NEW THING #21:
LISTENING TO NEW MUSIC
Obviously, there is a lot of benefits of listening to music. Let’s just name the few:
- Music releases dopamine (the “feel good” substance).
- Lowers cortisol levels (the stress hormone).
- Even eases insomnia.
But let’s be honest, when it comes to music we like what we already kinda know. So we always end up listening to a pretty similar type of tunes. We somehow “forget” that there’s new music we haven’t tried before.
Why do we like listening to the same songs?
Here are the facts:
- 90 percent of the music we listen to is things we've heard before. Repetition makes us feel more connected to the music. It's called the mere exposure effect - we naturally prefer things that we are familiar with.
- We stop discovering new music at just 30 and a half.
Well, it seems like we are kind of missing out, aren't we?
The challenge:
So I decided to challenge myself and my fellow "tryers" to listen to new music for a week. And I'm not talking about the latest hits, but the genres we haven’t tried before. I'm craving to listen to the unheard songs for the first time. Do you feel it too? Are you in?
Usually, my heavy rotation is Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, and a tiny bit of electronic music for sports and fun. I also like Binaural beats, nature sounds, or Shamanic Drums for work and relaxation.
But as I'm writing these words, I'm shaking my booty to some good old ROCKABILLY that I don't usually listen to.
My idea was to try a different genre /style /artist every day this week. So I asked my Instagram followers for help, and oh boy, they delivered!
New songs to listen to:
So here's the list that I listened so you can enjoy it as well. You can also find all the recommendations in my Stories on Instagram.
Genres
- Serbian Folk
- Korean rap
- Turkish love songs
- Indie Alt Rock
- Modern Jazz
Artists
- Joan Jett
- Natural Child
- RuthAnne
- Toro y Moi
- Sampha
- Låpsley
- Rhye
- Jai Paul
Songs
- Egines magissa gia me (syrtos)
- Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Part performed by NYC Ballet New Beginnings
- RX Y Dawn, Salt, Hold Me Love, & Bound
+ Other:
- „Discover weekly” on Spotify
Let's sum it up.
This is what I've learned after a week of listening only to new songs:
- 1Naturally, I've found amazing artists & songs that I haven't heard of before. Duh!
- 2I realized how amazing it is to listen to the sounds that are not familiar. Waiting for the songs to build up and evaluating whether I like them, made me more mindful while listening. And this totally makes sense as scientists found out that not only the experience of listening to music increases the dopamine but also the anticipation.
- 3I found listening to the songs suggested by someone else quite a bonding experience. I felt like I was learning something personal about my Instagram friends. Some of the recommendations were followed by further discussions, explanations, and laughs. And I enjoyed it a lot.
- 4I also gave Spotify's "Discover weekly" & "Tastebreakers" a try. These are places where they suggest the playlists that you may like based on what you previously liked listening to. And believe me, their algorithm is quite good.
- 5I've learned to approach music without any preconceived opinions. Without anticipating whether it's going to be good, ambitious, or even something I may like. I listened to everything I was suggested. And only then I judged whether I liked it or not. It was a really cool experience, as often I was surprised by the tunes I enjoyed listening to.
Was it worth it?
Oh, yes! I'm glad I tried listening to songs I haven't tried before, and I recommend you to try it. It's a super simple way to try something new and maybe learn something about yourself.
And as always let me know while you do!
PS. Any further suggestions?
Pls, help me broaden my musical horizons — the further from my regular favorites the better.