To Control Your Experience

02 Feb, 2026

I haven't used a streaming service in about 7 years or so. Occasionally I'll use YouTube to browse music, but for the most part, I just use Foobar2k on my PC. My library has been expanded through means such as: YouTube, friends, piracy, comiket/retaisei/M3 X-Fades (demos), and labels directly. I've been extremely happy with how my library's turned out. I take curating my own taste in music very seriously. Part of the reason I quit Spotify is that it forced me into an algorithmic void of exclusively breakcore. Nonstop, mediocre breakcore. Not the good kind. Now I like breakcore, but it's only a fraction of the music I end up listening to. If you aren't familiar with me, my tastes are varied. Jazz, rock, and EDM make up the majority of what I listen to, but I'm partial to hip hop and shibuya-kei and rap. It's more of a concern of what I don't listen to, and Spotify really didn't cater to my needs as a listener. It led to me quitting the app after only a couple weeks of use. The experience made me appreciate the algorithm that YouTube utilizes, as inconsistent as it can be at times. At the very least, it offers me some level of diversity... infrequently. I have a lot of other problems with YouTube, but I've already ranted long enough in the intro. I wanted to convey the ways I take control of the things I listen to, watch, and interact with. In the past couple years, I've seen a large trend of people wanting to move away from these more "corporatized" solutions, so I thought I'd offer my own experience to the pot. I've been doing it for years at this point, so I feel like I have a little bit of expertise.

Music

I definitely have the most experience in music. If collecting headphones wasn't enough of a giveaway, it's a core part of my human experience. I couldn't imagine going a day without listening to something. It relaxes me in a way I couldn't describe with words, and I really value that experience. As such, it's important to me that I make the most of it.

There's a rising sentiment online that you should cut out streaming entirely. Music should be bought through marketplaces like Bandcamp, if not in a physical format, to ensure the artist gets the largest possible cut. Additionally, it bypasses the issue of music being removed from a streaming service. If you simply own a copy of an album, you can listen to it whenever you want. I don't necessarily think this philosophy is entirely correct, however. I can't deny how streaming empowered consumers to listen to an enormous breadth of music at an affordable price. The added convenience of it being served through the internet at a moment's notice was a feat of engineering to say the least. It really beats plugging in my phone, compressing my FLAC library to opus -160, and spending 20 minutes shoving it down my phone's throat. While there are solutions for hosting your local library online, that's beyond the scope of this entry. And also not what I do. Streaming was undoubtedly something a lot of people wanted, and I think a lot of the younger generation would struggle to adapt to something different. More-so due to restrictive technology such as the apple ecosystem not really catering to alternative solutions.

My point is, you shouldn't have to quit streaming. I would definitely consider quitting Spotify, however. As of writing, they're becoming more and more tolerant of AI generated content on the platform. I know people that don't really care at all, but I'd imagine the average consumer cares that the music they listen to has a human element to its production. I don't want to listen to AI generated music, at least. Other platforms don't have this problem at all, however. YouTube for example hosts AI slop, a lot of it even. That being said, I've basically never been suggested to listen to AI music if I didn't want to. YMMV of course.¹ Platforms such as Tidal and Qobuz, which are explicitly for music, are much less tolerant of AI generated content on their respective platforms. I have my own problems with Tidal (broken app experience, and google "golden sound MQA" if you're a nerd), but Qobuz is generally fine. Honorable mention Deezer as well. I can't really speak on Apple Music, but if you're an iPhone user, I'm sure that's worth considering as well.

If you rather cut out the algorithm all together, hop on Bandcamp. It's a great platform for buying from indie artists directly. You'll probably find a label you love, and end up buying their entire discography when it's discounted 80% off. Piracy is also a valid option. The reality is everything's getting more expensive. There's really no shame in listening to music for free, if you need to do so. Buy your favorite artist's CD or Vinyl to make it up to them one day. Don't sweat the small stuff. You were effectively already pirating with how stringent Spotify payouts can be.

