menu Home chevron_right
MUSIC VIDEOS

Listening to ONLY an iPod for a Month Changed Everything

Digging The Greats | January 3, 2026



Today I bring you all 4 episodes of last year’s iPod Series all in one. This began as a fun retro tech experiment, but led me down a rabbit hole of algorithms, creativity, old fashioned music discovery, dumb-ify-ing my phone, and made me rethink how I use technology.

Listen to the iPod Series Original Soundtrack:

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/25CEBLCXGnNqbG3f5E2Vsh?si=DK7X3VHtTeeDwdrt7Vtv9w

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ipod-series-original-soundtrack/1803392319

TIDAL: https://tidal.com/browse/album/425193582?u

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0F2231L3G?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_bMrz3uIzT1zWiV8lVEtoMjW46

YOUTUBE MUSIC: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lM7O8_XLyhJh0olwYpzla6bj1v6eeGIMA&si=Vpxd_VsLd4iTHKU-

ITUNES: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ipod-series-original-soundtrack/1803392319

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:58 Episode 1
17:34 Episode 2
34:44 Episode 3
58:24 Episode 4

#ipod #internet #music

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Written by Digging The Greats

Comments

This post currently has 43 comments.

  2. @Braden_Powell

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I consider this to be the greatest video on all of YouTube. I hope you're doing well, man.

    Edit: Every time I watch one of these videos, it tends to end the same way; "life is so much better and I feel human again, but thing needs an app so I have to go back. It's like watching an addict relapse. We have to fight back.

  3. @Maitredusoleil

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Dude, the same thing happened to me. I’m working on a documentary about a local radio station in Western Europe. Just recently I bought a Hi-Fi player, and before that I was digging into the subject — and then, punch! Algorithms showed me your video about mixtapes. It was super helpful, and I really appreciate the work you’re doing. Thank you! And thanks to those algos that sometimes connect us with people so far away and help us see the world from different perspectives. 🎉

  5. @UNSCPILOT

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Discovering music the old school way just visiting thrift stores and picking out odd CDs either of stuff your know or weird stuff that jumps out at you can be fun

    I recently found an old CD Album "Future Primitives" from 90's Vancouver group called Intermix, it is so utterly weird but it's bizarre cover art caught me and the tracks themselves just… I never would have expected to like it, but now it lives rent free on my phone's music player, my Snowsky Echo Mini, and will be added to my Fiio M9 as soon as I change out the worn out lithium battery

  6. @ehhhh_butter1009

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I haven’t kept up with the channel in about a year now but I find it so interesting how about 2 months ago I bought a modded iPod too. I totally agree with everything in this video at first i thought it would be a fun novelty/ being able to own the music that I love but now it’s so much more. I’ve stopped using Spotify and I’ve gotten closer with my music. I carry it with me everywhere I go and I can’t believe I was at a point where listening to music through streaming became boring. Now I want all the music I love and want to explore the music that other people love and be able to throw that on the iPod. Awesome video as usual and I’m glad that more people can see how useful this little device can be.

  9. @wildeng

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Thanks for this video! In the last couple of years I went back to listening to my music through more “physical devices” and in the last couple of weeks I intensified my “digital decluttering” by taking away from my phone all the apps that were taking me away from more interesting and satisfying experiences and is going way better now. I do use too my iPad as a magazine/news reader, it works really well and I check socials only on my MacBook. I also bought a refurbished Walkman and started listening to my cassettes – yes I watched Mixtape and I was glad to find someone else that enjoys them. I loved cassettes because I could carry my music with me. BTW your Mixtape just arrived and Chalkpit edition is awesome!

  10. @coffeeninja-v3s

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I watched all 4 parts in one afternoon last week. That kicked me into gear to address my screentime and general phone addiction. I've gone from 6-8 hours a day to averaging 10 minutes.

    I've already loaded up my old ipod and use that instead, I have parts arriving tomorrow to do my conversion to a 1TB with a bigger battery. It's reignited my love of music that was dormant through my 10+ streaming years, and music is once again an attention worthy event, instead of background noise to stop the silence. My mood has improved and I'm no longer the grumpy arse just hanging around between doom scrolls and algorithmic ineptitude.

    You've probably been told it a lot since you released those original videos, but thank you. Big love from the UK, you're out here changing lives my friend.

  13. @plumlineltd7585

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I remember buying my first iTunes album, fall out boy follie a duex. It did feel like a choice. First fall out boy album I ever bought, me consciously deciding I was going to get into them.

