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Welcome to the Machine – Week 2 of Spotify’s Discover Weekly

Welcome to the machine! A computer is making mixtapes just for me and they are better than just about any mortal mix. Yep, it’s week two of Spotify’s Discover Weekly and they just get me, like really get me.

Week one was damn good. Maybe a little heavy on the sixties and seventies, but it was two hours well spent. This week it’s back to the future with a mix that’s centered in the nineties, but stretches from the late sixties all the way up to this year. Of course the playlist dips its toes in the seventies, eighties and oughties (yeah, I just wrote that, sorry).

What I like is my curated mix is eminently listenable from start to finish. Just like last week the sequencing is random, but in a can’t-wait-to-hear-the-next-song way. Jumping from decade to decade and style to style, it’s unpredictable and surprising at times. I guess they’ve got three years of listening data and know exactly what I like.

Well, let’s get to the music.

First up is The Olivia Tremor Control’s “Define a Transparent Dream” from their debut masterpiece, Dust at Cubist Castle. With its touches of the Beatles and their own psychedelic magic, OTC sets the tone for much of what’s to come later in the mix. Next, TV on the Radio goes a cappella with their 2003 cover of The Pixies’ “Mr. Greives.” Then we head way back for “Is This What You Wanted,” the opening cut from Leonard Cohen’s 1974 New Skin for the Old Ceremony. Then there are a couple of decent 70s rockers, Thin Lizzy’s “Running Back” from Jailbreak and “Funk #49” from The James Gang’s second album.

Right when I was getting a little bored, Avey Tare of Animal Collective comes through with the murky and mystical “Laughing Hieroglyphic” from his debut solo record, Down There. The mind-bending continues with Austin’s Holy Wave and “Do You Feel It” from 2014. Next up it sounds like a cracked T-Rex or maybe Devendra Banhart, but it’s David Vandervelde from his first album (as The Moonstation House Band). Capping off this rewarding group of songs is the stone 1966 classic “You’re Gonna Miss Me” with its unforgettable electric jug and killer harmonica from The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. Can we possibly go up from here?

Let’s say we go sideways right into Blake Mills with the power pop punch of “Hey Lover” from 2010. Then, boom, it’s Joe Jackson from his “angry young man” years kicking ass with “I’m the Man” from his 1979 record of the same name. Courtney Barnett doesn’t let up with “History Eraser” from last year’s Double EP. Sonic Youth might have done better songs, but were never cooler than “Dirty Boots” from 1990’s Goo.

Love’s “Alone Again Or” is a wonderful song and it has been covered by bands like UFO and The Damned, but Calexico’s 2004 version is magical. They capture the original and make it their own simultaneously. The Kink’s cheeseball, but still awesome “Celluloid Heroes” is next. Originally a B-side to “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” The Buzzcock’s “Why Can’t I Touch It?” is a minor masterpiece. “Just Like Honey” will always be The Jesus and Mary Chain’s defining song, all pop bliss buried under mountains of feedback and sneer.

So I am not supposed to like Phish on principle for a lot of reasons, but when I found myself grooving on “Wolfman’s Brother,” I went to the track listing. Who is this? Phish! Damn it. Yeah, this is why Spotify gets me. They find a great song from a band I don’t like.

Then we’ve got Jason Lytle’s Grandaddy and his loopy lo-fi A.M. 180,” followed by the swirling beauty of Tame Impala’s “Enders Toi” from 2012 and Dinosaur Jr. with the Guitar Hero and Rock Band classic “Feel the Pain.” My Morning Jacket’s 2008 “Evil Urges” with its light funk and falsetto has aged well. So has Built To Spill’s 1999 guitar drenched Keep It LIke a Secret and lead track “The Plan.”

