23-year-old zoomer here: this series has been such an inspiration to me. Been kinda blessed to have not gotten sucked into the whirlpool of modern algorithms and content farms like a lot of people (both older and younger than me), but I do still occasionally get stuck in that doomscrolling cycle. While I work remotely and a lot of my gigs involve regularly interfacing with the web, this series has shown how I can keep that at arms-length and clear up my mind for better focus. All praises, bro, keep at it.
@@ysahli Truly a "best of times/worst of times" situation, but you get both helpings dropped straight in your lap lol. There are a lot things that have helped me out in the modern day, but so much of what I gravitate towards aesthetically comes from the past.
@@mikemikeyee Been called a "zoomer-boomer" before because of how much of an old man I am at my age, which is honestly fair, and I just find the terms hilarious tbh. One of those words that's just fun to say.
25 year old gen z-er here, too: To me, it feels like an everyone's problem with a money gated solution, like I've said on week three. You gotta get your digicam, your videocam, an increasingly rare ipod, pens, paper, disconnect, disconnect, DISCONNECT. ... What if something breaks? It'll end up in a landfill, most probably, if it's not easily fixable or moddable. Especially if it's dated tech. You'll have aided to the pollution of the planet. And yes, everyone still does pollute every day, but also older tech is infamous for being energy inefficient and incredibly polluting because of the materials used in the creation of it. I'm particularly guilty of being a stationery freak, and we all know how much polluting the stationery industry can be with the use of plastics and inks. I'm inspired though. This is something I have definitely avoided to mention in the last video's comment. I really want to buy a photo camera and become a really good photographer. Maybe one day I can sell prints of the photos I have made. At the same time I want to get back into drums. I'm watching out on which camera to buy, trying to avoid any AA or AAA powered cameras and buy cameras with rechargeable batteries. I'm back into writing on my diary. I can't wait to print some of the photos I have made and stamp them on my diary. It's always been my dream. Even if printers and printer inks have been known to be a great polluting agent. Can you see how terribly scared of our planet's future? I've been reading a book about it. It's terrible, I love it. I've also gotten into up-cycling and reworking my clothes. I've also made articles of clothing and also a coin purse and a pencil case. Some worked better than others. All of them have a little wonk. I'm trying to embrace it. For me it's also a constant struggle to keep my phone away from me. I'm starting to get an Instagram addiction. I might limit my time on that app. I know I can easily change the timer limiter, but at the same time it has helped me in the past. I just limited Instagram's screen time. It's pretty easy on my phone, luckily. But the worst thing is that I love customization. I love expressing myself in every way. The problem with transforming my phone into a dumb-phone is that I lose that. And I get it, my life would get better... but do I need to sacrifice my expression? I really hope not, so I'm going with only limiting my app time with the phone's built in digital wellbeing. And possibly deleting all of the games on there, that I almost never open. Like everyone, it's a love-hate relationship. I love my phone, but the situation is toxic. Do I need to cut it off? Do I need to limit my time? If it were a person I would've cut them off a long time ago. But this isn't a person, this is a Swiss knife. A Swiss knife that does a lot and even more. A Swiss knife that I enjoy and that I use for a lot of things, even though I'm making moves to move some of my things off of it after this video and many other videos, and having seen a friend of a friend using a digicam on a recent trip for ferragosto, while making some bbq. All this to say... I don't know. I feel like a hypocrite. At the same time I think I need this. I also think I need to download my sleep playlist so I can have something to listen to everywhere that isn't home, without wasting data while sleeping. I really want to photograph the place I have learned to swim, too. I feel like it deserves this. PS: the only thing I feel I'm doing right is pirating media and buying indie. Pirating things like series from Amazon and big blockbuster films, sometimes even anime (because Crunchyroll is literally trash at this point), and buying indie videogames and music (things like ULTRAKILL and Dwarf Fortress and maybe something AA like Baldur's Gate, and for buying music, there's a lot of places. But at first I think I'll pirate a lot of it because I know and have just too many songs that I want to keep, I think I'll make a list of all the bought and pirated stuff)
I think my takeaway from all of this is asking what you want from your technology. That's such a thoughtful first step to all of this. It's something I do with big things like relationships and jobs, but never thought to do with the devices I spend hours a day with. Thank you for this series.
This has been an amazing series, I’ve honestly really looked forward to these episodes coming out every week. Can’t wait to watch this one now! One of the best things that my algorithm has shown me.
I grew tired of Spotify because I felt like nothing sounded right, it began to feel like a chore to listen to music and I was growing tired of my own library as well, but didnt want to spend time hoping the algorithm showed me something good, so I got the idea of listening to all the albums of every artist that I have at least one song of in my liked songs playlist just to listen to new music and actually dig into the artists and listen to more than just the singles, so thats my experiment and then your channel popped up and it validated what I was feeling, thanks for this series, it was really insightful, I also bought the Filterworld book and ive been enjoying it, Imma check Digital Minimalism as well!
Wow I feel this sm. When ppl ask who’s your fave artist what albums do I like I’m just… stumped. Bc growing up in the 2000s with digital music and so. Much. Stuff. I’ve grown to have over 10k random various songs from all different artists that I like and enjoy, yet no albums or artists that I listen to on a deeper level or know or love real well. It makes me really want to individually explore all the thousands of artists I already know a song or 2 from.
@@rainbowsnsunshineverywhereigo you should definitely start digging into the discographies, I've been having a blast, not only I've found good albums for different moods I've also been revisiting albums I had discarded in the past and changing my mind about them, plus since I've been listening to music more intentionally I also found a newer appreciation for songs/artists I've listened to in the past. I try not to play these albums in the background and instead I'm playing them when I can focus, I usually go for a walk in the morning so that's when I listen to the albums, I compiled a list of the artists I have on my Spotify (700 artists) based on if I have at least one song of them in my liked songs playlist, so now I randomly generate a number from 1 to 700 every day or so and start with the first album on their discography, and then I try to write a "review" of the album, some albums I've enjoyed but wouldn't listen to again and some albums have been added to my collection of music I can play in the morning or at night and such, I'm having so much fun and it has also helped me into taking a break from my usual tastes and experiment new things!
Very cool! I have a similar approach to intentional listening on Spotify. Let me try and break it down: 1. Using Spotify's weekly Friday update. I love hearing what's new in the world TODAY, but I only listen to it immediately if I am emotionally excited by the prospect of listening to something new from that artist. Otherwise... 2. Using a "Check it out!" playlist. Anything that looks interesting goes in this playlist without listening to it first. If a whole album released, I only add the first song on the album. 3. Listening to the "Check it out!" playlist is systematic. For any given session, I always play the oldest item on the list first. I also check if it's part of an album. If it is, then I dive straight into that album. I listen until I decide if I like the music enough to: A) add the song(s) to my yearly playlist, B) explore more of the artist's work, if they are new to me, and C) follow this artist for their future releases. Once I decide what to do with that music, it is removed from "Check it out!" 4. Using a yearly (i.e. 2024) playlist. Every year, I start a fresh, empty playlist and fill it up over the course of the year. Not only is it a home for new music filtering in from "Check it out!", but it is also a home for any of my old favorites where I choose to listen again, and it stood out to me in some way. This system gives me a way to reminisce on each year musically just be revisiting the playlist. It also gives me somewhere to go for listening to all those great singles and artist collabs that never make it onto full albums. I'm pretty happy with it... I just wish Spotify made it easier to manage!
You can check out websites for music enthusiasts like Rate Your Music or Album of the Year. These are great places to explore musicians/sub-genres and read authentic album ratings/reviews.
Bro! This series has been the topic of conversation with my friends for like, two weeks now. Your reaction when your iPod lit up post mod straight up brought me to tears. This was such an epic introspection on living fully in a life dominated by distraction. Thank you, now I need to do some thinking myself. Phenomenal work!
Same here.I just shared this with my brother.I was talking to him about it last night. But I wonder, I never had an ipod only a Zune 😒 but to be clear if Apple stops supporting the older devices. Do they really 'brick' or can you still use old legacy software to sync? Or forgo sync altogether and just be content with what you have on the device at the end? Anyway just curious, this has been eye opening to say the least 😊
Tech isn't the problem, it's companies capitalizing our attention, is what I concluded from this video. Cheers dude! This reached me at the perfect moment.
Said it on your last video, but this series has legit inspired me make changes in my life with social media and just life in general. And I’m honestly a happier person as a result. Thank you Brandon
i'm so glad the algorithm showed me your channel because this series has solidified my reasoning for getting an ipod in an effort to be more intentional abt my music listening/collection. even seeing you mod your ipod at the end kinda gave the confidence to mod my ipod once i finally buy one.
