Hey all. To whoever is reading this and flipping through the school newspaper instead of doom-scrolling Instagram reels on their phone… I’m proud of you. You’re better than 99% of Gen Z. How does that feel? Look, I get it, Reels has those cute cat videos that probably overstimulate the living hell out of your brain, I get it. Anyways, I’ve noticed a pattern on Instagram that must be brought to the attention of the student body. That is, Instagram Notes are actually just a way for people to subtly flex their niche music preferences. It’s almost as if it’s a competition, like how peacocks spread their feathers to attract a mate. Whoever has the nicest display wins the lady. But in Gen Z terms, it’s whoever has the most outlandish, unknown, 100-listeners-per-month artist featured on their notes display. I just found it funny that each time I went to that section of the app, everyone would have arbitrary songs posted, and I’m left completely lost.
As a Spotify user, I somewhat understand this niche music competition. The smart shuffle feature tends to recommend a bunch of small artists to me, which I actually enjoy most of the time. My playlists used to largely contain rock music ranging from The Strokes to older stuff like the Beatles. Thanks to Spotify, I’ve diversified my taste to enjoy new subgenres that I never heard before, which include shoegaze, math rock, and breakcore. I believe there’s a certain thrill behind finding a new favorite song that nobody else knows of. Maybe it’s the fact that you can “put people on,” or just being different is enough in itself. This weird feeling can be applied to a different scenario, like thrifting. After scanning through hundreds of items of clothing, coming across that one article of clothing that’s nothing like the rest just evokes an emotion that can’t be put into words. It’s impossible to find those same clothes in a mainstream store.
Niche things just appeal to us. The exclusiveness is attractive. Niche music is an endless rabbit hole — every song leads to another, every genre splits into subgenres, and before you know it, you’re five hours deep into a playlist of obscure tracks from a 90s Japanese jazz fusion band. If you want to continue this endless journey, start collecting CDs and vinyl records. Physical media is another way to flex those niche hobbies/interests. Sifting through random CDs at Barnes & Noble brings an unmatched joy. I’ll spend hours in the back of the store hunched over like a gremlin searching for the right one. I find myself looking for a CD with an appealing cover art and then giving it a listen! Sometimes I hit the jackpot, and it’s a great album that I can recommend to friends or just listen to constantly.
Despite my making a joke out of the niche music enjoying outbreak, I will admit— without it, people wouldn’t have unique personalities. All of these small things are great conversation-starters. It could be how you find your beloved soulmate. Or how you find a lifetime friend. Niche pastimes bring us together. Finding the person who has cried to the same song as you. Or you can find the one whose favorite early 2000s video game is the same as yours. Or going to a concert and meeting people who love the same artist as much as you. These all will be core memories in the future. So thank you, niche music, for helping humanity unify and understand each other, for helping those lonely hearts out there, and for making life refreshing!
