I’ve had a Spotify premium account long enough to be hit with multiple price hikes from my original, stable subscription plan.
Throughout those years, the streaming platform has defined how and what music I listened to, mostly for the better, though in some ways for the worse; it could be my stage of life, but I don’t feel music like I used to.
So when I recently rediscovered my iPod nano in a drawer during a clear out, it was the shot in the arm that this tired music lover needed.
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The model in question was the iPod nano (2006) in black, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember when I had last used it.
I peeled my old portable media player free from its disintegrating soft case and drank in that slice of nostalgia, running my fingers over its aluminum casing and wheel.
I just had to know what music I had painstakingly added to the 8GB of flash memory, however long ago that was.
After persistent rummaging, I found the 30-pin to USB charging cable I needed and, after a moment, sure enough my nano sprang back into life…
The time capsule I needed
2015. That was the most recent period of the music and playlists on my iPod nano. Had it really been over a decade since I had last used a portable media player and moved exclusively to Spotify streaming?
My albums, and more specifically my playlists, spanned 2011 to 2015, with the majority being pre 2013 — the year my first child was born. Back then (pre kids), I was clearly into three genres; electronica, alternative and Christian gospel.
I span the click wheel with my thumb to scroll through the lists, neatly categorized into Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres, Composers and Search options.
God, I had forgotten that tactile feeling of the click wheel and the outright simplicity of the distraction-free interface. And with my Bluetooth-faff-free wired headphones attached, I started exploring this little audio time capsule.
Spotify streaming has turned music into fast food. The iPod nano was like a sit down meal.
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Reader, I used to painstakingly curate Final Mix playlists of my favorite tunes each year, and 2012 was so prolific I had also split it into two parts. Three, year-long alternative and electronica playlists! Heck, I even made my own Desert Island Discs list (dated 2013) packed with my eclectic all-time faves, which spanned everything from the hymn Amazing Grace sung by Aretha Franklin to dance house classics like Rez by Underworld and my wedding first dance, Your Love Gets Sweeter by Finley Quaye.
I cued up my 2012 playlist, which opened with This Year by The Mountain Goats, a defiant narrative of endurance in tough times and a simple chorus that resounded “I’m gonna make it through this year, if it kills me”.
Eyes closed, I was already finding myself getting emotional.
These were house party days, pub hang-outs and those conversations that went, ‘Hey have you heard this?’. Songs recommended by friends. Songs shared by friends.
I locked in on that playlist, clicking the wheel to crank up the volume to levels probably unsafe for my ears, with no on-screen warning micromanaging my experience.
(Image credit: Tim Coleman)
A timely reminder to simplify
Immersing myself in that old iPod nano reminded me why I love music. It took me back to the times when listening to an album might be the only thing I was doing in that moment.
Today, music is far more likely to be an accompaniment to the multiple activities I simultaneously have on the go, interrupted by the notification alerts and social apps on my phone.
For me, Spotify streaming had turned music into fast food. The iPod Nano was like a sit down meal.
And although my Nano’s battery is effectively dead — it needed constant power to operate — it has called me back to enjoy music in a deeper way once more. That fast food had grown dry, and I was appreciating deeper flavors again.
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