Oblique Strategies for Spotify
- Oblique Strategies for Spotify I: Can an algorithm curate? Choose 4-6 albums for a playlist (or use mine) and shuffle play. Imagine that the randomness is not random. Pay particular attention to transitions. If the algorithm was making you a carefully assembled mix tape, what would it be trying to communicate? When uncanny moments arise: is it evidence of a budding musical intelligence – or meaning that you’re interpreting from noise?
- Oblique Strategies for Spotify II: Create a playlist with one song. From the list of “Recommended Songs” Spotify generates, choose your favourite and add it to the playlist; refresh if necessary. Repeat until the playlist feels done. Try it again with another, very different song.
- Oblique Strategies for Spotify III: Ensure that autoplay is turned on in your preferences. Choose a song to start a new playlist off and listen to it through to the end. Once autoplay takes over, add the songs that you like to the playlist. Find the active within the passive.
- Oblique Strategies for Spotify IV: Modelling the musical omnivore: create a playlist of about 10-12 songs, without repeating (sub)genres if possible. I.e. eclectic but still representative of your tastes. Select “create a similar playlist” from the playlist options – what does Spotify do with your attempt to defy classification?
- Oblique Strategies for Spotify V: With autoplay turned on, start a playlist with one song of your choosing. Create a poem from the song titles that Spotify supplies you with through autoplay. Feel free to combine mutiple titles into one line and punctuate as you like, but be strict about using every song. Poem examplar here.
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