2022 in Music (Last.FM and Spotify Listening Trends)
By EricMesa
- 21 minutes read - 4362 wordsAnother year, another look at my music trends for the year. It was another year of music acquisition (supporting the artists, ftw! - I knew Spotify wasn’t paying artists well, but Corey Doctorow’s book, Chokepoint Capitalism really brought home how much they’re screwing over artists), although I think things may slow down in 2023. Here are the albums I purchased in 2023:
- The Protomen - Presents: A Night of Queen
- Encantó soundtrack
- Moderator - The World Within
- Kognitif - Soul Food
- MxPx - Horns, Plans within Plans, Let’s Rock, Left Coast Punk EP, The Rennaisance EP
- Packy Lundholm - Track Sabbath Vol 1
- Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters
- Catbite - Nice One
- Macroblank - entire discography - 14 albums
- Vicente Garcia - Lomas de Cayenas
- Girl Ultra - Nuevos Aires
- The Shape of Ska Punk to Come
- Me Like Bees - Songs from The Realm
- Kill Lincoln - Can’t Complain
- Jokabi - Chilltendo Deluxe
- Turning Red Soundtrack
- We Are the Union - Ordinary Life
- Chillhop Music - Essentials Spring 2022, Essentials Summer 2022, Essentials Fall 2022
- Anberlin - Silverline
New Music I got as a gift:
- Glenn Miller - The Essential Glenn Miller
- Lizzo - Cuz I Love You
- Luis Fonsi - VIDA
- Coco OST
- Shakira - El Dorado
- Thelonious Monk - The Essential Thelonious Monk
- Fiddler on the Roof Broadway Cast Recording
- Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady
- Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
- John Williams - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Soundtrack
- Randy Newman - The Legacy Collection: Toy Story Soundtrack
- Randy Newman - Toy Story 4 Soundtrack
- Ramin Djawadi - Game of Thrones Season 2 Soundtrack
- Cities Skylines Soundtrack
- Wet Leg - Wet Leg
- Tai Verdes - TV
- Shakira - Te Felicio
- Megan thee Stallion - Sweetest Pie
- Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - The Future
- Juanes - Origen
I finally caught up with the MxPx discography. Just in time, too, as I think they may have a new album coming out this year. I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about the Ska resurgence for about 2 years now. (It’s not just me - there’s a newspaper article I was going to cite) Regardless of the national trend, I’ve been having my own Ska renaissance thanks to BadTime Records. This year I bought albums by Catbite, We are the Union, Kill Lincoln, and a sampler from the label. Between all of those, I liked We Are the Union the most.
Anberlin released a new EP that rocks. It has a good mix of their harder and softer songs. I also finally got a bunch of albums I’d wanted for years like the Kacey Musgraves and Janelle Monae albums. Finally, I bought a lot of ambient and chillhop music to listen to at work.
This year I only had one concert - I Fight Dragons. It was to celebrate their release of Kaboom!. I didn’t binge them before the concert as I was already pretty familiar with the catalog.
Before we get into the stats, a few trends that might affect the stats.
- This year the kids wanted to listen to Encantó music in general and during tooth brushing.
- I started off Jan 2022 listening a lot to Diamante Electrico on Spotify. I heard about the near end of 2021 from Alt.Latino podcast.
- The balance in my Anberlin, FIF, MxPx radio station playlist on Funkwhale has tipped from mostly being Anberlin songs to mostly being MxPx songs
- As I mentioned above, I completed the MxPx discography, leading to lots of scrobbles for MxPx.
- I got addicted to Rosalia’s MOTOMAMI album for about 3 weeks after hearing about it on the Alt.Latino podcast.
- Continued to use Spotify mostly to learn about new artists.
- In July spent a day or two listening to comedy songs - primarily Weird Al and Paul and Storm. Also, June/July the kids kept asking for Weird Al.
- Early Fall, the kids asked a lot for Equestria Girls soundtracks while brushing teeth.
And now, let’s jump into the stats!
Top Artists for 2022
a graph showing the top artists for this year
1. MxPx (1298) - As mentioned above, I bought the 4 remaining MxPx albums. Then I also listened a bunch to my Anberlin, FIF, MxPx radio station on Funkwhale, causing it to come up even more.
