I first used Spotify my freshman year of high school, sometime in the winter. I remember it pretty vividly -- I was enthralled with Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" and "Funeral." The vast collection of music was exciting for me, as I hadn't really begun my musical journey, and I had a lot of interests I wanted to pursue. I didn't think that Spotify would take off or evolve into the company it is now, but since I've basically been with Spotify from the beginning, I've seen it grow and change into the powerhouse of music streaming services.
Before Spotify, I used Pandora to explore new music. I had a radio for the indie band The Fray and I curated that radio day in and day out, perfectly crafting it so each song that came on would be in my preferred taste. It was on that radio I first went outside of the Top 40 comfort zone (Chris Brown and Rihanna at the time) to explore other genres. I stumbled across artists like Relient K, Arcade Fire, and The Script, and prided myself on my new "quirky music taste." I wanted to be a hipster so badly. Mind you, at this point I was writing my own music alone in my bedroom, listening to Taylor Swift and trying to literally emulate her melodies. However, The Fray's radio changed my entire outlook on music and fueled my love for exploring and discovering music on streaming sites.
My friends and family all know about my deep and undying love for Spotify, despite the fact that it pays artists next to nothing (I would know, I made $20 in two years for my album.) It's so easy to customize, personalize, and make my own. My Spotify is my child. (Shameless plug: follow me!!!!)
Spotify introduces me to new aspects of music every single day. It fuels my desire to write music and album reviews, teaches me the art of curating the perfect playlist, and gives me a plethora of new music to discover every day. A favorite past-time of mine is getting lost in its library, scouring playlist after playlist until eventually I'm in the depths, not really sure how I ended up listening to a 90's punk band from Norway but it's cool because I'm digging it.
This little Virginia history lesson is important because it's the basis of why I made this little blog thing. I'm an avid music sharer. I used to make weekly emails for my sorority highlighting upcoming album releases, sharing playlists, and promoting local concerts. Once I moved on from that role, I began using Instagram stories to promote and spread new albums every Friday for #newmusicFriday!!!! I've written for the Cavalier Daily for a year and a half now, covering music and album reviews and interviewing frat boy bands on Grounds. Not only will this platform allow me to share music and my opinions on it, but it also gives me a chance to be creative and write -- something that I love doing but don't really do enough. It's a win-win for all of us. I'm kind of hoping this becomes like, a college YouTuber thing where my blog gets discovered and then I make tons of money and get to go to Coachella for free and stay in a mansion in Palm Springs. Or maybe Pitchfork will find my opinions to be truly revolutionary and I'll be recruited as a writer right out of college. Or maybe everyone will hate me and this will just be another blog on the internet. The possibilities are endless!
That being said, I hope you'll stay with me.
Love from Virg
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