What a year for music, huh? 23,725 streams from 3154 artists, making for an average of 7.52 streams per artist. 1829 of those artists had at least 2 streams, while the other 1325 just got played once. What a life. Rock was the top tag for the year, followed by Alternative Rock, Alternative, Pop and Synthpop. The top 3 hours for listening for the year were 10p-11p, 9p-10p, and 11a-12p. Surprisingly, Monday racked up the most streams for the entire year, just beating out Tuesday - meanwhile Saturday had far and away the least. Let's dig some more into the top artists from the year. I don't think we'll see as many leaving and entering the ranks as we did with songs.
First up, the artists that fell out of the Top 25.
Looks like we had six artists fall off from 2019. Four of them had
new albums last year, while Colony 5 just barely missed cracking in this
year. Audioslave was kind of a surprisingly slider, but I think I just
burned myself on Chris Cornell after his death.
Key: Band (LY) - TY
De/Vision (24) - 62
mind.in.a.box (20) - 49
Colony 5 (18) - 27
Florence + The Machine (15) - 117
Audioslave (11) - 37
Andrew WK (10) - 206
Alright. It's gonna be artist and where they were last year, and then top track and where it landed this year.
#25. Blindside (NR in 2018)
Top Track: Gravedigger (T125 in 2019)
Once Blindside finally came back, I thought for sure that there would be a new album in 2019. I reckon if that were the case, they would've been much higher on this list, but instead it was just the one song. Still, that helped propel them into the top 25 this year. Perhaps the ascent will come next year, but they've gone back to radio silence after releasing the "Gravedigger".
#24. Fuel (22)
Top Track: Falls On Me (T72)
Fuel kept pace with themselves in 2019. The band is still touring and released a record with their new lineup a few years back, but they continue to live in the 90s and early 2000s. Once again it's "Falls On Me" and "Hemorrhage" that are their toppers for me.
#23. And One (23)
Top Track: Enjoy the Unknown (T95)
How unlucky for And One, to have 8 more streams from 2018 to '19, but still stay at #23. No matter what music they have out there, it's always the Bodypop record that rules my lists.
#22. Soundgarden (17)
Top Track: Outshined (T190)
Amusingly, Soundgarden only had 1 stream more in 2018 than they did '19, but they fell 5 spots. I guess those numbers don't mean much at the end of the day, but they raise my eyebrows. As the pain from Chris Cornell's sudden death wears down, I find myself listening to his stuff just a little less than I used to, but not on purpose. I think I splurged so hard after he died that I needed a little break.
#21. Solitary Experiments (12)
(Top Track: Epiphany (12)
I tried to spend more time listening to songs other than "Epiphany" in 2019, and I found a treasure trove of excellent remixes that Solitary Experiments had done. Those guys definitely know their way around their keyboards.
#20. Five Iron Frenzy (25)
(Top Track: Far, Far Away (T267)
A bit of a climb for the ska superstars, although theirs is definitely one of the more diverse track assortments; I don't think anyone below here will have a most played song lower than T267.
#19. The Cure (NR)
Top Track: Pictures of You (18)
The Cure have experienced a renaissance with me the last two years, and they shot up from 64 to 19 this year. There's talk that they might release an album (or three) this year, and I'm wondering how their sound will have progressed over the last decade and a half.
#18. Solar Fake (6)
Top Track: More Than This (T42)
The fall of "Until It's Over", last year's top track (which slid to #62) is fairly evident in the rank for Solar Fake this time around. Of course, being #18 is nothing to snuff at, I just didn't think they'd slide so dramatically.
#17. Circle of Dust (13)
Top Track: Machines Of Our Disgrace (T384)
I stand corrected! For the second consecutive year, it seems that Circle of Dust will have our lowest ranked, most streamed track from a band. They're definitely a wide range of tracks for me, and being tied for 384 equals 8 streams, despite the band catching over 100 plays last year.
#16. Ashbury Heights (NR)
Top Track: Spiders (16)
Ashbury Heights would have ranked #76 last year, but I really don't feel like I went out of my way to listen to them in 2019. "Spiders" and "Missing Mr. Marchie" are the only two that I really feel like I spent a lot of time with. Such a strange band to have a love/hate relationship with.