Again we go sideways and back in time to 1982 and The English Beat’s “I Confess” from their third and last album, Special Beat Service. Next is a live version of “Ride a White Swan,” the first hit from T. Rex going all the way back to 1970. Digging even further back to 1968 it’s the crazy I-never-heard-this gem of this week’s mix and Jacque Dutronc’s 1968 French psychedelic nugget, “Hippie Hippie Hourrah” (covered in 2005 by Black Lips). Alabama Shakes surprised me with this year’s “Future People.” Nicely done.

Closing out the set it’s REM’s always delightful “Harborcoat” from 1984’s Reckoning, Robert Palmer’s early hit “Sneaking Sally Through the Alley” and Jeff Beck’s 1968 rocking version of the folk classic “Morning Dew” with a young Rod Stewart on searing lead vocals.

I keep hoping for a little more electronic, industrial, soul and hip-hop but it’s only been two weeks. I am impressed at how well they understand my tastes and my fascination with random juxtaposition of songs and styles. Last week I mentioned how I am using my 90 day trial period to test drive Apple Music, but Spotify captured my attention this past week. They haven’t won the war for my money, but they are winning the battle for my time. What do you think of Discover Weekly? Who’s winning the streaming music war? I would love to know what you think.

Spotify’s Discover Weekly – Music Picked Just For Me

“It’s like having your best friend make you a personalized mixtape every single week.” – Spotify

Spotify definitely isn’t taking a wait-and-see attitude with Apple Music. They punched back at Apple’s curated playlists this week with Discover Weekly, a unique two hour playlist of tunes crafted specifically for each user based on listening history and that of similar listeners. Updated every Monday, this “mixtape of fresh music” is a fascinating look at how a machine takes user data and predicts what I will like.

I couldn’t wait to see what my playlist had in store for me for several reasons.

First of all, I am more than a music fan. I long ago sprinted past music music nerd and rocketed beyond straight into music obsessive territory. As a kid the local record store was my favorite hangout. When other kids collected baseball cards, I spent my money on Beatles and Rolling Stones records. I was a DJ for years at various college stations. My library is somewhere around 1500 vinyl albums, 600 singles, 3000 CDs, 400 cassettes and about 8 months worth of digitized music. Yep, I have more music than I can ever really consume.

Second, I’ve made dozens and dozens of mixtapes over the years and the idea of someone (or a machine) I don’t know creating a playlist for me is interesting and a challenge. Rarely listening to the same thing twice, I jump from decade to decade, genre to genre pretty quickly. Rooted in classic rock, soul, funk, punk and new wave, my tastes run from classic country and blues through hip-hop, post-punk into lo-fi, indie, electronic, ambient and beyond. They’ve got two hours and thirty songs to make an impact.

Third, I am still debating between Spotify and Apple Music. Who will win my monthly fee? I am a longtime Spotify user and Apple Music will have to work damn hard to win me over. I’ve all but abandoned most physical formats so my final pick needs to give me everything, make it convenient and surprise me with great music and features.

So let’s get to the music!

This first week’s playlist is actually pretty strong. Heavy on sixties and seventies rock with a few tracks from the eighties thrown in, the list misses about 70% of what I like and listen to on a regular basis. Every song is at least three decades old and most of what I’ve been streaming lately has been relatively new. However, the list is pretty solid and a rewarding listen with a mix of hits, obvious album tracks, wonderful surprises and a few things I’ve never heard. While a real mixtape has some flow and a sense of theme or narrative, this mix is wonderfully random and enjoyable.

Opening nicely with former Byrd Gene Clark’s “Strength of Strings” from 1974’s underrated and masterful No Other, the playlist rambles and stumbles through obvious choices from Nick Lowe, John Cale and Neil Young before the first surprise. Scott Walker’s (of Walker Brothers fame) baroque pop treasure “30 Century Man” from 1969’s Scott 3.

As if to apologize for getting somewhat obscure, the list reverts to the hits and “So You Want To Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star,” one of the Byrd’s last Top 40 hits. Then it meanders (in a good way) through The Rutles, Talking Heads, Todd Rundgren and Traffic before landing on the always stunning “Hallogallo,” the lead song from Neu!’s 1972 debut.

