Crowdsourced Music

I tend to be something of an obsessive, musically. When I like an album, I'll listen to it on repeat, sometimes for days and to the exclusion of all else. Lately, I've tended to go round the same albums or artists (Metallica, The Gaslight Anthem, Dolly Parton, Karine Polwart) but sometimes overlistening deadens the efficacy of the transformational effect on my brain, and it just doesn't do what I need it to do any more.

I've put the call out for recommendations on twitter a few times, and always got some interesting stuff in response. It's not always to my taste, but I do try and listen to each recommendation at least once, just to give it a chance.

At the tail end of last week I was in serious need of some bounce and so put the call out for recommendations again, but this time round, through the magic of spotify, I was able to make a collaborative playlist, which I could then share.

What I loved the most was that the majority of the music recommended wasn't stuff I'd have chosen myself, but all of it worked - even the inclusion of the West Side Story Soundtrack! I turned up the volume, danced around the house like an idiot and got more stuff done than I would have otherwise. It seemed to work for some other twitter folk too, which just adds to the fun.

So if you're in need of some bounce, give the Twitter Bounce Mix a go, and if you feel like it, add some tracks. If you can't get a spotify account, I'm sorry, but if you're feeling brave enough, you could try my last.fm library radio.

If you have your own collaborative playlist, post a link to it in the comments - I'm bound to wear out this playlist soon enough, and I'll be wanting something new.