This series of videos has made me somewhat emotional, and I have no idea why. Born in the early 80s and grew up in the 90s, this is exactly the thing I've been wanting to do for the last few years but always come back, I've thankfully stayed off Facebook, for about 6 years now, and the only social media I use is Instagram and TH-cam, but even that feels like too much. It's genuinely so refreshing to see that I'm not the only person that wants to go back to a simpler, less self aggrandizing way of life. This has been an incredible series of videos, I tip my hat to you, my man. I think you have tapped into something that is becoming more and more needed by more and more people. Well done, truly excellent.
17 year old zoomer here: Researching how to dumb-ify my phone currently as that's the ONE thing I've never tried in terms of giving up technology addiction. Thanks dude. The series has been a blast. Gonna be hopefully picking up a buddy's dead iPod and flash-modding it to unbundle music as my step 1. Cheers and best of luck to you in your endeavours in keeping your life free of the homologations of modern life. God bless, and much love from the kid. -G
I think the way I entered the smartphone era was strongly informed by what I was doing before. I bought music on CDs/Cassettes, transitioned to buying albums as CDs/downloads, highly valued building and curating my own library throughout the process... and just kept doing that. First it was really just my first one or two iPhones "becoming" my latest iPod (loading my own content onto it), then when Apple Music launched, I treated it much the same way - I don't use it as a streaming service akin to some algorithmic radio barfing stuff at me - I just kept building and curating my library, just with a different source. It's been suggested that I have the benefit of those prior experiences to fall back on, so I didn't really need to use an iPod full time again to figure this out. But, I can definitely see why doing a bit of a reset on this stuff would be beneficial for some. All the other stuff - I'm all for the intentional model. Instead of jumping on new trends or features, or trying to avoid FOMO, just asking "does _____ actually improve my life?" is all it takes. For myself, I can say I like bits of Instagram, and use it for a few minutes per day. I don't really like Facebook or X, so I rarely open them when I have an explicit reason to. TikTok does nothing for me, so I don't bother with it at all. My phone is more or less a tool I actively enjoy using to connect me with my interests and people I care about (and stay organized). Any apps or features that don't serve that purpose... I can just not use them, knowing explicitly why I don't need to.
It will come as no surprise that the algorithm served me your videos while I was watching TH-cam when I should have been sleeping for hours. I use the excuse that I can listen to relaxing sounds to help me sleep but I still have meditative CD and an old discman that will probably serve me better in a lot of ways. Thanks for the kick in the butt
Don't be so quick to ditch the separate camera. Having the separate tool creates an intentionality that not only serves to keep you in those special moments, but makes capturing those special moments all the better.
19 yo boy from italy ive been thinking so much about disconnecting, ive been doing so for two years i guess, social networks really made me anxious. as a passionate music lover i liked so much using a device, bought an ipod and joined dumbphone reddit. best choice of my life. the fact i reached this world only by myself and my consciousness makes me proud, as i feel im starting to live again. im working to settle my life to really enjoy small and easy moments of everyday life, as well as bad days and news. no phone distractions, as my father said: IT IS ONLY A TOOL. hope this quote i always underrated brings yall some inspiration to bring your lives back. peace ps. digging the greats, i found your channel randomly as i love to hear stories and documentaries about artists and music, as i was in school listening and learning; your transition process brings me so much joy
Are you me? Or are you inside my head? This series has been so much fun to watch and I stumbled upon it just as I'm embarquing on the same journey and starting also with an iPod classic haha Lots of love to you, your family and hope you can keep improving and keeping up the algorithms away
Loved this series I'm in highschool rn tryna get off my phone deleted social media and recently got myself a dedicated digital camera(along with my polaroid camera) and bought an Ipod as well!
Was talking to someone on the previous video in this, just make sure you're not just hooked on the novelty of it all! Make sure the tools are serving the purpose n all that.
@@kane6529 Yeah I deleted social media off my phone bud kinda need insta and other stuff to contact ppl and stay updated like the guy says in his video and I got an A in my honors English class sorry if I don’t talk how I write my essays☺️
yes dude! watching yer face light up when rebooting yer ipod was practically the best scene of this whole series. i really hope other people catch on to this! i have three ipods i recently upgraded the same way. a video and two 6th gen classics. why? because it's MY music and i want it ANYTIME i want it ANYWHERE. i travel quite a bit and get lost in the woods so i don't always have any reception where i want to listen best. for now, i keep an older mac laptop with actual itunes still on it to make organizing and playlists easy, after all, they are just aiff or mp3 files. now go get yer life back!
I’ve been using a flash-modded iPod for about six years and counting now. I never really gave in to the streaming services, and I have over 25,000 songs downloaded onto my little card deck sized device. Honestly, the iPod is the greatest device I’ve ever used. It’s been a reliable companion, allowing me to curate and enjoy my music collection without the need for constant internet access or subscription fees and without having my music interrupted by a notification or a phone call. Your series has been incredibly inspiring, and you’ve articulated perfectly what I’ve always thought about the state of consuming content versus truly ingesting art. Your insights resonate deeply with me, and I appreciate how you’ve highlighted the value of owning and curating a personal music collection. I’m thrilled to have stumbled upon your series and will continue to support your content. Keep up the fantastic work! Looking forward to more of your amazing videos and the thought-provoking discussions they bring!
A little algorithm is ok. As a treat. But mostly, screw that, I want to spend the bulk of my online/music/video time with things that I've intentionally chosen to spend my time on. And Digging The Greats has become one of my choices this year! Cheers to you and the deeper appreciation you nurture in both yourself and your audience.
Whenever I have free time before bed I always take out my mp3 and listen to a new album or just one of my favorites before bed and I tend to appreciate the music TREMENDOUSLY more than when I listen on my phone
your frustration towards finding such a wonderful book via algorithm is hilariously relatable but also i think encapsulates the entire problem with the internet and society at the moment. we're all so afraid to miss out on whatever might be happening that we forget, if we all individually chose to forgo the algorithms, they wouldnt exist without us and we wouldnt miss anything. its a delicious paradox of human nature and anxiety in the digital age.
The algorithm brought me this video series, but I'm so glad it did! The way you personalised the iPod - I had no idea that was even possible!! I had already massively dumbed down my iPhone, but considering removing more apps now. Hugely inspirational - thanks for sharing your journey! Am buying that Cal Newport book...
The final build was the perfect payoff for such a lengthy project and your production quality was top notch the whole time. You have a knack for selling nostalgia and the love of music. I'd love to see more multi-video installments in the future!
I also am falling into the hole of freeing myself from the algorithm that brought your series to my awareness, but also my goal is to give them less of my data for free and to grab back more of my privacy. LOVED your series on this. Thank you.
This is one of the best series that I have ever seen on TH-cam! I was looking forward to each episode, I found the first one because I was trying to find good content about using the iPod Classic in 2024 and I`m happy that I found your videos. I'm looking forward to by an iPod classic, and reconnect to the music I love. I think we are starting to realize that offline is the new luxury. Thank you for this amazing series.
My goodness! I just binge-watched this 4 part series and want to simplify my life. I already started deleting apps that I don't need off my phone. I wish I didn't sell my ipod 5gen... Brandon, THANK YOU for taking us along on this journey!
You inspired me to get an iPod this past month. I’ve really enjoyed building my own library with things I really like and old CDs, as well as asking my friends for suggestions. It’s better being able to listen to my music without other distractions pulling me away from the listening experience as well as what I’m doing.
2 months late to comment, but I just can't tell you how delighted I was to see you customize your own ipod and see your own delight in the process! I've always treated technology this way and have found so much joy in the act of using your own hands and time to create a bespoke electronic device. This is why I've moved away from, and then despised Apple despite being a graphic designer where macs are a very beloved product. But they popularized the practice of controlling how customers use their products and it's ruined so much of how we interact with technology. Glad to see how much you're enjoying your own device and I hope you still love using it years from now!
What an amazing miniseries, only watched week 3 and 4, don't judge. But the you are the most creative storyteller Ive come across on this platform. Love your work.
This is such an amazing video series. A great story and message, but also great videography, editing and music. Really stellar quality, you are a great video creator and story teller❤❤❤
Man, seeing your joy when you fired up your new iPod put a huge smile on my face. I just had that a few weeks ago when I did the same to mine. This video series was a joy to watch. Great work!
This is the best video I've watched on TH-cam in a long time, it actually made me pause and reflect about how I want to be more intentional with my time and attention from now on. I've been thinking about buying an iPod to decouple music listening from my phone for a while now. This video has been the push I needed to give this experiement a try. I want to pay attention to my music again instead of just skipping through all my tracks on Spotify. Would love to see an update from you in a few months time.
There is a bluetooth mod for it as well where it uses the lock button as a sync button. I have been contemplating modding my old 160gb for about a year now. And here is an artist recommendation for your new ipod. Remy Shand - the way I feel. I know you will love it.
