A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2025 and Songs for Corey

'Tis the season for Spotify Wrapped! And A-Town is back with his yearly listening recap, showcasing his musical taste and the extent to which his children influenced the results! Special this year is the inclusion of a playlist created for the newest addition of the A-Town clan - Corey, who was born in September, so we'll have that playlist loaded up later on. Let's hand the keys over to A-Town himself, dive in and see how it went.

Spotify Wrapped - Top 10 Songs

1. 
   "All My Love" - Coldplay
2. "Carry You Home" - Alex Warren
3. "HandClap" - Fitz and the Tantrums
4. "Hope" - We Shot the Moon
5. "Who Needs Sleep?" - Barenaked Ladies
6. "A Little Bit of Love" - Weezer
7. "Foolish Father" - Weezer
8. "Safe and Sound" - Capital Cities
9. "This Too Shall Last" - Anderson East
10. "Blackbird" - The Beatles

Over the past couple of years, since becoming a parent, I've come to wish that Spotify would give us, like, two vetoes for our top songs as a way of correcting the meddling of our children. Give us two. Anything beyond that is our fault.

If I could veto two of my songs, I'd kick out "HandClap" and "Blackbird," which are both good songs, but definitely not in the top 10 because of me. My two oldest boys are obsessed with "HandClap" and have even figured out how to get it to play on our Google Nest Hub - somewhat to my chagrin - but they sure are cute when they dance to it. "Blackbird" is a prominent song in the movie "Boss Baby," which they like, so I blame Theodore Leslie Templeton, Jr. for that one. "Who Needs Sleep?" is another one that was played on repeat in the car many, many times, at the request of my kids, but it's a fun song that I hadn't listened to in years, so I'd let that one slide.

If I bumped those two songs out and slid two songs up, the new additions would have been "Turn the Lights Back On," a song by Billy Joel that I had no idea existed but really ended up loving, and "Change Your Mind" by Sister Hazel, which is a great one, too. The honorable mention will live on for eternity.

Analysis: I was hoping "All My Love" would be the top song. Until earlier this year, I was unaware that Coldplay made good songs after "Viva La Vida," but as soon as I heard this one, I knew I wanted it as the first song on the baby playlist. It was definitely my favorite song of the year, and I went to some lengths to ensure that it wound up on top. "Carry You Home" and "Hope" were also on the baby playlist early on, so they got a lot of run through the summer and early fall. I don't know why I kept going back to the Weezer album "Everything Will Be Alright in the End" this year, but "Foolish Father" is a hidden gem, for sure. "This Too Shall Last" was a song that I discovered while trying to get creative for Corey, and I'd be interested in listening to more of Anderson East (who I had never previously heard of) to see if he has anything else that I like. Overall, not a bad top 10 list for the year. I'll take it.

Minutes Listened

I tried to be more intentional about my music listening this year. Since I was sent home for COVID, I've never reached even close to the number of minutes listened that I was doing back in the office, due to a lot of things, from constant access to the TV, my newfound addiction to audiobooks and several other factors.

However, this year, I bounced back in a big way, hitting my highest total since before the pandemic! Look at me go!

• 2025: 12,635
• 2024: 8,251
• 2023: 7,205
• 2022: 9,000+
• 2021: 6,918
• 2020: ?
• 2019: 30,613
• 2018: ?

Analysis: This year, I thought it might be cool to listen to bands' entire discographies, from start to finish. I figured that could be a way to force the Spotify algorithm to understand which artists I actually like and possibly even broaden the number of songs Spotify would feed me when I opened the app, as opposed to just repeating my 15 most recent tracks over and over. (I don't think that second part worked; I love the AI "DJ" feature but he was always just feeding me the same dozen songs, as if they were the only ones I'd ever need.)

