September Recap

I spent a good part of September moving, which meant a lot more music than the previous months.  In fact, it was a 35% jump from August, all the way up to 2161 scrobbles. That makes it the highest scrobble month since March. 763 artists comprised 1590 individual tracks, with each artist averaging 2.83 scrobbles per. The top genres of September were Rock, Alternative Rock, and Alternative, with Synthpop and Hard Rock rounding out the top 5. 11p-12a was the top hour, with a surprise 10a-11a getting the 2nd most scrobbles. 10p-11p was 3rd.


Top Tracks of September

10. Assemblage 23 - The Other Side Of The Wall
The question most months is "which A23 song will represent the group in the top 10 of the month, since we already know they'll be one of the most played artists".

9. Ashbury Heights - Spiders
Ashbury Heights has two types of songs. Really really good, or really really annoying. Spiders is the jammiest of all their jams.

8. Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend
Amusingly, S&T fell back to #8 despite getting more scrobbles this month than they did in August. That just goes to show the major spike in plays across the board.

7. Paul Simon - Mother And Child Reunion
I was feeling pretty low when I listened to this song, like, 4 times in a row. Sometimes sadness just hits you like that.

6. Cold - Ocean
New Cold album = lots of Cold scrobbles.

5. Ashbury Heights - Missing Mr. Marchie
This album was released late last year, and this might just be a song that sneaks into the countdown at the 11th hour.

4. VNV Nation - Only Satellites
 Another month, more satellites.

3. Cold - Sad Happy
New Cold album, pt 2... even more scrobbles.

2. The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam
The end of year push is pretty heavy for The Relics. There's another month of heavy listening before the list is hammered out... where will they end?

1. Alvvays - In Undertow
 This song reminds me of 1901 by Phoenix; a song I didn't necessarily care for when it came out, but a year later it exploded onto my radar and set everything on fire.


Top Artists of September

10. Ashbury Heights
You had to assume they'd be somewhere in the top 10 artists with 2 songs getting heavy rotation.

9. Anberlin
Anberlin might finish 3rd among bands with the most scrobbles by December. I think you already know who the top 2 will be, just not the order.


8. Alvvays
I was sitting there listening to In Undertow and I realized that, for all the plays it had gotten in the last two years, I hadn't actually listened to the damned album that it was on.  Whaaat? That has been remedied.


7. Evanescence
Sometimes, I just need some Amy and Ben in my life. Not whatever the new album is, or the last album either. No, I'm talking Origin. It's almost always Origin.

6. Five Iron Frenzy
Attack of the Random Ska!!

5. Assemblage 23
...told you so.

4. Korn
The new Korn album................... reminds me of the last Korn album. And the one before it. That's not a bad thing, but it's not necessarily a good thing. There are subtle differences, and the music isn't bad, but Jon Davis has been wringing out the same towel for his lyrics for 25+ years now.

3. The Cars
RIP Ric Ocasek.  I had actually been spinning "You Might Think" lately because I heard this abominable Weezer cover of it and needed to cleanse my ears.
 
2. VNV Nation
Who did you expect to be #2? Surely you already know who number one is...
 
1. Cold
...but what you don't know is the sheer chasm between 1 and 2 (and the rest, really). How can I equate the gravity to you? Cold had more scrobbles than #s 10 through 4 combined. Cold comprised 9.3% of all scrobbles, whereas VNV and The Cars were just over 1.5%. The math is startling, but the new record still needs some time to simmer with me.


As always, thank you to the good folks at Last.FM for all of these statistics.

August Recap

In August, we saw a new low for scrobbles in a month, with only 1604, an average of 51.74 per day. It's interesting to say *only* 51 per day, because I also listen to 40 or so hours of muzak every week, and whatever else I listen to in the car or house. The vast and overwhelming majority of what I listen to (outside of work) is through Spotify, and so that is our count. Anyways, that's 693 artists rocking out 1285 unique tracks. Top genre? Rock, of course, followed by Synthpop and Futurepop this month. The top listening hours were 10p-11p followed by 11p-12a and 12p-1p.


Top 10 Songs of August 

10. Frozen Plasma - Age after Age
I've never been a huge Frozen Plasma fan, but it seems like any fime I almost forget them, they sneak back with another banger.

9. Blindside - Gravedigger
It's been a few months since this song dropped, and now I'm dying in anticipation for more new Blindside. The fact that they literally fell off the face of the map for several years, only to suddenly resurface with this majestic track blows my mind.

8. Lifehouse - Hanging By A Moment
Surprised? Me too. Sometimes a great song just comes back.

7. The Head and the Heart - Missed Connection
TH+TH are a countdown veteran looking to make a run on 2019 after a brief hiatus. Is this the jam?
 

6. VNV Nation - The Farthest Star
5. VNV Nation - Armour
4. VNV Nation - Only Satellites
There's your synthpop, your futurepop, and your complete lack of surprisepop!

3.  Phoenix - J-Boy (Record at Spotify Studios)

1t. The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam
1t. Smith and Thell - Forgive Me Friend

Two songs making a push for the top spot at the year end countdown. Which will end up on top? We're just a few months away from finding out.


Top Artists of August

10. The Head and The Heart
Finally got around to listening to that new album. I wouldn't say I loved it, but there was some promise.

9. The Broken Relics
Back in after taking some time away. Still a great record, months later.

8. Curse of Cassandra
Still riding that wave after seeing them live two months ago.

7. Bastille
Early in August I was sitting in my chair, playing Borderlands, and I though to myself, huh, I wonder what Bastille is up to. Apparently they make a pretty good Spotify station.

6. Apoptygma Berzerk
5. Assemblage 23



The usual suspects on a synth-heavy month.

4. Tourist Trap
I did an album review for these guys. Not bad, not my favorite but not bad.

3. Cold
The new album was just around the corner in September.

1t. VNV Nation
1t. Slipknot
Well, VNV you saw in the top 10 songs, just kicking down every door. Slipknot dropped a new record and it got a few rotations for me. Will it be in the year end countdown? Stay tuned!!

Thanks to Last.FM for all of the stats.