When I lived in NYC in my early 20s, I would often go to Other Music, the venerable and now out of business record store in NoHo.

I would browse the CDs and vinyls in the “recommended picks” section. I still have many of these CDs and records, and their cover art is etched in my visual memory.

I can’t say the same for any of the 1644 artists I listen to on Spotify last year.

We go through music (and other media) like water. It’s a background tapestry to our workouts, workdays, and dinner parties.

Endless streaming means an all you can eat buffet, and auto recommendations means you don’t have to worry about what to play.

Abundance is so convenient. But I think it leaves us craving scarcity.

Physical media you can touch. Live performances. Human curation via DJ sets IRL and on the radio. And yes, NFTs.