June 2021 Recap

 Alright... we're all caught up for now. June!

2493 scrobbles... I kind of thought not being at work that I'd spend more time listening to music, but that was not the case, as it was only 83 per day. 2095 tracks from 862 artists, for a hearty 2.430 per. 

Top genres... Rock, Alternative Rock, Industrial, Nu Metal, and Alternative. The oldies definitely fell off from the lack of work, which makes for a curious comparison between the time spent between the two. 12p was the most popular hour, followed closely by 9 and 10pm.

Top Tracks for June

 

10. Megaherz - 5. Marz

Megaherz has some bops but this song always stands out for me and gets me amped up.

 

9. Goodnight Fear - Anxious

8. Goodnight Fear - Open Road

7. Goodnight Fear - 10

I did an album review for Goodnight Fear in June, and it was a pretty solid record. I think this is more of a statement that not too many songs got a lot of plays.

 

6. Cold - Rain Song

I really don't remember spending a lot of time with this song, but I listen to so much Cold that anything is possible lol.

 

5. Neuroticfish - Illusion of Home

I'm pretty sure Neuroticfish will show up on the top artists at years end. I have really been leaning into them and especially this song.

 

4. Goodnight Fear - Write My Own Story

This was the standout track on the GF album for me.

 

3. The OC Supertones - Dedication

It was a Supertones refresher month, and honestly they were better than I remembered. Those first five albums were just fantastic.

 

2. Oomph! - Tausend Neue Lugen

Still chugging along, and bringing more NDH with it!

 

1. Cold - Cure My Tragedy

 This song has steadily increased its presence over the last few months. I mean, there's a reason why it's almost always Cold's most streamed song at the end of the year.

 

Top Artists for June

 

10. Matchbox Twenty

 One of the things I've been doing a lot of since I was sidelined with surgery was listening to old albums that I loved. M20's first 3 albums are simply that. Brilliant records.

9. Lamb of God

In listening to LoG's newer stuff, I needed to remind myself of how much I enjoyed their earlier stuff. And by earlier, I mean Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament.

 

8. Sevendust

You know, I don't remember listening to this much 7D?

 

7. Puddle of Mudd

A friend of mine told me her band was getting the chance to open for Puddle of Mudd and so I knew I had to look back on their early stuff. They're a running joke now, but those first two records had some jams.

 

6. Voltaire

 I was wondering when the Captain would make another appearance here. He's actually had a fairly steady presence this year.

 

5. Kidneythieves

It hit me midway through June that I had never actually listened to a full Kidneythieves record, for as much as I enjoyed tracks off of Zerospace. Well, I learned that hard way that that album is all I can tolerate from them. But it's SO good!

 

4. Goodnight Fear

It did feel good doing an album review again.

3. Cold

For not specifically focusing on Cold this month, they still registered the third most scrobbles, just behind the Supertones.

2. The OC Supertones

 So good. Ska forever, man.

 

1. Korn

 The thing about Korn is that I still fully enjoy all of their albums up until Untitled. And even after that, there's good stuff to be found. I'm not angry like I was back then, but I still feel the power of those riffs and such.

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.

May 2021 Recap

 A new month, another strong showing of scrobbles. Lots of time at work to spend listening, but also a lot of time spent outside enjoying the weather now that things have started opening again. 3217 scrobbles, equaling a hearty 104 per day, and 8 days 14h worth of music. 1120 artists doing 2407 individual songs, an average of 2.149 per artist. 

Rock, Oldies, 60s, Soul and Alternative Rock continued their runs as the top genres. 12pm was the most prolific hour, just edging by 9 and 10am. Nothing really jumped out as a time where there were a heavier amount of songs being played, which is somewhat unusual.

Top Tracks for May

So here's a fun sidenote... there were 21 songs tied for 8th this month. Highly unusual.... so I guess I'll have to flip some coins for where they land. 

Random spin initiated... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

T8. Sam Cooke - Chain Gang

There were actually 4 Sam Cooke songs tied at 8, including Twistin' the Night Away, Wonderful World and Bring It On Home To Me. A good week for soul.

T8. Cold - Insane

Amusingly, there were also two Cold songs, along with Sad Happy. I love the self-titled love, though.

T8. Argyle Park - Leave Me Alone

The angstier I feel, the more I listen to Circle of Dust and Argyle Park.

7. The Wallflowers - One Headlight

Feels like every time I flipped on a playlist that wasn't oldies, this song popped up. It's the one I want played at my funeral. lol

6. Teenage Wrist - Earth is a Black Hole

The TW assault continues. This album is better than anything I've heard in the last two years.

 

5. Oomph! - Tausend Neue Legend

Fell back in love with Oomph while working in the garage in May. This song is a thousand hammers, for sure.

4. Carole King - So Far Away

Boy, you couldn't pick two more disparate songs to come back to back, huh?

3. beabadoobie - Last Day On Earth

This one came out of nowhere. I was looking at our local alt station's playlist and suddenly I was listening to it on repeat.