One of the firsts bands I tried this experiment with was Chicago - one of my all-time favorites - but I'll be honest: I couldn't do it. First of all, they have so many albums. It would have taken me all year, probably. And secondly, a bunch of their albums are live recordings and the amount of screechy freestyle guitar solos that were assaulting my eardrums was truly surprising. Less overwhelming, however, were the following artists, whose discographies (excluding some "greatest hits" releases, the songs of which I had already heard) I listened to in their entirety:

• Weezer
• The Goo Goo Dolls
• Muse
• The Killers
• Benson Boone
• Train
• Coldplay
• Fountains of Wayne
• Bob Seger
• The Strokes
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
• OneRepublic
• Cold War Kids

Also, doing a baby playlist surely boosted my stats this year. More on that later, of course, but it was a daily excuse to get at least a few minutes of listening in.

Spotify Being Weird

I have no idea what the heck Club Seratonin is, but 18% of Spotify listeners are right there with me. And telling me that my "Listening Age" is 76 is just straight-up insulting. Ok, I'm sorry that I listened to Elvis and The Beatles, but don't try to act like I was born in 1950, guys. Come on now.

Top Artists

Spotify says that I listened to 493 artists this year (don't know if that's actually true, but 47 less than last year, for what it's worth), and these were my top five:

1. Weezer: Not a surprise here. Weezer has been my favorite band since high school and, as the record shows, my top artist every year that I've been doing these blogs except for one. The fact that it was the 30th anniversary of the "Blue Album" only added fuel to the fire. Long live Weezer.
2. 
   Coldplay: It was the summer of Coldplay, was it not? The memes were hysterical and the Coldplay Kiss Cam became one of the funniest things of the entire year. Heck, even I was caught on a Coldplay Kiss Cam while running the social media for FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention in September. I can report, as indicated earlier, that Coldplay did produce a few other hits after "Viva La Vida," despite all those pop super-hits like "Paradise," which turned me off from them for a few years.
3. Train: Let me say: Train is excellent live. I've seen them twice and they put on a great show. I mentioned that I skipped a lot of "greatest hits" albums, but I did listen to Train's because their best stuff is really, really good, and they have a lot of fun with their audiences. Would recommend.
4. Muse: Maybe Muse just had a really long discography or something because I'm a bit surprised that they landed at #4 this year. Their music takes me back to my college days, and their albums "Black Holes and Revelations" and "The Resistance" are tremendous. 
5. The Goo Goo Dolls: I don't know what the heck was going on when The Goo Goo Dolls recorded their first studio album (I almost typed "stupid album," which would have applied) because it was HORRIBLE. I actually had to pull up Spotify to make sure that I was listening to the right band. But after that, they pulled a 180 (I don't know if they swapped out some band members or something) and produced some classic stuff. "Dizzy Up the Girl" is an all-timer.

Analysis: Awesome, like it. It is interesting to note that bands 2-4 all changed from last year; only Weezer stayed on the leaderboard.

Top Albums

Listening to full albums was kind of my thing this year, but these albums stood tall:

Analysis: It's funny that Weezer's "Blue Album" made the list twice. "Weezer 30" was the special 30th anniversary edition, which I cranked at almost full blast while building a bunk bed for my boys. In fact, Spotify made a special note of that night in August, which was a fun reminder. It's also interesting to see how much of a difference listening to "All My Love" by Coldplay made, in terms of album listening time, because there's no way that I actually listened to "Moon Music" that often - probably just once, from start to finish, and then that single like 39 times (no joke, I think that's the number).

Top Genres

Here are what Spotify identified as my top genres of the year:

I had to Google "AOR." It means "album-oriented rock," and some bands associated with that genre include Journey, Foreigner, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Boston and Heart, so I guess that's pretty accurate. I learned something new today.

Analysis: Accurate. I'd probably have put oldies above pop, but I guess that all comes down to how those genres are being defined, which I'm not privy to.

