Sometimes, all we want from our Uber driver at the end of a night out is mellow Magic FM or the soothing tones of Smooth Radio, but there are times when something better tailored to our individual music tastes would go down a treat.
One driver got the memo and has become a social media sensation after sharing the playlists they curated for passengers of different demographics, based on quiet assumptions about their music tastes.
Twitter user @TEEJUS___, who works for Uber and Lyft and uses they/them pronouns, shared screenshots of the nine playlists and their hilarious names, which include "basic 20-30s" and "fucking hipsters". The idea has since gone viral, with the original tweet having racked up 46k retweets and 213k likes by Tuesday afternoon.
So I just started driving for uber and Lyft and I’ve been getting a lot more compliments on my music since generalizing my passengers by 1 of these 11 playlists pic.twitter.com/WhX1O5wZ4b
— 🍑 (@TEEJUS___) February 25, 2018
Other available playlists, all of which are public under the Spotify username TJ Jones, include “white dudes who look like [they] like rap", "quiet ppl", "heady bros", "POC (people of colour)" and "30+".
Each one contains 20-30 songs catering to the named demographic, so on the "basic 20s-30s" playlist you'll find Fleetwood Mac, Drake and Sia, for example; "quiet ppl" are assumed to like Frankie Cosmos, Porches and Sufjan Stevens, and "white dudes who look like they like rap"? Kanye West, Future and Chance the Rapper.
Jones has proven to be quite the entrepreneur, capitalising on their moment in the online spotlight by offering to categorise people for $5.
😅 ppl actually paid me for this but I don’t know their @ ! Christina and Tate who are u pic.twitter.com/jDzFbw2653
— 🍑 (@TEEJUS___) February 26, 2018
Other fans are outing themselves on social media as identifying with the categories and going wild for the mix of songs on offer.
i am quiet people https://t.co/gU3gDRWYlI
— ॐ Jerry Friggin' P ॐ (@JerryPaperREAL) February 26, 2018
I identify as “basic 20-30s.” listening to it rn honestly I didn’t know I wanted to listen to “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” & “No More Parties in LA” back to back. this dude has a playlist making gift https://t.co/3xwuHonhYa
— Alexis Mae (@alexiscali28) February 27, 2018
i’m white dude who looks like he likes rap and i’m fine with that
— yaRn (@_r_y_a_n__) February 26, 2018
that's me! I'm obviously quiet people but just wanted to thank you for the genius contribution
— Tate Williams (@tatejw) February 26, 2018
I’m sorry but these playlists are so good and I’m so shook. quiet, hipster and heady are all bops i can’t.
— * ·˚.✫ * ✧ .⋆ ✵ * ✧✷ ·. ⊹˚* ·✵.˚. ✫ •✷· ✵ ˚ ·*˚✺ (@erinmarieisaac) February 26, 2018
Jones has even received job offers owing to his superb music curation, with fans lobbying for them to be hired by Spotify.
Yo @TEEJUS___, I need a music supervisor for a couple of short films this summer. If you’re interested, the job is yours! :) Your @spotify playlists are a perfect resume.
— Arturas Kerelis (@arturaskerelis) February 26, 2018
Get this man a job as playlist curator @Spotify https://t.co/wId4fMBCKL
— tuck (@Tuckers__Tweets) February 26, 2018
And it looks like we could be treated to some new playlists soon, including “hype up for drunk white girls 20’s”! Let's hope other drivers are taking notes.
Working on it https://t.co/M7LgMH3LGr
— 🍑 (@TEEJUS___) February 26, 2018
Read These Next:
The New, Cheap Way To Get Home After A Night Out In London
Spotify Is Exposing How 'Old' We Are According To Our Music Tastes
There's A Gender Pay Gap For Uber Drivers, But It's Complicated
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Diver's Viral Video Shows The Horrifying Amount Of Plastic In The Sea
WhatsApp Users Can Now Pay Back That Money They Owe Friends Over The App
A Beer Company Tried To Take On Gender Inequality, With Embarrassing Results