Then there is a real surprise. Up until now I’ve been familiar with everything. Twelve tracks in, they knock me out with a delightfully obscure choice. Not only do I not know the song or the group, the track is great. From the late 60s Canterbury scene, psychedelic band Arzachel kills it with the sprawling instrumental “Queen St. Gang.” I dig into their biography and discover it was Steve Hillage of Gong fame and players who went on to become Egg of Canterbury prog-rock notoriety.

The middle of the playlist gets progressively odder and more interesting. Can’s “Moonshake,” Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” with its appropriation of a Liverpool choir singing Rogers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Roxy Music’s “Both Ends Burning,” “Cowboy Movie” from David Crosby’s mind blowing If Only I Could Remember My Name and Little Feat’s “Trouble” all lead into two “wow, I’ve never heard this” tracks.

Patto’s “The Man” is a heavy jazz-rock track from their 1970 debut album. My favorite trivia bit about this band is drummer John Halsey portrayed drummer Barrington Womble in The Rutles.

Then, we’ve got Manfred Mann Chapter 3, the little known missing link between Manfred Mann and Manfred Mann’s Earth band. Another heavy jazz-rock number, “One Way Glass” has a deep throbbing beat and kick ass horn section. This one is definitely a keeper.

After a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Yuung song we get Mick Ronson’s “Only After Dark,” “Lorelei” from the Tom Tom Club, Spirit’s kick ass “Fresh Garbage,” Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s “River Song,” and XTC’s alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear’s rollicking “25 O’Clock.”

The 4th “never heard it” is Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera’s 801 project “TNK (Tomorrow Never Knows)” from 1976’s 801 Live. This is one of my sacred Beatles songs. I’ve heard several covers (The Chameleons, Danielle Dax, The Mission, and Phil Collins) and this one is particularly special. Brian Eno sings and Manzanera’s guitar playing is spectacular.

The playlist comes toward the end and swings back to the more recognizable. There is Klaatu’s ” Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” (later covered by The Carpenters), CSN’s “Dark Star,” ELO’s “Boy Blue” and the final stomper, “No Quarter,” from Led Zeppelin.

There it is, two hours of music that Spotify picked just for me. Overall, I was very impressed and enjoyed the playlist from start to finish. It definitely focused on a very narrow sliver of the music I like. However, good choices, fun surprises and enough music I’ve never heard before captured and kept my attention. I can’t wait to see what they serve up this coming Monday.

What do you think of Discover Weekly? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Killing Busyness – Doing Less To Accomplish More

information overload

Focus has been a key goal and resolution for me in 2015. For years I danced on the deadly edge of complete digital distraction. It became increasingly clear I needed to take a few steps back. My meme driven life was destroying my concentration and preventing me from getting things done.

A couple of years back i wrote about the absolute joy I took in information overload. I dove into the internet every day and would barely come up for air. Likening the experience to “swallowing the ocean” I extolled the virtues of infinite choice and endless possibility. There was just too much great stuff to ignore. My insatiable curiosity combined with some serious FOMO had me staring at screens from the moment I woke up until just before I closed my eyes at night.

But then something happened.

With 30 tabs open, music playing on my laptop while I watched video on my phone, simultaneously looking through notes on my iPad, I realized maybe I had a problem. No focus. No focus whatsoever. Distraction was king and my waking life was ruled by beeps, buzzes and alerts leading me from one app to another, from website to video, from game to text to Twitter to Instagram to Facebook. My focus was fractured, my productivity likely suffering and my enjoyment of the real things in life had diminished.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with newsletters, blogs, apps, social, games and never ending clickbait. My goal wasn’t to go cold turkey, but to spend more time doing and less time consuming. Multitasking to one task at a time. I simply wanted (and needed) to draw the line somewhere. I needed to go on a information diet. But how?