Other Fun and Notable Songs in This Year's Top 100

Shoutouts to some great stuff that didn't make the top 10:

• "Da Vinci" - Weezer (#13; another song that contributed to "Everything Will Be Alright in the End" being my top album of the year)
• "The Lotto" - Ingrid Michaelson (#15; a cute song from the baby playlist - honestly surprised this one didn't crack the top 10)
• "Beautiful Things" - Benson Boone (#19; it was a big summer for Brother Boone, and I went out of my way to educate myself)
• "Someone to You" - BANNERS (#27; I remember snuggling my oldest son, who was there for almost every song of the baby playlist, to this song - I think he might have even asked me to play it twice)
• "St. Elmo's Fire" - John Parr (#28; this one is becoming a standard on my Spotify Wrapped)
• "Carried Me With You" - Brandi Carlile (#29; from the "Onward" soundtrack - a song that will always remind me of my kids)
• "Doctor Worm" - They Might Be Giants (#30; right up there with "Who Needs Sleep?" in terms of songs that my boys unexpectedly loved)
• "MMMBop" - Hanson (#36; I'm honestly sad and surprised that this song wasn't higher - it was the butt of many jokes in the 90s, but we can't deny its lasting power)
• "Peace Train" - Cat Stevens (#49; my oldest loved this one, along with the animation of a "flat man" with a bird that appeared on the Spotify app while it was playing)
• "I Will Wait" - Mumford & Sons (#59; one of the most interesting time signatures of any song out there)
• "Time is Running Out" - Muse (#60; a dark horse contender for Muse's best song? - is that aggressive?)
• "...Baby One More Time" - Tenacious D (#68; the cover song we never knew we needed)
• "Classical Gas" - Mason Williams (#74; "I need two men!" - IYKYK... and when my wife asked why it was called "Classical Gas," I had no idea what to tell her)
• "Right Here Right Now" - Jesus Jones (#85; a blast from the past)
• "Invisible Touch" - Genesis (#90; featuring one of the greatest key changes of all time)
• "Pokémon Theme" - Pokémon (#100; heck yeah - raising my kids right!)

Bonus Tracks

There are always a few songs that are conspicuous by their absence. In the past, I've condensed my top 100 songs into a 50-song playlist and added a couple bonus tracks. There were two songs this year that I was surprised to not see in the full Spotify playlist:

• "Welcome to Paradise" - Plain White T's (a cute song that I found for the baby playlist)
• "The Final Countdown" - Europe (a song we played to hype up our oldest son on the way to his soccer games)

Condensed Playlist

Speaking of that condensed playlist, here are 52 of my favorite songs from the year (including those two bonus tracks), embedded for your consumption and enjoyment:

Songs for Corey

We welcomed another baby into the world this September and, as I did for my other two boys, I threw together a playlist for him while he was still in the womb. Some parents read or talk to the baby, I communicate through Spotify, I guess. Now, when I did this for the first kid, I didn't know this was going to become a tradition, nor did I realize how hard it would be to continue doing what I've been doing. The concept is this: I play one song each night for 75 nights, leading up to the birth of the baby, all of the songs must contain kid-friendly lyrics (i.e., no inappropriate references to romance, no mention of alcohol or drugs - stuff I could listen to with the child without blushing), with no duplicate artists in a single playlist and no repeated songs across any of the playlists. This is to say that I can't play "Better Together" by Jack Johnson twice on the same playlist, but I can play different songs by Jack Johnson for each child. There are only so many songs by some of these artists that you can play for babies! It got tough! So I had to get creative.

Here are some fun facts that I dug up upon completion of Corey's playlist:

• The three playlists I've made for my boys contain 225 different songs from 156 different artists. No artists are repeated on a single playlist, and no songs are duplicated across any of the three playlists.
• Nineteen (12%) of the artists are featured on all three playlists (Barenaked Ladies; Billy Joel; Bob Seger; Chicago; Coldplay; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Earth, Wind & Fire; Elton John; Elvis Presley; Goo Goo Dolls; John Mayer; Journey; Juanes; Kenny Loggins; The Killers; Queen; Three Dog Night; U2; Weezer)
• Forty-two artists on Corey's playlist (56%) had not been featured on either of the other playlists.
• Ten artists that were featured on both of the previous playlists were not on the third playlist.
• At 4 hours 45 minutes, this playlist was the shortest (Griffin: 5 hours 13 minutes, Stockton: 4 hours 56 minutes)

