There is so much music to listen to. So much choice. It can be overwhelming sometimes. With just as much music released today as in the whole year of 1989, it’s no wonder decision paralysis is overwhelming the joy of music discovery for some people. If you’re one of those people, here’s why handing over the aux to someone else eases up the strain on your brain. 

Just pick a song already!

Some say we’re living in the ‘age of distraction’ or, as I like to call it, the ‘hot-desk-mess-meme-fever-dream’. Where there is so much choice, that a simple experiment about jam proves it’s paradoxically harder than ever to choose what we want. What’s worse is that all this choice can make things feel meaningless.

On his blog, k-punk (2003–2017), the brilliant Mark Fisher wrote about the flattening of experience thanks to the internet: everything is available instantly, so nothing feels meaningful. In his essays “Exiting the Vampire Castle” (2014) and “Good for Nothing” (2014), he wrote about the psychological exhaustion produced by social media’s ability to feed us everything, all at once. As music streaming platforms become more like our abundant attention apps, actually selecting songs becomes a challenge. 

It’s also bad for our brains. Every time you stop what you’re doing to decide between pressing play on PinkPantheress or the Pink Panther theme song, it leaves ‘attention residue’ on your brain, hindering your decision making for the next 20 minutes. Cal Newport has made a career writing productivity books off this one idea alone. So what’s the solulu in the age of delulu? 

Easy listening       

Enjoying music selected by someone else liberates us from the decision dilemma. Listening to a mix is not just easier – it’s also good for our attention spans. As we’re guided into the unknown it allows us to listen in ‘soft fascination’. Rachel and Stephen Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory (1989) explains how our directed attention eventually becomes fatigued and that returning to ‘soft fascination’ can restore attention capacity. People everywhere are trying to claim back their attention.

Gen Z is swapping smart phones for ‘dumb phones,’ free from health trackers, personalised ads and memes. Once carefully curated social media profiles are being deleted at the click of a button. Interestingly, sales of refurbished iPods have risen by an average of 15.6% per year since 2022, according to a Backmarket report earlier this year. It’s clear listeners are keen to control the amount of options when it comes to their musical interfaces. But might they not know they can listen to the radio for free? 

Not only does the radio free up decisions, it connects us to the world around us. In a recent interview with Mixcloud, Haseeb Iqbal compared radio to the ancestral tradition of fireside storytelling. “We shouldn’t forget the importance of longform storytelling,” he said. “It’s one of the most ancient things that binds humans together. I think radio is a complete example of one of those things.” 

From lockdown livestreams to the thriving radio chatrooms of today, I needn’t describe in detail the important connection radio brings so many. With loneliness on the rise, should doctors be prescribing a few hours of local radio each day? 

Slow listening 

When dealing with anxiety, the practice of ‘slow listening’ aka listening with intention, can be very beneficial. Listening to a podcast and not cleaning the house or going on a run seems absurd to those trying to optimize every waking moment but not only does monotasking reduce mental fatigue, it can be a political act which supports Slow Media. A movement which seeks to loosen the chokehold mass-produced, cheaply produced content holds online.

It’s no surprise amidst the cultural shift towards slow media that Devon Turnbull’s Listening Room Sessions at London’s 180 Studios have been very popular. Sat in front of a hand-crafted soundsystem, music devotees such as Charlie Dark, Coco Maria (pictured above), Bradley Zero and The Blessed Madonna talk audiences through a curated selection of their record collections. The sessions are intimate, relaxing and informative. Often connecting the dots in a particular genre you’ll find sessions on a diverse range of genres such as Drum and Bass, Lovers Rock and Pop. You can listen to all of the sessions on Mixcloud via The Vinyl Factory. 

If you love discovering music, the overwhelming paradox of choice is not going away. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to find cool radio stations or DJs who are happy to make great choices for you. Whether it’s on the airwaves or platforms like Mixcloud, finding a trusted curator to take you on a journey can be bliss for the brain.