#15. The Birthday Massacre (16)
Top Track: All Of Nothing (26)
The Birthday Massacre moved up 1 spot in spite of having 25 more streams than they did last year. It was a much broader field for them this year as I spent more time finding more to love about them. Their cover of "Open Your Heart" got a lot of play as well as last year's highest ranking song "One" still ringing hot.
#14. The Broken Relics (new)
Top Track: Where The Creatures Roam (3)
The Broken Relics released their first song in February, and their debut EP in May. The rest is history, I suppose. For a band with only six songs, they did a lot of damage in 2019 and are primed for a big run in 2020 as well.
#13. Korn (21)
Top Track: Let's Do This Now (T492)
I honestly didn't see Korn coming in at #13, but I did give their new record a few solid spins before going back to the good old tracks. I scrobbled 73 different Korn tracks in 2019, which by itself is almost enough to make it into the top 25.
#12. Slipknot (NR)
Top Track: Purity (T622)
Hah. Ok, I promise, there's no way any of the higher ranked bands have any lower songs. Slipknot was #33 last year, just missing the cut. That's about where they would've ended up had they not released a new record in 2019. I really tried to love it, giving it several chances last year, but it just did not stick with me. "Birth of the Cruel" and "Unsainted" tried but failed to really burn into me.
#11. Truslow (NR)
Top Track: Hurricane (8)
Truslow made a humongous leap from 2018 to '19, going from #382 to almost cracking the top 10. Honestly, this is where the band belongs, and I have no idea why they had so few streams in '18. Both of their albums ranked among the top 15 streamed in 2019.
#10. Curse of Cassandra (5)
Top Track: Re-Bind (Retro Binding Mix) (T72)
Re-Bind repeats as the top CoC song at the end of the year, but the new album novelty wore off and it was just back to normal listening. Last.FM tells me that I'm still their top fan, which makes me happy even if they've essentially stopped touring. "Bastet" and its remix were the next two most streamed tracks of the year.
#9. Wolfsheim (8)
Top Track: Blind (22)
Ever since my wife introduced me to Wolfsheim, they've held a huge place in my musical heart. I spent a little time digging into their older albums in '19, but "Blind" and "Kein Zuruck" reigned supreme for another year.
#8. Rammstein (19)
Top Track: Radio (25)
R+ more than doubled their stream count in 2019 with the release of their untitled, potentially final album. "Radio" "Deutschland" and "Puppe" carried the heavier parts of the year, while everything else fell into place like it usually does. I'm pretty stoked to see these guys in 2020!
#7. Apoptygma Berzerk (14)
Top Track: Kathy's Song (Victorian Mix by VNV Nation) (T42)
If I had to guess, I wouldn't have had Apop ahead of Rammstein this year. I think it's because I listened to more of Rammstein the band, but there were more Apop songs on different playlists. "Kathy's Song" continues to be the standard bearer, despite not making the Top 30 again. I credit that song as the one that really got me into darker EBM.
#6. Demon Hunter (9)
Top Track: The Negative (29)
Demon Hunter is another band that benefited from a new album release, but they went with a double release just to make sure they'd be in the top 10 again in 2019. Okay, they didn't do it specifically for that reason, but it pumped their numbers pretty well. Actually, except for "The Negative", I didn't really spend a lot of time with their newer stuff, but that's still 20+ new tracks to preview.
#5. Mesh (4)
Top Track: The Last One Standing (6)
Mesh again rocked 2 songs in the Top 30 streamed with "The Fixer" also capturing #11. Those two songs made up for an impressive 45.5% of Mesh's overall streams. Will they release new music in 2020? There are rumours bubbling that they might, which might shoot them near the top of this list.
#4. Assemblage 23 (3)
Top Track: The Other Side Of The Wall (14)
A23 also had 2 songs in the Top 30, with "Damaged" hitting #27. Disappoint was tied for 48th as well, making for a potent triumvirate at the top for Tom and co. They actually had more streams this year than last, but the next 3 had spectacularly massive numbers in 2019.
