In picking up a new iPhone 13 mini with heaps of storage space, I have been gradually transferring over my music collection to my new device.
In doing so, I have been able to reconnect with so many musical artists I haven’t been able to listen to in the last few years, given the minuscule amount of storage on my previous phone… My mistake… Lessons learned.
Now, with approximately 13,000 songs on my new phone, there is a fair bit of scrolling going on to get from album to album. But interestingly enough, within my scrolling time, a new game caught my eye.
It’s not the kind of game you need to download from iTunes, it’s just a serendipitous discovery I made along the way.
I don’t know if you’ve had the same experience, but the premise of the game goes like this:
While scrolling through the alphabetically sorted list, I started noticing “neighbours” in the list, like Bon Jovi and Bonnie Raitt.
Note: Yes, I know that Raitt starts with an R, but iPhone/iTunes sorts the list on the first name or word.
From there, it is a game of first impressions. Would I like to see these two neighbouring artists or bands in creative collaboration? Would I buy their music? Would I pay money to see them in concert?
In some cases it is a clear yes, in others, not so much.
Back to our first example, I think Bon Jovi and Bonnie Raitt might indeed form an interesting collaboration. I would be interested in seeing them create music or perform together.
In scrolling through my playlists, I see some very natural pairings that would probably make good music together: Enigma and Enya would be delightful to me. The harmonies of ABBA and Ace of Base would probably sound pretty angelic. And who knows, the combined creativity of Niall Horan and Nick Jonas could lead to an interesting duet.
What about Bette Midler and Beyoncé?… is the world ready for this much power on one stage?
Would I pay to see Eurovision winners, Måneskin and Måns Zelmerlöw perform together? Definitely!
What about seeing Lady Gaga do an album of Led Zeppelin covers? Given how she has demonstrated that she can do pretty much anything, I could totally see it.
Another combination that I think would be impressive would be to see Panic! at the Disco sharing the stage with P!nk.
A collaboration between two of my long-time favourites, Kristin Chenoweth and Kylie Minogue, would definitely be worth spending time in a virtual waiting room for tickets.
But when musical tastes like mine cover a pretty wide spectrum, it should come as no surprise that some pairings might lend themselves to a clash in musical styles. For example, an unlikely pairing might be Depeche Mode and Diana Krall. Both excellent musical acts on their own, but I don’t think I would hold my breath that they would share a stage or a studio together. But as the old adage goes… never say never.
In a similar vein, Doja Cat and Doris Day might be a rather stark contrast in musical styles. And yes, for the record, I do have a Doris Day album in my collection. Who doesn’t love Doris Day?
Other pairings that are probably not likely to happen are Pink Floyd and Prince, Billy Idol and Billy Joel, Sugababes and Supertramp. But truly, in today’s musical universe and with technology, anything is possible.
I confess that there are some playlist neighbours that have me thinking “hmm, interesting”, but I can’t really picture the outcome either way, if such collaborations ever happened:
Hall and Oates and Harry Styles;
Kate Bush and Kelly Clarkson;
Jonas Brothers and Josh Groban;
Backstreet Boys and Bananarama;
Matchbox 20 and Matt Dusk;
Spice Girls and Split Enz;
Steps and Sting;
Just the same, given that they are all amazing artists on their own, who knows what kind of music magic such collaborations could produce.
But there is definitely a pair of favourites that make my heart go pitter-patter every time I see them scroll by together: Could you imagine the dance party that would be hosted by Dua Lipa and Duran Duran? I think that would sound pretty fabulous!
So as new music is released and gets introduced into my playlists, I look forward to the amusement of seeing more of the likely and unlikely pairings that can form in my iPhone’s alphabetized lists.
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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André
It's the Journey 