What a time to be alive

Another day, another record release that shakes up the establishment and reinvents the way we think about record releases. Or something like that.

This week, it was Drake, whose “playlist,” More Life, dropped on a Saturday. There are a couple of things about this that were, if not earth- shattering, at least a bit unconventional. First, the release day — Saturday — circumvents the traditional record- release rollout schedule, which would require an actual physical product hitting store shelves on a Friday. Here, Drake’s More Life was available to everyone with an internet connection as soon as it dropped. The second – and more talked-about – thing is what Drake called More Life: a “playlist.”

It’s possible that Drake’s alternative labelling of More Life is a way to couch expectations, but in actuality, Drake’s use of “playlist” is meant to nudge listeners toward consuming More Life the way Drake wants them to: however they want.

More Life is a soundtrack, Drake has said, rather than a cohesive, unified, streamlined piece of art. It’s gimmicky but it’s smart, and reflective of ever- shifting music consumption habits, which are now largely guided by streaming services.

Sure, audiophiles and fanatics are still giving things a back- to- front listen, but services like Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal make curating, assembling, editing and sharing individual playlists — be they soundtracks for a party or a jog in the park, or an ongoing, ever- growing personal list of current favourites, hot singles and new releases — easy, intuitive and sort of obvious – why would you listen to someone else’s idea of what makes a great 22-song succession when you could just put together one for yourself ?

That’s the question that Drake hopes to answer with More Life. It’s his idea of a perfect 22- song list, but it’s so diverse, frenetic and features so many artists that aren’t him, there’s little reason to believe that there isn’t something on it for everyone. Drake is giving his fans permission to pick and choose what parts of More Life they want to consume, without feeling like appreciating the parts more than the sum is artistic heresy. That’s not to say More Life doesn’t stand up as an old- school album. It does. But it’s also meant to fit whatever playlist you’ve been building on whatever streaming service you use. DIY Drake.