Thank you so much for this series. I had a moment the other day when this thought popped into my head: "I miss who I was before smartphones". I'm almost 40 and remember clearly a time before constant scrolling. I was much healthier, left my house more, I was more creative and was much more present. I can't wait to read Digital Minimalism.
The blurry shot from the concert taken on your camera with all the phone screens on display was hard hitting. This was such a great series, I'm so glad it led me to your channel!
Intrigued by the title, stayed for the story and editing. You have a massive talent in all and came back for every video. Looking into getting my own iPod now. I’ve never clicked on a Patreon so fast! 😝 thank you for showing how living intentionally in this digital age looks like. Excited to start!!
Yeah, guess what brought you into my TH-cam feed! And at the very precipitous moment that I was searching for clarity and direction after having long ago fallen into the digital rabbit hole. I'm 61. I remember! Your videos are such an inspiration! You have no idea how much this helped me. Thank you!
My music collection is 250GB FLAC so I'm not sure how fast his iPod will go when he puts all his music on there 😮 1TB is overkill, more than enough lol
@@HUYI1 I dunno i have close to 500gb (mp3 mostly as opposed to flac/wav). And I've not really added to that collection for over 6/7 years. Though yeh it's more than enough for an iPod, I used to find 3000 tracks on my old iPod the perfect amount, though if I only lived with the iPod i'd want several ones for different moods.
@@thehearingaid I was the Same with my music collection when I originally ripped all my CDs to MP3s then re ripped them to FLAC, was a ultimate game changer after that! Everything that was left on the same CD quality is on the digital format! Including soundtracks which I have original CDs for also! I'm not tripping on this stuff! Please do try to upgrade your music collection! I hope the journey will be worth it for you!
@@thehearingaid media center 20? not sure what version is available now but it was close to 8k songs and albums, loosing sleep over days ripping all the updated deluxe albums & rare stuff not available on the net and recent new buys on physical media, friends helping me with their CD collection! I've copied everything to cloud, local multiple hard drives, it's impossible for me to ever loose my music collection ever again 👍🏾 everything goes down I can can just get any USB drive, local storage and redownload EVERYTHING again, if I wanted the setup as in this video I could use iTunes or any 3rd party software and get my songs and just download them, they are archived forever 💞 I may be an standard user back then with the used iPod touch as my original device when naive with the MP3 as the "best" quality in the past but after iPod touch and my iPod classic was highly modded as much as this guy including the UI back then, way before this was popular on any social media format, I gave it away as phones storage was getting more popular and the expansion of micro SD did help apart from when they were blocked by most companies with recent phones, people were forced to stream their music 🎵 to get access to their music, I rebelled against that even though I gave my iPod classic to my ex for his birthday he still appreciates it! I still can have access to my music collection on LOCAL drives no matter what software I use and it's local! No intervention! I'm just proving a point in this guy's journey in removing recent streaming and owning "nothing" and be happy for myself 🫤🫤
The halfway point of this video might be the clearest, most concise block I've ever seen someone produce. It goes back over everything you've touched on over three episodes, we hear how you genuinely feel and see the thought process you go through (and what led you to making that choice), and it's just so incredibly effective. Thanks for going on this journey and showing me and many others what it's like, and giving some of us the push to do something like this.
4 weeks in, and you’re where I found myself 4 years ago. Social media was dragging me down, modern consoles took forever to load games due to huge downloads, and when a friend wrote his first album with me during lockdown (I’m a bass player too), and he sent me the first edit - I played it through my iphone, but it sounded flat. I’d just CF modded my first iPod , so I stuck it on there and plugged my studio headphones in. And never looked back! Now everything is old tech - OG Xbox, iPod, even my BMW is 21 years old - because I don’t need a dealership to plug it in to fix it….
Aye! I subscribed just so I'd see when this hit. I had never seen your channel before, but loved that week 3 episode. Looking forward to this one! Love your style and attention to small details in your editing. It's obvious you have a passion for art, music, and storytelling. Keep it up bro!
The algorithm brought me here because I've been watching a lot of TH-cam videos on using an iPod in 2024... but I stay because of your message... content... It was very interesting and inspirational. I'm going to be doing a phone cleanse. Also thanks to all your friends, they give some GREAT music options.
"Addictive by Design" - very good said. We just would like to use a product, but instead the companies are using thier products against us to use us. So we need the power back into our hands. Why use products which are desighnt to use our psyche against us? No, thanks! (It all just came out of my head while watching your video series :) ) Thanks!
i genuinely think you came to all the right conclusions in the end...or at least what i think i would have come away with. we are around the same age, so i remember when things were "simpler", and our attention was only fought for by the ones around us. i also especially love the customized ipod! this was an awesome and inspiring series. i would love to see this inspire a real movement.
As I was watching this video, I deleted a lot of apps on my phone. I've been going through a much longer decluttering process myself, and I really appreciate this series for giving me some more steam in that quest. Cheers, man. Loved all 4 of these videos.
just wow. this video was astounding, I feel like I've had a mini epiphany just really thinking about how much real life we miss out on because of tech consumption, I find myself sometimes feeling low about life and it just hit me what's actually going on, I'm not even a big consumer of media, I don't care to keep up with what's in at the time but I am on some apps a lot, and it's like, just look outside, look at the trees, the hills, the skies, the amazing structures humans have built, look how much there is to enjoy that we're living in, what does it mean, we're just a tiny part of it floating through space, it's easy to turn your back on it all and dive deep into the algorithms unknowingly, the significance of the new age of technology and the huge part it plays in our lives really has impacted them so negatively, thank you so much for this Brandon, this is why you are one of my favourite creators and always will be. I think we love content so much as it lets us be apart of everything that our life isn't, that we wish it was, and we'd much rather sit there than face reality, but reality is the only place you live, and the only place you can climb the ranks of, and it's so hard to do so, so we just take the easy option and watch others to feel included. We can't live in a youtube video but we'd rather spend time watching one that has what we want than going out and putting relentless work to go get what we want... simply because it's just easier, and we like easier, everything has become too accessible that we're lazy, which you showed with the iPod once we just get back to having what we need to carry on, we feel better again.
As a 19-year old that gad been thinking about this for half a year now, you have been the biggest inspiration! I discovered your channel through this series and you have quickly become one of my favorites!
always quality content, but this was bar far the best. Humanity and music, an actual practical answer to a tough question and a killer soundtrack? Wishing you nothing but love from the UK DTG!
Ironically, the algorithm sent me here... but grateful in this case, because this thought experiment is exactly what I've been thinking/feeling as of late. Really enjoyed this series. Thank you for putting in the work to make the same process easier for me.
i’m 18 but I want to live a life i’m actually proud of. I’ve watched so many videos like this one but this was my turning point, finding ways to back away and be more present, ask myself more questions about my interests so that i figure out my genuine identity. Thank you for this video series!
just deleted snapchat and instagram, which feels weird as an 18 year old on my way to college, but you've inspired me to do a weekly check up on my computer instead, thank you! this series has helped me realize that i'm in control of what i consume, and that i can take pieces of what i want from modern technology. love these videos, might have to get an ipod :)
The battery died for my 7th Gen 160 gb died around the beginning of the pandemic. But a few months ago I decided I wanted to go back to my iPod. Which led me down the modding rabbit hole. I ultimately ended up with a new battery, 512 gb SD card, and new back (because I mutilated the old one in the process). And I have been absolutely loving it. I’m reconnecting with old records I haven’t heard in years, buying used CDs in storing, filling out my physical collection, and really loving having the iPod back in my life. I’m also on a social media diet, but that is unrelated to the iPod experiment. Though I found you’re experiment interesting, I don’t see myself taking as far as you did. I still use my phone for Podcast, TH-cam, emails, etc. I work as backline tech, and kind of need access to a browser and TH-cam while out in the field. Apple Music is bundled in my phone bill, so i still have that on my phone, which is nice for when I am in work vehicles, and Bluetooth is the easier option. I’ve always enjoyed you’re beat break down videos, but I found this series pretty cool. Thanks for sharing your experience.
This is such an excellent series, great job man. I found your first video after I decided to rebuild my iPod and move away from streaming and this was exactly the validation I needed to inspire me. I just binged them all and will be recommending to others. Thank you so much for this.
This series made me realize that I was addicted to music as a teen and calling it my religion and I completely lost that aspect of my life/personality when my old iPod Nano died. 😢 It's been over ten years now, but I miss this bad boy, I miss my daily companion, my no-ads no-notifications no-distractions little piece of technology. I miss spending hours ripping CDs onto my PC so I could load my favorite albums onto my iPod and listen to them on my way to school, while I journal or try to fall asleep... I really need to look into that alternative build and see if I can go back to these simpler times ❤
I was just recommended this series last night, by the algorithm ironically, and it has been fantastic and inspiring. I’ve never used any music streaming service seriously because I primarily listen to Japanese music and it just isn’t available so I prefer to buy my music. But this series makes me want to stop using Twitter (my last social media app) and start using the time saved for my other hobbies.
