I don’t know about you guys, but I held on to my iPod Classic for as long as possible. An ex-boyfriend gave me a 160gb 7th Generation for Christmas once because my nano ran out of space a year after I bought it.
I’m a music addict, so the notion of having 40,000 songs bouncing around in my brain was, and still is, super exciting. But when classes are in session, the only time I get to shove earbuds in and turn on the neon sign that says, “Leave Me the Eff Alone” on my forehead is when I’m on the bus or at the gym.
I have a no-texting policy when I work out, so my iPod was the perfect get-pumped companion. That is until years of boob sweat (hey, that’s the ideal place to put it) made it completely unreliable.
I grew wary of warming up on the track and finding my iPod near death because it had decided to play since my last gym visit, even though I thought turned it off.
So I gave in. I subscribed to Google Play and began using my Samsung Galaxy S4 as nature had intended: for everything.
Google Play is pretty sweet when you look at all its accompanying perks, and it costs the same as Spotify. But I’m not here to talk about either of those, nor Pandora, nor Rdio.
I want to tell all of you about a genius music streaming service that came out in 2011: Songza. Cue the angel choir.
Songza’s tagline is “Listen to music curated by music experts,” which is slightly pretentious in all the right ways. It's organized by activity, mood, decade or genre and has any and all songs you’d want to listen to.
It’s the only music streaming service that comes close to providing a soundtrack for your life. It’s also a great way to discover new music – purposefully or accidentally – since you can choose a playlist featuring artists you already love or one that simultaneously fits a certain mood and activity.
Here’s how it works:
It’s Wednesday afternoon. Pick an activity:
- Working in an Office (SFW)
- Boosting Your Energy
- Working (No Lyrics)
Although those are just the featured ones, you can pick anything from “Ballroom Dancing” to “Housework” to “Waking Up on the Right Side of the Bed.”
If you pick “Working in an Office,” you can then choose what genre or energy you prefer. There’s everything from “Indie Music that’s Not Too Weird” to “Not Too Soon: ‘00s Nostalgia.” You get exactly what you want.
Songza is the ultimate pleaser for music freaks like myself or whoever else enjoys passively listening to combined beats and melodies without knowing anything about them.
Also, Google recently announced its plan to acquire Songza in July, which doesn’t indicate any changes to the content or function of the service -- only that the future will be filled with really good music.
You should try it. You should tell your friends to try it. Trust me, you'll love it.