First of all, I hit unsubscribe on dozens of daily and weekly email newsletters. I expunged as many apps from my phone as I could bear. I cut my RSS feeds in half. I stopped saving countless articles to read later. I’ve limited myself to only five tabs open at a time. Delete. Delete. Delete.

Then, I made a point of putting down my phone, often leaving it in another room at home. I stopped taking it with me to meetings at work. If I have it I will always look at it. It beckons and teases me and I am no stronger than the kids in the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. Better for me to leave it in my bag or out of reach than tempt fate.

So what happened next?

Suddenly I had time, not oceans of time, but time. That all-consuming busyness I had used as a shield for years began to dissipate. I paid attention. I listened. Where I once filled every second of available time with checking emails, opening Facebook or ripping through my Instagram feed, I began to have wonderful moments of silence and clarity. How nice to think about nothing for a change.

And here is just a short list of other things that started happening.
– Rich, undistracted conversations
– Deeper focus at work and home
– My daily to-do list gets crushed early
– More time to read real books
– Written over 100,000 words in four and a half months
– Exercising four to five days a week

The funny thing is I don’t think I’ve missed much of anything important online. While I thought I would regret letting go of those email newsletters, apps and all the other distractions, I’ve never looked back. I’ve still got plenty of great stuff to sift through every day, plus I have much better focus and the gift of time. By doing less I actually accomplish mush more. And I keep three things in mind whenever I’m online. Unfollow, unsubscribe, delete.

A Few Thoughts On Spotify Running

Spotify Running image

Let’s talk about Spotify Running. About a month ago Spotify announced a new musical experience specifically designed for runners (all part of a larger fitness initiative). They created non-stop soundtracks that use your smartphone’s accelerometer to determine your tempo and provide the perfect beat to match your stride. The desired effect is a motivated runner pumped by the magic of music.

First of all, I don’t generally run with music when running outside. Running is all about simplicity for me. All I need is shorts, shoes, shirt and socks. It is my legs against the distance. II don’t want distractions and crap to carry. I want to hear the cars, the birds, the breeze and the sounds around me. It isn’t about creating a “portable interior” so wonderfully described here by Maria Popova, it is getting out of the car, bus and office and being outside.

However, when it is treadmill at the gym time, bring on the music. I want to while away the tedium with loud, motivating music. I’ve already created a ton of my own mixes on Spotify that can carry me through a four or five mile stationary jaunt so Spotify Running needs to be as good or better. Time to put it to the test.

Once you tap on running it brings up Running Originals and Running Playlists. Running Originals consists of six instrumental compositions in a variety of styles. Each consists of several “chapters” that are roughly three to six minutes long. The overall mixes are about 30 minutes. Once you start running it finds your pace and the music begins.

BURN is the first original, composed and recorded by Dutch DJ Tiësto. Spotify describes the track as “massive running beats.” It is definitely the best of the originals with a propulsive club beat that immediately jolted my pace. Like any faceless dance music that kicks ass in spinning class or on the dance floor BURN was magic for seven or eight minutes and I got bored. Like really bored. Soon it feels like and endless loop trapping everyone in the club for an eternity.

Next up is EPIC, listed as “powerful cinematic music.” The dip in quality from our friend Tiësto’s track is significant. This track is the music playing in a generic action film as the squad silently moves in and prepares for the explosive third act. It is dark, propulsive and has all the charm of needle-drop music which is my main issue with all the Running Originals. They have the beat to keep you moving, but they don’t have the personality to keep you interested. Once again, I switched to a new track after about a mile.

SEASONS is “orchestral music at your pace” which begins with a plaintive, but insistent piano supported by strings, woodwinds and percussion. The sweeping minor keys rise to big crescendos and fall to quiet moments of sad contemplation. This track raises another issue for me. You’re stuck in the mix you chose unless you awkwardly open the app on the run and switch to another original. SEASONS is a bit of a downer and there’s no way I could run with this as a backdrop for more than about five minutes. It would be a great to mix and match the originals to give some dynamic to the run rather than one mood fits all.