I'm a producer and ever since I've been able to get a tablet, even that has helped with a lot of content consumption lol. I have settings set to where it's basically a music programming device and it's helped me make so much more music without the dullness of social media. It genuinely freaked me out how much has changed since I've made the purchase ( of the tablet). for me, i started to appreciate my old records better and it's also interesting how much more time I feel like I have as well. When I'm not listening to and making music, I'm doing what I love when I can and it's nice. Thanks for these videos because they were like a convenient explanation of what I've been doing for a while now lol
This was a really really great series. I enjoyed it alot. I was hoping so much you'd do a flash mod & install Rockbox - when I saw you were doing exactly that I got really excited! I hope to see a follow up in a year or something :)
It's quite ironic that an algorithm got me here ... I wanted to thank you for this video (series) i loved it a lot, the two books you recommended went straight onto my amazon wishlist. I have been on a 'similar' journey only that mine took 7 years so far. I am a 42 year old male from germany that got very sick in 2017 (cancer and bloodpressure related stuff) which led to quite bad depressions. Around that time I decided to get rid of ALL social media besides TH-cam, let's be real it is kind of a social medium as well, when I was thinking about sharing those 'news' on social media or not. Just as yours my car is a Volkswagen and just like you I found out that my car has a Media-In Connector which allowed me to hook up my, iPod. I have been on a weird run of using the radio or my iPod until my iPod actually died on me and I decided that I can actually use my phone, which I carry everyday anways, as kind of an iPod. So I started to rip all my CDs and, basically like you, started to buy new/used CDs to get the originals of MP3s I owned for years so that I am not depending on any kind of music service. I am using notebooks by now as well as I simply like the tactile feeling of writing with a pen. Now 7 years later I have de-accelerated a lot and I am lucky to stil be 'alive'. The only app I reinstalled is WhatsApp as it makes it way easier to communicate, my CD-Collection is growing every month and I am even rediscovering artists/bands I already forgot about. I really love your comparison to a swiss-army-knife, couldn't have said it better! Our smartphones are essential tools for modern life, but that's just it, they are just tools and not life! Thanks a lot again for a fantastic video series, keep up the good work! As I saw from the other videos you upload we actually don't have a lot of overlap and that is why I am not going to subscribe (decluture and so on, I am sure you understand) but I wish you and your family all the best and I am gratful to have 'met' you!
Thx for this series. I’m struggling with phone addiction since forever. But it started before Smartphones as soon as I could use the internet on my Nokia N95. I tried everything (except the Lightphone). I got a kitchen safe where I lock my phone sometimes. But the best thing for me is the Apple Watch with LTE. I just go out with my watch. And a old digicam (but I also do analog photography) But still I use my phone a lot, because there are some things I just need and some I love. For example playing ingress. Now I’m thinking of getting a IPad Mini for home use. And just ditching my iPhone.
Having an actual video on how to keep technology in your life without having it overtake your time is really amazing. I know people have minimized technology in their lives before, but I never got to see the process. It all felt like some mysterious process and I didn’t know where to start or how. Thanks for taking the time to make a video on this to spread awareness and actively show how you customize things to suit your lifestyle
Love every bit of this. As someone who grew up pre-internet and works in an internet-savvy world, it feels validating to know that I'm not crazy for wanting to go back to some analog products again, to save my sanity and start appreciating and devouring good media again. Not by pressure, not by algorithm, but by my own choices. I am currently not doing social media (did this multiple times in the past years and failed), and you inspire me to do it for the long run already. We decide how to run our lives. One book also that discusses this is Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon! He has separate tables for analog and digital work. Kudos!
the timing of me stumbling across this is super serendipitous! A close friend and me are planning on modifying our iPods (and repairing my turntable) to make music listening more intentional. My (30yo) and my boss (36yo) are likely gonna go create digging sometime soon to find records for the solar showroom he just opened, he has Spotify integrated with the Sonos App but just bought a separate mixer so we can play records through the sound system managed by the app, there's something nice about purposely choosing a record, even if it's just for background music! You're so right about how if services stop hosting the music or go under etc, we lose access to them, Mac Millers mixtape "Faces" got pulled from Spotify for a while due to sample issues iirc and it kinda hit with how much I don't own the music I like, despite paying for a service.
Thank you so much for this series, man! As a 32 year old, I feel you so hard on basically all of the points you've made across the board and I'm definitely going to implement some of these techniques into my life. Love your channel, hermano!
I had gotten an iPod about 3 months ago. I can relate to swapping out all the parts and putting it back together. I scratched it straight away...Excellent video series.
Just came across this series. The production of your videos is top notch! The content and message delivered is just what I need right now. The ones who beat the social media cycles are those who use it as a tool without consuming its contents. Your message throughout every epsiode of this series will stick with me as I try to clense the dialy consumption. Thank you!!
this was a cool mini-series! i am 24 and my first car didn't have bluetooth, just the radio and a CD player. i grew up on CDs and burning my own playlists onto blank CDs, so it was very exciting to grow my collection. when i had to get a new car, it was JUST radio. it was cheaper to get a CD+bluetooth radio than just a CD radio so that is what i did. although i did not HAVE to use the bluetooth radio, thats all i did and my CD collection has not grown in about 5 years. i now have a car with just the cigarette light bluetooth player and radio and i am also struggling with decision paralysis when it comes to music, so i am trying to opt for listening to just the radio. i have really enjoyed it so far and i think i would like to upgrade my radio to have the CD player and im thinking i would rather spend the extra money to get the one without bluetooth. i miss collecting CDs and listening to just one album or soundtrack at a time
I couldn't have liked the video more, but chime transition at 19:15 was just crazy. Loved this series and your journey to find joy in your music and work everyday.
I found this series via recommendation. It made me realize how much I did not do as many things as I thought I did with intention. I absolutely love what you showed, and it convinced to get an iPod as a result. I look forward to the other episodes coming up! :)
This has been incredible to watch. It felt like a Netflix docuseried, such great quality storytelling. Really love that rather than just buying an iPod with bigger storage and battery you upgraded your current one and turned it into something unique that you love - not enough people do this these days. New sub, looking forward to your future thought-provoking content!
Curious about the a tool I used this month? Here's the list of everything I used: www.patreon.com/posts/list-of-tools-i-109190506?Link&
Are you influenced by van neistat? This video reminds me of his content and some of the things you do is exactly what I do because of him
@cookiecookies2780 who even is that
@@sleepysartorialist look him up, he’s Casey neistats brother. He’s got a unique style and I see hints of it throughout this video
Do a 6 months follow up!
Or even a 3 month one! Really enjoyed these videos
23-year-old zoomer here: this series has been such an inspiration to me. Been kinda blessed to have not gotten sucked into the whirlpool of modern algorithms and content farms like a lot of people (both older and younger than me), but I do still occasionally get stuck in that doomscrolling cycle. While I work remotely and a lot of my gigs involve regularly interfacing with the web, this series has shown how I can keep that at arms-length and clear up my mind for better focus. All praises, bro, keep at it.
Can’t help but appreciate gen z embracing the zoomer term.
You basically sound like me….Also being 23 years old😅
Feels like modern times have no charm anymore and give you the least of benefit it can give youi
@@ysahli Truly a "best of times/worst of times" situation, but you get both helpings dropped straight in your lap lol. There are a lot things that have helped me out in the modern day, but so much of what I gravitate towards aesthetically comes from the past.
@@mikemikeyee Been called a "zoomer-boomer" before because of how much of an old man I am at my age, which is honestly fair, and I just find the terms hilarious tbh. One of those words that's just fun to say.
25 year old gen z-er here, too: To me, it feels like an everyone's problem with a money gated solution, like I've said on week three. You gotta get your digicam, your videocam, an increasingly rare ipod, pens, paper, disconnect, disconnect, DISCONNECT.
...
What if something breaks? It'll end up in a landfill, most probably, if it's not easily fixable or moddable. Especially if it's dated tech. You'll have aided to the pollution of the planet. And yes, everyone still does pollute every day, but also older tech is infamous for being energy inefficient and incredibly polluting because of the materials used in the creation of it. I'm particularly guilty of being a stationery freak, and we all know how much polluting the stationery industry can be with the use of plastics and inks.
I'm inspired though. This is something I have definitely avoided to mention in the last video's comment. I really want to buy a photo camera and become a really good photographer. Maybe one day I can sell prints of the photos I have made. At the same time I want to get back into drums.
