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I’ve noticed that there are certain seemingly-esoteric songs that many people are assigned, and subsequently feel let down upon realizing that they’re (currentl

I’ve noticed that there are certain seemingly-esoteric songs that many people are assigned, and subsequently feel let down upon realizing that they’re (currently) common assignations. It wasn’t because the algorithms recognized their excellent personal taste. “Didn’t I” by Darondo seems to be a good example of this. A fantastic, forgotten soul song (and from the Bay Area!) that was assumed to be a recognition of my friend’s unique taste in his car... until the other four people inside revealed they’d all had it in the last two weeks, too. It makes me wonder about the motivations. Did the IP for this song recently change hands? (I still get the shivers recalling the month when people kept gleefully playing me “Temporary Secretary” by Paul McCartney; a new discovery from their Discover Playlists. I could have marched to Stockholm to strangle a data scientist.)

cr1895 9y ago
>“Didn’t I” by Darondo seems to be a good example of this. A fantastic, forgotten soul song (and from the Bay Area!) that was assumed to be a recognition of my friend’s unique taste in his car... until the other four people inside revealed they’d all had it in the last two weeks, too. It could be popularized by DJs who are playing it, e.g. Four Tet, whose personal playlist on Spotify now has close to 39 thousand followers. At least in that case specifically, I doubt it's due to distribution rights. There are no new releases indicated on Discogs, which seems likely if someone new acquired them.
- chrissnell 9y ago
  It was also used in “Breaking Bad”, in the scene where Walter sets “Ken Wins” BMW on fire. Thomas Golubić was the music supervisor for BB and Better Call Saul and these shows’ playlists make superb additions for Spotify listening, in my opinion. They’re chock-full of great discoveries like Darondo. It doesn’t surprise me that “Didn't I” comes up in many playlists, but it does surprise me that the other great songs on that album don’t get worked into Spotify stations. This is a great example of their algorithmic problems.
  - confounded 9y ago
    Good context, thanks both!
driverdan 9y ago
> subsequently feel let down upon realizing that they’re (currently) common assignations This is a really foreign concept to me. Why would you be let down because other people listen to the same song?

cr1895 9y ago

>“Didn’t I” by Darondo seems to be a good example of this. A fantastic, forgotten soul song (and from the Bay Area!) that was assumed to be a recognition of my friend’s unique taste in his car... until the other four people inside revealed they’d all had it in the last two weeks, too. It could be popularized by DJs who are playing it, e.g. Four Tet, whose personal playlist on Spotify now has close to 39 thousand followers. At least in that case specifically, I doubt it's due to distribution rights. There are no new releases indicated on Discogs, which seems likely if someone new acquired them.

chrissnell 9y ago
It was also used in “Breaking Bad”, in the scene where Walter sets “Ken Wins” BMW on fire. Thomas Golubić was the music supervisor for BB and Better Call Saul and these shows’ playlists make superb additions for Spotify listening, in my opinion. They’re chock-full of great discoveries like Darondo. It doesn’t surprise me that “Didn't I” comes up in many playlists, but it does surprise me that the other great songs on that album don’t get worked into Spotify stations. This is a great example of their algorithmic problems.
- confounded 9y ago
  Good context, thanks both!

driverdan 9y ago

> subsequently feel let down upon realizing that they’re (currently) common assignations This is a really foreign concept to me. Why would you be let down because other people listen to the same song?