My Spotify Unwrapped for 2023 is a bit odd

Posted on 2 March 2024 by RTOlson

With 2023 rapidly receding in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look back at the previous 12 months — or 11 months, in the case of Spotify’s 2023 Unwrapped. This is the first year that I really started using Spotify for much of my listening (in addition to BBC Sounds and the good old-fashioned over-the-air radio).

My Spotify Unwrapped has always been odd, but in past years, I could usually chalk it up to listening to a handful of songs sporadically over a year. Given that I was in the top 27% of listeners worldwide with 12,978 minutes worth of music in 2023 (and probably 14 hours of ads), I guess that Spotify may have a better finger on my listening tastes today than in years past.

And the verdict is — my listening tastes are still pretty weird. I seem to have settled on a couple of playlists and listened the heck out of them for months at a time.

My most-listened-to artist — a novelty a cappella group called The Blanks — is largely due to the fact that they’re on two separate playlists — a previous Top Songs list and a playlist I’m calling “Songs for the End.” Considering that The Blanks are primarily known for singing versions of TV theme songs and were most prominently featured on the sitcom “Scrubs” (where their most prominent performer, the late Sam Lloyd, was a recurring cast member) it’s an unusual artist to be my No. 1 of 2023. I apparently listened to the group so much, I’m in the top 0.05% of listeners to the artist.

A chart from Spotify 2023 Unwrapped shows when I listened to The Blanks, apparently my No. 1 artist of the year.

This year, Spotify provided charts mapping when I listened to each of my top five artists. While some of the artists were in pretty heavy rotation until the early summer when I switched away from a Top Songs playlist, The Blanks dipped a little in the middle of the year and then came back strong in July through September (when I created the “Songs for the End” playlist and began listening to a Top Songs playlist that didn’t feature the group as much).

‘Songs for the end’

The “Songs for the End” playlist are tunes that I thought would be nice to play at a memorial or funeral for me. Although I’m a journalist, I never had to do the Kobayashi Maru of journalism school projects — writing your own obituary.

I don’t feel particularly comfortable writing my obit today (despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize AND colonizing the Moon), but I believe that developing a playlist for a funeral is fun — memorial services need more bangers and jams. Another name I came up for the playlist is “Now THAT’S What I Call A Funeral, Vol. 7.” I’m not going to lie — I spent a few minutes trying to find a quick way to generate an album cover with that title.

As I starting adding tunes to this list, I prioritized songs that either speak of endings, would fit a spiritual or solemn moment (or tweaks such expectations), or otherwise speak to me from my past or memory. For example, I would often sing “Africa” or “It’s the End of the World as We Know it (and I Feel Fine)” to finish karaoke nights. The REM song feels a little out of place, but I’m sticking with it for now. I also opted for a cover of “Africa” that’s not as rockin’ as the Toto version.

I eventually started listening to the playlist more at work because the songs are pretty decent tunes to have on in the background while I’m trying to focus. That’s also why I started listening to BBC Radio 1 Relax a lot more over the past year (except some of the white noise programs, which are simply too distracting).

Ultimately, four out of my top five songs are from the “Songs for the End” playlist. The other song is the main theme from the Apple TV+ series “Severance,” which I watched the heck out of this year. One of the episodes is called “Defiant Jazz” — I pretty much _have_ to watch this show.

Odd conclusions

A Spotify Unwrapped graphic describing the author as a “vampire” in 2023 due to a propensity to listen to emotional, atmospheric music more than most.

While Unwrapped is all in good fun, I’m not sure I agree with some of the conclusions. For example, it described me as a “vampire” because I listen to “emotional, atmospheric music more than most.”

I get that part, but I don’t necessarily make the leap between that and “vampire.” It’s especially odd because Unwrapped identified “My Top Genres” as Rock, Brass Band, Jazz, Jazz Funk and Soul. I listen to so much jazz, it’s on the list three, maybe four, times.

Maybe part of my objection is that I associate vampires musically with emo. It’s probably not fair, but I don’t necessarily feel like I fall in that category (although I also suppose that emo as a genre or vibe could be expanded to encompass many, many things).

As I listen to music while I work, I definitely tend towards more mellow tunes to set a pleasant foundation for me to get stuff done. Over the years, I’ve been in workplaces that sometimes play rock stations on the radio. I’ve found it incredibly distracting if I’m trying to focus (unless I’m playing marching band covers of rock songs — I’m oddly OK with that).

What’s missing

As I mentioned at the top of the post, this is really the first year that I’ve listened to Spotify with any regularity. At the same time, I still do listen to radio stations — either over the air or streaming.