I'm watching out on which camera to buy, trying to avoid any AA or AAA powered cameras and buy cameras with rechargeable batteries.
I'm back into writing on my diary.
I can't wait to print some of the photos I have made and stamp them on my diary. It's always been my dream. Even if printers and printer inks have been known to be a great polluting agent.
Can you see how terribly scared of our planet's future? I've been reading a book about it. It's terrible, I love it.
I've also gotten into up-cycling and reworking my clothes. I've also made articles of clothing and also a coin purse and a pencil case. Some worked better than others. All of them have a little wonk. I'm trying to embrace it.
For me it's also a constant struggle to keep my phone away from me. I'm starting to get an Instagram addiction. I might limit my time on that app. I know I can easily change the timer limiter, but at the same time it has helped me in the past.
I just limited Instagram's screen time. It's pretty easy on my phone, luckily.
But the worst thing is that I love customization. I love expressing myself in every way. The problem with transforming my phone into a dumb-phone is that I lose that. And I get it, my life would get better... but do I need to sacrifice my expression? I really hope not, so I'm going with only limiting my app time with the phone's built in digital wellbeing. And possibly deleting all of the games on there, that I almost never open.
Like everyone, it's a love-hate relationship. I love my phone, but the situation is toxic. Do I need to cut it off? Do I need to limit my time? If it were a person I would've cut them off a long time ago. But this isn't a person, this is a Swiss knife. A Swiss knife that does a lot and even more. A Swiss knife that I enjoy and that I use for a lot of things, even though I'm making moves to move some of my things off of it after this video and many other videos, and having seen a friend of a friend using a digicam on a recent trip for ferragosto, while making some bbq.
All this to say... I don't know. I feel like a hypocrite. At the same time I think I need this. I also think I need to download my sleep playlist so I can have something to listen to everywhere that isn't home, without wasting data while sleeping.
I really want to photograph the place I have learned to swim, too. I feel like it deserves this.
PS: the only thing I feel I'm doing right is pirating media and buying indie. Pirating things like series from Amazon and big blockbuster films, sometimes even anime (because Crunchyroll is literally trash at this point), and buying indie videogames and music (things like ULTRAKILL and Dwarf Fortress and maybe something AA like Baldur's Gate, and for buying music, there's a lot of places. But at first I think I'll pirate a lot of it because I know and have just too many songs that I want to keep, I think I'll make a list of all the bought and pirated stuff)
This is why I still buy CDs. I like knowing it is on my shelf and never going anywhere.
Until disc rot settles in 😭
@@vonantesberg My first CD from 1990 still plays :-)
Actually CDs have a shelf life of a out 20 years so most of them will start failing about now. Wether as vinyl can last a couple of decades.
@@vonantesberg Just looked it up, cassettes don't rot apparently, so that could be a viable alternative to CDs
@@matthewmizrachi1877 The Earth's magnetic field degrades magnetic tape by about 1% a year.
pleasant surprise seeing you found my video, happy that your iPod upgrade was a success!
I love watching your videos!!!!
we need a collab 😂
the Frankenstein iPod segment of this video was the most wholesome thing I've watched this month. Thank You.
Isn't it so nice to see people trying something for the first time and eventually succeeding at it?
I think my takeaway from all of this is asking what you want from your technology. That's such a thoughtful first step to all of this. It's something I do with big things like relationships and jobs, but never thought to do with the devices I spend hours a day with. Thank you for this series.
19:17 The fact that it transitioned from the car alarm/noise into actual music so seamlessly is what I call flawless editing
Underrated comment
This has been an amazing series, I’ve honestly really looked forward to these episodes coming out every week. Can’t wait to watch this one now!
One of the best things that my algorithm has shown me.
Same
Agreed!
Truth!!
Here here
Agreed! Ironically enough it deserves more views!
Amazing series and concept, but damn just wanna praise the aesthetic!
STRUTHLESSSS UR HEREEEE I LOVE YOUR BOOK MAN
I grew tired of Spotify because I felt like nothing sounded right, it began to feel like a chore to listen to music and I was growing tired of my own library as well, but didnt want to spend time hoping the algorithm showed me something good, so I got the idea of listening to all the albums of every artist that I have at least one song of in my liked songs playlist just to listen to new music and actually dig into the artists and listen to more than just the singles, so thats my experiment and then your channel popped up and it validated what I was feeling, thanks for this series, it was really insightful, I also bought the Filterworld book and ive been enjoying it, Imma check Digital Minimalism as well!
Wow I feel this sm. When ppl ask who’s your fave artist what albums do I like I’m just… stumped. Bc growing up in the 2000s with digital music and so. Much. Stuff. I’ve grown to have over 10k random various songs from all different artists that I like and enjoy, yet no albums or artists that I listen to on a deeper level or know or love real well. It makes me really want to individually explore all the thousands of artists I already know a song or 2 from.
@@rainbowsnsunshineverywhereigo you should definitely start digging into the discographies, I've been having a blast, not only I've found good albums for different moods I've also been revisiting albums I had discarded in the past and changing my mind about them, plus since I've been listening to music more intentionally I also found a newer appreciation for songs/artists I've listened to in the past. I try not to play these albums in the background and instead I'm playing them when I can focus, I usually go for a walk in the morning so that's when I listen to the albums, I compiled a list of the artists I have on my Spotify (700 artists) based on if I have at least one song of them in my liked songs playlist, so now I randomly generate a number from 1 to 700 every day or so and start with the first album on their discography, and then I try to write a "review" of the album, some albums I've enjoyed but wouldn't listen to again and some albums have been added to my collection of music I can play in the morning or at night and such, I'm having so much fun and it has also helped me into taking a break from my usual tastes and experiment new things!
Very cool! I have a similar approach to intentional listening on Spotify. Let me try and break it down:
1. Using Spotify's weekly Friday update. I love hearing what's new in the world TODAY, but I only listen to it immediately if I am emotionally excited by the prospect of listening to something new from that artist. Otherwise...
2. Using a "Check it out!" playlist. Anything that looks interesting goes in this playlist without listening to it first. If a whole album released, I only add the first song on the album.
3. Listening to the "Check it out!" playlist is systematic. For any given session, I always play the oldest item on the list first. I also check if it's part of an album. If it is, then I dive straight into that album. I listen until I decide if I like the music enough to: A) add the song(s) to my yearly playlist, B) explore more of the artist's work, if they are new to me, and C) follow this artist for their future releases.
Once I decide what to do with that music, it is removed from "Check it out!"
4. Using a yearly (i.e. 2024) playlist. Every year, I start a fresh, empty playlist and fill it up over the course of the year. Not only is it a home for new music filtering in from "Check it out!", but it is also a home for any of my old favorites where I choose to listen again, and it stood out to me in some way.
This system gives me a way to reminisce on each year musically just be revisiting the playlist. It also gives me somewhere to go for listening to all those great singles and artist collabs that never make it onto full albums. I'm pretty happy with it... I just wish Spotify made it easier to manage!
@@ReavoEnd These are great ideas!
You can check out websites for music enthusiasts like Rate Your Music or Album of the Year. These are great places to explore musicians/sub-genres and read authentic album ratings/reviews.
Bro! This series has been the topic of conversation with my friends for like, two weeks now. Your reaction when your iPod lit up post mod straight up brought me to tears. This was such an epic introspection on living fully in a life dominated by distraction. Thank you, now I need to do some thinking myself. Phenomenal work!
Same here.I just shared this with my brother.I was talking to him about it last night. But I wonder,
I never had an ipod only a Zune 😒 but to be clear if Apple stops supporting the older devices. Do they really 'brick' or can you still use old legacy software to sync? Or forgo sync altogether and just be content with what you have on the device at the end? Anyway just curious, this has been eye opening to say the least 😊
Tech isn't the problem, it's companies capitalizing our attention, is what I concluded from this video. Cheers dude! This reached me at the perfect moment.
Said it on your last video, but this series has legit inspired me make changes in my life with social media and just life in general. And I’m honestly a happier person as a result.
Thank you Brandon
i'm so glad the algorithm showed me your channel because this series has solidified my reasoning for getting an ipod in an effort to be more intentional abt my music listening/collection. even seeing you mod your ipod at the end kinda gave the confidence to mod my ipod once i finally buy one.
Do it! It was very scary because I've never done anything like that, but not too bad, totally worth it, and very satisfying to now carry around
This series of videos has made me somewhat emotional, and I have no idea why. Born in the early 80s and grew up in the 90s, this is exactly the thing I've been wanting to do for the last few years but always come back, I've thankfully stayed off Facebook, for about 6 years now, and the only social media I use is Instagram and TH-cam, but even that feels like too much. It's genuinely so refreshing to see that I'm not the only person that wants to go back to a simpler, less self aggrandizing way of life. This has been an incredible series of videos, I tip my hat to you, my man. I think you have tapped into something that is becoming more and more needed by more and more people. Well done, truly excellent.