2. gog.com (625) - this is from the last.fm program on my phone and KDE phone connection. When I changed phones, the last.fm app wasn’t available anymore so this should be the last year to have weird entries like this.
3. BeothSlayed (464) - This came from youtube and, again, the KDE phone connection.
4. Anberlin (450) - In addition to listening to the MxPx, FIF, and Anberlin radio, I really liked the Silverline EP. I was also inspired to go back and listen to the back catalog.
5. Five Iron Frenzy (446) - Mostly the same reasons as above, except without a new album.
6. I Fight Dragons (385) - The reason I didn’t have to binge before the concert is because they were already one of my most listened to bands in 2022.
7. Jokabi (365) - As I mentioned above, I listened to a lot of chilhop and non-lyrical music at work. I really liked the Chilltendo album. It’s got slightly too much Pokemon for someone who hasn’t really played the series, but otherwise it’s a great album to vibe out to.
8. Macroblank (348) - Another band that makes chillhop style albums. Great for coding to.
9. Dissidente (342) - I didn’t realize I listened specifically to Dissidente so much, but they were on the BadTime Records sampler that I really enjoyed.
10. Humble Bundle (314) - yet another entry due to the KDE phone connector and last.fm app.
11. We Are the Union (279) - I really liked this album, but I didn’t realize I’d listened to it this much. This comes out to about 20ish listens of the album.
12. Ramin Djawadi (217) - A few days of listening to the soundtracks I own for Westworld and Game of Thrones were the source of most of these listens. It’s definitely interesting seeing the themes that are common to his work.
13. Team17 (209) - Most of these scrobbles once again came from the the KDE Connect app and last.fm on my old phone.
14. ROSALÍA (188) - As I mentioned in the introduction, I got addicted to MOTOMAMI. It’s got just enough other elements in addition to the regeton and Spanish rap elements to keep me coming back for more.
15. Luis Fonsi (176) - Another surprise. I guess when I first got VIDA I must have really listened to it a lot. I remember listening a lot for the first week after I got it, but after a while I stopped actively choosing it..
16. Cimafunk (173) - Cimafunk has been getting lots of buzz this year and I think it’s well-deserved. I continue to enjoy listening to this album which I got last year.
17. Dizzy Gillespie (173) - I got his entire repertoire last year for Christmas and I got most of these listens in early in the year.
18. Slick Shoes (173) - on the strength of frequency and rotation I used Spotify to listen to some of their earlier albums.
19. Marketplace (171) - this is because when I had last.fm on my old phone, it used to scrobble podcasts.
20. Janelle Monáe (170) - I have continued to enjoy this music both lyrically and sonically. I binged a lot of it a few years ago on youtube so it may be another year or so before I start listening to the albums again.
Top Albums of 2022
1. Jokabi - Chilltendo Deluxe (356) - At first I was surprised this album came up higher than many of the others. In my mind I had listened to MOTOMAMI more often. But as I thought about how often I would put on Chilltendo both for myself and the kids, I realized it wasn’t so surprising.
2. Dissidente - The Shape of Ska Punk to Come Volume II (341) - As I’ve mentioned a few times, this was a year of returning to Ska and this was one of the biggest ways I did it.
3. We Are the Union - Ordinary Life (271) - since this is the only We Are The Union album I have, nothing extra to say here.
4. MxPx - Plans Within Plans (256) - check out my review of the album
5. ROSALÍA - MOTOMAMI(182) - the funniest thing about my addiction to this album is the fact that I actually didn’t like most of the songs the first time I heard them. I don’t know what made me go back and listen again, but once I did, it became my 2022 earworm album.
6. Luis Fonsi - Vida (176)
7. Dizzy Gillespie - Twelve Classic Albums (173)
8. Slick Shoes - Rotation & Frequency (172)
9. Marketplace - Marketplace (171)
- Cimafunk - El Alimento (167) - This album proves that Cimafunk deserves the “funk” part of his artistic moniker. I love throwing this on and jamming.
