Unearthing the Melodic Mystery Unraveling the Musical Tastes of the Depressed Liberal College Student within Your Spotify City

Feeling judged by your Spotify city? Your musical preferences just scream depressed liberal college student.

Ah, Spotify Wrapped. It’s that time of year again, folks. Brace yourselves for one of the most exciting holidays that brings out both joy and dread in equal measure. And let’s face it, some of us may not be as cool as we’d like to pretend when it comes to our music taste. But hey, no judgment here!

While you were busy screenshotting your top genres and comparing your top five songs, you may have noticed a new addition to this year’s Spotify Wrapped – a “place that listened just like you.” Intriguing, right? Well, for some people, it was a pleasant surprise. But for others, it was a source of confusion.

“My place was Provo,” one of my friends declared in our group chat this morning. “Where the heck is Provo?” Good question, my friend. Good question.

Meanwhile, most of my friends and I got assigned to Burlington, Vermont. At first, we didn’t think much of it. That is until we stumbled upon an article highlighting Burlington as one of the three gayest cities on Spotify Wrapped. Well, color us surprised!

Naturally, I questioned the randomness and accuracy of Spotify’s assignments. “Why is everyone’s location Burlington??” I texted in frustration. And then it hit me. We were all as queer as a wallet full of three-dollar bills. Fair enough, Spotify. Fair enough.

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But let’s move on from my amusing group texting misadventures. The real intrigue here is that many of the popularly assigned cities share a common trait. And no, it’s not just the fabulousness. As noted by an anonymous Business Insider editor (who apparently has the musical tastes of a Madison, Wisconsin indie rock fan), these cities are all college towns.

From Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, to Berkeley, California, which houses the University of California (yes, you guessed it, at Berkeley), and let’s not forget about Cambridge, Massachusetts, with its multitude of prestigious universities and colleges. The list goes on and on.

I spoke to a few people who were assigned to other college towns like Madison, Wisconsin, and San Luis Obispo and Davis, California. It seems like Spotify took us on a virtual tour across the entire country. Impressive, right?

As always, the internet had a field day with opinions on what your college town assignment said about you. “Everyone complaining about getting Provo on their Spotify Wrapped needs to accept the fact that they have terrible taste in music,” one commentator hilariously remarked. Ouch!

Another user, with a touch of sarcasm, tweeted, “Going to college in Davis and waking up to everyone bashing it because they got it on their Spotify Wrapped is so funny.” Well, at least they have a sense of humor about it.

Some theorized that the prevalence of college towns in the assignments could be due to the generally younger age range of Spotify users. After all, it’s no secret that college students are notorious for their eclectic and sometimes questionable music preferences.

Whatever the reason behind it, it seems like most of us need to accept the fact that we share the same musical tastes as depressed liberal arts college students desperately trying to make it through the week, whether we’re 19 or 43. So, embrace your Spotify Wrapped with open arms and enjoy the music that brings us all together, regardless of location or age.

Happy listening, everyone!

• Spotify