Answered Prayers

If you recall, my Zune MP3 player and software were killed off by Zune – Xbox Music – Groove back in December. It was a trying time for me. I loved having over 4,200 songs available on a device the size of an average smart phone. It was portable and didn’t require WiFi or eat up my data plan. We tailgated together. We traveled together. Gretchen II provided music in the yard and around the house. I grew close to having her always near me.

So my friend Melissa and her daughter donated Maddie’s iPod to me. And of course, I have difficulty with Apple products and the iTunes software can be a major splintery flag pole up the rectum. I have renamed it Gretchen III and she’s working fine for me.

But that did not stop my search for something more to my liking. Something that fits my needs better. I found Spotify when I was adding UFO and Thin Lizzy songs to my friend Cara’s playlist.

It was doing what I wanted and more! It was difficult to contain my giddiness!

So after I got home I started investigating Spotify further. And BOOM!

Spotify was what I was looking for!

For the record, Pandora was a highly irritating experience. It kept playing songs by artists that I was giving the thumbs down to. I mean, what the hell?!

There are new releases on Spotify and so far the majority of my weekly pulls from my compact disc library have been available. I continue my weekly exploration into artists that I’ve been too broke to investigate with the purchase of a compact disc.

Music is just as important as television to me. And losing Gretchen II and her abilities put me into a funk. Gretchen III will remain in service when there’s no WiFi or data available, but I’m digging Spotify.

I listen at work on my phone. And I purchased a Fire tablet from Amazon to use as my “MP3 player”. I just don’t want my phone tied up with my tunes. The constant alerts interrupt the flow of music when you use the Bluetooth.

And Chigger finds the tablet quite usual when I’m not using it to stream Spotify.

I’ve started a good portion of playlists… Random Play Exploration, WEBS (My Rock Radio Station), Top 40 Hits (current and past Billboard Top 40 Singles), Big House Mix (tunes that won’t baffle friends and family at the new house), Xmas Treats (because I listen to Christmas tunes year round even though I don’t care for the holiday), Under The Radar Goodness, No Lyrics Necessary (instrumentals), Experience “Live”, The Non-Conformist Cult Radio (like but not quite like my old college radio show), and Acoustic Organics.

So feel free to look me up by Facebook profile and give any and all of my lists a listen. I’m following a lot of friends and enjoying their playlists too!

My Random Play Exploration will maintain about 5,000 songs, but the rest will be limited to 500. I will constantly be rotating the stock on those shorter playlists.

Since discovering Spotify, I’m enjoying a wide variety of music again. I’m monitoring album and singles charts to keep in touch with what’s currently going on in the world of music. I’m checking out new releases from old and new artists. I’m happy. I’m pleased. My nipples are so hard that you can cut a glass with them.

And best of all… Listening to Spotify is free with the occasional commercial interruptions. The commercials aren’t that big of a deal to me.

My friend Molly from Raleigh insists that I need to upgrade and pay for the premium. I may eventually. I’m saving my free trial for an important date of commercial free music.

So give Eugene B Sims a follow on Spotify and I’ll follow right back.

It appears that I may not be plopping down $350 for an Apple iPod and $15 bucks a month for a subscription to Apple Music. The savings and NOT dealing with Apple software certainly put a smile on my face.