I figured we might as well give this list a ponder as well. Gonna do Artist, Top Track, and where that track ended up in the grand scheme of plays in 2018.
#25. Five Iron Frenzy
Top Track: Far, Far Away (T250 in 2018)
FIF holds a high place with both my wife and I, and we listened to a lot of them on our trip to Baltimore last autumn. They generally take the lead when it comes to ska artists, and my ska moods happen often enough that they're up at #25.
#24. De/Vision
Top Track: Your Hands On My Skin (#15 in 2018)
De/Vision benefited from a new record released in 2018, although it didn't make a huge splash as far as the Countdown and such goes. "Your Hands On My Skin" did propel the band into a place where I was listening to them quite often, though.
#23. And One
Top Track: Military Fashion Show (T112 in 2018)
"Military Fashion Show" was actually the song that got me hooked on And One, but there were 4 distinct hits off of the Bodypop record that got spins in 2018 - "Enjoy the Unknown", "Stand the Pain" and "Love You To The End" got plenty of spins as well.
#22. Fuel
Top Track: Hemorrhage (In My Hands) (T143 in 2018)
Fuel released a new album a few years ago but it was mediocre at best. There's enough from their first 4 albums to keep me satisfied for years to come, with "Hemorrhage" and "Falls On Me" once again leading the charge.
#21. Korn
Top Track: Did My Time (T356 in 2018)
There wasn't really a time where Korn was assaulting my eardrums or needing to be splurged. If I'm angry or feeling angst, they're usually a good starting point. Similar to Fuel, the older materiel gets the most play.
#20. mind.in.a.box
Top Track: Attack (#19 in 2018)
"Attack" made the Top 20 Countdown and the top streams this year, while "Command. Decode" got a ton of spins on its own. I found a new respect for this group through their newest album, and obviously if you get in the Top 20 and are worth anything, you're probably on this list
#19. Rammstein
Top Track: Wo Bist Du (T436 in 2018)
I'm gonna guess that this will be the lowest of the track rankings. Again, Rammstein was a band that didn't have any individual songs that exploded for me, but I listen to them as a whole quite often. Some friends of mine are in a Rammstein tribute group, and any time I go to see them I brush up on my stone ramming.
#18. Colony 5
Top Track(s): Synchronized Hearts, My World, Trust You (T294 in 2018)
"My World" and "Trust You" were the songs from Colony 5 that I always listened to in the past, but in listening to the "Lifeline" album I found a bunch of new binge-worthy songs.
#17. Soundgarden
Top Track: The Day I Tried To Live (T62 in 2018)
For years, "Outshined" was far and away my favorite track from Chris and the guys. With his suicide I found new life in "The Day I Tried To Live". Soundgarden, Audioslave and Chris' solo work would all have been top 10 last year.
#16. The Birthday Massacre
Top Track: One (#14 in 2018)
"One" and "All Of Nothing" made their waves in 2018 again, with a handful of other tracks sprinkled in. I found a couple of cool covers from them - Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone" and Madonna's "Open Your Heart".
#15. Florence + The Machine
Top Track: Sky Full Of Song (#4 in 2018)
Florence had a new record, the top song in the 2018 Countdown, and her usual array of excellence this year. Her cover of Ben E King's "Stand By Me" made a lot of waves as well.
#14. Apoptygma Berzerk
Top Song: Kathy's Song (Victorian Mix by VNV Nation) (T88 in 2018)
Long before I loved VNV or Apop (or EBM/EDM for that matter), there was this remix of "Kathy's Song". It's still an all-time jam for me and I don't see it going anywhere.
#13. Circle of Dust
Top Track: Waste of Time (T537 in 2018)
Alright, I lied. I listened to a TON of CoD this year but it was mostly just binging their albums. For what it's worth, being tied at 537 equals six streams in 2018. Lol
#12. Solitary Experiments
Top Track: Epiphany (#2 in 2018)
Because of my love for "Epiphany", I've slowly been sprinkling more Solitary Experiments into my daily life. I haven't listened to a full record from them yet, even though it's been on my list of musical things to do. I suppose that means they'll also be on this list next year, perhaps higher!
#11. Audioslave
Top Track: Like A Stone (#26 in 2018)
As I said earlier, all of Chris Cornell's projects have exploded for me in the last year and a half. "Be Yourself" was another heavy bop that kept me going this year.
#10. Andrew WK
Top Track: Music Is Worth Living For (#20 in 2018)
"Ever Again" was the first track to bubble in, and with a new record came new-found appreciation for Andrew's older works... not that I ever put "I Get Wet" down lol.
#9. Demon Hunter
Top Track: Dead Flowers (T164 in 2018)
It's always a wonder which DH track will be tops in any given year. Will it be a sadder slower ballad-style song like "Dead Flowers" and "I Am A Stone", or will it be a rocker like "The Latest and the Last" or "One Thousand Apologies". This year it was a ballad, and there's a new DH record coming in 2019 so I assume they'll be way up on this list.
#8. Wolfsheim
Top Track: Blind (#8 in 2018)
With every passing year, the legend of Wolfsheim grows. The band is known for "The Sparrows and the Nightingales", and rightfully so, but it is their "Spectators" album that tends to get the most play for me.
#7. Anberlin
Top Track: Retrace (T98 in 2018)
There's no list of favorite artists for me that doesn't include Anberlin in the Top 5. If they never release another record, they will still always be high on this list. They also have a Christmas song that helps puff these numbers in December.
#6. Solar Fake
Top Track: Until It's Over (#1 in 2018)
I mean, obviously. A new record that got tons of plays and landed in the Top 20, and the most streamed track of the year. Come on man. Solar Fake is the only "newer" band on this list, but they're here to stay.
#5. Curse of Cassandra
Top Track: Re-Bind (#18 in 2018)
Curse had 4 songs in the top 75 steam list, including "Bastet", "Grimhilde" and "Bellatrix". It was never really a matter of if, but where on all of my year-end lists they would arrive.
#4. Mesh
Top Track: The Last One Standing (#6 in 2018)
Mesh got a boost from "The Fixer" late in the year, but they were never really on the outside, especially with "The Last One Standing" leading the charge.
#3. Assemblage 23
Top Track: Disappoint (T56 in 2018)
There was a general consensus the entire year of which 3 bands would be the top 3 for me. In the end the dominos fell with A23 in 3rd. The novelty of their record last year had worn off but they're still as strong as ever in my book.
#2. VNV Nation
Top Track: The Farthest Star (#7 in 2018)
It's crazy to think that "The Farthest Star" had as many streams as the next two songs ("Arena" and "Illusion") combined. That song has some serious staying power, and VNV has a new record so I'm pretty sure they're gonna be way up here again in 2019.
#1. Cold
Top Track: Cure My Tragedy (T43 in 2018)
Was there ever really any doubt? Cold is still my favorite band and they had a whopping 105 more streams than VNV. For refence, only the top 16 artists on this list even had a total of 100 streams on their own. Cold is just its own brand of wrecking balls in my life. They accounted for 2.07% of all music I listened to in 2018, VNV ended at 1.54%, Assemblage 1.14%, and Mesh just barely over 1%.
Notable bands missing... The War On Drugs, a band that I decidedly dislike yet had the 3rd most streamed song in 2018. They checked in at 53, with a whopping 92% of their streams being "Pain". Compare that to Alphaville, whose hit "Forever Young" was 100% of their plays in 2018. That was good for the 11th most streamed song, but tied for 96th in the artist category.
Again, fascinating stuff! I really wish I had been using this service the past few years; at least as long as I've been using Spotify. Love you, music!
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