to spend my money on. I make lists and take them on one by one. If I like them enough, I add them to my own library. I make my own playlists. It takes time, but there’s no need to rush! We can still use streaming services and not depend on the algorithm.
I agree with this sentiment but I have one small gripe. And this may be just chance but maybe not. You know what’s weird? So my Spotify I did what you say I made my own playlist. It’s like 2000ish maybe 500 more or less songs and when I play shuffle at the end of everyday WITHOUT FAIL it plays mostly the same handful of songs. Isn’t that weird? It’s annoying as hell lol
You hit on my immediate thought. Almost everything we ever hear is curated by somebody…live music, music broadcasted or streamed, physical media you obtain…”somebody” made a choice to put it out there for consumption. So this has more to do with your habits and practices…how you seek and collect your music. I think the real problem that the streaming platforms present is over saturation. Most people, even hardcore collectors, faced limitations on how much they could consume. With a virtually limitless menu to choose from, it has become easy to stay in that single mode of exposure to music. The other apps on our devices make it even easier to stay engaged with that experience…which of course, reduces the amount of time you may otherwise spend seeking music from other sources external to the digital realm.
For the last few years I've actually found Spotify premium's algo for recommendations really good for me - I've come across lots of great stuff I'd never have heard before.
But to speak to folks' point about curation, I do find human curators can sometimes send me to amazing musical journeys I might never encounter otherwise.
And what a joy to be the person who recommends an album to a friend, customer, stranger, and see the light in their eyes when it hits the spot for them - love those moments of discovery whether I'm giving or receiving.
Im so excited about this series. Your content is always thought-provoking and entertaining. If anyone can't find their old iPod, but you have an Android lying around. Just load up your tunes in the music folder already there and use VLC or the like. With no data or wifi, it will last days, but without the loss of wireless headphones and likely 100gb + of storage if it's newer. I use an S23 U for this and a camera when with people, so I dont get wrapped up in youtube comments for 10 min when im high.😅
Criminally underrated channel
Man, I really dug this video. Don't get me wrong I love your other videos dissecting artists and songs. I just appreciated you vlogging this experience, trip, and introspective discovery. Great video. Make more videos like this one.
Excellent work as always mate. “Taking in content, and accepting whatever is given to us through an algorithm” is absolutely spot on. What a world we live in 🤦♂️
I've restored myth original 5th Gen iPod and invested in several others over recent years. Most recently, I got a 7th Gen iPod nano. This incredibly tiny device has bluetooth and works with current AirPods. I specifically got this so I could use it in the older car I just got along with a $30 bluetooth adapter for the aux input. Wires work but wireless is nice sometimes too. And, ironically, bluetooth seems more compatible with most things these days, as you've discovered. Really loving this series.
The algorithm actually brought me here. 🤣
You’re speaking to my soul man. The iPod has made me love building a music collection again
You can't wear earphones while you drive. They police will arrest you.
So how does a deaf person drive? Been to court and won multiple times by stating this fact in front of a judge. Always gets thrown out.
In what state is this hogwash you're spewing is true?
@@Bob_Smith19deaf people are different. Its a difference between not being able to hear and actively making the decision to take away one of your own senses for personal entertainement. I would doubt that any judge would throw that out as easily as you described.
You’re just wrong about this
I was bring stupid