First pieces of content I’ve consumed without saying “I’ll finish it later”.
BRB, removing myself from the algorithms.
17 year old zoomer here: Researching how to dumb-ify my phone currently as that's the ONE thing I've never tried in terms of giving up technology addiction. Thanks dude. The series has been a blast. Gonna be hopefully picking up a buddy's dead iPod and flash-modding it to unbundle music as my step 1. Cheers and best of luck to you in your endeavours in keeping your life free of the homologations of modern life. God bless, and
much love from the kid.
-G
Good job at channeling your inner DankPods with the iPod mod. I think he'd be proud.
17:56 what honest joy. Lovely.
I think the way I entered the smartphone era was strongly informed by what I was doing before. I bought music on CDs/Cassettes, transitioned to buying albums as CDs/downloads, highly valued building and curating my own library throughout the process... and just kept doing that. First it was really just my first one or two iPhones "becoming" my latest iPod (loading my own content onto it), then when Apple Music launched, I treated it much the same way - I don't use it as a streaming service akin to some algorithmic radio barfing stuff at me - I just kept building and curating my library, just with a different source. It's been suggested that I have the benefit of those prior experiences to fall back on, so I didn't really need to use an iPod full time again to figure this out. But, I can definitely see why doing a bit of a reset on this stuff would be beneficial for some.
All the other stuff - I'm all for the intentional model. Instead of jumping on new trends or features, or trying to avoid FOMO, just asking "does _____ actually improve my life?" is all it takes. For myself, I can say I like bits of Instagram, and use it for a few minutes per day. I don't really like Facebook or X, so I rarely open them when I have an explicit reason to. TikTok does nothing for me, so I don't bother with it at all. My phone is more or less a tool I actively enjoy using to connect me with my interests and people I care about (and stay organized). Any apps or features that don't serve that purpose... I can just not use them, knowing explicitly why I don't need to.
Yes, the solutions that I came to aren't necessarily for everyone, but the philosophy behind it is the big takeaway
It will come as no surprise that the algorithm served me your videos while I was watching TH-cam when I should have been sleeping for hours. I use the excuse that I can listen to relaxing sounds to help me sleep but I still have meditative CD and an old discman that will probably serve me better in a lot of ways. Thanks for the kick in the butt
Don't be so quick to ditch the separate camera. Having the separate tool creates an intentionality that not only serves to keep you in those special moments, but makes capturing those special moments all the better.
19 yo boy from italy ive been thinking so much about disconnecting, ive been doing so for two years i guess, social networks really made me anxious. as a passionate music lover i liked so much using a device, bought an ipod and joined dumbphone reddit. best choice of my life. the fact i reached this world only by myself and my consciousness makes me proud, as i feel im starting to live again. im working to settle my life to really enjoy small and easy moments of everyday life, as well as bad days and news. no phone distractions, as my father said: IT IS ONLY A TOOL. hope this quote i always underrated brings yall some inspiration to bring your lives back.
peace
ps. digging the greats, i found your channel randomly as i love to hear stories and documentaries about artists and music, as i was in school listening and learning; your transition process brings me so much joy
Are you me? Or are you inside my head?
This series has been so much fun to watch and I stumbled upon it just as I'm embarquing on the same journey and starting also with an iPod classic haha
Lots of love to you, your family and hope you can keep improving and keeping up the algorithms away
Loved this series I'm in highschool rn tryna get off my phone deleted social media and recently got myself a dedicated digital camera(along with my polaroid camera) and bought an Ipod as well!
Homie your on social media 😂 keep tryna learn grammatical proficiency young king
Was talking to someone on the previous video in this, just make sure you're not just hooked on the novelty of it all! Make sure the tools are serving the purpose n all that.
@@kane6529 Yeah I deleted social media off my phone bud kinda need insta and other stuff to contact ppl and stay updated like the guy says in his video and I got an A in my honors English class sorry if I don’t talk how I write my essays☺️
@@kane6529 *you're
yes dude! watching yer face light up when rebooting yer ipod was practically the best scene of this whole series. i really hope other people catch on to this! i have three ipods i recently upgraded the same way. a video and two 6th gen classics. why? because it's MY music and i want it ANYTIME i want it ANYWHERE. i travel quite a bit and get lost in the woods so i don't always have any reception where i want to listen best. for now, i keep an older mac laptop with actual itunes still on it to make organizing and playlists easy, after all, they are just aiff or mp3 files.
now go get yer life back!
Absolutely banger editing across the entire series, a fan forever after this. Also, I'm getting the same Grados you're running for my birthday!
This is the very peak of TH-cam I swear. Nice job, Brandon!
I’ve been using a flash-modded iPod for about six years and counting now. I never really gave in to the streaming services, and I have over 25,000 songs downloaded onto my little card deck sized device. Honestly, the iPod is the greatest device I’ve ever used. It’s been a reliable companion, allowing me to curate and enjoy my music collection without the need for constant internet access or subscription fees and without having my music interrupted by a notification or a phone call.
Your series has been incredibly inspiring, and you’ve articulated perfectly what I’ve always thought about the state of consuming content versus truly ingesting art. Your insights resonate deeply with me, and I appreciate how you’ve highlighted the value of owning and curating a personal music collection.
I’m thrilled to have stumbled upon your series and will continue to support your content. Keep up the fantastic work! Looking forward to more of your amazing videos and the thought-provoking discussions they bring!
I've had a flash modded iPod for a while, and it's amazing
A little algorithm is ok. As a treat. But mostly, screw that, I want to spend the bulk of my online/music/video time with things that I've intentionally chosen to spend my time on. And Digging The Greats has become one of my choices this year! Cheers to you and the deeper appreciation you nurture in both yourself and your audience.
Whenever I have free time before bed
I always take out my mp3 and listen to a new album or just one of my favorites before bed and I tend to appreciate the music TREMENDOUSLY more than when I listen on my phone
your frustration towards finding such a wonderful book via algorithm is hilariously relatable but also i think encapsulates the entire problem with the internet and society at the moment. we're all so afraid to miss out on whatever might be happening that we forget, if we all individually chose to forgo the algorithms, they wouldnt exist without us and we wouldnt miss anything. its a delicious paradox of human nature and anxiety in the digital age.
The algorithm brought me this video series, but I'm so glad it did! The way you personalised the iPod - I had no idea that was even possible!! I had already massively dumbed down my iPhone, but considering removing more apps now. Hugely inspirational - thanks for sharing your journey! Am buying that Cal Newport book...
The final build was the perfect payoff for such a lengthy project and your production quality was top notch the whole time. You have a knack for selling nostalgia and the love of music. I'd love to see more multi-video installments in the future!
I also am falling into the hole of freeing myself from the algorithm that brought your series to my awareness, but also my goal is to give them less of my data for free and to grab back more of my privacy.
LOVED your series on this. Thank you.
This is one of the best series that I have ever seen on TH-cam! I was looking forward to each episode, I found the first one because I was trying to find good content about using the iPod Classic in 2024 and I`m happy that I found your videos.
I'm looking forward to by an iPod classic, and reconnect to the music I love. I think we are starting to realize that offline is the new luxury.
Thank you for this amazing series.
My goodness! I just binge-watched this 4 part series and want to simplify my life. I already started deleting apps that I don't need off my phone. I wish I didn't sell my ipod 5gen... Brandon, THANK YOU for taking us along on this journey!
You inspired me to get an iPod this past month. I’ve really enjoyed building my own library with things I really like and old CDs, as well as asking my friends for suggestions. It’s better being able to listen to my music without other distractions pulling me away from the listening experience as well as what I’m doing.
2 months late to comment, but I just can't tell you how delighted I was to see you customize your own ipod and see your own delight in the process!
I've always treated technology this way and have found so much joy in the act of using your own hands and time to create a bespoke electronic device. This is why I've moved away from, and then despised Apple despite being a graphic designer where macs are a very beloved product. But they popularized the practice of controlling how customers use their products and it's ruined so much of how we interact with technology.
Glad to see how much you're enjoying your own device and I hope you still love using it years from now!
I’ve been on this journey with you, purchased an old iPod and finding what apps I don’t need to constantly have access to on my phone. Thank you.
This series was genuinely meaningful. Really great stuff. Thanks
What an amazing miniseries, only watched week 3 and 4, don't judge. But the you are the most creative storyteller Ive come across on this platform. Love your work.
This is such an amazing video series. A great story and message, but also great videography, editing and music. Really stellar quality, you are a great video creator and story teller❤❤❤
Man, seeing your joy when you fired up your new iPod put a huge smile on my face. I just had that a few weeks ago when I did the same to mine. This video series was a joy to watch. Great work!
