Thoughts that are too long for mastodon

20240515. Using an iPod made me reconsider how I listen to music.
Some months ago I got the idea to restore an iPod classic with new battery and additional storage.
I had forgotten how limiting a dedicated music player is in difference to a streaming service like Apple Muisc or Spotify.
On a streaming service you have all the music you can possibly imagine. On the iPod I modded I only have what I can think of adding, both have advantages.
The algorithm has made me discover a lot of new and interesting music I would never have considered otherwise.
But the also algorithm has a tendency to give me more of the same. Here the iPod in difference despite it only being what I add to it plays a lot of different genres everything from K-pop to Metal.
Without having an endless array of curated playlists and recommendations to my disposal I have started finding my recommendations from what other people recommend online and from blogs (Shout out to Angry metal guy) I enjoy curating which albums I save on Apple music and finding new things through the algorithm as I mentioned above but what I don't like is the fickleness of it all. I don't "own" this music and it can be removed at any time, whereas my cds and vinyls are my own and I can listen to them how many times I want. I have experienced this a few times with some niche music that one day was just gone. This was what made me start collecting certain albums as CDs so I'd always have them available to me. Anyway to sum it up the iPod has made me enjoy picking carefully what I want to listen to instead of starting a song and letting the algorithm (good as it may be) pick what comes next. Not that I was much of someone that listens to playlists, I have always leaned towards listening to an album from start to finish. And being able to flip through the cd booklet is an additional plus. It is by no means an Audiophile's player as it can't play FLAC files but the iPod classic 5.5 has amassed a reputation of having a very good DAC. I can't claim I can hear the difference of it but the sound is nice and clear in my opinion. It reminds me a bit of the video rental stores vs movie streaming. Having to pick a movie and if it was bad or not you watched it because it was the movie you rented, now if a netflix show or movie bores me I just stop watching it. Music streaming and movie streaming has med me always being on the hunt for something new to listen or watch that fulfills me (in lack of a better term) instead of picking an album I heard someone recommend and listen to and enjoy. It's hard to explain it without it becoming a bit of a ramble but I enjoy the limitation the iPod gives me and the distraction free listening it provides. It has one job it does well, not like my phone that has many uses. Don't get me wrong I won't cancel my Apple music subscription anytime soon I still find a lot of good stuff on there but now I won't download playlists to offline mode when I travel, instead I'll bring my iPod.
Songs I'm thinking about

• Wataridori - Alexandros
• Woodland Rites - Green lung

20240620. Thinking and stuff..
I have been thinking of loneliness lately. About my 96 year old grandfather, he is still as clear as can be for almost a 100.
The world he grew up in and knew doesn't exist anymore. The people and places he has seen don't exist or if they do they are vastly changed. If it wasn't for my occasional visits and other family members he would be lonely.
And in a way he is we only know him as our grandfather for me he has always been old and strict. The person he was in his youth is someone I never knew for me he has always been this.
But to himself it has probably been a journey and gradual change. It's a different kind of loneliness being only seen that way and with our context. We will never experience him as he once was.
I'm a bit lonely myself.