A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2022

 

You blink, and suddenly another entire year has passed. You know what I mean? But with another December upon us, Spotify has blessed (or cursed) us with another year of Spotify Wrapped. It's a judgment day of sorts, for many of us - a reminder of what weird stuff we listened to most often. I've griped in the past about my doubts that the report is 100% accurate. (How could we forget last year when Spotify inexplicably said that Weezer's "Island in the Sun" was my top song of the year? I love Weezer, but "Island in the Sun" certainly couldn't have been my #1 song of the year - it wouldn't crack my Top 10 songs in the band's whole discography.) Nevertheless, it is fun to look at the recap and see what songs and artists show up from year to year.

Admittedly, I only listen to a fraction of the music I did back when I was working in an office; now that I'm approaching year three of the Work From Home era (insane), my days are usually filled with children's television programs - more often than not, animated shows that prominently feature do-gooder dogs, resourceful cars or talking babies. (If they ever make a "Streaming Services Wrapped," SIGN. ME. UP. I need that data!) "Paw Patrol" notwithstanding, I still clocked 9,000 minutes of listening in 2022 - that's 150 hours and an average of about three and a half hours per week (January through October), but who's counting? So anyway, my results don't hold a candle to most people out there but at least it's not nothing.

As has become tradition, I've decided to condense Spotify's 100-song playlist down to my favorite 50 songs for everyone's listening pleasure, and I've even thrown in a 51st song this year... but I'll explain that later. Let's break down this year's results.

Spotify Wrapped - Top 10 Songs

1. Wish I Knew You - The Revivalists
2. Say It Ain't So - Weezer
3. Smooth - Santana (feat. Rob Thomas)
4. Uprising - Muse
5. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
6. The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
7. Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Africa - Weezer
9. Starlight - Muse
10. Could Have Been Me - The Struts

Analysis: Overall, this is a pretty solid Top 10. "Wish I Knew You" was a bit of a surprise as the top song, but not an overwhelmingly surprising revelation. I would have put money on "Say It Ain't So" or even Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" to be #1, but hey - what do I know? I'm glad to see a song from Santana as a headliner this year. We saw Santana in concert this summer, so I chalk "Smooth" up as concert prep. "Seven Nation Army" is an all-time banger; I wonder if Jack White had any idea what would become of that song when he wrote it. It was interesting to see that two songs from Muse made the list. "Could Have Been Me" is down from the #2 spot in 2021, but certainly remains one of my favorite songs. Perhaps the biggest surprise this year is that I don't have any major complaints about my Top 10. Good stuff. 

Top Artists

Spotify Wrapped usually gets my top artists of the year right, and I think it was no different this year. There was a little shake-up and some new contenders, but it can all be explained, which makes it all right with me.

Weezer has been my top band on Spotify three out of the past four years and was also named my Artist of the Decade, so it's basically expected to have them on the throne each December.

The Revivalists make a big leap up to #2. Good for them! Sometimes, when I need something to listen to as I work (if Stockton will allow it), a chill band like The Revivalists just hits the spot.

Earth, Wind & Fire and Santana! Look at them go! I'd be surprised if they ever make it back to the top of the mountain they climbed this year. These two bands put on a heck of a show this summer at USANA Amphitheater at a concert that we literally waited years to see. This show was put off due to COVID for three years, and we finally got the chance to see them, at long last. I spent a lot of time listening to them before and after the concert, so having them as two of the top five bands this year makes total sense.

The Struts have become another Top Artist mainstay, including having been my top artist of 2019, so it's good to have them back again for 2022.

Top Genres

Ok, this one is going to require some explanation.

