Thursday, 1 August 2024

What kind of music is "Pumpkin Spice", for pete's sake???

I have come to the conclusion that Spotify just makes stuff up. 

During elder daughter's last Christmas visit, she introduced me to Spotify's "Day Lists" (as opposed to "playlists" - naturally, it took me some time to pick that up).

They're often pretty nifty, based on rather random themes.  Some are simply wonderful mixtures of unusual folk-tunes, or bracing Broadway musicals, or soaring choral works, or really strange and spooky selections. 

I don't mind; it's the kind of music experience I'm looking for, in other words:  new to me, but listenable.  They often send me what they call "medieval music".  It's usually early Renaissance mixed in with Celtic folk.  As I said, they just make stuff up.

I get waaaay too many "day lists" with "Laurel Canyon" as a theme word, though.  Don't mind that type of music, but I've heard most of it, so I'm battling the algorithms again, by listening to the more-off-the-wall things in self defense.

However, what am I supposed to think when I turn on the Spotify app and am informed:  You listened to modern rock and pumpkin spice on Fridays in the afternoon.  Here's some:  father's day, labour day, jangle, heartland rock, and college.  

This was in July, by the way.  

Is it AI - or is it because Spotify is Swedish? (I think it's because they're Swedish.  I had one or two Swedes as students in my teaching days.  They were delightful enigmas.)

And then Spotify kept offering me "goblincore".  What the hell is goblincore?  A Google search seems to lead mostly to Reddit discussions.  They're not sure, either.  The playlist, which I saved, changes from day to day, and seems to be indie folk, with the occasional bit of jazz, classical music, and even British pop from the sixties.

I mean, it's fine, but what on earth, Spotify?

I'm not sure if the following video answers the goblincore question - I gather it's a spoof on "Cottagecore", something I don't quite get either, never having had a cottage - although this song may explain how people in Ottawa obtain their cottages....
   

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