  14. @spec8888

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Thank you for putting this into one video. This is one of the best YouTube videos on the entire platform, and it changed so many things about my mindset and got me to start thinking outside the box in my own life. Ever since I watched the series this summer, I got an iPod for myself, starting collecting more physical media, stayed off my phone as much as possible (being a young adult and student) and I keep social media off of my phone, and check it in one session on my iPad. I love every change that I’ve made, and your iPod videos started it all for me. Thank you.

  15. @elbee321

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I don't have an iPod, but religiously every weekend throughout the month I record various DJ mixes and some podcasts from various internet platforms from a carefully curated list I have, save them to my computer and then drag and drop to my (Android) phone and spend the next month listening to them. I have been doing this for years, and I do it because I like to 'own' and keep stuff I listen to. I do have Spotify but only really use it to listen to music that has come onto my radar through friends, or a post on the internet. Only recently through watching this doc and thinking about it I have realised the way I listen to new music is such an old school way of going about it, but I love it. I save all my recordings as MP3's and with MP3 Tag I give them thumbnails and add info so when I listen on my phone its not just a blank screen, I also get artwork and info telling me what I am listening to. I now have a collection of some bad-ass music on my hard drive which also have some personality with the help of some added artwork! It obviously isn't as impressive as a record collection (which I also have) but for me it still, sort of, feels the same in this digital age. So yeah I don't have an iPod but I realise what I am doing isn't 100 miles away from Brandon's experiment here!

  17. @GameLikeYouMeanIt

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Please do a follow up. Are you still using the ipod? Because I have been obsessed with my ipod for the past year. What a wonderful time it has been. A big part of that was these videos. Thanks for contributing to my renewed love of music.

  20. @Brandnewshoes

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    This was probably one of your best videos dude. I've been looking for the words to describe how I feel about algorithms/content slop/AI and your video captured it perfectly. I will defiantly be taking in a lot of your tips and findings, as well as reading those book you mentioned. Me and my partner have started collecting our physical media like CDs and DVDs and it's been such a small but nice change not to stream everything or be overwhelmed with everything ever made.

    Thanks for making this bro!

  23. @velev6666

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Fun fact, this series was directly responsible for me making some dramatic lifestyle changes last year that had (and continue to have) a major positive impact on my mental health and wellbeing.

    Your Swiss Army knife analogy really made me consider what tools I needed in my phone, and I deleted the vast majority of apps that were once on it. A few months later, I deleted all of my social media accounts entirely, and now I spend more of my time doing things I actually enjoy or learning new skills instead of scrolling endlessly. I use a 6th-gen iPod for the majority of my music listening. These changes and more have really made a difference on my attitude towards life. I'm noticeably happier day to day.

    It feels a little corny to say thank you for changing my life, but you did genuinely change my life with this series… so thank you, DTG!

  26. @apollo.c.vermouth5672

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    If you've got a fairly long, eclectic playlist on Spotify, I find a good trick is to skip forward past the last track (with shuffle switched off, or it doesn't work) – about 50% of the time, it will keep choosing wildly random new stuff, like recs from an incredibly knowledgable record store owner.

  28. @ianthewright

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Fascinating as a curiosity and experiance thing to the extreme. I've just been dialing stuff back and being more mindful. The big one is my own server meaning I can get off of subscriptions. Got music on a server as my own spotify, TV and movies as my own Netflix etc, kicked social media to the curb barring a bit of YouTube, phone hasn't been on ringer for years, notifications have been off forever except for a few important ones, but the discovery thing is real. – However, it occurred to me we have so muuuuuuch back catalogue in Media. If you wanted to go further maybe for another episode, try no new music, TV, movies etc for a few months – maybe say nothing after 2015 or something. Use friend and family and online forum/reddit/etc recommendations, pull on threads and go down rabbit holes. I've got into best country specific TV shows for some great broadening (start with Kleo is you want a modern dig in German).

  34. @ian3715

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Bro you’re the man! I teach music production in HS and I am using your videos as part of my curriculum in teaching the kids about the history of music consumption. I hope you’re good with that!!

  37. @ProdbyUrbanCloser

    January 3, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    Fire Video bro very informative im going to take some of these quotes and information to incorporate them into my life keep cookin these videos up there is a place for this type of content in the algorithm keep cutting through

Comments are closed.

Related
The Most Expensive Albums Ever Made
Mic The Snare | April 27, 2026
Related
The impossible song we’ll remember in 500 years
David Hartley | April 27, 2026
Related
PROG: Ten Albums that Provided the Buliding Blocks for Progressive ...
Classic Album Review | April 27, 2026

This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

Go to album
  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play