A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2023 and Songs for Griffin

If you're anything like me, you've been anticipating what your Spotify Wrapped for 2023 was going to look like for, oh, probably the last 11 and a half months. Thankfully, we need worry no longer, as our Spotify overlords have bestowed personalized statistics upon us once again, and I am more than happy to break my results down for you - right here, right now.

But first, a meme:

For those of you who lie awake at night wondering what kind of music I like and which artists I've had on repeat for the past 12 months, this may be the luckiest day of your lives.

Spotify Wrapped - Top 10 Songs

1. 
   Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
2. D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
3. One Headlight - The Wallflowers
4. I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Dance Floor Anthem) - Good Charlotte
5. Dancing in the Moonlight - King Harvest
6. My Body - Young the Giant
7. Wish I Knew You - The Revivalists
8. Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac
9. Here It Goes Again - OK Go
10. Simplify - Young the Giant

Analysis: "There is nothing new under the sun," I complained last year. Well, almost everything is new in my Top 10 songs this year! It only features one song by one of my Top 5 artists (more on them later), it features one song that virtually came out of nowhere ("Dancing in the Moonlight"), a mostly random song by Fleetwood Mac, and not one but two songs by Young the Giant. These are, perhaps, my most surprising Top 10 songs since I started doing these end-of-year blogs, and I'm actually ok with it.

It is highly noteworthy that many of the songs in my Top 100 came from a playlist I made for our eight-month-old boy, Griffin, in the months leading up to his delivery date, and I listened to that playlist every time I drove down for a baby appointment, so those songs got a lot of play time. For instance, "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "D'yer Makk'er" were the first two songs on that playlist, and I think all of the other songs, other than "Wish I Knew You" and "My Body," were also songs that I used for little Baby Griff's musical enjoyment.

I would have thought that there were a few other songs from Griffin's playlist that would have cracked the Top 10 way before King Harvest, Young the Giant and Fleetwood Mac, but whatever. I'm not that mad about it.

It is also notable that the only song from last year's Top 10 that stayed on the list this year was "Wish I Knew You" by the Revivalists. Everything else is new, which is a little wild.

Overall, pretty good stuff.

Minutes Listened

I was worried about this stat for 2023 because, as I've continued to work from home with two boys, the amount of time I spend listening to Spotify has significantly reduced over the past couple of years, and most of my Daddy Music Time (TM pending) comes when I'm driving or when I'm at the gym.

On top of that, during my time on paternity leave, I got really into something that I haven't really done much of in the past - listening to audiobooks. And believe me, I CRUSHED some audiobooks this year. Like, absolutely murdered them. If I'm lucky, I'll get some similar statistical recaps of how many books I've listened to this year and I'll make a blog of it. Those are some stats I'd be very curious to see.

Nevertheless, with Spotify Wrapped in mind, I tried my best to listen to Spotify as much as feasible so that I could rack up some relatively interesting totals for the end of the year.

I listened to 7,205 minutes of music on Spotify this year, which comes out to just over 120 hours. All things considered, that's not too bad, I guess.

(Editor's note: LOL look at me absolutely cramming in my listening on October 31 to try and solidify any last-minute moves on my song and artist leaderboards.)

As I have done for my MLBTV wrap-up blogs, I decided that I'll start keeping track of how much music I'm tallying each year so that I can compare the numbers more easily, because I'm weird and that's a thing that I like to be able to do.

• 2023: 7,205
• 2022: 9,000+
• 2021: 6,918
• 2020: ?
• 2019: 30,613
• 2018: ?

Looks like I didn't put (or wasn't provided) the actual number of minutes in my blogs for 2018 and 2020 (whoops), so I don't have access to those anymore, but I bet it that 2020 was way higher than 2021 and 2018 was high but a bit lower than 2019 because I think that was the first year that I regularly used Spotify.

Also, can you believe that total for 2019? Insane. That, of course, was back when I was working in an actual office, with a 20-minute commute both ways, and I basically listened to six or seven hours of Spotify, Monday-Friday most weeks. Work From Home life has changed me, man.

Top Artists

1. Weezer: Weezer maintains its top spot for the fourth year in a row (and five out of the last six). My "Artist of the Decade" is still going strong, after all these years. Long live Weezer.
2. The Struts: The Struts land in my Top 5 for the third year in a row. And the Struts "Strange Days Are Over Tour" t-shirts that my wife and I own would probably be in the Top 5 shirts of 2023, as well.
3. Billy Joel: Billy Joel is probably the artist who has been most criminally underrated by my Spotify Wrapped over the years. He and Elton John were the first concert that I ever attended, and I saw him live again a decade or so later. I tried to intentionally listen to him more often this year, and I am glad to see that my efforts were rewarded.
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival: I watched a documentary about Creedence Clearwater Revival on Netflix in October and it blew my mind to find out that, at the height of their popularity, they were one of the top bands in the world, along with The Beatles. I knew my dad liked them and, therefore, so did I, growing up, but I had no idea that they were that big. Upon finishing that documentary, I listened to a TON of CCR (the KAGE Match Champions of the World, for you Loyal A-Towners) to end the year. Welcome to the Top 5, gentlemen.
5. U2: I had a feeling that U2 might end up in my Top 5, and I would have been shocked if "Where the Streets Have No Name" wasn't my top song. I was correct on both counts. Believe it or not, I went through a really big U2 phase as a youth, and I would have probably considered them or Bon Jovi my favorite band before I discovered Weezer. If they ever come back to Utah on tour, I should go.

