Mysterious pathways aka finding new music in the age of streaming aka I’m so back

I was mindlessly scrolling TikTok this morning and a creator I’ve recently started following (for BTS reasons) told me it was okay to wake up one day and say to myself, “I’m so back.” Thank you, random lady in Florida. I really am so back. Is it a coincidence that my return coincides with the first F1 race in 5 weeks? Probably. Nice to see the papaya boys back on the podium. None of this intro is related to the intended topic of this post.

Another funny thing I saw on the internet recently: a post that said, “can you imagine telling Prince and David Bowie they can make art but they also need to make 70 TikToks a week?” It’s funny because it’s true. Before the streaming era we used to discover music through radio, music journalism (magazines!) and browsing racks in music stores (CDs!). When I’d get home and unwrap my shiny new musical purchases, I used to sit down, cross-legged in a front of my speakers and just listen. I’d pore over the lyrics and liner notes.

That level of sustained focus is rare these days. I still do it, but I need a deeper hook than an eye-catching album cover in a record store. I need narrative, humour, parasocial attachment, community, virality, or some combination of all of these things before I’ll search out an album and listen to it end-to-end. I can appreciate that from an artists’ perspective that might be sad, but given change is the only constant in our very strange universe, let’s instead focus on what’s interesting/curious/helpful about it. Here are some strange pathways to musical discovery I’ve made in the last year that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the twists and turns of the internet.

Storm 1 & II - Gener8ion feat. Yung Lean

This discovery only happened last week because the video is incredible and went viral. The first I heard of it was a text message from my husband, he sent the video and said, “from 4:20 is 💯💯💯”. When I clicked the link and began watching it, I couldn’t bring myself to skip ahead. The first 4 minutes and 17 seconds of this track makes my skin crawl. It’s like a horror film designed specifically to trigger women and men who were bullied at high school. This uneasy beginning builds into one of the coolest dance videos I’ve ever seen. I now follow the choreographer on instragram of course (@damienjalet), but I’m also like, tell me more about Gener8ion (French producer) and Yung Lean (Swedish rapper)… Next time I come across either of those names, I’ll remember and I’ll stop and I’ll listen. That’s the power of a brave and unexpected audiovisual direction in the age of social platforms. This video even made it into my LinkedIn feed. Wild. My favourite part starts at 6:06.

Illusions - Fulton Lee

In October 2025 I went on a mini break with my family to a beach up north of Auckland called Waipu Cove. We stayed in an AirBnB with a view of the ocean. It had a board game cupboard and the kids were obsessed. Each night before bed we’d pick a game and play, sometimes as a 4, sometimes splitting into pairs. It’s when I taught my son how to play chess. I was searching for a background soundtrack for our wholesome family gaming sessions and found a Spotify playlist called Chill Board Games Mix. It was replete with bangers. I’m talking Enya next to The War on Drugs. There are multiple songs from that playlist that made it onto rnrn (my current moment playlist). Honeybody by Kishi Bashi, Nevermind by Dennis Lloyd, I’m God by Clams Casino and Imogen Heap. This song is one of those discoveries and I’m still, months later, just very into it. Is it the song alone or is it the memory of discovering it while watching my then 6 year old check mate me? You be the judge.

Messy - Lola Young

Remember when this song had everyone in a chokehold in early 2025? Well it was officially released nearly a year earlier and it wasn’t until 6 months later that this TikTok featuring influencers Jake Shane and Sofia Richie went viral. Everyone was talking about the ‘messy’ dance, which, to be clear, is not a dance at all but more of a very low key shimmy. The song and artist went from relatively obscure to charting globally, and then Lola Young got nominated for best new artist at the Grammys. It was a wild ride for a great song, and it makes you think about all the other great music that hasn’t had its viral moment yet… being a recording artist these days really is like playing lotto with your hopes and dreams.

I’ve read somewhere that this song is actually about the artist’s complicated relationship with her mother. My favourite lyric is:

And then you come home to me
And don't say hello
'Cause I got high again
And forgot to fold my clothes

Tear in Space (Airlock) - Glass Animals

I’ve been into Glass Animals for a while but this song really sealed the deal for me. I listened to it on repeat for about 3 months last year. The long story is: my husband and I hadn’t been to see a movie together since my daughter was born in October 2021. My mum came over from Australia to babysit the kids one weekend (I know, what a legend). She sent us off to the movies — maybe to see the final Mission Impossible. Anyway, we had this feeling of intense joy at our sudden and unexpected freedom and my husband started playing Five Seconds by Twin Shadow which is a banger. I became obsessed with the song in the days afterward, and created a song radio from it. Tear in Space came up on there and I fell so hard for it. I think Glass Animals are probably in my top 3 artists these days. Their songs are always so interesting.

Homewrecker - Sombr

We listen to the radio every morning while getting ready for work/school because there’s a breakfast show in NZ that we like (Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley). I’ve always liked to keep on top of pop music and there’s something about the format of breakfast radio that’s deeply soothing to me. I feel like it keeps me young. Sombr first came onto my radar because Back to Friends is an ear worm worthy of shazam. His voice and production choices have an old-rocker nostalgic feel to them, but the melodies are pure pop genius. I didn’t go further than radio listens until Homewrecker came out — that was the song that made me ask the question, who writes this guy’s music? I looked it up. It turns out it’s all him: Shane Michael Boose. He’s 20 years old and has somehow managed to leap into to the mainstream with hit after hit after hit over the last 12 months — all self-written and produced. Add that to the fact that he has a super authentic and hilarious social presence. E..g his stupidly clever billboard outside Coachella, and that time he picked up on the fact his fans thought he was singing, “I just want a capybara” in Homewrecker and really leaned into it. He’s truly an artist born ready for multi-platform engagement.

RedRed - CORTIS

A secondary notable mention must go to the TikTok antics of this bunch of jokers, who I first came across because they’re the baby brothers of BTS, but very quickly became invested in their super committed performances and off-the-wall randomness. There’s something about these guys that captures the spirit of the best bits of the internet: they have a frantic kind of energy that makes me feel seen and accepted. Also I really think James and Keonho are super compelling dancers.

I think that in the streaming era it’s very easy to get stuck in a rut. Your algorithm learns what you like and keeps playing you the same thing again and again. It’s nice to know that if you branch out a little and keep your ears open for inspiration from unexpected places, you can still make new discoveries. Did you know that as we get older we become less open to discovering new sounds and tend to stick with our tried and true favourites?

Did you also know that the personality trait of openness to experience is a protective factor against cognitive decline? All I’m saying is, if you’re stuck in a musical rut, maybe it’s time to find your version of the Chill Board Game Mix. On a practical note, I’ve switched to Apple Music and find it serves me much quirkier and more unexpected new sounds than Spotify. Case in point, this epic tune that surfaced for me a few weeks ago and went straight to the playlist.