When I’m driving to work, I bounce between terrestrial stations like X96 or Power 949 because it’s often easier than making sure Spotify launches correctly. I used to listen to podcasts or news on public radio, but I haven’t been in the mood lately.

I sometimes listen to YouTube Music, as that’s where my music archive is saved. However, I’ve found that YouTube Music is a more frustrating experience than its predecessor, Google Play Music, so I don’t linger very long. It’s OK to listen to my own music, but YouTube throws an ad between every song elsewhere on the site. It’s unpleasant.

At work, I bounce between Spotify and BBC Radio 1 Relax because it’s pretty chill. After discovering that I can connect Shazam to Spotify, I’ve (mostly) enjoyed listening to the nearly 5 hours of songs that piqued my curiosity in the wild.

I used to listen to the “Hearts of Space,” but the distributor changed something up on its site and it isn’t easily available to me (unless I want to pay for it).

When I wind down for the night, I often queue up KUVO Jazz from Denver, KSDS Jazz 88 from San Diego, or “NIghtstream” from CBC Music (“Whatever gets you through the night.”). After I turn out the lights, I put KBYU Classical 89 on a sleep timer for the best way to end the day.

While I appreciate Spotify’s access to scads of music, I do find myself often sticking to one or two playlists (which, again, explains how The Blanks is my most listened-to artist of 2023). Many people decry over-the-air radio stations and their narrow playlists, but I find that these stations point me down different paths than I would normally travel. I appreciate the variety, which I guess explains why I bounce from station to station and different services over the course of the day.

I don’t feel as connected to music as I did when I hosted a jazz program on public radio, but it’s heartening to look back at some of the things I’ve listened to in 2023 and realize that music is still very much a part of my life. Here’s to the great songs that will be added to my 2024 playlist.

Flashback Fourth – Check out my July 4 ‘Evening Jazz’ from 2014

Posted on 4 July 2020 by RTOlson

An American flag is on display at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California, on Feb. 9, 2009.

An American flag is on display at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California, sometime before 2009.

Many of you may know that I was a volunteer disc jockey for North State Public Radio for about eight years. From 2008 to April 2016, I was one of a rotating set of hosts for “Evening Jazz” (most often hosting on Mondays and Fridays) and sometimes “Blues People” on Saturdays. It was my third gig as a volunteer DJ, after starting at KSDT in college and having a show at WMTU in Michigan.

During my nearly eight years, I hosted on Independence Day once or twice. I recorded the July 4 episode from 2014 for my personal enjoyment.

Given the July Fourth holiday, I thought I would temporarily share that episode from my archive.

[Link]

I loved all of my shows and approached each program as an ongoing exploration of music for both myself and the audience. I don’t think I ever presented myself as an expert in any genre, just someone who loved good tunes and checking out past greats and what’s new.

Every so often, “Evening Jazz” would fall on or near a holiday. I would often take advantage of the occasion by presenting music appropriate for the day. For example, I tried to find songs from Boston and Vancouver performers during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Another year, I did a combined Presidents Day/Valentine’s Day episode.

The 2014 July 4 episode was a little different from my usual episodes, as it tried to encompass different elements of the holiday.

Enjoy and happy Independence Day!

Edited to take down the broadcast link.

Racing home to the Mexican National Anthem

Posted on 29 December 2014 by RTOlson

While one can’t go home again, sometimes it’s nice to visit. My semi-annual return to Southern California this week was filled with great time with family, seeking out new experiences and reliving fond memories. Turning on the radio on my way home from the train station tonight sent me back to my college years, more than 14 years past.

I first tuned into KPBS, but after a minute of their evening classical programming, I spun the proverbial dial to 91X (XETRA 91.1). The last few minutes of their “Loudspeaker” program reminded me of San Diego’s local music scene, which I only was able to sample briefly after college before I moved away. I was a little surprised to hear what sounded like profanity during one of the songs, but I quickly reminded myself that 91X broadcasts from Tijuana into San Diego.

I was served another reminder of 91X’s cross-border origin when the disc jockey announced that regular programming would be interrupted for “The Mexican National Hour,” which typically airs on Sunday evenings.

I was surprised by what I heard. The Spanish-language “La Hora Nacional” sounded much better than it did 15 years ago. Back in the day, the show sounded like it was initially recorded in an empty gym and relayed to local station via shortwave before it was played back on 91X on a shoddy, beat-up tape. It sounded echo-y and awful, and I would quickly turn to another channel until the alternative music returned (or “Loveline,” but that was a different time).

