I’m almost seven years younger than my big brother. Growing up, that age gap seemed pretty much insurmountable. He had no clue how to hang out with me when all I wanted to do was play with stuffed animals. While he was playing tennis or blasting his guitar too loudly in our basement, I was at ballet class. I was pissed that I had to go to his high school graduation because I missed the rager that was my 6th grade Hawaiian–themed end of the year dance. Common ground was tough to find.
These days, music is one of the main reasons that I’m close with my brother (besides being related and generally enjoying each other’s company and all that good stuff). I picked up guitar right before I started high school, and all of a sudden we had something to do together. He’d come home from college and for hours we’d sit together in our living room trying to figure out songs. We'd take turns playing my guitar, since his was left at school.
And then there’s our Spotify playlist. Since 2012, we’ve kept up a collaborative Spotify playlist where every now and then if one us finds a song that either a) we’re obsessed with or b) think that the other person will be obsessed with, we add it to what’s now a weird amalgam of five years' worth of evolving music tastes. It’s an easy, fun way to stay connected with loved ones and gauge and how they’re doing through music (also, who doesn’t love constantly expanding their Spotify library?). It’s sibling symbiosis at its finest. Here’s a collection of my favorite songs I’ve found through my brother, and here’s hoping you’ll find some of your own on your Spotify sibling experiment. Well, unless you’re an only child—I don’t know, make one with your mom?
Photo: Jeshoots / Pexels
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in 34th Street Magazine.