#3. Anberlin (7)
Top Track: Time and Confusion (T102)
I'm not gonna lie. A23 had a solid amount of streams, but Anberlin beat them by over 100. For perspective, their month of April (in which I saw them live) alone would have put them at #21 on this list. I also heard them in bars and at work, and played them on jukeboxes at coffeshops to boot. There was no wrong place for Anberlin in 2019. The reunion tour show was amazing, as expected. I don't think there'll be another record, but another tour could happen within the next two years.
#2. VNV Nation (2)
Top Track: Only Satellites (1)
Look. You knew VNV was going to be 1 or 2. Noire was the most streamed record by a long shot, and Only Satellites had more streams on its own than all but 7 other records in 2019. VNV also had "The Farthest Star" at 9, "Armour" at #10, and "Arena" at 20. VNV is an institution, but amazingly a new record was not enough to put them over the hump. They also had more than 100 streams past Anberlin, and more than twice as many as Mesh. Unreal.
#1. Cold (1)
Top Track: Shine (28)
Noire may have stolen the show on top records, but The Things We Can't Stop got a ton of plays on its own, with both "Shine" and "Without You" having strong showings. In the top album streams, Cold had 6, 7, 8 and 10, despite having only (ONLY) four songs in the top 100.
Thanks again to Last.FM for allowing me to do all of this. Let's get 2020.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Jester One 2019 - 30 Most Played
Ok, let's do it. I'm not giving up just yet.
In 2019 there were 10,115 individual songs, making for 23,725 streams. That's 65 songs per day, and of course doesn't factor in the 8 hours of muzak I unwillingly lived through every day at work. Haha... actually, most of our work playlists were pretty good. 3095 of those songs had at least 2 streams, meaning I listened to a whopping 6210 once. That averages out to 2.35 scrobbles per song.
Here are the Top 30 most streamed songs of the year
Format -
#TY. Artist - Song (Last year's ranking)
#30. A Flock Of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song (NR)
Sometimes a song will come out of left fiend and remind you how much you enjoyed them. I was never a huge Flock of Seagulls fan, but last year I spent a lot more time listening to them, especially this soaring ditty.
#29. Demon Hunter - The Negative (new)
The Negative finished 2019 at #11 on the Top 20 Countdown, a respectable spot for a Demon Hunter song. DH was the #9 artist last year, where will they fall in 2019?
#28. Cold - Shine (new)
#7 from the Top 20, I remember staying up til midnight to hear the first new song Cold was dropping in several years, and then listening to it 5 times in a row. For reference, this song was released June 27th.
#27. Assemblage 23 - Damaged (NR)
I'm somewhat surprised this song didn't chart in 2018... a quick check shows that it dropped in at the #56 slot last year. A23 is scheduled for a new record release this year, and I'm fairly sure that they'll be shooting up the list of plays rather quickly.
#26. The Birthday Massacre - All Of Nothing (17)
This song continues to resonate massively through my eardrums and within my heart. It finished in the 2017 Countdown at #4 and has never slowed down.
#25. Rammstein - Radio (new)
Radio dropped on April 26th and quickly shot up the chart, finishing at #6 on the Countdown. It was the 2nd single released from the self-titled record, and it showed that regardless of what the German titans decide to do, they excel.
#24. The Wild Wild - Alright (NR)
I didn't realize it when I first heard this song, but The Wild Wild is another one of Benjamin Dunn's off-shoots. It was on one of the alternative playlists at work and kind of became a cry for getting through 2019 for me.
#23. Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World (NR)
I've said it before, but I could listen to Sam Cooke all day. I don't usually obsessively listen to oldies, simply because I've heard most of that stuff so many times before. It tickles me to see a song from the 60s on the most played list.
#22. Wolfsheim - Blind (8)
It's a shame that Wolfsheim has been broken up for so long. The fact that the music they released 20 years ago is still right on the cutting edge of what electronica should sound like is fantastic.
#21. Within Temptation - In Vain (new)
This year's #5 song on the Countdown. I really tried to listen to more Within Temptation but I cannot get into their sound. This song is tremendous, though, but it reminds me of a lot of one hit wonders (for my chart, at least) that are here today, gone tomorrow because the band doesn't resonate with me.
