Of course I had heard Nina Simone – but until lockdown I had never really heard her. Here are some other discoveries – and a song to start with for each artist. I grew up loving the Smiths and the Cure, but I didn’t want to be pulled down too far and sorry Leonard Cohen, but a surfeit of minor chords were too much for my fragile equilibrium. The other stipulation: the music couldn’t be too gloomy. To narrow it down, I set a couple of rules: focus on the canon – music others are passionate about but passed me by the first time around and don’t spend too much time revisiting old favourites: this is about discovery. People who knew a lot more about music than I did would urge me away from the algorithm and recommend which albums to start with, what tracks to focus on.
![every morning sugar ray discography every morning sugar ray discography](https://images.eil.com/large_image/SUGAR_RAY_THE%2BBEST%2BOF-673040.jpg)
I shared what I was listening to with Twitter each day my account’s not up at the moment, but during lockdown followers could join me, and spend their own day with the same artist. I’d start with the most popular songs and then make it through the top albums (yes, with their intended tracklisting) as the day went on – and the Spotify algorithm led me deeper into their catalogue – I’d stay listening while doing housework and workouts. Each weekday for a couple of months I would wake up, pick one artist, and just stick with them all day: going on my little walk, or even just sitting in a chair listening, giving the music my total attention. But during Sydney’s long lockdown I decided I wanted to mix it up.