11. Liberty X - Thinking It Over (163) - This album must have come on randomly a bunch when I was listening to my music on random because I remember listening to the one song I have on this album, but I didn’t remember listening to it this much.
12. The Indicator from Planet Money - NPR (153)
13. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You (147) - I don’t love every song on this album, but I love most of them. It really is a masterfully composed album that showcases a lot of Lizzo’s talents.
14. Randy Newman - The Legacy Collection: Toy Story (132) - From the time I saw this movie as a kid, I knew that the soundtrack was something special. It may be one of the first kids’ movies I saw that wasn’t a musical. Instead the music served the same purpose it does in an adults’ movie.
15. Diamante Eléctrico - Mira Lo Que Me Hiciste Hacer (126) - I wanted to find some Spanish music that wasn’t dance music - not merengue or salsa - and I discovered this band when they were mentioned on Alt.Latino. They’re a great pop band with a fun sense of humor when it comes to their videos.
16. Bee Gees - The Ultimate Bee Gees (125) - As you saw above, the Bee Gees didn’t make my top artists, but since all their music that I own is on this one album, it serves to concentrate things and bring it up in the stats.
17. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour (124) - As I mentioned in the intro, I’d been waiting years to get this album. I really enjoyed it a lot, as you can see from the stats.
18. Shakira - El Dorado(109) - Previously I’d mostly experienced Shakira via her singles. This was the first time I got an entire album. I think this one coheres very well.
19. Kill Lincoln - Can’t Complain (108) - another album from my Ska travels this year.
20. Ramin Djawadi - Westworld: Season 1 (Music from the HBO® Series) (100) - I think it’s funny that I got the Season 2 soundtrack this year, but it was the Season 1 soundtrack that made the list.
Top Songs of 2022
Here’s where a lot of the last.fm and KDE issue affected the stats the most. The nice thing is that it’s no longer going to be a problem going forward.
1. gog.com - Stardeus - Trailer (623)
2. BeothSlayed - Eddie Izzard - Godspeed from “Circle” (2002) (464)
3. Dissidente - Atlantis (342) - This was my favorite or second favorite song from the BadTime Records sampler.
4. Humble Bundle - Humble Bundle Presents: Construction Simulator (2015) Deluxe Edition (311)
5. Team17 - Neon Abyss | Launch Trailer (209)
6. Liberty X - Just a Little (163)
7. alyankovicVEVO - “Weird Al” Yankovic - Fat (Official Music Video)(118) - this was mostly because of my kids really getting into this song.
8. ????? - no more words (61)
9. Geico Insurance - Rumba Roomba - GEICO Insurance (56)
10. New York Road Runners - Support Rising New York Road Runners (55)
11. Cubic U - Lullaby (36) - I haven’t listened to Cubic U much since high school, but it came up a bunch during my random listens.
- girl ultra - Ella Tú Y Yo(36) - I really, really like this song. The lyrics, the slow pace, everything about it. Whenever I come across it on the funkwhale main page I put it on.
13. Dizzy Gillespie - Fantasia (34)
14. We Are the Union - Boys Will Be Girls (33) - A lot of the songs on this album deal with the lead singer’s transition, but this one is the most direct about it. It’s also a fun listen.
15. TheaBeasty - Patch Notes 10.7 | Gwent (28)
16. www.pcgamer.com - Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters Preview | In 60 Seconds (28)
17. Doctor Octoroc - Sledge Hammer(27) - a chiptunes song from my chiptunes phase.
18. We Are the Union - Pasadena (27) - this is my second-favorite song from the album.
19. Eric Mesa - Channel Trailer Sept 2016 (26)
20. MxPx - Aces Up (26) - I love this song, especially the chorus “life don’t always deal aces/sometimes you have bluff”
Top Overall Artists
1. Five Iron Frenzy (5253) (no change) - Another 400 listens kept FIF in the top position. They’ve got 1000 more scrobbles than MxPx - is this a safe cushion? Time will tell!
2. MxPx (4284) (up from #6) - The rise for MxPx on this list has been meteoric. They weren’t on the list 2 years ago. Now they’re just 1000 listens away from becoming my top artist. Given how much I listened to them in middle and high school, this is probably where they should be, anyway.
