Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Jester One 2023 - 25 Top Artists

2023 has come and passed, and with it another magnificent blend of new and old artists were enjoyed.

According to Last.FM, I listened to 4170 unique artists in 2023, which equals out to 6.69 plays per artist. Apparently 30% of those artists were ones I had never listened to before, which is pretty cool in my book. Top tag was "Rock", top listening hour was 9p-10p, and top listening day was Saturday. No surprise there, right?

 Let us dive into the most played artists.

 

 

Here's the key for the artist list:

TY. Artist (LY)
Top Track: Track (TY)

 

 

 25. Alice in Chains (NR)
Top Track: Would (24)

Alice in Chains made their way into the Top 25 for the first time in 2023, spurred on by the remastered release of their classic 1992 album "Dirt". That album has always been one of my all-time favorites, and the remaster brought them back into a heavier than usual rotation.

 
24. Teenage Wrist (NR)
Top Track: Taste of Gasoline (8)

I've known about Teenage Wrist for 3 years now, and in that time they've been on the Top 20 twice (#1 in '21, #7 in '23), and the Top 25 Artists twice as well, landing at #18 in 2021. And while "Something Good" finished at 49, "Taste of Gasoline" was again one of the most played songs. Anyone who says there's no good new music is really missing out on bands like this



23. Brave the Sea (NR)
Top Track: The Devil Brought Tequila (33)

A local debut to the Top Artists chart, Brave the Sea released their newest record "Lady Death" in 2023, with top song "Where I Belong" landing at #15 in the Top 20. All told they had 4 songs with double digit streams, and their back catalogue continues to grow in strength. There is nothing but greatness ahead for these dudes.

 

22. Soundgarden (NR)
Top Track: Mailman (T141)

Top 25 Artists staple Soundgarden returns after falling out for the first time last year. Coincidentally they've landed at #3 three times since 2018, and though "Mailman" didn't get a massive amount of plays, they had six other songs with at least 5 plays throughout the year, among the 45 total tracks that I played. I am as happy to see them back this year as I was surprised to see them leave last time around



21. Aurelio Voltaire (10)
Top Track: Friends in the Dark; Captains All; Land of the Dead (T398)

Make it 4 years in a row that Aurelio Voltaire has captured a spot on the Top 25 Artist list, although I honestly thought he'd be higher on the list after releasing a new album in '23. As it stands, his was more of a quantitative statistic, with a humongous 77 different songs getting at least 1 stream in the past year. I'm hoping he is able to perform closer to home some time soon, as he hasn't had a tour come through in almost a decade now.



20. Brave Saint Saturn (17)
Top Track: These Frail Hands (38)

There comes a time in the winter months, almost every year, where I get heavy back into Brave Saint Saturn. They're the perfect melancholy band for the darker months, and despite only having 3 total albums they're usually somewhere in my most played artists. "These Frail Hands" found me where I needed it last year and carried them up to #20.
 

19. Sam Cooke (24)
Top Track: Chain Gang (T28)

The Man Who Invented Soul continues to keep pace with the newer artists on this list... or at least artists who have released music in the last 50+ years. Sensational Sam had 2 of the 50 most streamed songs, with "(What A) Wonderful World) being 39th. All told he had 10 songs with at least five streams on the year, and continues to be in several of my favorite playlists.

 

18. Blindside (7)
Top Track: Painting (T28)

Blindside appears for the 3rd time in the six year history of the Top 25 Artists (made possible by the good folks over at Last.FM), falling back 11 spaces after a massive rise in '22. Seeing them live that year rekindled my love for them and, even if they never do release new material, I think they'll always be somewhere near the most played for artists.



17. Rammstein (1)
Top Track: Lügen (T225)

I expected a slight fallback after the German metallers attacked the airwaves last year (also propelled by a once-in-a-lifetime live performance), but I wasn't sure where they'd land. They've only missed once in six years, although 17 is the lowest they've landed since 2020. Not that their number of plays was low this year, but they had 352 less streams in 2023 than they did the year before - a testament to just how absurdly obsessed I was with them at that time.


16. Fuel (NR)
Top Track: Hemorrhage (In My Hands) (T50)


Fuel returns after a 3 year absence, despite getting 0 new streams from their not-so-well-received newest record, released in 2022. It was their first 3 albums continuing to carry their weight - as good of a 3 album run as any band has put out (Sunburn, Something Like Human, Natural Selection). Any time I'm feeling good and angsty, I usually fall back on Fuel.
 

