15 Things Music Lovers Can do While Quarantined to Celebrate Music, Have Fun, and Support Artists
For ten years in a row from 2010 to 2019, I wrote a post called the March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide and shared tips for folks who didn't care about college basketball but had a partner that was all the way into the madness. I was set to do the same thing this year. However, in 2020 there is no March Madness but there is a quarantine.
So, we're shifting gears and making due by taking some of the ideas from the old series and adding in some new ideas and giving everything a new shine and creating a list of 15 ideas that you can jump into while you're at home and not going to concerts or meet and greets or any of the other great things that we are all sadly missing.
I want to point out that we aren't taking COVID-19 lightly by putting this post together or by keeping it lighthearted. We hope that each and every one of you reading this remains healthy and safe and is ready to rock when things get back to normal.
And we hope you keep listening to and loving music non-stop until then too!
If you're ready, we're ready. Let's go!
The Music Lovers Quarantine Survival Guide
1) Listen to your favourite albums front-to-back.
We love playlists and variety and being able to bounce from artist to artist at a moment's notice - BUT there's still something super fantastic about putting a great album on and listening to it from front to back.
We suggest picking one or two albums per day/night and letting them play all the way through from start to finish. And if you really love it - hit play again.
If you're having trouble choosing an album, here are four that I highly recommend. Enjoy!
2) Create playlists with friends.
You can do this a couple of ways... the important thing is there's really no wrong way to do it.
You can start a collaborative playlist on Spotify and invite people to add songs and rearrange the order and what have you.
You can put up a post on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter asking people to recommend songs for you to add to a playlist - and then build a playlist with all of those recommended songs.
You can even get in a private group chat with friends and turn it into some sort of game where you all pitch songs to each other and make jokes and discover new songs and enjoy each other and the music.
3) Discover podcasts by musicians / about music.
There's a podcast about everything, and usually more than one. And guess what, music is no different!
Check out these five recommendations and give 'em a listen while you do chores or eat dinner or go for a walk or whatever else you've got going on. (All recommendations available on Spotify)
🎙️ Music Exists with Chuck Klosterman and Chris Ryan
🎙️ The Show (Hosts Amy Aust and Scotty Kipfer)
🎙️ Walking The Floor with Chris Shiflett
🎙️ Geeks And Beats (Hosts Alan Cross and Michael Hainsworth)
🎙️ Questlove Supreme
And stay tuned, maybe we'll have a podcast someday!
4) Watch concerts and festival sets.
YouTube is filled with festival sets and Netflix has concert specials and really there is no shortage of awesome footage and content featuring live music and great crowds. Is it the same as being at a show live and in person? Of course not, but it ain't bad.
5) Binge live music performance videos.
If you don't have time for a full concert experience, go for the YouTube model of one song at a time!
If you've already got favourites, like when Nick Nurse joined Arkells in Toronto for Signed, Sealed, Delivered (as an example), revisit them and play 'em loud. If you are looking for new videos, just type the artist's name and live into the YouTube search bar and see what you get!
6) Watch live stream performances from bands on Facebook and YouTube.
Some artists who can't be on the road at this time have started setting up live performances via live stream so that fans can still hear them play and they can show everyone their talent and energy. It's a very cool idea that allows for live music to exist in a time when it feels like it's been taken away for a little while.
Check out your favourite artists to see if they've got anything planned, and when you do see an artist you love getting ready to go live, share the stream so that other people can tune in too.
7) Order albums and merch online, directly from artist websites.
Here's another way that you can support artists while they aren't able to play shows and collect cheques - buy some gear.
Hit the online shops of artists you love (especially emerging and indie artists) and see what they've got for sale. Need some new CDs for the car? Get 'em. Love that t-shirt design? Order now. Ooh, would that vinyl look great in your collection and sound great on your record player? Better not pass it up!
These sales are going to help a lot of bands stay afloat, pay the rent, and be prepared to hit the road when we're able to get back to some sort of normal. We know every purchase will be appreciated.
8) Take selfies in your favourite musician merch and include the link to where you got it in your post.
Here's a follow-up for that last one. When your order arrives (or if you've already got some cool merch that you love) snap a photo and tag the artist and link to their online store so that other fans see what they should be buying.
Every little bit helps get eyes on the product and the music and the artists.
9) Share stream and YouTube channel links from your favourite artists with your friends to help everyone discover new music.
This one is easy, and we highly recommend it. Whether you've got cash to buy some t-shirts or you don't. Whether you pay for Spotify or Apple or Amazon Music or you don't. None of that matters here, all you have to do is go to your favourite artist's website and copy the link to their YouTube or Spotify channel and then put that in a Facebook post or a Tweet and tell other people it's awesome and that they should listen.
Heck, you can pick a new artist and do it every day. Challenge your friends too. No duplication, get as many recommendations out into the world as possible!
10) Read a music book.
Reading doesn't always come to mind when we're talking about music, but when you need a quiet moment or you're getting ready to go to bed, etc. a good book is still hard to beat.
Check out these music-related biographies and autobiographies and a book about Big Shiny Tunes that we highly recommend.
🎶 Reba: My Story (by Reba McEntire and Tom Carter)
🎶 It's A Long Story: My Life (by Willie Nelson)
🎶 Waylon: Tales of my Outlaw Dad (by Terry Jennings)
🎶 Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter (by Loretta Lynn)
🎶 Me (by Elton John)
🎶 Life (by Keith Richards)
🎶 I, Bificus (by Bif Naked)
🎶 David Bowie: A Life (by Dylan Jones)
🎶 Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss (by Jann Arden)
🎶 Shine: How a MuchMusic Compilation Came to Define Canadian Alternative Music and Sell a Zillion Copies (by Mark Teo)
11) Have a lip sync battle.
If you live with a roommate or a partner or you've got great neighbours (and nobody is sick), get some snacks and drinks out and have a Lip Sync Battle.
You need like 4 things to pull this off.
1. YouTube or Spotify ready to play the songs.
2. Open and clear space for performances.
3. Some time for participants to choose songs and prepare themselves.
4. Two or more willing players.
Have fun!
12) Watch some music documentaries.
There are some amazing music docs out in the world and available on streaming services if you want to watch them (and you should).
Here are 10 suggestions that you can watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in Canada. (as of March 15, 2020)
🎵 Woodstock, Three Days That Defined A Generation *
🎵 Gaga: Five Foot Two*
🎵 Miss Americana*
🎵 27 Gone Too Soon*
🎵 Homecoming, A Film By Beyonce*
🎵 A Fat Wreck^
🎵 Sound City^
🎵 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream^
🎵 Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip^
🎵 Jonas Brothers, Chasing Happiness^
13) Have a solo dance party.
Pour a glass of wine or mix a drink or grab a beer or snag a cold pop or get a big glass of water and turn up some awesome 80s jams or put on Dance Mix '93 or whatever makes you move - and dance like no one's watching. Because they aren't. Because we're all in quarantine.
14) Discover new music.
Check out the new release playlists on your favourite streaming services, look for recommendations from friends and social media, just keep your eyes and ears open for new songs and artists that you just might fall in love with.
15) Take care of yourself and the people around you.
Be smart. Be safe. Stay healthy. Don't take risks that you don't need to take. We're in a difficult time with a lot of uncertainty and fear and anxiety and questions - and that is a crappy recipe, but it's what we've got. And while it can be tempting to pretend that we're immune or invincible or get all YOLO in a situation like this, we hope you do your best to just follow the recommendations of the people who know what's going on (as well as anyone does) and stay safe and keep vulnerable people safe at the same time.
Thank you.