#20. VNV Nation - Arena (NR)
Arena really caught steam at the end of last year and shot straight up to the top this year, riding the wave of the new VNV record. I honestly thought this song would be higher up on the list.
#19. Necessary Response - Forever (5)
A bit of a fall from last year, but still a strong showing. Necessary Response is so interesting because I love this record more than any of the best songs that Aesthetic Perfection have put out.
#18. The Cure - Pictures of You (NR)
Man, I listened to a LOT of The Cure in 2019. I am very curious to see where they wind up on the Top Artists list. Pictures of You is definitely the longest song on this list, and by a few minutes.
#17. Billie Eilish - You Should See Me In A Crown (new)
Everybody's surprise from last year, right? Even I couldn't help but get swept up in it, as this song finished at #8. It was a binge-y song for me; I'd listen two or three times in a row and then not listen for the rest of the month. It's just a strange aesthetic that has to hit me int he right place.
#16. Ashbury Heights - Spiders (NR)
Ashbury's highest played song last year would've came in at #73 (Piano) and they rolled into 2019 with a new record that renewed my interest in the group. They're one of those acts where I either love or hate the song - not much in between.
#15. Ashley Cleveland - Where Do I Go (feat. Gary Chapman) (NR)
Ah, this is one of those Pastor Simon songs, like "How Long" last year. It's just another song that brings me peace in difficult times. I guess I needed to lean on that a little more this year than I realized.
#14. Assemblage 23 - The Other Side of the Wall (NR)
When "Bruise" first came out in 2012, I kind of dismissed it as not being being as enjoyable as 2009's "Compass". I made sure to revisit it last year, and was immediately hooked into this track. I'm not sure what it was that hit me specifically, but this song is a titan among the sadder A23 songs.
#13. Toto - Stop Loving You (NR)
It's so weird listening to Toto after "IV". So many different singers, such mediocre songs. But for the life of me, this is my favorite Toto song, and I heard it while doing inventory in February and it just stuck with me throughout the year.
#12. Solitary Experiments - Epiphany (2)
It's always interesting when you have a song that you just love for an entire year, and you watch it come to the point where you can actually skip it or take it off your regular playlist. Epiphany is still the jam, though
#11. Mesh - The Fixer (16)
A song that did slightly better from last year, for a band that really need to put out some new music. The more I listen to them, the more I want it. I didn't have this song pegged this high, but there it is.
#10. VNV Nation - Armour (new)
The difference between songs #30-11 was just 1 stream or less. We've reached "the jump", where it Armour has several plays more than The Fixer. This was actually the first song that I liked from this record, and for a hot minute I thought it might represent VNV in the 2019 Countdown.
#9. VNV Nation - The Farthest Star (7)
I don't think this song will ever fall off. It's just too relevant to my life and to the world and what is going on in it, especially in 2020. However, this is (obviously) not the highest played VNV song.
#8. Truslow - Hurricane (NR)
Seeing Truslow live back in February re-ignited my love for his music. I have a feeling he'll end up in the Top 25 Artist list. And if he decides to release a new record in 2020, I can only assume he'll be way up on all of the charts.
#7. The Benjamin Gate - How Long (29)
The rocket ship Benjamin Gate rode through the end of 2018 kept burning long into 2019. I believe I am finally at a place where I don't need to hear this song every day, but it was a tough road to get there.
#6. Mesh - The Last One Standing (6)
Well, how is that for consistency. This song had 1 stream more than it did last year, and ended up at the same place. That's pretty wild.
#5. Alvvays - In Undertow (NR)
#62 last year, another song that caught fire late and burned hot throughout the entire year. The more I listen to this song, the more I would group it into my all-time favorite songs list. I wonder how those mental connections work, anyways.
#4. Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend (new)
The last four songs on this list are all new songs to 2019. Just beautiful. It was also a pretty significant jump in streams. S&T definitely came out of nowhere and rode the wave all the way to #3 on the Top 20. Who knows if we'll ever see or hear from them again, but we will always have 2019.
