Until the lockdown that began this March, the musical content I listened to was relatively unchanged; I primarily listened to whatever hip-hop artists were popular at the time. After all, hip-hop is more popular than ever, with artists such as Baby Keem, Kanye and Dababy dominating charts in the U.S. with hits like “ORANGE SODA,” “Devil in a New Dress” and “Suge,” which align closely with my taste.

But after listening to the same 60 to 80 songs on heavy rotation, I decided that I needed to explore a new genre of music.

My taste wasn’t entirely hip-hop, as I had meddled in ‘80s and ‘90s rock previously, listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Libertines. Using this as a base, I switched my playlists from Apple Music to Spotify (far superior at suggesting music for you), and from that, I began curating a new taste in music centered on what was at first ‘80s rock.

Soon, I discovered newer rock bands that enjoyed a recent surge in popularity, such as Cage the Elephant, The Strokes and Tame Impala. But these weren’t traditional rock artists. Instead, they were indie rock bands, who also experimented in indie pop and “indietronica,” genres that lean closer to alternative music and emphasize the styles of the ’70s, 80s and 90s.

Immediately hooked, I developed an interest in this new style of music, being drawn to either the simple change in style or perhaps a nostalgic sense it provided. Over a period of months, I began listening to anything from British invasion rock to post-punk music, with bands such as The Undertones, Maximo Park, The Frights, Arctic Monkeys and occasionally individual artists such as Mac DeMarco. Whatever came up as recommended in my playlists — mostly the aforementioned artists — dictated my taste for a week or two.

More recently my taste has evolved to indie surf rock, with The Buttertones and Surf Curse being at the forefront of my playlist additions. Throughout this journey, I’ve found that there’s more to good music than just hip-hop, and with the growing popularity of indie music, I’m excited for good content in future playlists.