Spotify's aim is not to help us discover or appreciate music so much as to make us dependent on the platform itself, and what it can specifically do — allow us to use music as audio wallpaper for continually decorating our lives. Thus it must convince us that we need access to all music (and thereby nullify the possibility of our choice of music signifying anything about ourselves) in order to have any music we might need — not to show who we are, but to purportedly enhance how we feel — ready at hand.

Despite its vestigial sharing infrastructure, Spotify's implicit promise is that it offers a safe forum in which you can reveal your tastes to yourself rather than be compelled to express them. It allows you to consume your identity rather than perform it, much as all the other automated recommendation systems do. The underlying idea is that our taste is not especially dynamic — once the algorithms peg you, they can continue to make us content by feeding us more of the same. At the same time, we don't need to express ourselves to others to have our sense of self reflected back to us; the app can stand in for that social interaction. It lets us experiment with ourselves without apparent social consequences. But the consequence may be a reduced tolerance for social risk.

I <3 THE PROXIMITY OF DISCIPLINE TO OBSESSION
I <3 THE PAIN OF GROWTH
I <3 TAKING IT TOO FAR

I AM LITERALLY YOU
I SHOP SO HARD
I WILL PRESCRIBED YOU AN OUTFIT
I AM PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND I WILL HELP YOU DO IT AGAIN
I COULD WORK SO HARD AT LITERALLY ANYTHING
I ASK FOR WHAT I WANT EVERY TIME
I AM GENUINELY IMPRESSED BY MY CAPABILITIES
I AM HAVING AN ISSUE
I CAN BE SO BAD AT THE THINGS I LOVE <3
I AM LOOKING AT A PHOTO AND REMEMBERING WHAT I FELT LIKE THAT DAY
I AM SO EXPERIENCING THE SUFFERING THAT COMES WITH DESIRE
I AM OBSESSED WITH ETIQUETTE AND DISCIPLINE BECAUSE I AM SO LAZY AT HEART
I ENJOY THE WEATHER EVERYDAY
I CAN NOT BELIEVE MY ENERGY IS NATURAL
I AM RANDOMLY ADDICTED TO A NEW TANK TOP

WHEN YOU ARE BEING A LITTLE FRIED >
WHEN I AM GETTING CONFUSED >
WHEN I AM MAKING SENSE >
WHEN YOU GET A COFFEE IN THE RAIN >
WHEN YOU ARE SO COOL>
WHEN YOU BUY A HAT >
WHEN IM WEARING A HAT >

YOU ARE MY FUTURE CUSTOMER
YOU CAN MAKE THAT FOR CUTER

HE’S A MODEL ACTRESS
HE IS WEARING A CIGARETTE

BEING NORMAL
BEING SO ME IT WORKS OUT PERFECTLY
BE SO COMPLICATED
BEING ANNOYING WITH IT>

IPHONE
POSTING
LOSER DRIP
AMIRI DENIM
HIGH PONYTAIL
SPORTS PLAYER
SCREENSHOT
DOWN HORRENDOUS
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
HYPOTHETICAL DRIP
FOCUS OR DIE TRYING
SECRETLY BEING MYSELF
YOU’LL LIKE IT TOMORROW
WTF OF COURSE YOU CAN DO IT
SUPREME X LUCKY JEWEL
NYC DEFINITELY NEEDS YOU
SHE’S SO BORING I LOVE HER
YOU’RE WEARING ADIDAS SAMBAS, IM GETTING CONFUSED
LOOKING VERY AWESOME
LOVING ART IS A DISEASE AND I AM INFECTED
YOUR HAIRCUT DOESN’T FIT THE LOOK OF YOU APARTMENT
WHY WOULD I WEAR A NEW OUTFIT? I ALREADY HAVE THE ONE
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS SOOOO THROUGH
THE WEATHER HAS ALWAYS BEEN PERFECT AND WILL NEVER BE BAD
SO MANY THINGS ARE AWESOME ACCEPT IT
THIS MEANS NOTHING TO ME IN A POSITIVE WAY <3
THERE IS A REASON I HAVE TO DRESS SO STUPID RIGHT NOW
MF YOU CHOSE THE COMFORT OF FAMILIARITY OVER THE PAIN OF GROWTH

IT DID WELL BECAUSE IT IS SO STUPID
IT IS SO POSSIBLE TO LIKE SOMETHING YOU ARE CRITICAL OF
IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT YOU DON’T WANT THEN TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
IT’S ABOUT LOVING LESS THAN NOTHING.