#3. The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam (new)
Even though this song ended up at #2, I kind of figured it would be behind the next two songs in terms of how many streams. After all, this record didn't even come out until May 10th, where #2 had the entire year to work with. What will the Relics do in 2020? Stay tuned.
#2. VHS Collection - Sign (new)
This song fell of late in the year, but still made a massive impression on things. #4 was a very fitting spot for them to end at in the Countdown, in spite of having the 2nd most streams. The battle for the 2-3-4 spots in the Countdown were hotly contested the latter half of the year.
#1. VNV Nation - Only Satellites (new)
Wow. I knew this was going to be a runaway, but I did not realize that it would be a victory by a full 25 streams. There were only 41 songs this year that even had that many streams. Madness. Still, I think it's pretty cool that the 4 most played songs were new songs for the year. That either means they were that much better of songs, or I'm just really tired of listening to everything else, lol.
With all of these new 2019 songs entering the chart, it was inevitable that some of last years songs would fall by the wayside. As it stands, 22 of the 30 songs on last year's chart did not return, but not for the last of trying. Or, listening? I mean, I don't think I usually "try" to listen to specific things... haha.
Full list of dropouts below, with last year's rank in parentheses, and this year following.
CCR - Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (30) - 530
Plumb - God-Shaped Hole (28) - 945Bloc Party - I Still Remember (27) - 84
Audioslave - Like A Stone (26) - 82
Plushgun - Sarah's Locker (25) - 117
Fashion Week - Tell Me Something (24) 180
The Night Game - The Outfield (23) - 370
Jukebox The Ghost - Everybody's Lonely (22) - 710
Mr. Mister - Kyrie (21) - 58
Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For (20) - 499
mind.in.a.box - Attack (19) - 447
Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind (18) - 73
De/Vision - Your Hands On My Skin (15) - 39
The Birthday Massacre - One (14) - 119
So Long, Stargazer - Fall Behind (13) - 70
Turnspit - Walk Away (12) - 287
Alphaville - Forever Young (11) - 55
Vesperteen - Medicine (10) - 123Rush - Limelight (9) - 61
Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song (4) - 892
The War On Drugs - Pain (3) - 36
Solar Fake - Until It's Over (1) - 62
"Until It's Over" falling to 62 kind of surprised me, but I think I got caught in listening to more of their older material in 2019. Even though it ended up at #36, I feel like I barely listened to "Pain". Perhaps the biggest surprise was "Sky Full Of Song" by Florence + The Machine, which tumbled all the way down to 892. No song was played less from from 2018 to 2019. Perhaps it's just a fallout from being the #1 song from the 2018 Countdown.
I'll do the artists tomorrow. This is enjoyable, as always. Thanks Last.FM.
In 2019 there were 10,115 individual songs, making for 23,725 streams. That's 65 songs per day, and of course doesn't factor in the 8 hours of muzak I unwillingly lived through every day at work. Haha... actually, most of our work playlists were pretty good. 3095 of those songs had at least 2 streams, meaning I listened to a whopping 6210 once. That averages out to 2.35 scrobbles per song.
Here are the Top 30 most streamed songs of the year
Format -
#TY. Artist - Song (Last year's ranking)
#30. A Flock Of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song (NR)
Sometimes a song will come out of left fiend and remind you how much you enjoyed them. I was never a huge Flock of Seagulls fan, but last year I spent a lot more time listening to them, especially this soaring ditty.
#29. Demon Hunter - The Negative (new)
The Negative finished 2019 at #11 on the Top 20 Countdown, a respectable spot for a Demon Hunter song. DH was the #9 artist last year, where will they fall in 2019?
#28. Cold - Shine (new)
#7 from the Top 20, I remember staying up til midnight to hear the first new song Cold was dropping in several years, and then listening to it 5 times in a row. For reference, this song was released June 27th.
#27. Assemblage 23 - Damaged (NR)
I'm somewhat surprised this song didn't chart in 2018... a quick check shows that it dropped in at the #56 slot last year. A23 is scheduled for a new record release this year, and I'm fairly sure that they'll be shooting up the list of plays rather quickly.