Physical media is a lot cooler than you'd think. For a couple years I bought a bunch of cassettes. I love the artistic merit of the J card and the packaging. It feels very novel, and it looks great on a shelf. That's not to say I didn't give each one a listen with my Nakamichi BX-125, which is a great budget deck for anyone in the market. I've bought a fair share of vinyl and CDs, but cassettes were always my favorite format. I loved that you can just record your own with whatever you want. It ties into the history of cassettes too, with cassettes being one of the first ways you could record an album without a proper record deal or studio recording. Even today, it's a lot of fun to record one yourself, even if it's just a mixtape or a bootleg. I'll embed a couple I've made myself, with help from friends for the art. It turns into a great collaborative project if you know the right people.

Anime.. but it also applies to Movies/TV

Anime is a lot more straightforward than something like music. There exists Crunchyroll. Yup. It exists.

So anyway.. if you dont know how to torrent already you should really ask that one friend. On that note, friends are always a great way to receive a suggestion. Worst case it's bad, best case you can appreciate it with them, which always makes for a good time. Listing sites are a solid resource, I personally prefer anilist to MAL but they both serve the same purpose. They both allow you to browse other user's lists, see their favorites, and discover new shows you probably haven't heard of. Of course, letterboxd for Movies and something exists for TV I'm sure. Honestly, youtubers can provide some great suggestions. Anitubing is not what it used to be, but there are still some great personalities out there. Simply find one that fits your specific tastes. Shoutout STEVEM. I assume you already see what kinds of shows people are talking about on social media, although that doesn't really remove an algorithmic element. In the case of twitter, I'm constantly exposed to things that would interest me because I follow people that tweet about them. Twitter also force feeds me slop about solo leveling JJK powerscaling oh my god the animation is making me cum I need to KILL people.. or lolicon discourse.. and I couldn't be less interested in either.

Games/Books/VNs

Honestly games follow very similar rules to anime for me, the difference being they aren't sold through Crunchyroll. I don't really feel the need to talk too much on this, because either you don't care about games or you already know how to find cool games. Gaming is such a massive widespread hobby that basically anyone can figure out how to curate exactly what they want to get out of it. Books and VNs probably require a bit more elaboration, but I think generally follows suit. If you're into VNs in any capacity, you probably figured out what you need to do and what you want to read. If you don't, VNDB is a wonderful resource. Otherwise, word of mouth and social media. The VN """community""" is fairly small, but it's dense with information and recommendations. As for books, avoid something like "BookTok". Maybe this is controversial advice, but decide on a genre, and just visit your local bookstore. Try a best seller. Try a classic. If you dont like either, ask a friend what they like. Ask a family member. Maybe do a search on reddit if youre looking for something specific. Basically, ignore the more clout-pandery nature of BookTok and you'll know what you're interested in fairly quickly. Book clubs are great too if you like some structure. Recently I've been giving light novels a shot. I really enjoy "Torture Princess", and I'd recommend it if you want something dark, edgy, and mildly erotic. For those unfamiliar with light novels, it has a sort of "anime dialogue" and a bit of a fanfic roughness to it, but with a professional execution. That'd be my best description, at least. Ironically, I was recommended it in the comments section of a youtuber, by said youtuber. If that doesn't prove my point, I don’t know what will.

Conclusion

This piece probably isn't for anyone my age, but I like to do what I can for people growing up in an era where algorithms are going to control more and more of what people see. I envision a future where its almost impossible for that to not be the case, and with AI driven SEO, it's only going to get worse. A free and unfiltered internet is never going to be what it once was. I think it's important now more than ever to teach those interested in how they can engage with media in a very human way. With that in mind: engage in what interests you, help educate your friends in need, and don't turn it into a popularity contest. Nobody cares if you’ve read Subarashiki Hibi.

I wrote this in a single 2 hour sitting, so forgive me if it was poor quality. I'll do my best to edit it and clean it up. I felt a lot better about this piece than my previous entry, and I hope to expand my horizons into some reviews and more historical/informative pieces over time. I don't think I'd be very good at them, but it seems like a nice challenge. With that said, I think I'm going to do some job applications, because I feel especially unemployed at the moment.