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.

January 2021 Recap

 I've decided to bring this feature back. I always enjoyed doing it, and I feel like it helps me bust through mental blocks in regular writing.

January, the first month of the year. It's a month where I'm detoxing from the Top 20 Countdown and Christmas music. For the month of January in 2021, I had 2482 scrobbles, an average of 80 per day, equaling 7 days and 2 hours of music. 1937 tracks from 860 artists, making for 2.25 streams per song.

Top 5 Genres were Rock, Classic Rock, Oldies, 80s and Alternative Rock. The 3 most scrobbled hours of the week were 12p, 1p, and 10a. 

Top Tracks for January

10. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

Last year's most streamed song continues to rack up plays. 

9. Nightbirde - It's Ok

Considering the lyrical content, this is a song that I expect to be kicking around on the top lists for a while.

8. John Mayer - Clarity

An old favourite that had fallen off the radar and came back with a fury. It's bizarre that this is a Mayer song considering how out of place it feels with his poppiest hits.

7. Five for Fighting - Superman (It's Not Easy)

If you're wondering where my headspace was in January, here's the ultimate "I don't believe in myself" song.

6. Elvis Presley - All Shook Up

 I honestly didn't realize I listened to this song so many times last month. Lol

5. VNV Nation - The Farthest Star

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

4. Romy - Lifetime

 Keep your eyes on this one in the year end Countdown... I have a feeling.

3. Fleetwood Mac - Say You Love Me

2. Eagles - Take It Easy

Both of these are songs that once I hear them, I have to play them again. And again, and again.

 1. Eleventyseven - All The Doubt In Town

 Kind of a surprise at the top of the list. I think this song just hit me in a sad place and pulled me to a happy place, so here it is.

 

Top Artists for January

 

10. Foo Fighters

The promise of new Foos had be scrolling through old Foos.

9. Colony 5

I can't remember what it was at the beginning of the month that told me I needed to spend more time with Colony 5, but I went and found some of their rarer stuff and was hooked back in.

8. Elvis Presley

Again, I don't remember listening to a lot of Elvis. Lol

7. Brave the Sea

 Now that sea shanties are apparently a huge deal on TikTok, I had to spend some extra time with Brave the Sea.

6. Wolfsheim

 With Colony 5 came Wolfsheim, except in heavier doses.

5. VNV Nation

 Last year's top streamed band comes in at #5 for the first month.

4. Five Iron Frenzy

Two words. New FIF record. Okay, so that's 5 words. Oh well.

3. Cold

Cold is looking to reclaim their crown from VNV in 2021.

2. Sevendust

1. Demon Hunter

I wanted to listen through the old catalogue of old favourite bands, so I hooked into Dust and DH in January. This might be a theme throughout the year, we'll see.

Thanks to Last.FM and The Universal Scrobbler.