Here is the full playlist, for those who are curious about which songs I added this time around. I found some really great songs - both by artists that I already knew and many that I had never listened to before. The songs on this playlist greatly altered my top 100 songs of the year and, thankfully, broke up what I'm sure has kind of been a monotonous streak of Spotify Wrapped playlists since I kind of get into a rut sometimes because I continue to listen to the same music I liked when I was in high school and college. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and can find a few new songs of your own!

*****

And that will bring us to the end of another glorious recap blog. I love keeping track of these statistics, and I'm super grateful for companies and websites that make my weird hobbies easier to compile. If you've made it this far, bless your little heart! You might as well take a second to let me know what you spent your time listening to in 2025. Leave me a comment down below, follow me on Twitter (here and here), or hit me up on Facebook. I'd love to hear from you.

As always, keep it dialed here at Signs of the Times for all of the upcoming Year in Review blogs! We just got our Playstation stats the other day, but those will continue to update over the next few weeks, and we'll have recaps for Nintendo and audiobooks on the way here shortly, as well.

Until next time.

A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2024

It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's the time that I look forward to all year long and the time for which I unabashedly try to adjust my habits to give me the least lame results possible! It's End of the Year Blog season! First up this year is my Spotify Wrapped report, which (allegedly) gives me an accurate breakdown of how much music I consumed this year, as well as which artists I listened to the most.

Of course, my music stats for the year are just a tiny little drop in the bucket for the rest of you. I know that I only listen to a small fraction of what the rest of you guys are posting. I know it, I acknowledge it, and I am going to just keep typing this blog anyway. I've done it for like half a dozen years and I'm not going to stop now, dang it!

(Also, I have never heard of almost all of the bands you guys are getting in your Top Artists, which is very strange, but just wait until this year's PlayStation Wrap-Up, when I put you all to shame.)

Anyway, I digress.

As I'm sure I've whined about in the past, I'm not sure how accurate some of this stuff actually is, but it is always interesting to look back on how I spent my time, even if it's only, like, 85% believable. Let's go ahead and break this stuff down, as we have in the past, noting that Spotify took out a bunch of fun stats like "top genres" and a few others... but we'll do the best we can with what they gave us. Here we go!

Spotify Wrapped - Top 10 Songs

1. 
   "Werewolves of London" - Warren Zevon
2. "Mr. Blue Sky" - Electric Light Orchestra
3. "All the Small Things" - Blink 182
4. "The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World
5. "Could Have Been Me" - The Struts
6. "Good Tonight" - Daniel Pemberton, Anthony Ramos
7. "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison
8. "Thnks fr th Mmrs" - Fall Out Boy
9. "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes
10. "Holiday" - Green Day

Analysis: Yeah, this is the year that my kids officially swayed my Spotify Wrapped.

I blame 1, 2, 6 and 7 100% on Stockton. In fact, I said several times throughout the year - out loud - that "Werewolves of London" was going to be my top song. I just knew it. My four-year-old son Stockton loves "Werewolves of London." He'd ask for it on repeat. And he'd sing along. So I love that song for me this year, too, and I'm totally ok with it.

Those other songs were also frequently requested (AKA "demanded") in the car because they come from animated movie soundtracks. Each time "Mr. Blue Sky" came on, Stockton would elatedly scream, "SUPER MARIO BRUDDAS!!" It's a good song. He's a smart kid.

"Good Tonight" is from the movie "The Bad Guys," which is a solid movie, and it's a fun dance scene, and it was probably the first song that Stockton could ever really sing along with. I, personally, would have loved to keep this one out of the Top 10, but it is what it is.

