time_capsule_unpacked.mp3
MC #23 | Spotify outage, go-through my old portable music devices
Hi there,
When Spotify suddenly logged me out last week, my first thought was that someone hacked my account. Then, when I found out that it was a global outage, first I became relieved and then anxiety kicked in. I realized that in recent years I became almost fully dependent on streaming services as my source of music. I began to wonder if I still have my old portable music devices, what was on them, and if I could still use them 🤔💭🎶.
Going through the stuff that I haven't touched in a while was a time-traveling experience. Seeing my first-ever walkman made my eyes water a bit 🥲. It was surprisingly easy to recall most of my fave cassettes from elementary school times. Jumping from one genre to another was my thing since the beginning. For example, after listening to punk rock and Green Day’s “Dookie” (stolen from my older brother) I usually switched to pop and Cher’s “Believe”.
The same applies to my discman times when Justin Timberlake’s “Justified” was a prelude to Linkin Park’s “Meteora”, which was a prelude to 50 Cent’s “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’”… Back in the early ’00s, I’ve been constantly stealing CDs of Santana, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, or Metallica from my dad and brother 💿. That deeply influenced my music taste, and I’m really grateful to have such fine memories.
I remember the excitement of recording my first mixtapes on cassettes and CDs. Boy, oh boy how powerful and creative I’ve been feeling back then, making mixes as gifts on every possible occasion. Since my youngest years, I’ve been terrorizing my family and friends with music that they MUST listen to 😅. Luckily, I always had awesome people around, and very often we’ve been exchanging sounds, inspiring and stimulating each other.
It would be great if you decide to share some of your music memories with me. Do you remember your first cassette, CD or music device? Let me know.
Sticking to the one specific music genre wasn’t ever my thing. I think what I love the most about the world of music is the variety of sounds and styles that it offers. Since I remember, the constant need for exploring what’s out there has gotten a huge hold on me. Life’s too short not to do so, right?
What I’ve been most excited to do last week, was to unpack the musical time capsules in form of my old mp3 players 🤩. Sadly, the first of them, my beloved SanDisk was totally wiped out…
…But happily, another one was full of music that I’ve been listening to back in 2010/ 2011 and later. What a wild pleasure it was to rediscover this younger version of myself using music, and recall long-forgotten sounds of dubstep, garage rock, folk-rock, electronic, rave, and many others.
For today’s playlist, I’ve selected some of the musical gems that I’ve come across browsing my old Pentagram Eon Cineo music player. It was so cool to rediscover the same songs that were stuck on repeat in my headphones over 10 years ago.
Links to the Midweek Crisis #23rd playlist:
Open on Spotify | Open on YouTube
And here’s a shortlist of what you can expect:
▶️ Miles_Kane_-_Come_Closer.mp3
Tony Montana’s, British doppelganger - Miles Kane conquered my heart a couple of years ago with this song. Hypnotizing drum beat and deep bass makes it feel like rock and roll with a twist. It’s an absolutely addictive, fiery energetic record 🔥.
▶️ Phonat_-_Ghetto_Burnin.mp3
Coo coo crazy vibe! 🎢 It’s loud, noisy, and packed with energy. See this collage-driven, geometric music video. It deepens the trippy, overall effect of this song.
Open on Spotify
*Check out the Mmmathias Mix of this song!
▶️ The_Prodigy_-_Omen.mp3
“Omen” is my absolute #1 song by The Prodigy. It’s a weird, spooky, and energetic piece of rave ⚡️🤘✨. I can’t believe this timeless, bonkers banger is over 10 years old! You may not know this, but the group has announced that they will return later this year for the first UK live shows since the death of their leader - Keith Flint in 2019.
▶️ The_Gossip_-_Standing_In_The_Way_Of_Control.mp3
Somehow I totally forgot how good this song is! Beth Ditto’s voice power is absolutely striking ⚡️. I think she could sing a receipt and make it sound a-m-a-z-i-n-g! It’s a bloody brilliant, stuck-on-repeat kind of tune.