2. Bill Haley and His Comets - See You Later, Alligator

Bill Haley was just fun, fun music back then. I wish I could've lived in the days where this was the norm.

1. Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline

The opening track off of this record hits harder sometimes. It's a bit poppier but it slams just the same.

Top Artists for May

T11. Johnny Cash
T11. KMFDM

Oh, sure, two artists from complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Why not? Lol. So many ties this month, what gives??

9. Audioslave

I mentioned Cornell Forever last month, and so here we are. I'd expect the other two to be here as well.

8. Anberlin

Anberlin is red hot in 2021 for me. I mean, they always are, but just the same. The flame is continually fed.

7. Sam Cooke

I genuinely thought Sam would be higher this month.

 

6. Argyle Park

See above for angst.

5. Cold

Cold was way ahead the last two months, but slid back a little. They still have a massive lead on the year, unsurprisingly.

 

4. Chris Cornell

For whatever reason, there's always a time for Soundgarden and Audioslave in my daily life, but not usually his solo work. Not because it isn't great, it just doesn't fit into the nooks and crannies of my normal day to day operations.

3. Evanescence

In anticipation of their new album, Amy + Co got some spins in May.

 

2. Oomph!

Oomph actually almost landed at #1, which would have been a massive surprise...

 

1. Soundgarden

...considering it was Cornell Forever month. Still, there was just 3 scrobbles between the two.

I'm almost caught up, lol

 

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.

April 2021 Recap

 April! Scrobbles were up 47% from last month's drop off, generating 2972 unique listens, an average of 99 per day. 2066 individual tracks from 999 artists, equalling 2.068 per. 

Top genres were Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative Rock, Soul, and Oldies. Top hours were 9am, 1pm and 8am. 

Top Tracks for April

 

10. Sam Cooke -  (What A) Wonderful World

For my money, this song will always be one of the greatest compositions of all time. 

 

9. Ricky Nelson - Garden Party

I honestly know so little about Ricky Nelson other than his great voice. I should do more digging.

 

8. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues

There are millions of guitarists around the world trying to duplicate the brilliance of the riff on this song. Not bad for a song released 63 years ago.

 

7. Echo Image - Walk My Mind

This might just end up being my #1 song on the J1 Top 20 this year. It has rocketed off to a huge start in its first two months.

 

6. Wings - Band on the Run

Such a tremendous song... I can't think of many songs that segue from one part to another so seamlessly and perfectly.

 

 

5. Parralox - Eye in the Sky

 I accidentally fell into this song messing around with covers and remembering that Parralox had some bopper electronic versions of songs that seemed unlikely. This one truly came out of nowhere.

 

4. Cold - Cure My Tragedy

The emotional rollercoaster of this month's most played songs is somewhat troubling, although it was nice to finally take off the N95 and face shield.

 

3. Eagles - Take it Easy

Yes, I'll take "Prevalent Oldies" for 200, Alex.

 

2. Teenage Wrist - Earth is a Black Hole

 The battle for top song will be tight this year, but I'd say Teenage Wrist has already run away with top album.

1. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

...same as it ever was...

Top Artists for April

T10. Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eagles, Marvin Gaye

Oldies, oldies, oldies. This is an accurate spelling of a good oldies mix for me. Lol

9. Mudvayne

Mudvayne is (apparently) BACK! At least, for some concerts. New music? Who knows.

8. Sam Cooke

Any time I listen to oldies, I mean real oldies, Sam Cooke is there.

7. Rammstein

At the end of the month, I had an urge to splurge on some tanz-metal. Not just R+, but they were prevalent.

6. Alice in Chains

A few weeks into April, I was thinking about how I really hadn't given AIC's post Layne records a fair shake. I figured it was a good time to revisit. I still don't love them but I liked them better than I remembered.

5. Anberlin

With Anberlin doing a new stream every month, they are engraving their names in the top 10 artists for each month.

4. Chris Cornell

3. Soundgarden

2. Audioslave

Even though Cornell Forever is in May, I was really feeling him in April this year.

1. Cold

...s... same as it... ever was?

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.

March 2021 Recap

 March marked a severe fall-off, as I spent less time playing music at work. Only 2032 scrobbles, averaging 66 per day. That's the least I've scrobbled in a month in over 2 years. 

Top genre was Futurepop, unseating Rock's reign of the last 3 months. Synthpop, EBM, Rock and Electronic filled out the top 5. Top hours were 9pm, 10pm and surprisingly 3pm, which is usually a rather docile hour. 

Exactly 1600 tracks played by 764 artists, averaging out at 2.094 per track. 40% new tracks from 18% new artists, which are rather high numbers considering I'm usually playing oldies and classic rock. 

Top Tracks for March

 

10. Demon Hunter - My Throat is an Open Grave

 The DH nostalgia was still pretty heavy for the month of March. I was chatting with a friend about the times we had seen them on tour and this song was anchored in my mind.

9. And One - Steine Sind Steine

I honestly think this track got me back on the EBM kick. It's a shame that so few of And One's records are on streaming platforms.

8. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

I think it's pretty clear that this song is going to repeat as #1 most played.

7. Teenage Wrist - Earth is a Black Hole

I'm genuinely upset that I had never heard about this band before hearing this song. The entire album has been on repeat for a while now.

 

6. Echo Image - Walk My Mind

Hard to believe that a band who has been dormant for 20 years had a song up their sleeve that was this good. Here's to more EI in 2021.

 

5. Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy's Song (VNV Nation Remix)

Eternal.

 

4. Nightbirde - It's OK

This song continues to help me battle through difficult times as the pandemic wanes down.

 

3. VNV Nation - Illusion

2. Assemblage 23 - Endure

If EBM and Electronic music are the head genres, you can bet these two songs will always be there

 

1. And One - One And

 This album is tremendous and I'm disappointed that I had never listened to it before, either. Thank goodness for the internet.

 

Top Artists for March

 

10. mind.in.a.box

From time to time I really try to understand mind.in.a.box. The storyline is great, the music is solid, yet on every album there's only ever 1 or 2 songs that stand out, if any. I don't know what it is other than the vocals that would catch me.

 

9. Demon Hunter

 N o s t a l g i a. It's eternal in this pandemic where we cannot do anything

 

8. Assemblage 23

Where there's smoke, there's fire. I'll let you guess what artists are coming up next, lol.

 

7. Tom Petty

Surprise! I know, right? Tom sneaking in amongst all this dark music.

 

6. Neuroticfish

NF finally got their discography onto Spotify, and I've finally been able to dig in and DAMN they're good. I mean, I knew they were good, but they're better than I expected.

 

5. VNV Nation

Ok, that makes more sense. With A23 comes VNV. It's like a rule or something.

 

4. Circle of Dust

Long live electronic music. I'm not sure how COD snuck around all the EBM and Synthpop, but here we are.

 

3. And One

Finding the rest of And One's discography was a blessing - their S.T.O.P. album is a jam. 

 

2. Solar Fake

I can't say I love the new Solar Fake disc, which is highly surprising considering the last two were massive hits for me.

 

1. Apoptygma Berzerk

One day, I was just sitting out on the patio and I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna listen to everything AB has released. They had just put out a b-sides record and I needed more. It was a good couple of days going through all of that.

 

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.

February 2021 Recap

 I'm late, I know.

February! The shortest month of the year still accrued 2329 scrobbles, which is 3 more per day despite being 7% less than last month. Played back to back it would cover 6 days and 8 hours. 1762 tracks from 840 artists, good for 2.098 per track. 

 

Top 5 genres were Rock, Classic Rock, Oldies, Pop and 60s. The top 3 were unchanged from last month, while 9am, 8am and 12pm were the most popular hours. 

Top Tracks for February 

 

10. Don Henley - The End of Innocence

You know it's an emotional month if this song is in the top 10

 

9. Cold - End of the World

...then again, maybe it was an angry month? Nah, it was just a very Cold heavy month.

 

8. Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea

I really don't think Bobby Darin gets enough credit among the old great crooners.

 

7. Avril Lavinge - I Don't Give A Damn

 6. Avril Lavigne - Fall to Pieces

 Yeah, well, sometimes you fall back on your old crushes. I don't know where Fall to Pieces came from, but IDGAD was what started the Avril nostalgia. 

 

5. The Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic

One of those great old earworms that overtakes your mind when you hear it.

 

4. The Cars - You Might Think

At some point, I just started listening to this one on repeat.

 

3. Crowded House - Something So Strong

 A popular karaoke staple, and since I couldn't sing karaoke in February, I just belted it out for myself.

 

2. Common Children - Strange Rain

 I can't remember what specific day it was, but it was raining and I was playing my Rainy Days playlist, and this song smacked me like a ton of bricks at lunch time.

 

1. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

Last year's king looking to reclaim his crown!

Top Artists for February

10. The Monkees

Just one of those months, I guess. Sad and happy, happy and sad, all over the place.

9. Foo Fighters

I'm not gonna say I love the new FF album, but it has a few good tracks on it. Not bad, for sure.

 

8. Fats Domino

Is there ever a bad time for Fats? Or the Big Bopper? Just feels right in the oldies factory.

 

7. Colony 5

Still riding that Colony 5 high. I just wish they had more music to discover.

6. Switchfoot

I got to see SF to an anniversary livestream for The Beautiful Letdown and I had somehow forgotten how much I loved that record.

 

5. The Frozen Ocean

I think the most interesting thing about pandemic-times is the random artists that I just want to binge on.

 

4. Common Children

Still as good as they were in the 90s, and still criminally underrated.

 

3. Anberlin

Two great livestreams this month, with both Anberlin and Switchfoot rattling my brains. 

 

2. Avril Lavigne

Once she sucked me in, I was all locked up. It's like I was a soph in high school all over again, lol.

 

1. Cold

The big dogs are swinging heavy in 2021.

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.