Then we dip into LOCK THE FLOW a slightly beefier take on The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” The “shimmering electronic beats” offer up the second best original mix and I could actually see myself giving this one another shot. It’s got a great beat and you can dance to it, but also has some nice subtleties and range that make for interesting listening.

“Happy, blissed out pop and indie” reads the description for BLISSED OUT. Again this is largely anonymous light EDM that pumps along at a nice click, but doesn’t go anywhere. The guitars and drums on Chapters 4 and 5 are a nice change up, but the mix lost me long before.

The final original beckons you to “step into an action movie.” THE CHASE is the weakest of the whole bunch. Dark, foreboding and just really boring, this one is the most generic of the bunch. It feels familiar in mediocre action film way. Once again it has all the right features, but none of the heart and soul of real music.

The Running Playlists are fascinatingly random, but also pretty adventurous. There are plenty of familiar bands mixed and matched with a lot of lesser known undergound and indie artists. Right now it offers thirteen mixes to choose from and the range of styles is broad and deep. Hip hop, rock, country, metal, electronic, indie and oldies are just a sample of the variety. The tracks rip along at running tempo and provide a great musical score for a quick run or long haul.

Overall, I am impressed by the effort. Spotify clearly had runners in mind when they commissioned the originals. As mentioned above I want to mix and match the Running Originals to give my running soundtrack a deeper, broader and less monotonous dynamic. The interface is clean and easy to use with the exception of changing the music on the go. If this is just the beginning I am excited to see where they take it.

Has anyone else tried Spotify Running? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Switch – A Tinder For Jobs

Swipe left for NO. Swipe right for YES. If the feeling is mutual, connect and reveal your identity. No, it’s not online dating. It’s the future of job search: anonymous, simple and mobile.

Finding a job is hard work. The journey can be incredibly frustrating and time consuming. From discovering opportunities through the application process to finally interviewing, it is a long and winding road. One company wants to change all that. The recently launched Switch app is truly a Tinder for jobs. They aim to take the pain out of the search and connect the right people to the right jobs.

I spoke to Co-Founder Brett Martin and wrote about Switch. You can read the rest here at AOL Jobs.

Better Job Search Through Technology

It’s hard to believe that there was a time before LinkedIn, Google or even email. How on earth did people find opportunities back in the Dark Ages of job search? It’s a terrifying thought, but MindFlash has done the hard work and uncovered the long-forgotten secrets of pre-millennium job hunting in Western Civilizations’s Historical Guide to the Job Search. Letters, phone calls, classified ads. The horror…the horror!

I wrote about the Latest Job Hunting Apps, Tools and Tech for AOL Jobs right here.

LinkedIn Doubles Down On Apps

As the world goes mobile, LinkedIn wants to corner the market on mobile job search and career management. Their strategy ensures that no matter where you are, “opportunity is always within reach.” As a result they’ve doubled down on apps, aggressively launching several new apps and reimagining the existing ones over the last several months. I wrote for AOL Jobs about how your job search just went mobile.

Weekly Roundup: LinkedIn’s New Killer App & Much More

Your job search just went mobile. LinkedIn just dropped a powerful new app that all job seekers will want to download and explore immediately. On Thursday they released the LinkedIn Job Search app and from my initial test-drive it is a must-have tool for job seekers. I wrote about it for AOL Jobs right here.

The Weekly Countdown: 5 Articles All Job Seekers Should Read

Five awesome pieces of career advice I read this week. Here’s something new I will be writing weekly for AOL Jobs. Check it out here

A Few Thoughts on the Social TV NYC Meetup

A few years ago I signed up to attend the Social TV NYC Meetup. It was right around the time that Social TV was really taking off. Twitter and Facebook were blowing up. Tunerfish, GetGlue and Miso were all jumping into the second screen check-in space. Every broadcast and cable marketer saw the opportunity to boost conversation and hopefully ratings. It was an exciting time to be a TV marketer.

