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Showing posts with label Bob Seger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Seger. Show all posts

Friday, December 31, 2021

A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2021

 


You know, I wasn't great at blogging this year. But today, on New Year's Eve, I knew that there was one thing I really needed to do - write up a quick blog about my Spotify Wrapped for 2021. I've done this a couple years in a row, now, and it would be a shame if I didn't put together a lovely little post about my listening habits this year.

This year, I didn't listen to as much music as I typically do because I spent a ton of time watching movies and TV - and I kept track of everything I watched, too - (insert facepalm emoji) - because I'm weird. Nevertheless, Spotify used their super secret stats and algorithms to tally up my 6,918 minutes of music and tell me what I like to listen to. I just did the math and that's 115 hours of music, so that's not nothing, so let's take a look at what I did in 2021.


Spotify Wrapped - Top 10 Songs

Here are, allegedly - and that's a BIG "allegedly" - the 10 songs I listened to most this year.

  1. Island in the Sun - Weezer
  2. Could Have Been Me - The Struts
  3. Dela - Johnny Clegg, Savuka
  4. Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus - The Strokes
  5. Kings & Queens - Ava Max
  6. Run-Around - Blues Traveler
  7. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne
  8. Two Princes - Spin Doctors
  9. Instant Crush - Daft Punk (feat. Julian Casablancas)
  10. Another Hit of Showmanship - The Struts (feat. Albert Hammond Jr.)

Analysis: A couple observations. This is, by far, the most random and fun Top 10 I've had since I started making these year-end blogs. For crying out loud, that song from "George of the Jungle" is Number 3! Got a couple songs by The Struts, a song by The Strokes and a song by The Struts featuring a member of The Strokes, not to mention the Daft Punk/Strokes collab that came in at Number 9. Six, Seven and Eight are certainly three songs I listened to on repeat while driving several times, and, perhaps my proudest accomplishment of all is that Ava Max cracked the Top Five. Despite it's somewhat feminist overtones, "Kings & Queens" is, as the kids say, a real banger.

Now, let's talk about "Island in the Sun." There is NO WAY that "Island in the Sun" was my top song of the year. I highly doubt that it was even my top Weezer song of the year, so I'd be curious to learn Spotify's reasoning behind that one. Looking back, it was Number 4 in 2020, so something's going on to make Spotify think that I really love that song, but one thing is for certain: I'm going to do whatever I can to avoid listening to it at all in 2022.

Top Genres & Artists

Something that Spotify got right was my top genres for the year. No complaints about this list:



Also unsurprisingly, here are my top artists of the year:


Vampire Weekend might be somewhat debatable; there was a point in time, when their most recent album came out, when I listened to them a whole lot. I'm not sure how much I actually listened to them this year, but I'm also not sure who would take their place in the Top 5 if they got booted. Maybe Elton John, Queen or The Goo Goo Dolls? But yeah, I think this is probably right.

Looking back on previous blogs, this marks the fourth time that Weezer has been in my Top 5 artists. Bob Seger has also made the cut for three years in a row now, which is a testament to his classic discography. Gotta love Bobby Boy. Upon further inspection, it looks like Vampire Weekend knocked The Goo Goo Dolls out of the Top 5 for the first time in three years. Maybe they'll bounce back next year. Finally, congratulations to The Strokes, who entered the revered Top 5 for the first time - an accomplishment they can be proud of, for sure. Well deserved, gentlemen.

2021... as a Movie?

This year's Spotify Wrapped provided a look at what the soundtrack from the movie of my year would have been... or something. I don't know. It was kind of goofy and kind of interesting, but, if you're curious, here's what they came up with:



I mean... I'd probably watch it.

Other Fun Songs in My Top 100


Condensed Playlist

I've shortened the list to 50 songs, for your listening enjoyment. You can find it embedded below or hyperlinked here.




A Final Fun Fact

I learned this year that Spotify only tracks your listening stats until October 31 each year, so feel free to listen to whatever crap you want, once November rolls around, but keep in mind that if you're still listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album on January 1 of the new year, there's a chance that "Holiday Music" could be on your list of top genres for your next Spotify Wrapped.

That's about it for now, friends. Thanks for sticking with Signs of the Times for another glorious calendar year. We'll catch you on the flip side.

Oh, and remember - all of our problems aren't going to magically disappear at the stroke of midnight like everyone thought would happen on January 1, 2021. Later!
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Location: The Underground, Jive City, USA

Monday, December 28, 2020

A-Town Playlist: 2020 Recap and Songs for Stockton

It goes without saying that 2020 was a weird year. Just... weird. I've been working from home since March. I honestly thought, at the time, that they'd send us home for a couple weeks until this "coronavirus" thing blew over, then we'd be right back in the office. That, clearly, didn't happen. And they're not planning on sending us back to the office until (at least) July 5, 2021. Wild.

Because I've been working from home, I've watched a lot more TV and movies, and I've listened to a lot less Spotify. Nevertheless, as has become somewhat of an annual tradition here at Signs of the Times, I wanted to put together a quick blog to talk about my listening habits from the past year.

