# Can you help me use Spotify? Because ughh... :( **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117 "2017-11-30T03:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/1 "2017-11-30T03:40:14Z")
I have Spotify and on occasion I listen to it for an hour or two and then get frustrated and just quite for a while. Days? Weeks? I signed up primarily to discover new music. There _is_ a ton of good music on Spotify that is easy to find but I’m not interested in that as if it’s any good and I know about it then I own it already. So, in my search for new music I end up picking some stream that sounds like something I might be interested in and after a while I just can’t take it. It’s just so bad. The music sucks. Bland, boring, derivative crap. Song after song. So I pick a different stream. And another. And another… nothing. There are a lot of streams, so maybe I don’t know how to find the stream that’s right for me? Here are the most recent song additions to my listening rotation and some others that pinpoint the direction I want to go in: Age of Consent - Colours Brian Jonestown Massacre - Anemone Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener Eels - Fresh Blood Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Girls - Carolina The Flaming Lips, Stardeath and White Dwarfs - Borderline Ryan Adams - Everybody knows Sebadoh - Tree TV On The Radio - Province Anna Von Hausswolff - Singing From The Grave Apparat - Goodbye Low - Witches Mark Ronson - Bang Bang Bang Moon Duo - Sleepwalker Mothxr - Easy Panama - Destroyer Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile Arcade Fire - Sprawl II Beach House - Master Of None Beta Band - It’s Not Too Beautiful Billy Bragg & Wilco - California Stars Black Angels - Young Men Dead Perfume Genius - Queen Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill Sol Seppy - Enter One Washed Out - Feel It All Around Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -Fault Line Bon Iver - Holocene Calexico - All Systems Red Cary Ann Hearst - Hell’s Bells Darwin Deez - Constellations Delta Spirit - Salt In The Wound King Of Leon - Knocked Up The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio World Party - It’s All Mine Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion 13 & God - Perfect SpeedPixies - Where Is My Mind PJ Harvey - Down By The Water Paloma Faith - Only Love Can Hurt Like This Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot Tricky - Abbaon Fat Tracks Little Dragon - Twice Low - Broadway Grant Lee Buffalo - Jupiter And Teardrop Infusion - Meant To Be Rah Bras - Monde Sewer Cholera Net Raveonettes - Aly, Walk With Me Robert Pollard - Sea Of Dead Rubyhorse - Fell On Bad Days The Lumineers - Ho Hey MGMT - Time To Pretend Viva Voce - Business Casual Wild Belle - Keep You Radar Bros. - The River Shade Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice FC Kahuna - Hayling Folk Implosion - Brand Of Skin Gazelle Twin - Anti Body Simple Kid - Seratonin Stereophonics - I Miss You Now Tarwater - Across The Dial Tiga - Plush Given my tastes, what Spotify stream(s) do you recommend? Thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/2 "2017-11-30T05:51:03Z")
I assume you tried the Indie Genre radio station. Of the 15 songs that loaded immediately for me on the playlist, I see Father John Misty, Beach House, and Courtney Barnett as artists you mentioned. You can also try Artist Radio, accessed from the “…” button on the artist’s page. For example, when I just went to Low’s radio station (chosen because you list two of their songs), it played songs by (in order) Low, Yo La Tengo, Slowdive, Grandaddy, Low, My Bloody Valentine, Broadcast, Songs: Ohia, Slowdive, Yo La Tengo, Low, Have a Nice Life, Slint, Galaxie 500, and Low. Naturally, those results won’t be as diverse as your list, so you may need to switch up the results. Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, and Stereogum all have user accounts with their own curated playlists – some of them (e.g., Pitchfork’s Best New Music) might pique your interest. Also, if you add the songs/albums you like to your library, Spotify’s Discover Weekly and Your Daily Mix will (theoretically) have interesting stuff in there – if not new, at least maybe new to you. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/3 "2017-12-01T02:39:53Z")
That’s awesome, thanks for your suggestions. I will take your advice and check out the options you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/4 "2017-12-01T08:51:48Z")
I find you have to babysit Spotify quite a lot, and keep steering it towards music you like. Otherwise it will either play the same songs over and over, or inexorably slide towards crap. Maybe if you use it enough its algorithm will pick up on the kind of things you like. I thought that’s the theory anyway, but it seems to be a slow learner. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/5 "2017-12-01T15:03:42Z")
I’m an album rather than playlist listener generally, but I’ve found the Related Artists feature can lead to some interesting new stuff. Also, the Browse tab has a Discover page, which will feature recommendations and new releases that it thinks you’ll like. I’ve definitely found some good stuff from there, but I’ve got a few years of regular listening to train it in what I like. Combining that with the Artist Radio thing might get you some good stuff, especially if you vote up or down the stuff you hear on it. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/6 "2017-12-01T18:28:57Z")
I was just about to suggest the Discover Weekly playlist. This week i found 4 new (to me) artists that i like. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-use-spotify-because-ughh/803117/7 "2017-12-01T20:04:22Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > I was just about to suggest the Discover Weekly playlist. This week i found 4 new (to me) artists that i like. I try to my Discover Weekly playlist every week as well. I’ve found lots of new, interesting music and artists that way.