Music, An Endangered Joy

When was the last time you listened to a song you didn’t choose or couldn’t skip? In a world where we can curate the perfect playlist for every mood, we may have inadvertently traded the liberating nature of music for excessive responsibility. Technological strides have led to the rise of music platforms, bringing forth an era of personalized playlists, yet many of us spend more time building the ideal queue than enjoying the melodies themselves. Have playlists and music platforms sacrificed the freedom music is meant to provide?

From ancient religious hymns to the pioneering Beatles, music has been an art form for millennia. A song can lift spirits or spark change; there is no doubt that music is a powerful device and an essential element in the contemporary world. Music in its many forms, from radio waves to CDs, has evolved into streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, making it easily accessible. Whether you’re in a car or on a run, music is now at your fingertips, accessible anywhere, anytime.

However, this accessibility comes with a price: the burden of crafting the perfect playlist. Playlists, while allowing us to tune into the perfect songs for each moment, have quietly transformed music. What once was an oasis away from responsibility is now a battleground of skipping through songs, toiling over playlists, and competing for the most impressive Spotify Wrapped. 

The bliss and joy of music have been overshadowed. Once a gateway to ecstasy, music has become the very cause of our discontent, enacting an endless cycle of skipping through songs to find the perfect one for the moment because, despite the hours we invest into our playlists, they will never be perfect. What we believe to be musical freedom has transformed our listening experiences into excessive responsibility.

It’s time to allow technology to reclaim its original purpose: to make life easier. Instead of being our own DJs, we should more often allow our devices to take the reins while we sit back and relax without knowing (a.k.a. worrying about) what’s next in the queue. So, the next time you’re in the mood for some tunes, consider embracing the spontaneity of the radio or shuffling a more diverse playlist. Hit play, relinquish control, and rediscover the joy and liberation of music.