And then "Brown Eyed Girl" was always greeted with a squeal of "MINIONS!!" Again, a great song, and I'm ok with that one, too.

I have no idea where "All the Small Things" and "The Middle" came from. They're bangers and take me back to my college days, for sure, but I don't know what they're doing in my Top 10. "Seven Nation Army" is another one. I certainly listened to it a few times this year, but should it have cracked the leaderboard? I mean, like, Spotify... Dudes. I need to know: what qualifies as a "song play"? If I listen to it for three seconds and skip to something else, does that count?? I need to know!

Editor's note: This has become a running joke in my family and something to keep an eye on every year - Weezer's "Island in the Sun" came in at #16 this year (Weezer's highest song on the 2024 playlist), and there is just NO WAY that I listen to that song that much. It's practically an immediate skip if I even hear two notes of it because, for some reason, Spotify thinks it's my favorite song of all time... which IT'S NOT! Something ain't right! Stop ranking this so high every year, Spotify!

It's always nice to see The Struts in the Top 10, and "Could Have Been Me" 1) is their best song and 2) is no stranger to the top of my yearly recaps, so that wasn't a surprise to me. "Thnks fr th Mmrs" and "Holiday" are solid. No complaints there.

If I could have picked my top 10 favorite songs from 2024, this wouldn't have been it, but all in all, I'm just pretty proud not to have anything too cringe on the list this year. Woo.

Minutes Listened

My minutes listened took a nosedive last year due to my increased interest in audiobooks - and that's still the case, and I still work from home with my boys "large pets" - so I tried to make a more concerted effort this year to get in some extra Spotify time when I could. I bounced back a little in 2024, clocking in at 8,251 minutes (137 1/2 hours), which isn't too shabby. Let's review how that time has stacked up over the years:

• 2024: 8,251
• 2023: 7,205
• 2022: 9,000+
• 2021: 6,918
• 2020: ?
• 2019: 30,613
• 2018: ?

Spotify says that my busiest listening day was October 19, when I listened to 328 minutes of music. That's more than five hours of listening, which is awesome. I have no idea what I was doing on that day, other than that it was a Saturday, so I was probably running errands and working out at the gym, which is prime earbuds time for me, so that probably accounted for a lot of it.

Apparently, I listened to 1,055 songs this year. I don't know what to make of that number, but... I think that's good?

I was in the top 0.05% of listeners for "Werewolves of London," which is quite the prestigious honor. I listened to it 15 times (ONLY?!), starting on March 17.

I like using Spotify's DJ feature (although his song choice does occasionally become a bit repetitive). I spent exactly 800 minutes with him this year.

Spotify Being Weird and Making No Sense at All

Spotify didn't give us top genres or several of the other fun statistics that they've given in the past. Nope. But new this year, Spotify categorized several months of my listening with some ridiculous, nonsensical descriptions. Here's what they said about me:

May was my "Apocalyptic Old School Metal Rock" phase, featuring artists like U2, Muse and The White Stripes.

June was a "Nerdy Fantasy Soundtrack," starring Daniel Pemberton and Borislav Slavov.

And July came up as a "Witchy Rhythm Games Classic Rock" phase, leaning heavily on Warren Zevon, Bob Seger and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I have no idea what to make of any of that.

Top Artists

I listened to 536 artists this year, and these were my top five:

1. 
   Weezer: Weezer has been my top artist every year except once since I started keeping track of these stats, so their return to the top of the charts comes as no surprise this year. They are, after all, my favorite band. Congrats again, gentlemen. Spotify says I was in the top 2% of Weezer listeners for the year and... quite frankly... I could have done better.
2. The Strokes: The Strokes are another of my favorite groups, so I'm happy to see them here. Their 2001 album "Is This It" is basically a no-skip record for me, so it makes sense that I would have spent a lot of continuous time listening to them.
3. U2: At one point, back in my high school days, I would have said that U2 was my favorite band, and, although I wouldn't say I'm a consistent listener of theirs, every once in a while, I do get on a U2 kick. They've got some great stuff from the past several decades. U2 bounces up two spots from coming in at #5 last year. Nice.
4. Elvis Presley: Elvis! Yes! Welcome to the top five, King! I was obsessed with Elvis as a kid and love his stuff, so I'm proud of this one!
5. Billy Joel: Billy Joel was a staple of my youth. He and Elton John were my first concert, and he's one of only a few artists that I've seen live more than once. His entry into my top artists of the year is proof that a few days of binging albums goes a long way for my stats. Billy also remains in the top five from last year. Impressive.

