How many streaming playlists would you say Earl Sweatshirt has made in his life? 20? 100? 1000? The answer, readers, is one. Just one. And he made it very recently. Why? Because up until now he has always been “staunchly against playlists”.
“I just made my first playlist the other day”, he tells Triple J. “I was staunchly against playlists [because] they're threatening the album, bro, and the album is like an institution”.
An album, he reckons, is a better way to “interact with an artist”. When you listen to an album, he says, you’re not just hearing the songs that most grab you attention, but the artist’s full vision, whether you like it or not.
“You might hate those songs initially but then, through repetition of listening to this album, now you start to at least become familiar [with the artist’s body of work], you start to acquire the taste”, he goes on. “So even if it's not your favourite thing you're still endeavouring to understand this person's complete idea”.
With a playlist, he muses, “there's less work, it's all a highlight reel”.
However, he concedes, he can now see the benefit in that too, saying that he made his first playlist to keep himself energised in the gym. And, it is, he admits, “the coolest thing I've done for myself recently”.
So, there you go, it’s impressive that someone could hold out against playlists until 2023, but apparently no one is immune to their allure. Don’t forget though, Earl Sweatshirt’s new album ‘Voir Dire’ is out now.