For me, Apple Music is about so much more than renting access to my favorite songs. The best-case scenario for Apple Music, in my experience, is when it guides me to discover my next favorite album or artist. After School Radio still does that for me, and access through Apple Podcasts is useful for easily staying up to date.
Most recently, it was just letting Apple Music recommend music after playing an album from my library. In a matter of months, I went from hearing that song for the first time in Apple Music while driving to driving several hours to hear it performed live.
Apple calls this feature Autoplay. “AutoPlay does all the work of choosing what to play next,” Apple explains. “Just play a song, and then AutoPlay will find similar songs and play them later.”
I forget what I was originally playing—probably Taking Back Sunday or something—but it was on July 4th this year. I love going on long drives to nowhere and just listening to the music and the atmosphere, which is how I discovered a post-hardcore band from Atlanta called Microwave</strong>.
When the song “Bored of Being Sad” came on, I remember letting it play for a while before going back to the beginning of the track and listening more closely. According to the Music app on my Mac, I added the rest of the album an hour later, and the play count is impressive.
Fast forward to October 29th, when I drove to Birmingham, Alabama to see the opening night of a tour Microwave had just completed. I posted this on Facebook the next day.
I so enjoyed seeing Microwave perform in Birmingham last night to end a month of intentionally celebrating life!
Self-assessment that can be applied later: The birthday months from 30 onwards require special care, not because of age but because of circumstances and perspective. Last October, I wasn’t very happy with my daily routine and trajectory: work, parenthood, sleep, repeat. It had certainly surpassed the emotional lows of previous years, but it wasn’t sustainable.
I made a list of the things that historically contributed to my identity and happiness, with the goal of cultivating each one to produce positive results. The list was pretty simple.
Spending less time at home (the challenge of remote work) and more time in more places (the benefit of remote work). Things like motorcycles, tattoos, running, technology, rocket launches, sports, and travel. Building relationships, accepting love where it is, and being a provider and protector. A work in progress, always, but no less progress.
The bulk of work and day-to-day relationships happen through screens. For this reason, I place more value on relationships that can be in person, at least some of the time, without diminishing my larger support network. Just shared experiences and time spent together are truly alive to me.
I discovered Microwave in June. Faintly psychedelic and lately slow-paced, with a catalog of melodic emo with range. The experience of listening to a song (“Bored of Being Sad”) streaming on my iPhone while on a road trip last summer was a digital cue. Being in a room with a band performing, sweating and dancing with the fans… that's good. That's it.
More of this, please.
With gratitude, Apple Music Autoplay. Fire it up, Microwave. I've been obsessed with the back catalog lately. See also: this MacStories article by John Voorhees, which touches on some of the iPhone's music apps.
P.S.
To really follow the theme started with Apple Music Autoplay, I should add that my friend Astrid attended the last show of the tour in Orlando, Florida this week after my music discovery turned music recommendation. My iPhone photo is at the top. I'll steal her iPhone photo to close:
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