This year, I am not totally confident that Spotify got it right, based on their "2020 Wrapped" snapshot that they compiled for me. Don't get me wrong - I love Tom Petty, but there is no way that his "American Girl" was my Number 3 song of the year. And, unsurprisingly, Weezer was my top artist of 2020, but I am not sure that "Island in the Sun" was one of my top songs, either. In the past, I've put together a playlist of 50 songs, based on Spotify's year-in-review, along with some personal favorites that didn't make the cut, but this year I think I'll just give you what Spotify said were my Top 10, link you to a personally curated playlist that has nothing to do with my favorite music, necessarily, and shout out a few other favorites that seemed to be playing quite a bit over the past 12 months.

Let's sort through the data and get this figured out, shall we?


Spotify Wrapped - Top 10

Allegedly, here are the Top 10 songs I listened to in 2020... according to Spotify:

  1. Salvation - The Strumbellas
  2. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
  3. American Girl - Tom Petty
  4. Island in the Sun - Weezer
  5. Hanging By a Moment - Lifehouse
  6. Run-Around - Blues Traveller
  7. The Age of Worry - John Mayer
  8. Slide - The Goo Goo Dolls
  9. Listen to the Music - The Doobie Brothers
  10. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of - U2

Analysis: Some of this is accurate. "Salvation" surely has a valid claim to be my top song of 2020, so I won't debate that at all. "Free Fallin'" has got to be right up there, as well, for some reasons that I'll explain later. "American Girl" is a great song, but there is no way on Earth that I listened to that song third-most this year. Not a chance. "Island in the Sun" is certainly a song that I heard a few times this year, but I don't know if it deserved to be on this list. The Doobie Brothers landing the Nine spot is a bit of a surprise, but I'm ok with all of the other songs on the list.

Spotify Wrapped - Top Genres and Artists

As far as genres are concerned, I think Spotify actually got it right, as shown below. I typically listen to a lot of alternative rock and throwbacks from the '70s, '80s and '90s. I don't know how they exactly categorize "Rock" or anything, so it would be interesting to see a bit deeper of a breakdown to see how much "Classic Rock" I listened to, etc., but this summary feels accurate. You can also see that a couple weeks listening to the "Hamilton" soundtrack made an impact on my 2020.


My Top 5 artists of the year are all bands that I have seen in concert, so this is not surprising at all. I remember on several occasions going out of my way to listen to Weezer and Muse albums, specifically, so having them in as my two top artists seems fitting.


I was unsure who my top artist of 2020 would be, but it came as no shock when it was revealed to be Weezer, who I've felt for many years now has become my favorite band of all time. It is an honor that I will take to the grave that Spotify has appointed me as among the top 0.5% of their listeners in 2020.



Surprising Songs That Didn't Make the Spotify List

Spotify gives users a 100-song playlist of the songs they played most throughout the year. I was very surprised to see that several songs - most notably, "My Shot" from the Hamilton soundtrack didn't make that list because I know I listened to Lin-Manuel Miranda's nasaly little voice sing that song at least like 15 times. Here are a handful of songs that I had on repeat, whether on my computer at home or on the radio on the road:


Songs for Stockton

This is where the real fun starts. My wife and I had our first child back in October. It was truly one of the one good things to happen in 2020. As the due date grew closer, I began to feel a bit bad that I wasn't reading stories to the baby every night like Pinterest would make you believe a good father should. I came up with another idea - something easy to do each evening to help me bond with the soon-to-be-born child. I decided that each night I would play a song for the baby. One song a night with no duplicate artists. This ended up being something I looked forward to every day and was probably one of my favorite parts of the pregnancy process.

The result was a 75-song, five-hour playlist of some of my favorite songs from many of my favorite artists. I would throw the playlist on in the car when I was driving down to his pre-birth check-up appointments and many other times, when I wanted to think about my impending fatherhood. I really loved it, and I listened to it many, many times over the course of the second half of this year.

Of course, doing so skewed my Spotify stats, which is why random songs like "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" by U2 landed a spot in my Top 10. "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty was the first song in the playlist, which is why it's no surprise that it was my second most-listened-to track of the year. Because I listened to the playlist so often, I have some doubt as to whether my Spotify Wrapped playlist is an accurate depiction of my taste in music, and using the list provided by Spotify as my year-end playlist feels a little weird.

So... I figured I could just provide the entire "Songs for Stockton" playlist in this blog so you can check out the choices I made when deciding which music I wanted my baby to hear right off the bat. Behold:



(If the embedded playlist doesn't load, click here.)

*****

Well, there you have it. Like I said, it was a weird year, for sure, and the Spotify stats seem a bit skewed, but music is great and we can still enjoy it, all the same. Remember, if you haven't accessed your Spotify Wrapped stats, it's not too late! Be sure to click here and see what Spotify thinks you liked this year.

Whether or not that report is entirely accurate is anyone's guess.

Happy new year.
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Location: The Underground, Jive City, USA

Friday, December 27, 2019

A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2019


Another year has come and gone. New Year's Eve is nearly upon us, bringing with it another year-end A-Town Playlist! As many of you may have already noticed, Spotify has made the rounds, informing its users of their trends for 2019. This has become something that I have started to look forward to all year long, and reviewing my Spotify Wrapped playlist over the past week or two has been a lot of fun. Spotify gave me a list of my top 100 songs for this year, but I've curated that down to a 50-song playlist for your listening enjoyment.