Top Genres

Here are my top genres of the year, presented as a very delicious, oddly shaped rock & roll sandwich:

Other Fun or Otherwise Notable Songs in My Top 100

Not all great songs can crack the Top 10 and not all of my favorite bands got their own infographic. Here are some other songs that landed in my Top 100 that made 2023 a delightful year of music:

(Editor's note: I've marked any songs that made my Top 100 because of their inclusion on Griffin's playlist with  SFG - Songs for Griffin)

• Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies (#11; one of the most-listened-to songs on Griffin's playlist, SFG)
• This Is the Time - Billy Joel (#12; one of my favorite Billy Joel songs and a likely reason why he was one of my top artists, SFG)
• Africa - Weezer (#15; my top Weezer song on this year's list - a Spotify Wrapped mainstay -- also, it's better than the original)
• Carolina Reaper - Chili Jesson (#18; an absolute banger from the "NHL 22" video game soundtrack)
• Lift Me Up - Rihanna (#19; arguably the best thing that came from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, SFG)
• Kid - The Revivalists (#20; if I had to pick a Revivalists song that I thought would have been in my Top 10 this year, this would have been it, SFG)
• Change the World - Eric Clapton (#25; fun fact: I hated this song when I heard it as a kid because I thought it was about recycling or something, SFG)
• Down on the Corner - Creedence Clearwater Revival (#27; my most-listened-to CCR song, SFG)
• Perfect Situation - Weezer (#31; I distinctly remember listening to this song with my brother Cody and discussing how it differs from the original version of this song that we were introduced to when we first heard it)
• Forever Young - Alphaville (#32; they used this music on one of the commercials I remember most vividly from my school years and I've loved the song ever since, SFG)
• Good Tonight - Daniel Pemberton/Anthony Ramos (#33; I talked about this song last year because it didn't quite make my Top 100 of 2022, but we got it on this year - one of Stockton's favorite songs in the whole world, for sure.
• Jump Jive An' Wail - The Brian Setzer Orchestra (#45; I put this song on Griffin's playlist because, while my wife was pregnant, I would often play this song and dance around the kitchen with Stockton while he laughed hysterically... plus, it's just a great song, SFG)
• Wake Me Up (Acoustic) - Aloe Blacc (#47; a creative find for Griffin's playlist, and a very good find, at that, SFG)
• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel (#57; I don't believe that my wife was familiar with this song when I played it for her, which was interesting, SFG)
• Try Everything - Shakira (#58; arguably the best thing that came from Zootopia, and I have to - absolutely have to - sing along any time I hear it playing, SFG)
• Skyfall - Adele (#71; the best James Bond song, SFG)
• 100 Years - Five For Fighting (#75; I can't listen to this song without thinking of The Big Ticket - shoutout to Scott, Jon and living legend Mr. Lloyd, SFG)
• California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas (#79; the most epic flute solo ever to grace the eardrums of mankind, SFG)
• Bounce - The Cab (#84; a "Rock Band" classic)
• Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus - The Strokes (#93; "a vibe," as the kids say - shame it wasn't higher on the list)
• Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne (#94; an absolute travesty that this song isn't in at least my Top 25 - like... how???? HOW?!? - and the best part is that, when I crank this baby while cruising Redwood Road, my wife sings right along with me)
• Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd (#98; the second-to-last song on Griffin's playlist - and I actually had to play it for him in the hospital because he came a couple days early before I was done with all the songs I'd picked out for him, SFG)
• Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) - Journey (#100; truth: this is one of my Top 5 favorite songs of all time - glad it made the cut)

The Bonus Track

A few times in the past, I've given honorable mention to a song that, sadly, didn't make my Top 100 for the year, and there is no question which song I want Song #101 to be this year:

My Way - Frank Sinatra

This was scheduled to be the final song on Griffin's playlist - the last song I'd play for him before he was born - but SOMEBODY decided to come a couple days early, in the middle of a freak snowstorm in April, so I had to play this and "Free Bird" in the wee hours of the morning on April 4, 2023, standing next to my sleeping wife and newborn child.

"My Way," indeed, Griff.

Songs for Griffin

I've been talking about this playlist for Griffin throughout the entire post, and it is very likely that some of you may have no idea what on earth I'm talking about. Let me enlighten you.

When my wife was pregnant with our first son, Stockton, I felt a little bit of pre-Dad Guilt from all those do-gooders who always brag about how many books they've read to their wife's pregnant belly and whatnot. I decided that I'd start playing one song a night for our yet-to-be-born child. It ended up being 75 songs over 75 nights, with no duplicated songs or artists. You can listen to Songs for Stockton here.

It was a lot of fun, so I wanted to do it again. However, for Griffin, no bands were off limits but I didn't want to duplicate any of the songs I had previously used for Stockton, which made things a little bit complicated. Let's just say that I had to get a little creative on some nights. But I got the job done and filled out a pretty nice little set list for Baby # 2.

Like I just mentioned, he showed up four days before his due date. I had planned on ending the playlist a couple nights early, just in case, but I still had "Free Bird" and "My Way" scheduled, then he just showed up. I wanted his first song to be "Where the Streets Have No Name," since that was the first song I played for his playlist, so I gave him the lil' triple feature at like 4 AM or something on the morning of his birth, with U2, Skynyrd and Sinatra. Not a bad way to start off one's mortality, if you ask me.

Here's his full, 75-song playlist, if you're looking for some sweet tunes to help you make it through your day:

Condensed Playlist

Finally, I've condensed my Top 100 songs of 2023 down to 50 of my favorites, including all of the Top 10. Feel free to pop in some earbuds and take a listen.

And that brings us to the end of another glorious Spotify Wrapped blog. Did you find any new music that you liked? Has this information totally changed your perception of who I am, as a person and a friend? What were some of your top songs and artists of the year? How many minutes did you crank out? Let me know in the comments, follow me on Twitter (here and here) or come bug me on Facebook. I'm not a hard man to find.

Until next time.