3. Anberlin (4247) (drop from #2) - They’re back to the spot they occupied 2 years ago. They’re only 40 scrobbles below MxPx, so I could see them potentially fighting for position in the future years - especially if Anberlin comes out with a new, full album this year.
4. Fantastic Plastic Machine (3793) (drop from #3) - I expect FPM to continue to fall each year unless I suddenly want to start listening to him more.
5. The Beatles (3573) (drop from #4) - I’m curious to see where they end up as time keep passing. I do tend to have Beatles binge days, but I have SO MUCH music nowadays and mostly listen on random. They’re only 20 scrobbles away from FPM, so I think they’re likely to at least climb past FPM.
6. I Fight Dragons(3340) (up from #7) - they bounced back up to the #6 spot they held 2 years ago thanks to all the scrobbles they got this year. As you saw above, Relient K didn’t make the top 10 list of artists for this year, so it was easy for IFD to pull away.
7. Relient K (3189) (drop from #5) - drops 2 spots because of MxPx and IFD. Given the direction they went (both sonically and lyrically) with their later albums, I wouldn’t be surprised if they continued to fall.
8. “Weird Al” Yankovic (2006) (no change) - I’m not surprised that Yankovic stayed put. There’s a 1000 listen gap to the next spot and at this point I * mostly\* only listen to “Weird Al” for the kids.
9. The PDX Broadsides (1811) (no change) - I was slightly surprised that I only listened to their music 100 times. But not a huge surprise they didn’t change positions since there’s a 200 listen gap to “Weird Al” and then another thousand listens needed to climb higher. Still waiting on the EP from their last Kickstarter, so there’s a chance they rise in 2023.
- Fall Out Boy(1748) (no change)- Less than 100 listens this year. Yet, looking at the others on the list, I don’t see anyone challenging them for this spot from the current top 15.
11. Jonathan Coulton (1670) (no change) - Similar to the prior 2.
12. Lana Del Rey (1487) (no change) - This is a demonstration (with actual numerical accuracy) of how much we didn’t like her new album. Most artists have a surge in listens when I get a new album, but she didn’t. And by new album I mean Blue Bannisters because we didn’t get the absolute latest one.
13. Bee Gees (1307) (up from #15) - I’m a little surprised they beat Chance the Rapper. Not because I listened to Chance a lot this year, but because I didn’t remember listening to this much more Bee Gees than Chance.
14. Chance the Rapper (1257) (no change) - Another year in which I didn’t get his new album. When mostly listening on random, having only 3 albums in the database means he won’t come up often.
15. Gnarls Barkley (1221) (drop from #13) - As I’ve mentioned for a few years now, I rarely listen to them nowadays and am surprised they are still on the top 15 list.
Off the list this year:
No one. All the changes this year were within the top 15.
Potentials for Next Year:
- Anamanaguchi (currently #16) - I predicted they might crest the list last year. They didn’t make it, but they did rise one position. I need to check and see if they have any new albums and if I’d like them.
- YUNG BAE(currently #18) - Another prediction I made last year. Yes, I don’t listen to him as much as I did in 2020 or 2021, but I have a lot of his albums so he’s likely to come up on random.
Looking beyond those artists it’s hard to come up with a prediction. A lot of the artists that are close, like Gwen Stefani (23), Thousand Foot Krutch (25), or Frank Ocean (28) are artists I don’t listen to often anymore. Other artists that I do listen to often, like Bad Rabbits (30), Janelle Monáe (54), or Run the Jewels (76) would need to double or triple their current amount of listens in one year while other artists stayed put. It’s not impossible, but I think it’s more likely that the Top Artists will remain fairly static for the next couple of years. It would be fun to be proven wrong because it would represent a massive change in listening habits, but I’m not holding my breath.