#26. The Birthday Massacre - All Of Nothing (17)
This song continues to resonate massively through my eardrums and within my heart. It finished in the 2017 Countdown at #4 and has never slowed down.
#25. Rammstein - Radio (new)
Radio dropped on April 26th and quickly shot up the chart, finishing at #6 on the Countdown. It was the 2nd single released from the self-titled record, and it showed that regardless of what the German titans decide to do, they excel.
#24. The Wild Wild - Alright (NR)
I didn't realize it when I first heard this song, but The Wild Wild is another one of Benjamin Dunn's off-shoots. It was on one of the alternative playlists at work and kind of became a cry for getting through 2019 for me.
#23. Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World (NR)
I've said it before, but I could listen to Sam Cooke all day. I don't usually obsessively listen to oldies, simply because I've heard most of that stuff so many times before. It tickles me to see a song from the 60s on the most played list.
#22. Wolfsheim - Blind (8)
It's a shame that Wolfsheim has been broken up for so long. The fact that the music they released 20 years ago is still right on the cutting edge of what electronica should sound like is fantastic.
#21. Within Temptation - In Vain (new)
This year's #5 song on the Countdown. I really tried to listen to more Within Temptation but I cannot get into their sound. This song is tremendous, though, but it reminds me of a lot of one hit wonders (for my chart, at least) that are here today, gone tomorrow because the band doesn't resonate with me.
#20. VNV Nation - Arena (NR)
Arena really caught steam at the end of last year and shot straight up to the top this year, riding the wave of the new VNV record. I honestly thought this song would be higher up on the list.
#19. Necessary Response - Forever (5)
A bit of a fall from last year, but still a strong showing. Necessary Response is so interesting because I love this record more than any of the best songs that Aesthetic Perfection have put out.
#18. The Cure - Pictures of You (NR)
Man, I listened to a LOT of The Cure in 2019. I am very curious to see where they wind up on the Top Artists list. Pictures of You is definitely the longest song on this list, and by a few minutes.
#17. Billie Eilish - You Should See Me In A Crown (new)
Everybody's surprise from last year, right? Even I couldn't help but get swept up in it, as this song finished at #8. It was a binge-y song for me; I'd listen two or three times in a row and then not listen for the rest of the month. It's just a strange aesthetic that has to hit me int he right place.
#16. Ashbury Heights - Spiders (NR)
Ashbury's highest played song last year would've came in at #73 (Piano) and they rolled into 2019 with a new record that renewed my interest in the group. They're one of those acts where I either love or hate the song - not much in between.
#15. Ashley Cleveland - Where Do I Go (feat. Gary Chapman) (NR)
Ah, this is one of those Pastor Simon songs, like "How Long" last year. It's just another song that brings me peace in difficult times. I guess I needed to lean on that a little more this year than I realized.
#14. Assemblage 23 - The Other Side of the Wall (NR)
When "Bruise" first came out in 2012, I kind of dismissed it as not being being as enjoyable as 2009's "Compass". I made sure to revisit it last year, and was immediately hooked into this track. I'm not sure what it was that hit me specifically, but this song is a titan among the sadder A23 songs.
#13. Toto - Stop Loving You (NR)
It's so weird listening to Toto after "IV". So many different singers, such mediocre songs. But for the life of me, this is my favorite Toto song, and I heard it while doing inventory in February and it just stuck with me throughout the year.
#12. Solitary Experiments - Epiphany (2)
It's always interesting when you have a song that you just love for an entire year, and you watch it come to the point where you can actually skip it or take it off your regular playlist. Epiphany is still the jam, though
#11. Mesh - The Fixer (16)
A song that did slightly better from last year, for a band that really need to put out some new music. The more I listen to them, the more I want it. I didn't have this song pegged this high, but there it is.
#10. VNV Nation - Armour (new)
The difference between songs #30-11 was just 1 stream or less. We've reached "the jump", where it Armour has several plays more than The Fixer. This was actually the first song that I liked from this record, and for a hot minute I thought it might represent VNV in the 2019 Countdown.
