Rhapsody Moments: What’s Yours?

Today Rhapsody launched a new ad campaign focusing on “Rhapsody moments.” A Rhapsody moment is when a song ties in to a certain place/time/event in your life, and you’ll forever associate the two. For instance, each time I head up to Whistler to go mountain biking, I listen to The Cat Empire’s “Two Shoes,” because it’s one of the happiest songs I’ve ever heard and will forever remind me of the world’s best free riders flying down the trails.

Rhapsody wanted to know what music other people associated with things in their life, so they launched this campaign based on actual Rhapsody customers. A call out was placed on the Rhapsody Facebook Fan page, tweets were sent, and alas we landed our first future TV star: Dave. Dave is an avid fan of Rhapsody, and has been for several years. He lives in Seattle and his first Rhapsody moment is during his bike commute to work. Check out his video:

I wanted to pick Dave’s brain about why he picked this song, and find out a little bit more about our first fan selected for this campaign.

Real Story: Tell me about you. What are your hobbies and interests? How does music play a daily role in your life?

Dave K: I am an urban designer/ landscape architect.  I design primarily parks and public spaces.  Other than music my hobbies are travelling, biking, windsurfing, surfing, skiing, hiking, and spending time with friends.

Music has always been in my life.  In my world, a moment is not complete if there isn’t music.  I use music to focus, unwind, distract, entertain, motivate, console; whatever the situation there truly is a perfect song.  Music can change everything.  Music can be everything.  So many memories are attached to songs.  Three notes of any given song can send me back to a specific time and place that I may have otherwise forgotten if it weren’t for the music.

Music is a part of all that I do and a large part of how I relate to people.  For instance, I met my wife at a bar standing at the jukebox, no joke.  Shuffling through the selection we were both commenting.  I took notice of her taste in the tunes and knew she was special when she commented she had just recorded the Bright Eyes Austin City Limits with Jim James and M. Ward (pre-Monsters of Folk).  From there, most of our first dates were live shows.  Now married over a year, music continues to be one of our most important and favorite shared experience

RS: How did you find out about being able to star in a Rhapsody commercial? What was the process like?

DK: A friend saw a post on her friend’s Facebook page about it.  She forwarded it to me saying, “This is totally you, you have to do it.”  I said, “what the heck,” answered a bunch of questions, made a short video, and next thing I knew there was a camera crew on my front doorstep.  It all happened pretty fast really.  Although the questions weren’t easy I enjoyed the exercise of “officially” writing out what I’ve been blabbing about my whole life: music.

RS: Have you had any “fame” moments yet where anyone recognizes you as the dude from the Rhapsody commercial?

DK: No fame moments yet as the commercials won’t start airing until tonight (12/15).  You think now I’ll stop getting mistaken for Dave Mathews or Jason Mraz?  I’d be cool with that.

RS: Why did you pick The Temper Trap for your spot? What other songs would you add to your “bike to work” playlist?

DK: Starting from an intimate riff and building to a huge, wide open anthem, the energy of Sweet Disposition, I felt followed the sequence of heading out for a rainy ride through the city perfectly.  Although the lyrics don’t relate so much to my “moment” the mood fits well as a personal fight song; exactly what I need if I’m riding in the rain.  (Lucky for me I found a slice of sunshine there at the end for my “self reflection” shot.)

Other songs I would add to my bike to work playlist are: Keep the Car Running- Arcade Fire, Roll Up Your Sleeves- We Were Promised Jetpacks, Waiting On the Stairs- Pela, Don’t Bother Me- The Blakes, Don’t Stop- Brazilian Girls, Untrust Us- Crystal Castles, Unsung- Helmet, Crash- Dave Mathews Band… naaa, scratch that last one.

RS: Why do you use Rhapsody? And do you use it alone or in concert with other services?

DK: First, Rhapsody has the best selection.  I’ve got a pretty broad taste in music and can get into some relatively obscure stuff.  I first chose Rhapsody because it was the service where I could find most everything I was looking for.  Then, with the introduction of Rhapsody To Go it just made it easier to love.  I’ve got Rhapsody at home on my computer, at work on my computer, at work throughout the office over the Sonos music system, and on my Rhapsody Ibiza.  So, with the selection and accessibility of Rhapsody I haven’t really used another service since  about 2005.

RS: What other songs do you have a special connection to from various moments in your life?

California Waiting, Kings Of Leon

Off The Wall, Michael Jackson

No Woman No Cry (Live), Bob Marley

Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn

Bluish, Animal Collective

Even After All, Finley Quaye

Beast Of Burden, The Rolling Stones

God Only Knows, The Beach Boys

Lump Sum, Bon Iver

Unknown Legend, Neil Young

Ripple, The Grateful Dead

You Can Close Your Eyes, James Taylor

California Stars, Wilco

RS: If you were to try to convince people to use Rhapsody, what would you say?

DK: The fact that I can pull up any song whenever, wherever for whomever is better than anything I could ever say.  However, if I do need to go into a sales pitch, I usually just tell them that it’s got a way better selection, accessibility and interface than or other services and that nothing beats it if you really like to explore music.

RS: Any other thoughts or comments?

DK: It was really great working with everyone at Rhapsody and MTV.  Everyone had fun with it all and made what could have potentially been a “what did I get myself into” situation into an enjoyable time.  I love what I do, but I love music more. I’d rather be working at Rhapsody.