• Rock: Obviously. I learned, to a large degree, that there is nothing new under the sun, as far as my musical taste goes. The old standards graced my Spotify Wrapped in abundance this year, featuring tons of the same music that I've been listening to since high school and college. 
• Movie Tunes: WHAT?!? This truly boggled my mind. My second highest genre of the year? No. No... but wait... Yes? After some thought, I remembered that I created a huge playlist of Disney music for our trip to Disney World in February and I spent tons of time listening to it. I've included a couple Disney-themed songs in the condensed playlist as a memento. Also, there was one Sunday morning where I augmented my study of the Old Testament with a few rousing songs from the excellent "Joseph and the Amazing Techni-color Dreamcoat" soundtrack, so I suppose that's also partially to blame.
• Pop Rock: I'm looking at a Spotify playlist called "90s Pop Rock" right now. It features bands like Weezer, Everclear, Sister Hazel, The Wallflowers, Sugar Ray, matchbox twenty, Collective Soul and R.E.M. So, I mean... yeah. Guilty.
• Adult Standards: I'm now looking at a tailored Spotify playlist to see which bands they consider to fall under this category. Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jr., Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra. Ok, it's all making sense now. We had a casino party at our place with some friends back in October and we were rocking "Vegas" music all night long. Fair.
• Dance Pop: This was another weird one. Let's pull up another Spotify playlist. "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon, "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai, "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max - all guilty pleasures. There's a lot of stuff on this list that I wouldn't listen to, but I guess they busted me for a handful of songs I crank from time to time. If this genre was any higher than 5, though, I'd riot.

Other Fun or Otherwise Notable Songs in My Top 100

• You're an Ocean - Fastball (#11 - a hidden gem)
• Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne (#13 - heck yes)
• Are U Gonna Be My Girl - Jet (#14 - throat clearers of the world unite)
• The Throne Room - From "Star Tours - The Adventures Continue" (#23 - my top "Disney World" song of the year, apparently)
• September - Earth, Wind & Fire (#25)
• Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon (#26 - honestly shocked this wasn't in the Top 10)
• Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups (#32 - a Rock Band classic)
• The Cave - Mumford & Sons (#41 - I remember this playing VERY loudly during one of my recent workouts)
• Thnks fr th Mmrs - Fallout Boy (#59 - also a frequent workout tune)
• Burning Love - Elvis (#70 - I'll be honest: I intentionally tried to get Elvis as a top artist this year... didn't work)
• San Francisco - The Mowgli's (#71 - a new song introduced to me by my brother, Cody; I'll overlook the incorrect use of an apostrophe)
• Me and My Broken Heart - Rixton (#81 - a catchy song that probably qualifies as "Dance Pop")
• The Three Caballeros - From Grand Fiesta Tour (#86 - Stockton was only 1 1/2 when we went to Disney World, but we could tell that he loved the Three Caballeros ride)
• Finale - From "Harmonious" (#88 - probably the best fireworks show I've ever seen, courtesy of EPCOT)
• Don't Speak - No Doubt (#96 - there is NO WAY this song was only the 96th song on my list; I would have imagined it being Top 10 or, at the very least, Top 25 - I swear it came on every time I was listening to music while doing the dishes)
• You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC (#100 - the "Mr. Irrelevant" of Spotify songs)

The Bonus Track

I've cut down my 100-song playlist provided by Spotify to 50 songs, as I've been doing since 2018, but I'm adding a bonus track this year, for a total of 51 songs. Why, you ask? Because (wisely) Spotify stops tracking music after Halloween, which means that you can listen to Christmas music to your little heart's content once November 1 rolls around. However, this tactic prevented one song from making my personal list - and if it had, I think there's an extremely, EXTREMELY high probability that it would have been my #1 song of the year. That song is none other than "Good Tonight," from the movie "The Bad Guys," which my son Stockton watched on repeat for like three weeks straight.

For a while, this song was a bargaining chip to get him to willingly leave the house and get in the car. Once he discovered that we could play "Bad Guys" in the car, that was all we listened to for many a car trip in the month of November. As I write this sentence, in fact, I'm playing the song on my tablet and Stockton is trying to discover where the sound is coming from. I don't mind the song, and Stockton will adorably sing along with the first couple of lines, so I can live with it.

Condensed Playlist

I'll embed my 51-song playlist below, but in the event that that ever breaks here on the blog site, you can also access it by using this hyperlink.

That's gonna do it for this year's most musical blog, folks. Enjoy yourselves as this year comes to an end and always remember: the Grinch's heart grew three times that day and so can yours.

Until next time.