Related Recs

🎶

Breaking free from spotify

i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and it’s enshittification), i realized i wasn’t even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like. breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! i’m borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isn’t being tracked by Spotify and i own what’s in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when i’m out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.

@salad_valet

Jan 16, 2025

🎵

BUY AN IPOD NANO ON EBAY

I’m determined to use my phone about 90% less in the new year. I’ve replaced IG with Pi.Fyi & now I’m using an ipod for all of my music!!! There’s something so sacred about the process of curating the music that actually takes so much time. You have to buy or download the music (which, buying on itunes has felt like a supportive option for the musicians I admire. $10 bucks for one of my favorite albums. down.) Then you drag it onto your ipod. Watch the “Synchronizing” wheel on your ipod. Eject the Ipod. Go to Cover Flow to see your albums lined up. It’s amazing, and it requires effort and time. Versus on spotify, you just press the plus button and pay the monthly 9.99. Its so wild. What music do I actually like/need to get through my days? I’ve let the machine of algorithms and apps decide. I literally was stumped trying to think of what music I HAD to have. I want my life to feel more intentional in every way. I want to be extremely present. But, that can feel like so much pressure and overwhelming. This is such a fun refreshing start. GO GET ONE!!! 🎵🎶🎧

@courtnipoe

Dec 4, 2024

🎶

return to itunes

gonna echo some other folks by saying local file storage is the best. you can go the soulseek or bandcamp route, but I'm also an advocate for ripping from soundcloud and other sites when necessary. having files to work with gives you so much more control over your library in terms of where you source music from (streaming platform exclusivity is the worst), how you sort it (METADATA RULES LET ME CHANGE THEM ID3S BAYBEE), and how you consume it. my system is a master itunes library that i've maintained for like 15 years now that I prune every so often as my tastes change and I offload things I don't listen to anymore. I also don't have access to all of it all the time since I only sync certain playlists to my phone, which forces me to self curate and decide what to add to my library, what to sync and take with me for daily listening, and what to delete. I love moments where I can sit down, cash out on a bandcamp cart, arrange them in my library by genre and decade and such, and then serve it up for shuffling in the car later. music consumption was at its peak when libraries were like spreadsheets, the only trappings i want with my music is itunes visualizer (RIP 😢)

@royallmonarch

Jul 30, 2024

Top Recs from @salad_valet

💸

The anti-capitalist nature of pi.fyi

i’ve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and there’s genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i haven’t felt online in at least a decade. but i think what’s undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i don’t feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs i’ve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things). all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.

@salad_valet

Feb 7, 2025

🛒

Quitting amazon

hear me out—this one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after. i did some serious reflection and realized i’d become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing i’d have it within a day. that’s not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases. i’m aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i don’t have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything. in contrast, i’m becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we don’t need to own it all, we have each other. interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.

@salad_valet

Jan 22, 2025

🎶

Breaking free from spotify

i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and it’s enshittification), i realized i wasn’t even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like. breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! i’m borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isn’t being tracked by Spotify and i own what’s in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when i’m out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.

@salad_valet

Jan 16, 2025