Essays

The Early Y2K Internet Was Just Better

Feeling nostalgic for dial-up modems and offline MP3 players

May 21 • Stephan Kunze

10 Ways To Support Independent Music And Culture in 2026

Some practical ways to take responsibility as a listener

Jan 4 • Stephan Kunze

Summer in the Country

My daily routine in our off-grid home in rural Germany

Jun 6, 2025 • Stephan Kunze

Enjoy the Silence

Your life is not a movie, so stop soundtracking it 24/7

Mar 17, 2025 • Stephan Kunze

Still the Problem with Music

Spoiler alert: It's the money

Mar 5, 2025 • Stephan Kunze

Thoughts on Slow Productivity

Inspired by Cal Newport and David Graeber

Dec 10, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

Life Without Streaming: An Update

Four weeks ago, I canceled my Spotify subscription. Here's how it went so far

Sep 30, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

There Is Only Love And Fear

A dispatch from Berlin during a dark election weekend

Sep 2, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

I’ve Given Up On Music Streaming

Enshittification has reached intolerable levels

Aug 27, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

I Quit Social Media in 2018 and Never Looked Back

The dropout movement is getting stronger by the day

Jul 23, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

Stop Fetishizing Data

Our numbers obsession has killed music journalism, now it’s slowly killing music itself

Jun 11, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

Why I Abandoned My Kindle

Only paper books provide true refuge from the deafening noise of the web

May 25, 2024 • Stephan Kunze

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