#9. VNV Nation - The Farthest Star (7)
I don't think this song will ever fall off. It's just too relevant to my life and to the world and what is going on in it, especially in 2020. However, this is (obviously) not the highest played VNV song.
#8. Truslow - Hurricane (NR)
Seeing Truslow live back in February re-ignited my love for his music. I have a feeling he'll end up in the Top 25 Artist list. And if he decides to release a new record in 2020, I can only assume he'll be way up on all of the charts.
#7. The Benjamin Gate - How Long (29)
The rocket ship Benjamin Gate rode through the end of 2018 kept burning long into 2019. I believe I am finally at a place where I don't need to hear this song every day, but it was a tough road to get there.
#6. Mesh - The Last One Standing (6)
Well, how is that for consistency. This song had 1 stream more than it did last year, and ended up at the same place. That's pretty wild.
#5. Alvvays - In Undertow (NR)
#62 last year, another song that caught fire late and burned hot throughout the entire year. The more I listen to this song, the more I would group it into my all-time favorite songs list. I wonder how those mental connections work, anyways.
#4. Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend (new)
The last four songs on this list are all new songs to 2019. Just beautiful. It was also a pretty significant jump in streams. S&T definitely came out of nowhere and rode the wave all the way to #3 on the Top 20. Who knows if we'll ever see or hear from them again, but we will always have 2019.
#3. The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam (new)
Even though this song ended up at #2, I kind of figured it would be behind the next two songs in terms of how many streams. After all, this record didn't even come out until May 10th, where #2 had the entire year to work with. What will the Relics do in 2020? Stay tuned.
#2. VHS Collection - Sign (new)
This song fell of late in the year, but still made a massive impression on things. #4 was a very fitting spot for them to end at in the Countdown, in spite of having the 2nd most streams. The battle for the 2-3-4 spots in the Countdown were hotly contested the latter half of the year.
#1. VNV Nation - Only Satellites (new)
Wow. I knew this was going to be a runaway, but I did not realize that it would be a victory by a full 25 streams. There were only 41 songs this year that even had that many streams. Madness. Still, I think it's pretty cool that the 4 most played songs were new songs for the year. That either means they were that much better of songs, or I'm just really tired of listening to everything else, lol.
With all of these new 2019 songs entering the chart, it was inevitable that some of last years songs would fall by the wayside. As it stands, 22 of the 30 songs on last year's chart did not return, but not for the last of trying. Or, listening? I mean, I don't think I usually "try" to listen to specific things... haha.
Full list of dropouts below, with last year's rank in parentheses, and this year following.
CCR - Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (30) - 530
Plumb - God-Shaped Hole (28) - 945Bloc Party - I Still Remember (27) - 84
Audioslave - Like A Stone (26) - 82
Plushgun - Sarah's Locker (25) - 117
Fashion Week - Tell Me Something (24) 180
The Night Game - The Outfield (23) - 370
Jukebox The Ghost - Everybody's Lonely (22) - 710
Mr. Mister - Kyrie (21) - 58
Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For (20) - 499
mind.in.a.box - Attack (19) - 447
Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind (18) - 73
De/Vision - Your Hands On My Skin (15) - 39
The Birthday Massacre - One (14) - 119
So Long, Stargazer - Fall Behind (13) - 70
Turnspit - Walk Away (12) - 287
Alphaville - Forever Young (11) - 55
Vesperteen - Medicine (10) - 123Rush - Limelight (9) - 61
Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song (4) - 892
The War On Drugs - Pain (3) - 36
Solar Fake - Until It's Over (1) - 62
"Until It's Over" falling to 62 kind of surprised me, but I think I got caught in listening to more of their older material in 2019. Even though it ended up at #36, I feel like I barely listened to "Pain". Perhaps the biggest surprise was "Sky Full Of Song" by Florence + The Machine, which tumbled all the way down to 892. No song was played less from from 2018 to 2019. Perhaps it's just a fallout from being the #1 song from the 2018 Countdown.
I'll do the artists tomorrow. This is enjoyable, as always. Thanks Last.FM.