Although I was only able to understand a portion of the show (show archive), the current “La Hora Nacional” sounded reasonably entertaining (for a 77-year-old government-produced program geared to promote national unity among other things). It featured an upbeat set of hosts discussing a variety of topics. It is something I may seek out and listen to later.

Hearing “La Hora Nacional” brought back other memories of listening to 91X in college. After studying late at the library, I would often be on the road home at midnight when the station was obligated to play the Mexican National Anthem (conveniently and simply named “Himno Nacional Mexicano”). I don’t why the station chose the version it did, but they would play an instrumental version of the song that lasted about four minutes. One of the TV stations broadcast a version that featured children singing, but the radio version was about four minutes of the anthem melody repeating over and over until you thought it was finished and then it would repeat a couple more times.

The song isn’t quite an earworm, but it was fascinating listening to it to see how many times the melody would repeat. It also became a bit of a challenge for me to see how far I could drive while the anthem played. I joked I could get home without speeding in the time it took for the song to play, but I never made it.

Since I moved away from San Diego, I would occasionally try to tune in for the Mexican National Anthem, but 91X only plays it over the air and not on their Internet streams. I was finally able to tune in for the nightly event about a year ago, but it was a bit different and shorter than in years past.

As someone who has loved radio for decades, I get a kick out of the tradition of U.S. stations playing a patriotic song as they signed off, or signed on, for the day. It is something that has definitely gone by the wayside (unless you’re Adult Swim and air an off-kilter sign-off).

While U.S. stations moved away from the sign-off tradition, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. still started and ended its broadcast day with “O Canada,” during the years I lived in Michigan. The CBC has since started broadcasting around the clock, so it too has ended this tradition.

The version of “O Canada” that I saw was an elaborate production with a bold orchestral arrangement of the song set against a wide array of images evoking the Great White North and its diverse population (YouTube video posted by eastest566). It’s something I still enjoy seeing and listening to years later — even the cheesy prelude segment about how essential the CBC is.

In the years since I’ve become a volunteer DJ, I taken to keeping the tradition alive in a small way. Since my weekly program ends at midnight, I nearly always end with a jazzy performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I certainly don’t do the specific jargon one uses when actually ending the broadcasting day (because I’m not), but I like to end with Duke Ellington’s take on the National Anthem although I sometimes switch to versions by Bonerama or Branford Marsalis and Bruce Hornsby.

Who knows? Maybe there’s someone in a car listening to my show trying to see how far they can get by the time the song’s over.

Sing, sing a song … or 226 of them

Posted on 27 January 2012 by RTOlson

I sing a song at Quackers Bar in north Chico in October 2008. Photo by Olivia Drake.

I challenged myself to sing 200 different songs during karaoke in 2011. At the end of the year, I estimated I sang about 226 songs at karaoke — that’s about 14 hours of non-stop music. Here’s the list:

I think I did right by many of them, although some were challenging. I sang many of the songs by myself, even the duets, although I preferred a partner.

And, yes, all of them were love songs.

I’m planning to expand this later with thoughts about specific parts of my playlist, but it was a great year to have a song in my heart. I got to meet many new friends, and renew or expand current relationships. I sang in five Chico nightspots, plus locations in Paradise, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. In Oroville, I had a live band backing me and performed on a giant ballroom stage.

Thanks to Spotify, I was able to keep track of the songs (based on my tweets, notes and other recollections). It’s not a complete list because I started it in September. Despite my best efforts, I don’t think I remembered all of the songs. Also, Spotify is pretty good, but not all of my songs were in their library (and sometimes I had to substitute a cover version of the preferred one).

I haven’t started a list for 2012, but if you have a song you’d like me to sing, please let me know in the comments.

Photo: I sing a song at Quackers Bar in north Chico in October 2008. Photo by Olivia Drake.

Is the party over for ’80s nights?

Posted on 13 November 2011 by RTOlson

I recently attended ’80s night at LaSalles Bar, but it didn’t turn out as advertised when the DJ started mixing in dance hits from the ’90s and the aughts. Although that was fun in its own way, I was expecting ’80s music and didn’t appreciate the bait-and-switch (especially when there was another DJ out on the patio playing similar music). If there isn’t enough interest or desire to sustain an entire ’80s night, maybe it’s time to rethink the theme.

I’ll admit I don’t know exactly why the DJ started mixing in more recent music during a night ostensibly dedicated to Michael Jackson, Madonna and their pals. However, I found some possible insight in a Facebook item from a friend about the demise of a once-popular ’80s night in the Seattle area.

As the CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported, the host of the 17-year-old Seattle event, DJ Trent Von, noted a diminishing audience in recent years. He observed that the audience for such music is still out there, but not necessarily at a nightclub on a Thursday night.

