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What is it like to listen to music that you have never heard before? Then, what is it like to talk about what you're hearing with friends?
The Invisible Jukebox event that the Music Matters Series hosted at Snowing Space was a blast. The music was unique, the crowd was engaged, and the atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable. Planning and participating in this event was definitely an enjoyable experience. I plan on hosting another invisible jukebox event in the future!
Before hosting this event, I had never heard of this activity. I love listening to and talking about the latest songs and albums with my friends, but I never considered doing this with a collection of music that all of us had never heard before.
When preparing for this event, one of the main tasks was selecting music to listen to. Caitlin, one of the other members of the Music Matters Series team, kept a running Spotify list of our music suggestions. It was nice to see the evolution of the playlist as we approached the event. As more and more people added music, the more diverse the playlist became. There were songs representing various countries and time periods.
I actually struggled with finding music to contribute to the playlist at first. I found it difficult thinking of music that a large number of people would not have listened to before. It is actually quite ironic because as a DJ, you are often trying to stay up to date on the songs that your target audience has heard before and enjoys. However, in this situation, I had think of some “hidden” tracks to contribute.
I ended up contributing several Neo-Soul songs as well as some mashups of songs created by DJs. These were all songs that I listen to regularly, but what I believed others might not have listened to before. I believe others had the same approach to this task leading to a more diverse playlist. I enjoyed seeing everyone’s musical interests peak through the music they chose to contribute. The wide array of songs also fostered more interesting conversations, and most importantly, conversations beyond sounds and music.
I found that a number of the conversations we had at my table did not have much to do with music. The songs on our playlist definitely initiated the conversations, but we found ourselves expanding upon these discussions to share things about ourselves. We talked about our interests, school, our plans for the summer, and much more. I did not know majority of the people at my table, so this was a great opportunity for me to get to know new people. This is what music is about! Music is community and what this event was an example of how music can bring people together.