15. Switchfoot (22)
Top Track: On Fire (Ingrid Andress Version) (T50)

Even though Switchfoot made it for the first time last year, I didn't expect their surge in 2023, which was thanks to the 20th anniversary edition of "The Beautiful Letdown" including newly interpreted versions of every song on the album. It made for a fun distraction over the summer and propelled "On Fire" up to #19 on the Top 20 Countdown. The band had 8 other songs with at least 5 plays over the year and jumped up 7 spots.

 

14. Five Iron Frenzy (12)
Top Track: Dandelions (T111)

Few bands have been as consistent as Five Iron Frenzy; this being their 3rd time in the top 15 and their 5th appearance in six years. For all the goofy songs that they have at their disposal, it is usually the more somber ones that get the most plays, and "Far, Far Away" or "Dandelions" usually takes the crown once it's all said and done. The band had an astonishing 92 different songs that received at least 1 stream last year.

 

13. Circle of Dust (13)
Top Track: Yurasuka (T93)

Speaking of consistency, Circle of Dust matched their highest showing for a 3rd time at #13, propelled by 11 songs with at least 5 plays, including three in double digits. 74% of their plays came from their release "Disengage", which I usually throw on if I'm taking a road trip of any considerable distance - it's the perfect "rockin-on-the-road" music, lol.

 

12. Trans-Siberian Orchestra (14)
Top Track: What Child Is This? (T181)

The Kings of Christmas continued their annual year-end assault on the Top 25 Artists for their 4th consecutive year, hanging around in the top 15 once more. Once October hits, I throw on their Halloween-themed "Night Castle" record and it is lights out come November.

 

11. Owl City (NR)
Top Track: Kelly Time (T56)

For all the usual suspects on the countdown, Owl City is one of 4 making their debut this year, and perhaps the last likely to find a resurgence. Their new release "Coco Moon" was a refreshing breath of air - a throwback to his older material that got me pining for a revisiting of his back catalogue and I ended up listening to everything he has ever released. It all felt as good as it did when it first came out, and I really didn't discover anything that hit me in a new way, save for "Kelly Time", which came in at #11 on the Top 20 Countdown.

 

10. Audioslave (NR)
Top Track: Getaway Car (T93)

Audioslave makes their third appearance on the Artists list, as a ping-ponging adoration for Chris Cornell always keeps them somewhere in range. The only thing that keeps the band from being a usual contributor is that they only released 3 records and called it a day. In spite of that they had 13 songs with at least five plays, six of which had at least 10, and surprisingly it was "Getaway Car" that surpassed the usual bigger hits to notch the Top Track spot.

 

9. Demon Hunter (6)
Top Track: The Negative (T28)

It wouldn't be a Top Artist list without Demon Hunter, one of only 5 who have made it every year since I started using Last.FM. They've registered as high as #6 and as low as #23 but never fallen out, thanks to their prolific nature of releasing an album almost every two years of their existence. It's wild to think that they now have 10 albums to their name, and even though their newest "Exile" didn't make much of a splash this year, they still have an impressive list of achievements to their name.

 

8. Sevendust (19)
Top Track: Home (T111)


Make it 4 years in a row for for rockers from Atlanta, reaching their highest mark this time around at #8. Sevendust had 18 plays more than Demon Hunter, the biggest jump from one spot to another so far, propelled by 11 songs with at least 5 plays. Their newest album also didn't splash onto the Top 20, but the angstier the year, the more 'Dust shows up.


 

7. Relient K (NR)
Top Track: Over Thinking (T160)

The highest of the 2023 debuts, Relient K made a big splash over the summer when I saw them at Furnace Fest and got a nice boost at Christmas to shoot into the Top 10, making them the highest debut artist since 2020. They caught the right fire at the right time, and were pleasantly fantastic to see live after it had been 20 years since my last RK concert.

 

6. Rome (25)
Top Track: Swords to Rust - Hearts to Dust (T129)

Rome released 2 new records in the last 12 months and had four different songs with at least 10 plays over the year, as I continued to work my way through his rather lengthy discography. He is my wife's favorite artist and we have found a shared respect and adoration for him over the years... I am simply baffled by the fact that he can pump out a new album almost every single year.