▶️ Twin_Shadow_-_Castles_In_The_Snow.mp3
10 years later this song is still rad! Smooth vocals, haunting choruses, subtle guitar sounds, vibrating synths, and drum machines - it has it all. This vintage, dreamy vibe takes you back in time.
▶️ Lykke_Li_-_Dance_Dance_Dance.mp3
For me, it’s one of the most beautiful songs about the feeling dancing gives you that was ever made. I love how therapeutic dancing is. The lyrics resonate with me on multiple levels. Lykke Li’s innocent, sweet voice in combination with a cheerful, simple tune gets me every time.
▶️ Mase_-_Feel_So_Good.mp3
What a banger that was and still is! This sick beat was a ringtone of mine for a couple of years back in the early 00s. Mase is for me one of the best rappers of all time. It’s like he’s unable to make a bad track. His music was always smooth and chill. Every single song of his still sounds dope! Don’t you agree?
▶️ Modestep_-_Sunlight.mp3
I was a huge dubstep fan back in 2011. The noisy, disturbing, computer-ish sounds with glitchy drums and dark reverbs made me super pumped out ⚡️. I don’t know why I stopped listening to this kind of music. It turns out that I still enjoy it a lot!
*I recall that Cragga’s dubstep remix of famous The Ronette’s song “Mr Postman” was also on my private top list. For some people it could be kind of musically heretic… but I just love it!
▶️ Avicii_&_Sebastien_Drums_-_My_Feelings_For_You.mp3
This is one of my favorite electro tracks to this day! Avicii was an awesome musician. Almost every song he’s made was a huge hit. I still haven’t processed his tragic death that happened in 2018. The music world lost a true gem that year...
▶️ Mumford_&_Sons_-_Little_Lion_Man.mp3
Damn, this one still gives me chills. I adore everything about this song. The fast-paced, sonically dense instrumentation, strong vocals, and resonant lyrics. If you enjoy folk-rock sounds, give your ears some pleasure and listen to the whole “Sigh No More” album from 2009.
*“Hold On To What You Believe” is my other fave by Mumford & Sons. You should give it a listen, I think.
▶️ The_Black_Keys_-_Next_Girl.mp3
I remember the day when I first heard this song in 2011… Gosh, what a pleasant mixture of feelings it evoked in me… Almost instantly I got goosebumps and fell in love with this band. Garage/blues-rock became ones of my favorite music flavors of all time. I’m still crazy about The Black Keys duo, and I just cannot be bored with their music. Most of their discography makes me sway my hips and dance around the room 💃.
▶️ The_Stone_Roses_-_Love_Spreads.mp3
I have absolutely no doubt that this song has one of the sexiest guitar riffs in the whole history of music 🔥🎸🎶. Ever since I discovered this song I’ve uploaded it on every single one of my music devices. I was devastated when I found out that the band’s frontman - Ian Brown is an anti-vaxxer…
▶️ Nine_Inch_Nails_-_The_Hand_That_Feeds.mp3
I feel like this one just never gets old. It’s so catchy and intense! What’s awesome about NIN’s music is that it's almost impossible to put it into genre frames. How can you distinguish if it’s rock, EDM, electronic, pop?
There are many many more bangers hidden on the 23rd MC’s playlist 🔥🎧.
Hear for yourself:
Open on Spotify | Open on YouTube
Have a great listening session and enjoy your day.
Yours,
Stygi
Lastly, I have exciting news to share: You can now read Midweek Crisis in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.
Amazing returns. My memories go back to my youth. I needed that. I remembered bands such as Iron Butterfly with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, King Crimson with Epitaph, Jethro Tull with the Aqalung album and other bands of my youth. Until a tear spins in the eye.
You made me a lot of fun. Keep it up
Slava Ukraine
Oh...and I definitely need to consider alternate streaming services - I am way too reliant on Spotify right now...way too much!