Stereo Love

So. Spotify.


I've had it for about three days now and I love it, for a few reasons.

1. I don't have iTunes on this computer. Since it is/was my school computer, I tried to put as few extraneous programs as possible on it since I was always going to be using it for class/exams. This meant no readily-accessible 15+ gigs of music for listening. Pandora was a nice fix and I still do love BBC Radio 1, but there's something about creating/modifying music playlists that is equally parts calming and productive-procrastination.
2. It has most of the music I want. All those Backstreet Boys songs I've been wanting to listen to? BAM! Every album released? That really obscure French dance track that gets stuck in my head all the time? BAM! "Alors On Danse". Beyonce's most recent album, so I don't have to listen to Youtube tracks/download it? BAM! Right there, on new releases. Nearly all music at my fingertips.
1. I say "nearly" because there are two things that I really want to listen to that aren't on Spotify: the Deathly Hallows Part 2 soundtrack ("Lily's Theme" and "Courtyard Apocalypse" kill me) and Adele's "21". I'm assuming that this is due to the record companies not wanting to release them yet and am hopeful they will be added soon. (Of course, "Rolling in the Deep" is available and I still love that song, but it's almost the dictionary definition of overplayed at this point.)
3. Seeing what's popular in other countries. I love that I can see and listen to what people are listening to in the UK and France.
4. Sharing songs. Since I figured out how to add users to my friends list WITHOUT connecting to Facebook, I've been obsessed with sharing songs with others. Lil' Sis has promised some revenge since I bombarded her inbox today with Shakira, Ellie Goulding, and Alexis Jordan.
5. There's the possibility that I can put this music on my phone. I haven't properly investigated this yet, but if I could have this on my phone instead of the limiting Pandora (only SIX skips an hour allowed?; then stop suggesting so much Black Eyed Peas for me) or the not-always-reliable-signal BBC Radio, I would be a much happier person. Running is so much harder when I'm constantly messing with my phone.
6. The whole "cloud" concept. I know Apple has been working on this and Amazon was pushing their service with the 99-cent Gaga promo, but I love that I can have all this music organized into playlists, just like I want, and I can access it from any computer I want just by downloading the program and then logging in. The music isn't actually *on* the computer taking up hard drive space but I can still listen to whatever I want.

So, if you would like to try this out, I would suggest signing up here: Coke promo.  From what I can tell, you can use the service free for 6 months - maybe? I've read conflicting articles about whether you have to pay after 6 months or not. If you do want to pay now though, you apparently get less ads and more features.

But, if you do join, let me know your username so that I can inundate your Spotify inbox with all the amazing music I am currently listening to. (Spoiler alert - most of it is British.)