 

5. Assemblage 23 (2)
Top Track: Dissonance (37)

It's hard to say a band that had well over 200 streams and who finished with the 5th most of any band to be having an off year, but technically this is the lowest he's landed in the Top 25 Artist ranking, so yes, this was an off year for Assemblage 23. Still, he had 14 songs with at least five streams, and 3 in the top 100 ("Endure" at T70 and "Could've" at T77), so it wasn't like the year went without him.

 

4. Anberlin (4)
Top Track: Paperthin Hymn (T50)

Three straight years at #4 for Tampa's terrific quartet, who ended up with 52 more streams than Assemblage 23. The band might not be releasing any new music now that singer Stephen Christian has stepped away from touring with the group, but they still had six songs with double digit streams, and 17 with at least five. The institution continues as the years go by.

 

3. The Broken Relics (23)
Top Track: Rodeo (3)

Well well, look who snuck in with their new album? Ready for some crazy numbers?
#3. Rodeo. #5. Birthday. #18. Night in the Desert. #21. Crosswalk.  Their new album was easily the most anticipated and subsequently the most played album of the year by over 70 streams. Talk about a massive jump in their 5th year of existence.


 

2. VNV Nation (3)
Top Track: The Farthest Star (35)

Well, if you've known or followed me for any amount of time, you know whew who the last two artists would be, but I'll entertain you just the same. VNV has been 3rd or better every year I've been tracking these numbers, had 5 songs with at least twenty plays, and, oh yeah, I got to see them live again! Having nine songs with double-digit plays will rocket you up any chart as well...


 

1. Cold (5)
Top Track: Sad Happy (7)

  ...but, even with all that, Cold finished a somewhat preposterous 127 streams ahead of VNV. "Sad Happy" (7) and "When Angels Fly Away" (10) were the bruisers but they also had an eye-popping 28 songs with at least 5 streams (if they all had only 5 that would be 140 plays right there...) and, well, yes, I also got to see and hang out with them as well. I can get used to seeing my favorite band every year, haha. 


It's been a really good run of years for seeing my favorite bands live, and I couldn't be happier both supporting the local scene and my national favorites. 


Once again, I absolutely could not do all of this without the help of the number-munchers over at Last.FM. I owe them my eternal thanks for letting me drop onto their site multiple times per day to peruse numbers, and of course the good peeps over at The Universal Scrobbler for letting me add songs that aren't immediately added to my count.


Here's to another great year!!

 

 

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Jester One 2023: 30 Most Played

 Welcome to the 2023 year end recap!


Numbers were a little down this year, with a (still healthy) total of 27,891 scrobbles, down 13% from 2022. That equals out to 78 streams per day, and from a numerical standpoint those scrobbles came from 14,219 individual songs. That means each song averaged 1.96 streams per, and there were 4,652 songs with at least 2 plays... which also means there were 9,567 songs with only 1 play, a somewhat startling number compared to years passed. Who knows?


Anyways, let's see how the 30 most fell. Looks like there was a 5 way tie at 28, so lets just cover all 5 of those to start...


Key: #TY. Artist - Song (Last year's ranking)


T28. Sam Cooke - Chain Gang (NR)
T28. Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes (1)
T28. Demon Hunter - The Negative (NR)
T28. Blindside - Painting (NR)
T28. Blackcarburning - Divide Us (ft Mari Kattman) (new)

Well, that's a mixed bag if I ever saw one. Sam Cooke is usually sauntering around the charts, Forever Unknown just missed placing two years in a row after lapping the field in '22, Demon Hunter and Blindside were holdovers from seeing them at Furnace Fest last year, and "Divide Us" finished at #8 on the Top 20 this year. Whee!

 

27. White Reaper - Pages (new)

The #6 song from the Top 20 this year, White Reaper made their 2nd appearance on the Countdown while supplying me with another album that had absolutely nothing else for me. Curious how that happens some years.

 

26. The Wild Wild - Alright (NR)

"Alright" is a song that usually gets consistent play, and I suppose that means there's enough turmoil every year that I need an inspirational, upbeat song to keep me level. Yay?