Here's my Spotify playlist for 2019:


(https://spoti.fi/2Sw8LEV)


The Top 10

  1. Bambina - Vampire Weekend
  2. This Life - Vampire Weekend
  3. Salvation - The Strumbellas
  4. Body Talks - The Struts
  5. In Love with a Camera - The Struts
  6. Could Have Been Me - The Struts
  7. One Night Only - The Struts
  8. Africa - Weezer
  9. The Power of Love - Huey Lewis & the News
  10. Hollywood Nights - Bob Seger
It was a big year for Vampire Weekend and The Struts! Between discovering new albums and preparing for concerts, music by those two artists was constantly pumping through my earbuds and Google Home Mini.

The Strumbellas landed a spot at the top of the charts in 2019, earning the bronze medal for their catchy tune "Salvation."

Weezer's cover of "Africa" graces my year-end playlist for the second consecutive year. I've finally come to terms with the fact that this version of the song is better than the original.

Shoutout to Huey Lewis! I have no idea how "The Power of Love" song cracked my Top 10, but it's a great song from a great movie, and if Spotify says it's true, it must be.

Bob Seger made his debut on the playlist this year. I spend hours listening to his greatest hits before attending his farewell tour in the fall. "Hollywood Nights" is certainly one of my favorite tracks.

2019: The Year in Concerts

I had the privilege of attending a couple really great concerts this year, and Spotify took note of my preparatory efforts. My top songs included many from the discographies of Train, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Struts, Bob Seger and Elton John.

Strange Songs, Courtesy of Spotify

Occasionally, a weird song will catch my attention. Such was the case in 2019, and I've thrown a couple of those odd anthems into my mix, including the following:


Pump-up Songs

I don't really have a "workout mix" or anything like that, but I'll often boot up Spotify if I want to feel like I can run through a brick wall. I've teased it for years but never truly put my nose to the grindstone - if I were ever to make "The Big Ticket 3," some of these songs would be on the soundtrack:


New Artists, New Favorites

According to Spotify, I discovered 466 new artists this year. I spent, apparently, seven hours listening to Vampire Weekend - particularly their new album, "Father of the Bride," which, by and large, was very enjoyable. I've also included some of my favorite songs from a few other "new" artists in this year's playlist, including:



Timeless Classics

I've scattered in some older songs by my favorite artists, as well, including tracks by Tom Petty, Three Dog Night, Cold War Kids, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers and The Revivalists, among others bands that I can't quite classify as "new."

The Wedding Playlist
I got married back in September. This may be news to some of you. Surprise! As we ramped up for the big day, I created a playlist for the reception. Several of those songs cracked Spotify's Top 100 for 2019:


World Citizen

Spotify informed me that I listened to artists from 28 different countries in 2019, including Elton John (United Kingdom), AC/DC (Australia) and Juanes (Colombia).


Top Genres

I listened to a bunch of different genres in 2019 - predominantly several types of rock (classic, pop rock, modern and punk rock), with a smattering of pop music that I probably Shazammed from the radio on my drive to work.


Overall Listening Time

At the time that my Spotify Wrapped report was sent to me two weeks ago, I had spent 30,613 minutes listening to Spotify in 2019. That's just over 510 hours or 21 entire days of time, and blessed be the name of Spotify Premium for it.

This included 13,771 minutes (229 hours) listening to podcasts. If you're looking for any recommendations, Spotify says I most enjoy sports, comedy and history podcasts. A couple of the shows I constantly listened to to pass time while at work this year were:

Top Artists

It comes as no surprise to me that The Struts were my top artist for 2019. Spotify reports that I spent 15 hours listening to them this year (although that number might have increased in the past two weeks since I was given these stats), much of which came directly before and after their killer concert this summer. If you want to check out their setlist from that show, click here. I can honestly say that The Struts concert was one of the most fun and enjoyable shows I've ever attended.

Here are my top five artists for 2019:
  1. The Struts
  2. Bob Seger
  3. Weezer
  4. Vampire Weekend
  5. The Goo Goo Dolls



Top Artist of the Decade

As I mentioned last year, 2018 was the first year that I really, seriously started using Spotify. A more accurate depiction of my listening habits for the entire decade would need to incorporate numbers from my iTunes library, which would take much more effort to calculate. However, my top artist of the decade, based on Spotify stats, checks out, and it should not be a shock to anyone who knows me.

It's Weezer, the group I have called my all-time favorite since I discovered them more than 15 years ago.


***

That's it for this year! It has been quite an auditory adventure for me, and I hope you perhaps were able to find some new music if you read this blog. If you're up for some conversation, let me know who your top artists were in the comments below, on Twitter (@atownmania and @sottunderground), or hit me up on Facebook.

Finally, if you're a Spotify user and haven't had the chance to do so already, be sure to head to https://spotifywrapped.com to discover your top trends for 2019!


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Location: The Underground, Jive City, USA
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