Top All-Time Songs
1. gog.com - Stardeus - Trailer (623) (new to list)
2. BeothSlayed - Eddie Izzard - Godspeed from “Circle” (2002) (464) (new to list)
3. Dissidente - Atlantis(342) (new to list) - First legit song that’s new to this list. I really did like it that much.
4. Humble Bundle - Humble Bundle Presents: Construction Simulator (2015) Deluxe Edition (311) (new to list)
5. I Fight Dragons - Artifact (311) (drops from #1)
6. Team17 - Neon Abyss | Launch Trailer (209) (new to list)
7. Liberty X - Just a Little (187) - new to list
- Elaine Li - Beginners (Ragnarok Online II) (156) (drops from #2)
9. Jonathan Coulton - The Princess Who Saved Herself (128) (drops from #3)
10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood (123) (drops from #4)
11. The PDX Broadsides - Tiny Little Octopus (122) (drops from #6)
12. alyankovicVEVO - “Weird Al” Yankovic - Fat (Official Music Video) (118) (new to list)
- Five Iron Frenzy - Handbook For The Sellout (113) (dropped from #12)
14. Fantastic Plastic Machine - Steppin’ Out (110) (dropped from #5)
15. Gnarls Barkley - Who Cares (106) (drops from #7)
Stats from Last.fm email
- Average Daily Scrobbles: 59 vs 43 last year (20% drop)
- Listening Time: 96 days 12 hours vs 139 days 20 hours last year (32% drop)
- Streak: 232 days in a row vs 365 last year
- On average more scrobbles than 90% of last.fm users (scary for the future of the site)
- 2851 artists vs 3332 last year (15% drop)
- 3681 albums vs 5030 last year (27% drop)
- 9835 tracks vs 13,083 last year (25% drop)
- 18% new artists vs 28% last year (36% drop)
- 25% new albums vs 48% last year (48% drop) - guess I didn’t listen to as many new albums this year as I thought I did!
- 33% new tracks vs 44% last year (25% drop)
- Top Tags (no surprises here if you read the above stats)
- Rock
- Pop Punk
- Pop
- Soundtrack
- Punk Rock
- Most Active Hour: 3pm
- Most Active Day of Week: Wednesday vs Thursdays last year
- Most Active Day: 467 scrobbles (30 Apr)
Total Scrobbles for All Time: 206,541
Scrobbles this year: 21,722
Spotify
Once again used for discovering new artists. Below you’ll find a link to my top songs of 2022. (Looks like Spotify embeds are broken on Wordpress now)
https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/37i9dQZF1F0sijgNaJdgit
1. ROSALÍA – SAOKO
2. Diamante Eléctrico – Sálvese Quien Pueda
3. Diamante Eléctrico – Los Chicos Sí Lloran - translates to “boys do cry”. It’s my favorite song off the album.
4. Diamante Eléctrico – Suéltame, Bogotá - this was the first song of theirs I heard and it’s a lot of fun to listen to.
5. ROSALÍA – CANDY
6. Chief Takinawa – Just Peachy - this song was on the list last year, too. It’s such a great cover.
7. Fit For A King – Reaper - I started listening to this band from a record label email. A lot of the songs are a bit screamo to me, but they’re pretty energizing at work.
8. Diamante Eléctrico – A Veces
9. ROSALÍA – HENTAI
10. Orishas – Bembé (feat. Yomil y El Dany) - I know my brother, Dan, likes this bad. I think that’s why I decided to listen to their top songs.
11. Fit For A King – Sink Below
12. Diamante Eléctrico – Mlqmhh
13. ROSALÍA – CHICKEN TERIYAKI
14. Girl Ultra – BOMBAY
15. Fit For A King – Falling Through the Sky
16. Diamante Eléctrico – Cuando Fuimos Reyes
17. ROSALÍA – BIZCOCHITO
18. Yung Bae – Silver and Gold (feat. Sam Fischer & Pink Sweat$)
19. Fit For A King – The Hell We Create
20. Diamante Eléctrico – Amalia
21. ROSALÍA – LA FAMA
22. Snore Lax – Mario Kart Rainbow Road Lofi
23. Fit For A King – Times Like This
24. Diamante Eléctrico – Oro
25. ROSALÍA – G3 N15
26. Yung Bae – L.O.V.E. (feat. EARTHGANG, Jon Batiste & Sherwyn)
27. Fit For A King – End (The Other Side)
28. Diamante Eléctrico – Sobrio
29. ROSALÍA – DIABLO
30. Yung Bae – Exotica by Bae
31. Orishas – Rumba Caviar (feat. Adonis & Osaín del Monte)
32. Diamante Eléctrico – Cuando Quieras Llegar
33. ROSALÍA – BULERÍAS
34. Snore Lax – Time Trials Lofi
35. Girl Ultra – Punk
36. Arthur – Thought a Lot - this was a side band with MxPx members. I wanted to see if I liked it enough to buy. I did not.