This is the best video I've watched on TH-cam in a long time, it actually made me pause and reflect about how I want to be more intentional with my time and attention from now on. I've been thinking about buying an iPod to decouple music listening from my phone for a while now. This video has been the push I needed to give this experiement a try. I want to pay attention to my music again instead of just skipping through all my tracks on Spotify. Would love to see an update from you in a few months time.
19:30 that was the slickest audio trickery i've ever heard! chapeau
There is a bluetooth mod for it as well where it uses the lock button as a sync button. I have been contemplating modding my old 160gb for about a year now.
And here is an artist recommendation for your new ipod.
Remy Shand - the way I feel.
I know you will love it.
Was just thinking I'd like to transition to an ipod for music without sacrificing Bluetooth headphones
Remy Shand is a throwback! I remember the first time I heard him on BET
DUDE I LOVE Remy Shand! I had The Way I Feel on CD and my iPod. Legit music I haven’t thought about in years
Thank you so much for this series. I had a moment the other day when this thought popped into my head: "I miss who I was before smartphones". I'm almost 40 and remember clearly a time before constant scrolling. I was much healthier, left my house more, I was more creative and was much more present. I can't wait to read Digital Minimalism.
Wow, this series was incredible, I loved going on that journey with you and trying out a few of those things myself!
The blurry shot from the concert taken on your camera with all the phone screens on display was hard hitting. This was such a great series, I'm so glad it led me to your channel!
Some of the little production touches in this video are so good. Subscribed!
Intrigued by the title, stayed for the story and editing. You have a massive talent in all and came back for every video. Looking into getting my own iPod now. I’ve never clicked on a Patreon so fast! 😝 thank you for showing how living intentionally in this digital age looks like. Excited to start!!
I really REALLY loved your series. Thanks and God bless.
one of the best series on yt
Yeah, guess what brought you into my TH-cam feed! And at the very precipitous moment that I was searching for clarity and direction after having long ago fallen into the digital rabbit hole. I'm 61. I remember! Your videos are such an inspiration! You have no idea how much this helped me. Thank you!
This series is so well done it's a crime that it doesn't have more views
well now you gotta give an update like 6 months from now with how fast the pod fills up lol
My music collection is 250GB FLAC so I'm not sure how fast his iPod will go when he puts all his music on there 😮 1TB is overkill, more than enough lol
@@HUYI1 I dunno i have close to 500gb (mp3 mostly as opposed to flac/wav). And I've not really added to that collection for over 6/7 years. Though yeh it's more than enough for an iPod, I used to find 3000 tracks on my old iPod the perfect amount, though if I only lived with the iPod i'd want several ones for different moods.
@@thehearingaid I was the Same with my music collection when I originally ripped all my CDs to MP3s then re ripped them to FLAC, was a ultimate game changer after that! Everything that was left on the same CD quality is on the digital format! Including soundtracks which I have original CDs for also! I'm not tripping on this stuff! Please do try to upgrade your music collection! I hope the journey will be worth it for you!
@@thehearingaid media center 20? not sure what version is available now but it was close to 8k songs and albums, loosing sleep over days ripping all the updated deluxe albums & rare stuff not available on the net and recent new buys on physical media, friends helping me with their CD collection! I've copied everything to cloud, local multiple hard drives, it's impossible for me to ever loose my music collection ever again 👍🏾 everything goes down I can can just get any USB drive, local storage and redownload EVERYTHING again, if I wanted the setup as in this video I could use iTunes or any 3rd party software and get my songs and just download them, they are archived forever 💞 I may be an standard user back then with the used iPod touch as my original device when naive with the MP3 as the "best" quality in the past but after iPod touch and my iPod classic was highly modded as much as this guy including the UI back then, way before this was popular on any social media format, I gave it away as phones storage was getting more popular and the expansion of micro SD did help apart from when they were blocked by most companies with recent phones, people were forced to stream their music 🎵 to get access to their music, I rebelled against that even though I gave my iPod classic to my ex for his birthday he still appreciates it! I still can have access to my music collection on LOCAL drives no matter what software I use and it's local! No intervention! I'm just proving a point in this guy's journey in removing recent streaming and owning "nothing" and be happy for myself 🫤🫤
@@HUYI1my collection combined with my dads is ~1TB mostly aac and no duplicates, so not impossible
I’ve been a physical media collector for over 25 years and I am so thankful for the collections I’ve built up over the years.
Worth every penny.
this is literally the best youtube series i've ever watched
The halfway point of this video might be the clearest, most concise block I've ever seen someone produce. It goes back over everything you've touched on over three episodes, we hear how you genuinely feel and see the thought process you go through (and what led you to making that choice), and it's just so incredibly effective.
Thanks for going on this journey and showing me and many others what it's like, and giving some of us the push to do something like this.
4 weeks in, and you’re where I found myself 4 years ago. Social media was dragging me down, modern consoles took forever to load games due to huge downloads, and when a friend wrote his first album with me during lockdown (I’m a bass player too), and he sent me the first edit - I played it through my iphone, but it sounded flat. I’d just CF modded my first iPod , so I stuck it on there and plugged my studio headphones in. And never looked back! Now everything is old tech - OG Xbox, iPod, even my BMW is 21 years old - because I don’t need a dealership to plug it in to fix it….
Aye! I subscribed just so I'd see when this hit. I had never seen your channel before, but loved that week 3 episode. Looking forward to this one!
Love your style and attention to small details in your editing. It's obvious you have a passion for art, music, and storytelling. Keep it up bro!
The algorithm brought me here because I've been watching a lot of TH-cam videos on using an iPod in 2024... but I stay because of your message... content... It was very interesting and inspirational. I'm going to be doing a phone cleanse. Also thanks to all your friends, they give some GREAT music options.
"Addictive by Design" - very good said. We just would like to use a product, but instead the companies are using thier products against us to use us. So we need the power back into our hands. Why use products which are desighnt to use our psyche against us? No, thanks! (It all just came out of my head while watching your video series :) ) Thanks!
i genuinely think you came to all the right conclusions in the end...or at least what i think i would have come away with. we are around the same age, so i remember when things were "simpler", and our attention was only fought for by the ones around us. i also especially love the customized ipod! this was an awesome and inspiring series. i would love to see this inspire a real movement.
the story telling is beyond! Very pleasant and practical to watch, but also beautifuly displayed and above all very human. Thankyou!
As I was watching this video, I deleted a lot of apps on my phone. I've been going through a much longer decluttering process myself, and I really appreciate this series for giving me some more steam in that quest. Cheers, man. Loved all 4 of these videos.
just wow. this video was astounding, I feel like I've had a mini epiphany just really thinking about how much real life we miss out on because of tech consumption, I find myself sometimes feeling low about life and it just hit me what's actually going on, I'm not even a big consumer of media, I don't care to keep up with what's in at the time but I am on some apps a lot, and it's like, just look outside, look at the trees, the hills, the skies, the amazing structures humans have built, look how much there is to enjoy that we're living in, what does it mean, we're just a tiny part of it floating through space, it's easy to turn your back on it all and dive deep into the algorithms unknowingly, the significance of the new age of technology and the huge part it plays in our lives really has impacted them so negatively, thank you so much for this Brandon, this is why you are one of my favourite creators and always will be. I think we love content so much as it lets us be apart of everything that our life isn't, that we wish it was, and we'd much rather sit there than face reality, but reality is the only place you live, and the only place you can climb the ranks of, and it's so hard to do so, so we just take the easy option and watch others to feel included. We can't live in a youtube video but we'd rather spend time watching one that has what we want than going out and putting relentless work to go get what we want... simply because it's just easier, and we like easier, everything has become too accessible that we're lazy, which you showed with the iPod once we just get back to having what we need to carry on, we feel better again.
As a 19-year old that gad been thinking about this for half a year now, you have been the biggest inspiration! I discovered your channel through this series and you have quickly become one of my favorites!
Thank you so much for this series, makes me wanna change certain aspects of my life too.
always quality content, but this was bar far the best. Humanity and music, an actual practical answer to a tough question and a killer soundtrack? Wishing you nothing but love from the UK DTG!
what a beautiful series and finale, loved every minute of it.