Other Fun and Notable Songs in This Year's Top 100

There were many other songs that I enjoyed in 2024 that didn't crack the top 10, so I want to take a second to give them some love. Here were some of my other favorite tunes from the past 12 months:

• Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield (#23; featuring a guitar solo that I would absolutely slay if I could actually play the instrument)
• I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones (#26; a song that Stockton learned some of the lyrics to - much to the shock and dismay of both of his grandmothers)
• I Wanna Be Like You - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (#29; frequently requested in the car)
• Liar - Jelly Roll (#36; the first song I had ever heard by the man who confidently calls himself "Jelly Roll")
• Look At Us Now (Honeycomb) - Daisy Jones & The Six (#39; a fake song by a fake band)
• Party Hard - Andrew W.K. (#44; a certified banger)
• Bathwater - No Doubt (#64; honestly shocked that this wasn't higher on the list)
• Dancing in the Moonlight - King Harvest (#73; way better than the cover version that Spotify so often recommends to me)
• ...Baby One More Time - Tenacious D (#76; a cover by Jack Black, the national treasure)
• The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) - Ylvis (#80; one of my boys' favorite songs to dance to)
• The Other Way - Weezer (#89; my old radio theme song)
• Heaven - Live (#96; an oldie but a goodie)

Bonus Tracks

Why not fully embrace my "Apocalyptic Old School Metal Rock" phase from this summer (when I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons and "Baldur's Gate III" by adding two songs from the BG3 soundtrack to my list of top songs of the year? They apparently didn't get listened to enough to make the leaderboard, but I certainly spent a long time listening to this stuff while preparing my first D&D campaign. As you'll find out in an upcoming post, I spent PLENTY of time playing "Baldur's Gate" on my Playstation, so this is only fitting.

• Baldur's Gate III: Down by the River - Borislav Slavav
• Baldur's Gate III: The Power - Borislav Slavav

Condensed Playlist (embed)

And last (but not least), I created a condensed 52-song playlist by which to remember the year in music, 2024, including the entire top 10, whether I, personally, liked them or not. Behold and enjoy:

That brings us to the end of this year's Spotify Wrapped. From all of us here at Signs of the Times, we hope that your own Spotify statistics were to your liking and that, most importantly, your children didn't jack up your top songs too much.

If you feel so inclined, leave a comment on this post, follow us on Twitter (here and here) or drop us a line on Facebook. And, of course, keep it right here for all of the upcoming "Year in Review" posts.

Until next time.

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.

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.

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

• Centerfield - John Fogerty (#12)
• Superman - Goldfinger (#19)
• Safari Song - Greta Van Fleet (#26)
• Missed Connection - The Head and the Heart (#30)
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (#32)
• I've Done Everything For You - Rick Springfield (#37)
• Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones (#47)
• Twilight Zone - Golden Earring (#54)
• Gloria - Laura Branigan (#60)
• I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany (#62)
• Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants (#70)
• She's Famous Now - Reel Big Fish (#74)
• Don't Pull Your Love Out - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (#77)
• Pain - Jimmy Eat World (#89)
• Free Fallin' - Tom Petty (#93 - The experiment worked!!! See you in the 90s next year, "Island in the Sun.")
• Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away (Live on Soundstage 2018) - Chicago (#96)
• Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers (#98)
• Layla (Acoustic, Live at MTV Unplugged) - Eric Clapton (#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!