37. ROSALÍA – MOTOMAMI
38. Diamante Eléctrico – Todo el Mundo Quiere el Mundo (Bonus Track)
39. Orishas – No Hace Falta Ná
40. Fit For A King – Reaching Out
41. ROSALÍA – COMO UN G
42. Diamante Eléctrico – Error Favorito
43. Orishas – Lobo (feat. Franco de Vita)
44. Fit For A King – What You Left Behind
45. ROSALÍA – DELIRIO DE GRANDEZA
46. Aventura – Volví
47. Orishas – Havana 1957 (feat. Chucho Valdés & Beatriz Luengo)
48. Tune in with Chewie – Theme of Samus
49. ROSALÍA – CUUUUuuuuuute
50. Georgel – Supersad
51. Orishas – Donde Nací (feat. Silvestre Dangond)
52. Fit For A King – Eyes Roll Back
53. ROSALÍA – LA COMBI VERSACE
54. Paula Cendejas – Ojos Negros
55. Orishas – Despójame (feat. Jacob Forever)
56. Fit For A King – Fracture
57. ROSALÍA – Abcdefg - this “song” is like one of those alphabet poems. Rosalia comes up with a little sentence or two for each letter of the alphabet.
58. Little Jesus – Fuera de Lugar
59. Orishas – Sastre de Tu Amor
60. Snore Lax – Arcane Enemy Lofi
61. ROSALÍA – SAKURA
62. Girl Ultra – Amores de droga
63. unseensounds – Schala’s Theme (Chrono Trigger)
64. Diamante Eléctrico – Solo Tú, Dueles
65. Yung Bae – Disco Body Parts (feat. AWOLNATION)
66. Girl Ultra – Cosas q nadie ve
67. Snore Lax – Kirby’s Dreamland Lofi
68. Diamante Eléctrico – Hacia la Noche
69. Chief Takinawa – Hypervigilant Hero (Shores of Koholint)
70. Emmure – You Asked for It - this band benefited from coming up next on Spotify whenever I was listening to Fit for a King.
71. Snore Lax – Pokemon Unite Lofi
72. Beyoncé – BREAK MY SOUL
73. Diamante Eléctrico – 4 del 20
74. MxPx – Unstoppable
75. Snore Lax – Piranah Plant’s Lullaby Lofi
76. Dj Cutman – Star Road
77. Esteman – Extraños
78. Diamante Eléctrico – Daniboy
79. Snore Lax – Halo Lofi
80. Adrian Quesada – El Payaso (feat. Girl Ultra)
81. Christian Jean – Calma
82. Juan Rios – Dogg
83. Dubtendo – Brinstar Boogie
84. Beyoncé – VIRGO’S GROOVE - this and the other Beyonce songs on this list are from my curiosity about her House album this year.
85. LosPetitFellas – Los Verbos
86. Anberlin – Body Language
87. Dubtendo – Dubtendo
88. Lana Del Rey – Text Book
89. Crowcovers – Hollow (From “Final Fantasy 7 Remake”) [Lofi Chill Version]
90. Girl Ultra – Discreción
91. Dubtendo – Dubby Kong
92. Lana Del Rey – Blue Banisters
93. Beyoncé – PURE/HONEY
94. Diamante Eléctrico – Casino
95. Snore Lax – Delfino Plaza Lofi
96. Anberlin – Circles
97. Beyoncé – SUMMER RENAISSANCE
98. Diamante Eléctrico – Nos Rompemos Igual
99. Helynt – Outer Wilds
- Girl Ultra – Morena Mía