Your energy in this series is absolutely infectious. Good stuff
Ironically, the algorithm sent me here... but grateful in this case, because this thought experiment is exactly what I've been thinking/feeling as of late. Really enjoyed this series. Thank you for putting in the work to make the same process easier for me.
i’m 18 but I want to live a life i’m actually proud of. I’ve watched so many videos like this one but this was my turning point, finding ways to back away and be more present, ask myself more questions about my interests so that i figure out my genuine identity. Thank you for this video series!
just deleted snapchat and instagram, which feels weird as an 18 year old on my way to college, but you've inspired me to do a weekly check up on my computer instead, thank you! this series has helped me realize that i'm in control of what i consume, and that i can take pieces of what i want from modern technology. love these videos, might have to get an ipod :)
The battery died for my 7th Gen 160 gb died around the beginning of the pandemic. But a few months ago I decided I wanted to go back to my iPod. Which led me down the modding rabbit hole. I ultimately ended up with a new battery, 512 gb SD card, and new back (because I mutilated the old one in the process). And I have been absolutely loving it. I’m reconnecting with old records I haven’t heard in years, buying used CDs in storing, filling out my physical collection, and really loving having the iPod back in my life.
I’m also on a social media diet, but that is unrelated to the iPod experiment. Though I found you’re experiment interesting, I don’t see myself taking as far as you did. I still use my phone for Podcast, TH-cam, emails, etc. I work as backline tech, and kind of need access to a browser and TH-cam while out in the field. Apple Music is bundled in my phone bill, so i still have that on my phone, which is nice for when I am in work vehicles, and Bluetooth is the easier option.
I’ve always enjoyed you’re beat break down videos, but I found this series pretty cool. Thanks for sharing your experience.
So well done! Loved the finale. Proper hero’s journey. You inspire me man
This is such an excellent series, great job man. I found your first video after I decided to rebuild my iPod and move away from streaming and this was exactly the validation I needed to inspire me. I just binged them all and will be recommending to others. Thank you so much for this.
This series made me realize that I was addicted to music as a teen and calling it my religion and I completely lost that aspect of my life/personality when my old iPod Nano died. 😢 It's been over ten years now, but I miss this bad boy, I miss my daily companion, my no-ads no-notifications no-distractions little piece of technology. I miss spending hours ripping CDs onto my PC so I could load my favorite albums onto my iPod and listen to them on my way to school, while I journal or try to fall asleep... I really need to look into that alternative build and see if I can go back to these simpler times ❤
i would love to have an annual update about how this change in your life is going ive found this whole series fasincating and inspirational
I was just recommended this series last night, by the algorithm ironically, and it has been fantastic and inspiring. I’ve never used any music streaming service seriously because I primarily listen to Japanese music and it just isn’t available so I prefer to buy my music. But this series makes me want to stop using Twitter (my last social media app) and start using the time saved for my other hobbies.
I'm a producer and ever since I've been able to get a tablet, even that has helped with a lot of content consumption lol. I have settings set to where it's basically a music programming device and it's helped me make so much more music without the dullness of social media. It genuinely freaked me out how much has changed since I've made the purchase ( of the tablet). for me, i started to appreciate my old records better and it's also interesting how much more time I feel like I have as well. When I'm not listening to and making music, I'm doing what I love when I can and it's nice.
Thanks for these videos because they were like a convenient explanation of what I've been doing for a while now lol
This was a really really great series. I enjoyed it alot.
I was hoping so much you'd do a flash mod & install Rockbox - when I saw you were doing exactly that I got really excited!
I hope to see a follow up in a year or something :)
Algorithm took me to your channel. Glad it did. Awesome content bro. New subscriber here!
It's quite ironic that an algorithm got me here ... I wanted to thank you for this video (series) i loved it a lot, the two books you recommended went straight onto my amazon wishlist.
I have been on a 'similar' journey only that mine took 7 years so far.
I am a 42 year old male from germany that got very sick in 2017 (cancer and bloodpressure related stuff) which led to quite bad depressions. Around that time I decided to get rid of ALL social media besides TH-cam, let's be real it is kind of a social medium as well, when I was thinking about sharing those 'news' on social media or not.
Just as yours my car is a Volkswagen and just like you I found out that my car has a Media-In Connector which allowed me to hook up my, iPod. I have been on a weird run of using the radio or my iPod until my iPod actually died on me and I decided that I can actually use my phone, which I carry everyday anways, as kind of an iPod. So I started to rip all my CDs and, basically like you, started to buy new/used CDs to get the originals of MP3s I owned for years so that I am not depending on any kind of music service. I am using notebooks by now as well as I simply like the tactile feeling of writing with a pen.
Now 7 years later I have de-accelerated a lot and I am lucky to stil be 'alive'. The only app I reinstalled is WhatsApp as it makes it way easier to communicate, my CD-Collection is growing every month and I am even rediscovering artists/bands I already forgot about.
I really love your comparison to a swiss-army-knife, couldn't have said it better! Our smartphones are essential tools for modern life, but that's just it, they are just tools and not life!
Thanks a lot again for a fantastic video series, keep up the good work!
As I saw from the other videos you upload we actually don't have a lot of overlap and that is why I am not going to subscribe (decluture and so on, I am sure you understand) but I wish you and your family all the best and I am gratful to have 'met' you!
Thx for this series.
I’m struggling with phone addiction since forever. But it started before Smartphones as soon as I could use the internet on my Nokia N95.
I tried everything (except the Lightphone).
I got a kitchen safe where I lock my phone sometimes.
But the best thing for me is the Apple Watch with LTE. I just go out with my watch. And a old digicam (but I also do analog photography)
But still I use my phone a lot, because there are some things I just need and some I love. For example playing ingress.
Now I’m thinking of getting a IPad Mini for home use.
And just ditching my iPhone.
Having an actual video on how to keep technology in your life without having it overtake your time is really amazing. I know people have minimized technology in their lives before, but I never got to see the process. It all felt like some mysterious process and I didn’t know where to start or how. Thanks for taking the time to make a video on this to spread awareness and actively show how you customize things to suit your lifestyle
Love every bit of this. As someone who grew up pre-internet and works in an internet-savvy world, it feels validating to know that I'm not crazy for wanting to go back to some analog products again, to save my sanity and start appreciating and devouring good media again. Not by pressure, not by algorithm, but by my own choices. I am currently not doing social media (did this multiple times in the past years and failed), and you inspire me to do it for the long run already. We decide how to run our lives. One book also that discusses this is Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon! He has separate tables for analog and digital work. Kudos!
the timing of me stumbling across this is super serendipitous! A close friend and me are planning on modifying our iPods (and repairing my turntable) to make music listening more intentional. My (30yo) and my boss (36yo) are likely gonna go create digging sometime soon to find records for the solar showroom he just opened, he has Spotify integrated with the Sonos App but just bought a separate mixer so we can play records through the sound system managed by the app, there's something nice about purposely choosing a record, even if it's just for background music! You're so right about how if services stop hosting the music or go under etc, we lose access to them, Mac Millers mixtape "Faces" got pulled from Spotify for a while due to sample issues iirc and it kinda hit with how much I don't own the music I like, despite paying for a service.
Thank you so much for this series, man! As a 32 year old, I feel you so hard on basically all of the points you've made across the board and I'm definitely going to implement some of these techniques into my life. Love your channel, hermano!
Amazing series and channel. Stripping away the unneeded and unused can create more dynamics in your life.
I had gotten an iPod about 3 months ago. I can relate to swapping out all the parts and putting it back together. I scratched it straight away...Excellent video series.
Just came across this series. The production of your videos is top notch! The content and message delivered is just what I need right now. The ones who beat the social media cycles are those who use it as a tool without consuming its contents. Your message throughout every epsiode of this series will stick with me as I try to clense the dialy consumption. Thank you!!
I'm joining your Patreon, just because you deserved to be supported!!!
this was a cool mini-series! i am 24 and my first car didn't have bluetooth, just the radio and a CD player. i grew up on CDs and burning my own playlists onto blank CDs, so it was very exciting to grow my collection. when i had to get a new car, it was JUST radio. it was cheaper to get a CD+bluetooth radio than just a CD radio so that is what i did. although i did not HAVE to use the bluetooth radio, thats all i did and my CD collection has not grown in about 5 years. i now have a car with just the cigarette light bluetooth player and radio and i am also struggling with decision paralysis when it comes to music, so i am trying to opt for listening to just the radio. i have really enjoyed it so far and i think i would like to upgrade my radio to have the CD player and im thinking i would rather spend the extra money to get the one without bluetooth. i miss collecting CDs and listening to just one album or soundtrack at a time
I couldn't have liked the video more, but chime transition at 19:15 was just crazy. Loved this series and your journey to find joy in your music and work everyday.
I found this series via recommendation. It made me realize how much I did not do as many things as I thought I did with intention. I absolutely love what you showed, and it convinced to get an iPod as a result. I look forward to the other episodes coming up! :)
This has been incredible to watch. It felt like a Netflix docuseried, such great quality storytelling. Really love that rather than just buying an iPod with bigger storage and battery you upgraded your current one and turned it into something unique that you love - not enough people do this these days. New sub, looking forward to your future thought-provoking content!