Monday, March 16, 2020
2020
We had a lot of fun last year, didn't we? The Monthly Recap feature was an intriguing look into listening habits and trends, the Decade End list got a ton of interaction, and of course crowning a new champion was as thrilling as usual, even though the #1 was a runaway by a mile.
Here's the thing. Life keeps happening, right? I started doing J1 because my friend Pete was doing a smattering of yearly lists, much deeper than the ones that I have done. But even he unofficially called it a day back in 2016, leaving us with one last post to reminisce about. But we're in our 30s now, married with families to think about. I've had 11 Countdowns that I can look back on with pride, joy, and in some cases embarrassment (I'm looking at you, The Limousines).
Writing for Music in Motion has been an absolute joy. Being able to connect with musicians, enjoy great music, and go to shows is something that has always been a huge passion of mine, and it thrills me every day to know that I can do it wearing that badge. On the other hand, it does take up a decent amount of my time, as does full-time employment. For the last few years, I've woken up many days and asked myself - is it still worth my time to do J1?
It's essentially a nostalgia project these days, which is why I've given myself new tasks to keep the flow going. The intriguing thing about MiM is sometimes we'll go a week or two without much to do, and then all of a sudden there'll be 3 CDs to review and an entire weekend full of shows. It just kind of ebbs and flows like that. I don't need J1 to fill that time... the question I keep asking myself is, do I need it at all?
There is always a thrill in charting the songs I love the most. I always talk to people about the auto-biographical way I think about life an music - how songs and albums take me back to specific instances in my life. Knowing that those things specifically happened in certain years (like hearing Check My Brain by Alice in Chains the first time and pulling off the road to bask in its awesomeness) gives me comfort. Maybe one day I'll lose my mind, but I hope that those musical memories never fade.
Anyways, the entire world is going bananas right now about the Coronavirus and I am currently unemployed. I've had a lot of time on my hands, and I've listened to a TON of music, but I haven't really thought about finding new music or continuing J1. I guess I'm just at a mental impasse right now. I kind of started writing this trying to figure out whether I would talk myself out of it or actually put this thing to rest. I'm still essentially at the same spot... but at least I got the words out of me.
Stay tuned, I guess? I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye... even though I do this essentially for myself. Finality is a necessity in life.
Here's the thing. Life keeps happening, right? I started doing J1 because my friend Pete was doing a smattering of yearly lists, much deeper than the ones that I have done. But even he unofficially called it a day back in 2016, leaving us with one last post to reminisce about. But we're in our 30s now, married with families to think about. I've had 11 Countdowns that I can look back on with pride, joy, and in some cases embarrassment (I'm looking at you, The Limousines).
Writing for Music in Motion has been an absolute joy. Being able to connect with musicians, enjoy great music, and go to shows is something that has always been a huge passion of mine, and it thrills me every day to know that I can do it wearing that badge. On the other hand, it does take up a decent amount of my time, as does full-time employment. For the last few years, I've woken up many days and asked myself - is it still worth my time to do J1?
It's essentially a nostalgia project these days, which is why I've given myself new tasks to keep the flow going. The intriguing thing about MiM is sometimes we'll go a week or two without much to do, and then all of a sudden there'll be 3 CDs to review and an entire weekend full of shows. It just kind of ebbs and flows like that. I don't need J1 to fill that time... the question I keep asking myself is, do I need it at all?
There is always a thrill in charting the songs I love the most. I always talk to people about the auto-biographical way I think about life an music - how songs and albums take me back to specific instances in my life. Knowing that those things specifically happened in certain years (like hearing Check My Brain by Alice in Chains the first time and pulling off the road to bask in its awesomeness) gives me comfort. Maybe one day I'll lose my mind, but I hope that those musical memories never fade.
Anyways, the entire world is going bananas right now about the Coronavirus and I am currently unemployed. I've had a lot of time on my hands, and I've listened to a TON of music, but I haven't really thought about finding new music or continuing J1. I guess I'm just at a mental impasse right now. I kind of started writing this trying to figure out whether I would talk myself out of it or actually put this thing to rest. I'm still essentially at the same spot... but at least I got the words out of me.
Stay tuned, I guess? I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye... even though I do this essentially for myself. Finality is a necessity in life.
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