The first gathering I attended was terrific, with everything that you want in a meetup. Great presentations. Great people. And snacks! I eagerly signed up for the next one only to show up and be greeted by a sign on the door that the meetup was cancelled. After that I never heard another word until I got an email last June saying the group would be shut down without an organizer.

Damn, I liked that meetup. So I reached out to the one person I know who knows everyone in the social TV universe, Natan Edelsburg of Lost Remote and Sawhorse Media, and said, “Let’s do this.”

Within a couple of weeks we had our first meetup. About 25 people showed up at Sawhorse early on a Thursday morning in July to talk social TV and eat bagels. It was great and Natan and I knew we had stumbled on something special. Nobody shows up at 8am in New York unless they are passionate about a topic and want to connect with others just as enthusiastic.

In August we invited our first guest speaker, Don Steele from Comedy Central. Kelle Rozell from truTV joined us in September, followed by Ryan Osborn of NBC News in October. David Beck from Univision took the hot seat in November and JP Lespinasse from BET finished off 2013.

What was remarkable about all these guests is how candid and insightful they were on the challenges, strategies, tactics and rewards of handling social for a broadcast or cable network. The informal structure of the group allows for a free flowing conversation that has everyone involved and fully engaged.

Social TV has come a long way in a few short years and 2014 will be even bigger. Just this week GetGlue relaunched as tvtag, Yahoo put IntoNow out to pasture and Viggle acquired Dijit. Hold on folks, this year will be interesting.

I posed a few questions to some of our past guests about what mattered in 2013 and what’s ahead for 2014.

1. What was the most important advancement in Social TV for 2013?

RYAN OSBORN (NBC News) To me, 2013 was the year that video producers moved beyond the shiny new toys of platforms and realized that at the core of any “social TV” strategy is good content. No one cares about a hashtag or a GIF if the story and media in its original form is not compelling.

KELLE ROZELL (truTV) Tough question. The Nielsen causal report linking Twitter to driving ratings and ultimately creating a Nielsen Twitter TV Rating. Hopefully these numbers will help with monetization in the near future.

JP LESPINASSE (BET Networks) SEEiT – ability to discover shows/tweets on digital, then take an action that directly affects your TV screen is transformative for #socialtv.

2. What is the biggest challenge when it comes to your brand and Social TV?

RYAN Particularly in news, our brands are built on trust and a promise to our users that we take very seriously. Any social experience that we create meets a very high editorial standard that we are committed to upholding across platforms.

KELLE Getting company-wide support. Education on the value of social is key, but not everyone understands it. Building an infrastructure even down to the Network Operations level has also been a challenge, but all parties are on board to breakdown the firewalls for 2014.

JP Data. Sifting through it, making sense of it, making actionable plans based on it and resourcing. How do you staff social? Where does it live in the firm? How best to ensure it permeates the organization.

3. What do you predict will be a Social TV game changer in 2014?

RYAN The biggest game changer is going to come from TV producers that experiment, but most importantly have the patience to play the long game in a very complex ecosystem. So many producers announce “social TV” products built by outside vendors that don’t scale and are gone by the time you’ve finished reading the press release. I’m most excited when I talk to innovators like the CTO of Zeebox, Anthony Rose, who has a vision for a real platform that aims to become a utility or when I see Comcast’s vision for an initiative like SEEiT. I think those are the initiatives to watch.

KELLE Can I get back to you on this?

JP 2014 – Not sure. I know this though, 14 is mobile’s year to shine and with the vast majority of social happening there – outputs of this shift will impact #socialtv in a meaningful way. Your mobile will be your default credit card, your remote control and has already become the primary recommendation engine. Someone will make a mobile sumthin’ – and it will have HUGE social TV. implications. I’m just not sure what it’ll be…yet.

Tomorrow, we kick off 2014 with Jenny McCoy from IFC. It starts early, but the bagels are fresh and the coffee is hot. Join us!

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