25. Children 18:3 - Homemade Valentine (NR)

Talk about a song that hit me out of nowhere. Now that I've actually spent some time listening to them, I'm not sure why I was so avoidant of Children 18:3 in the past. But thing song kept popping up in RadioU-adjacent playlists and when I finally listened to it, I was hooked. Not bad for a song that's already 15 years old, lol


24. Alice in Chains - Would? (NR)

Not that I ever don't listen to AIC, but with the remaster/re-release of their incredible 1992 album "Dirt", I spent more time listening to the album (one of my all-time favorites) and it really started pummeling me over the summer.


23. Necessary Response - Forever (12)

A usual participant in the 30 Most Played, Necessary Response slid a little bit but still had a solid year. It's a shame that this was a one-off project because the record is tremendous, but this song always rings true as one of my favorite electronic songs. 


22. Truss - All The Bugs (NR)

One of the worst things that happened in '23 was me getting into a wreck that totaled my car. One of the best things to come from that was a new car that could take me to Cleveland and back with ease. Which meant more Truss in my life, which meant more rocking joy. I suppose that's a fair trade-off.


21. The Broken Relics - Crosswalk (new)

For as long as I've known TBR, I've been waiting for this song to be released. They played it live for 3 years before the album dropped, and although it got several makeovers (the original title was Kansas City Blues Train Blues), it ended up still being an absolute ripper with a tremendous lead riff and solo.


20. Plumb - God-Shaped Hole (NR)

Here we've reached the part of the 30 Most Played list where I say "huh? Did I really listen to this song that much?" Yes, I apparently did. The numbers are right there on Last.FM. Can't lie there. And, it's not a bad song or anything, I just don't feel like I listened to it more than all but 19 other songs in 2023.


19. Cannons - Bad Dream (NR)

Here's a song that HIT me last year. I have found absolutely nothing enjoyable from this band other than this song, but "Bad Dream" was one that just reverberated through my life the last year and will probably continue to soar in years to come.


18. The Broken Relics - Night in the Desert (new)

A new Broken Relics album obviously meant they would have some songs on this list. I was blown away when singer Bryce Warmouth told me that when he wrote this song, I was one of the people he had in mind. Talk about an honor beyond honors, and what a soaring, transcendent, phenomenal song to boot!!


17. Purity Ring - heartsigh (9)

Not every top song from the Countdown comes back after the initial burnout, but "heartsigh" has had some serious staying power since 2015. I am impressed.


16. Mae - Suspension (NR)

At least once or twice a month, I listen to the RadioU Throwback channel. Amusingly, a lot of songs on the list were ones from my collection, but it's a nostalgic dive into the radio station I obsessively listened to as a child. And, every now and again an old favorite pops up and rekindles the fire it once had. See: Mae - Suspension.


15. Judah & the Lion - scream! (NR)

A song from last year's Countdown (#13) that didn't make the Top 30 snuck in this time around, which is something of a rarity except that the song was released late in the year. Crazier things have happened, but as long as this world keeps spinning out of control, I suppose songs like "scream!" will continue to take space in the most streamed lists.


14. Ronnie Martin -From The Womb Of The Morning, The Dew Of Your Youth Will Be Yours (10)

This song stuck around just to spite me with its ridiculously long title. Just kidding. It's a great song and got a lot of plays early in the year before tapering off and falling back to 14.


13. Further Seems Forever - The Sound (19)

Seeing this song performed live at Furnace Fest '23 was arguably the concert highlight of the year for me, and one of the most memorable moments in recent years. Not that the song needed help being propelled into the 30 Most Played again, but it helped with its rise up six spots.


12. The Awakening - Gabriel (new)

I haven't seen much separation between songs until this point. That means we've reached the real meat-and-potatoes of the 30 Most Played, as "Gabriel" was #5 on the Top 20 Countdown. It took me a while to figure out which song I loved the most from this album, but the numbers don't lie here; what a jam!


11. Gable Price and Friends - I Don't Wanna Live Like This (new)

Not quite as long as Ronnie Martin, but Gable Price and Friends rode their positive message all the way up to #4 on the Top 20, and as a new band I'm really looking forward to see where their musical journey takes them in the future.


10. Cold - When Angels Fly Away (NR)

Well, you had to figure Cold would be in here somewhere, right? Aren't they always? Isn't it always Cure My Tragedy? *checks* oh wait, different song this year! *double checks* oh, this isn't even their highest song! Just a moment please. 


9. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down (2)

The last three years, this song went 1, 2, 2, and it seems the magic might have ran out. Maybe, maybe not. I never really know with these classic rock songs from the past - sometimes they sneak up and surprise me in ways I wasn't expecting. That's always nice and pleasant, especially as we're 30+ years from the release date of this one.


8. Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline (NR)

2020's top song on both the Countdown and 30 Most Played fell out for the first time last year before making a triumphant resurgence in 2023. Perhaps it was because the band released a new album this year, but it's always nice to get some TW in my day.


7. Cold - Sad Happy (NR)

There had to be a song from "Year of the Spider" on this list, since Cold was doing their 20th anniversary tour for the record, and surely enough I was screaming as hard as my lungs would allow when they played this one live.  Lead singer Scooter Ward told the heartfelt story of the song and, subsequently, why they hadn't played it live in 20 years since releasing it. I am glad to have partook in that moment.


6. White Lies - Trouble In America (new)

There's the first big jump - "Trouble In America" had 10 more plays than "Sad Happy" on its journey to reach #3 on the Top 20 Countdown. I remember playing this song a ton at the beginning of the year when I first found it and never taking my foot of the gas. What a jam.

 

5. The Broken Relics - Birthday (new)

Imagine being the 5th most played song of a year, off of a new album, and not even making the Top 20 Countdown? Yeah, that means there's an even bigger jam coming up soon. As for "Birthday", Bryce Warmouth's anthem to losing his birthday to having COVID was relevant and resonant to a world still dealing with this pandemic 3 years later.


4. Shinedown - If You Only Knew (NR)

Where do lost songs come from? Why do they come back? Is there some magical place in the back of my mind where other parts of my soul are waiting to release songs that I never really cared for, more than a decade after their release? Shinedown exploded with this one last year and sent me through their back catalogue trying to find more gems that I missed. This was the only real one that I found, but what a comeback it was.


3. The Broken Relics - Rodeo (new)

There we are, the #2 song from the Top 20 Countdown. "Rodeo", with its piano, mournful vocals, and just the right rocky edge, caught fire early and burned throughout 2023 with an intense passion. If the song were a band, it would've been the 51st most streamed band of 2023.

 

2. Whole Damn Mess - Nothing In The World Feels Better (NR)

Whole Damn Mess has like, 3 songs released. What gives, guys? I need more material! This song scratched the surface for me in '22, but really exploded in the winter and carried its momentum into 2023. Until the last month, it held a strong grip on the most streamed song until the obvious #1 took over.

 

1. The Classic Crime - Alone In The City (new)

Well, yeah. There was no doubt on this one. It wasn't a blowout like the last two years, but the #1 song from the Top 20 Countdown has once again taken the top spot on the most streamed songs. It was easily the #1 song from the Coutdown and ended up having 22 more plays than "Rodeo". I didn't have The Classic Crime hijacking this year, but I'm certainly not disappointed.



I'm not going to dig into where last year's songs ended up. I will just finish by thanking the good folks at Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler for helping me make sure I had all of my numbers in a row once again. Top 25 Artists comes tomorrow!

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

 #1. The Classic Crime - Alone In The City


Track: Alone In The City
Artist: The Classic Crime
Album: Grim Age

 

 

I've been a fan of The Classic Crime since their 2010 record Vagabonds, but they've never actually made the Countdown. I was a little late on figuring out how much I liked Vagabonds, and in 2012 their song "The Precipice" just missed out on cracking the list. It wasn't quite the runaway to #1 that the last two years were, but there was definitely a point, probably within a month of when this album was released, that I realized that this was one of those transcendent songs that would be on my daily playlist for a long, long time.

The song opens with a beautiful cello, a soft guitar and a basic drum beat joins alongside. There isn't a ton musically to lift things up until the final verse, which explodes as if it were shot from a launchpad into the stratosphere. I could quote every line of lyrics as being my favorite and the musical progression only makes the final verse stand out even more. The song isn't a single, doesn't have a music video, and is barely among the top 5 streamed songs on the record. But for me, it was both the most streamed and most influential song released in 2023, and is now enshrined among the greats that finished at #1.



Favorite line: "There's a man on the corner screaming at me, says that I have a problem; I guess I agree. So I reach in my pocket to give him some change, and he pushes it back; says it can't fix the pain"






Previous five #1s:

2022: Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes
2021: Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline
2020: Lilieae - Level
2019: VNV Nation - Only Satellites
2018: Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
2017: Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins