Taking an iPod Video out of the drawer in 2026 and loading it with your own music. I imagine not many people do that these days, but if you still have one: give it a try. It’s genuinely fun.
People sometimes call me old-fashioned or conservative. I still buy my music on physical CDs and occasionally through digital stores. Not every week or month, but once a year I order CDs that I’ve put on my “wish list” over the past period. That list is influenced by what I hear around me: on the radio or through spontaneous suggestions from others.
My wife has a Spotify subscription and I’ve tried Apple Music several times. The last time was last year. There’s an enormous catalog available, and of course that’s the main attraction. What I struggle with is the constant pull toward more “relevant” music. Maybe you’d call that navigation or the user interface, but it’s not for me. Somehow I keep clicking from one track to another. I can’t seem to get back to the beginning of my “album” or playlist, and sometimes I grow a bit impatient. That’s probably just me—I suppose I really am old-fashioned—but that doesn’t have to spoil my enjoyment of music. I like listening to studio albums by artists in the order they recorded and arranged them on the album. When the album finishes, the player stops and I choose what comes next.
After 20 years, my iPod still does that perfectly. Especially now, I notice how pleasant I find the controls. The interface is clear: a screen without suggestions or recommendations. If I search for another track during playback and wait five seconds, I return to the current track. If I decide to browse again, I simply pick up where I left off.
Using the click wheel makes me feel like that high school student again, turning the volume right up to the hearing protection limit for specific parts of songs. Yes, that too. Ha. It’s also striking how quickly you might feel inclined to do something else while listening to music. Surprise: that iPod does nothing except play music. After confronting myself twice with the urge to reach for my smartphone, I slipped into the flow of the music. In no time, my album had finished and my mind felt pleasantly relaxed. A fantastic way to end the day once everyone here has gone to bed.
My iPod is still in its original state; some people have replaced the battery or the 1.8” hard drive with a solid-state disk. Mine still works well, and as long as it doesn’t break, I plan to take good care of it and enjoy it weekly.
I’m sharing these reflections as a bit of background about who I am and what I do alongside my work as a content creator. In that capacity, I occasionally write down my thoughts about what occupies my mind. Feel free to send me a message if you’d like to respond.
