If it's new to you, it's still new

July 4th weekend. NYC has a stark heat to it. Streets are quiet. Sun beats down. Those who remain stay inside, siesta hangover from Friday reveling.

I also remain indoors, until 4pm where I venture… across the street. Laptop tucked under my arm, into the coffee shop. Against my better judgment I order a cold brew. Rampant caffeine incoming.

Sit down to write. Fiddle for a while, finally find a groove. The music is late 90s electronic stuff. I recognise a track. And the next one. And the one after. Five in a row and the sixth I’ve played a lot in the past few months. 2002, somehow it slipped my gaze, only emerging 23 (!) years later.

It’s time.

I bounce up, head to the counter.

“Are you playing this music?” I ask the barista. He’s tall, young, if I had to guess maybe 23, 24. And if I had to guess some more, new to NYC. The wonder in the eyes gives me a sneaking suspicion.

He tells me he just discovered Fatboy Slim, played a couple of tracks, then the algorithm do the rest.

“Any recommendations?” he asks. Weirdly, my mind goes blank. At least, I felt it was weird, but it makes sense in hindsight. The prompt was just a touch too open for me to latch onto something quickly - the six tracks didnt slip into a scene or a genre. I couldn’t pattern match quickly enough.

I throw out the names of two artists, knowing that both aren’t quite it.

He seems satisfied, so I slide back to my seat.

As I sit and take a beat, several thoughts ping in tandem with the cold brew’s rush rising.

He wasn't alive when these tracks came out.
I am not so young.
If it’s new to you, it’s still new.
Music is an incredibly powerful force that can connect people in unexpected ways.
And so - like it or not - is the algorithm.

P.S. Here's that sixth track that got me on my feet