That sentiment was echoed by Seattle Gay Scene writer Michael Strangeways who observed that theme nights go away when the likely audience grows older and drifts on to other activities (like careers or families).

Perhaps we’re seeing something similar in Chico. While the 1980s were arguably one of the greatest periods of pop music, many of the people now going to LaSalles or most Chico nightspots were born in the mid-to-late ’80s and came of age in the 1990s (or later). While people still just wanna have fun when they go out, maybe they think more of Katy Perry instead of Cyndi Lauper.

So what should places like LaSalles do? I don’t particularly care for continuing an ” ’80s Night” event when there are fewer and fewer songs from that era. Maybe a refocusing of the evening would be appropriate.

Although it sometimes sounds silly and wishy washy, perhaps radio stations are on to something when they promote “playing the hits of the ’80s, ’90s and today.” The way it is now, the music of the 1980s are just a part of the Saturday entertainment at LaSalles and the marketing should reflect that.

On a related note: I loathe the bait-and-switch when it comes to publicized events. In addition to an ’80s night that kinda isn’t, LaSalles also hosts a sorta karaoke night Sundays. I say sorta because the disc jockey spins dance music in between singers.

Perhaps it may be sometimes necessary to play a tune or two while waiting for more singers, but it’s infuriating if you’re patiently waiting for your turn to sing. It essentially doubles the waiting time.

Some of the other bars in town are guilty of this practice too. I stopped trying to sing karaoke at Buck’s Crazy Horse Saloon because the DJ did the same thing — interspersing dance music with live singers. It’s not worthwhile for me.

The four stages of listening to Christmas music

Posted on 17 December 2009 by RTOlson

It can be fun to deck the halls, roast chestnuts or go on sleigh rides, but when it comes to a-wassailing, I find that there are four stages to enjoying or singing Christmas music.
These stages could be circled on the calendar, just like the big day itself:

Pre-Thanksgiving: Like holiday displays, it’s far too early to hear Christmas music in early November. A telling example — hearing tunes as early as the first week of November … at a Panda Express Chinese restaurant.
Post-Thanksgiving: It’s all right to slowly ramp up the music. I hosted “Evening Jazz” during the first really cold night of the year (Dec. 7). It was appropriate to play winter-y tunes, but I stayed away from the more Christmas-themed songs until …
Dec. 11: Two weeks before Christmas, it’s appropriate to crank up those favorite tunes. I played a few during my Friday radio show. It is strangely all right to have two radio stations in a small media market dedicated exclusively to holiday music.
Post-Dec. 25: Enough’s enough. Christmas has come and gone. It’s time to put those albums back on the shelve until next year when we repeat the cycle again.

Get ready to geek out

Posted on 14 September 2006 by RTOlson

Just in case people couldn’t get more obsessed with karaoke, Griffin Technologies has a new toy.

Meet iKaraoke

It’s a mic that plugs into the base of your iPod so you can fade the vocal track on your favorite songs and add your own voice when piping the whole thing to a stereo. It looks pretty cool although I’m curious how they’ll be able to “fade” the vocals.

Notice the product doesn’t have a firm release date (Winter 2006) and a price tag. Clearly, there’s more to come.

Me and music

Posted on 16 December 2005 by RTOlson

Last week, I replied to a bulletin about the songs in my iTunes library. I determined that I have nearly 1,600 songs. Since there’s a Smart Playlist for the 25 Most Played Song, I wanted to see what my least played songs were.

I quickly found that there are 909 songs that I’ve played five times or less. On the surface, I’ve barely listened to the songs in my library. It’s not wholly accurate — many of the songs I’ve had on another computer for years. Needless to say, I’m trying to remedy the situation.

Aside from podcasts, radio shows, audio books and the hour-long Beethoven concerts. I’m listening to those at least five times because it would be extremely trying.

Here’s the bulletin:

I (heart) iTunes Body: Open iTunes, go to your library, and supply the following: Answer, no matter how embarrasing it is!

How many songs: 1596 songs (6.9 days, 8.13 GB)

Sort by Song Title: First Song: ¿Donde Se Fueron? by Ozomatli Last Song: Zydeco Boogaloo by Buckwheat Zydeco

Sort by Time: Shortest Song: cnn_sting_5a_copy1 (:06) Longest Song: 61804 (an episode of the “American Who” radio show), 1:40:36 Longest Actual Song – Beethoven’s 9th Symphony – BBC Philharmonic, 1:07:24

Sort by Artist: First Artist: 3Style Last Artist: Yoshikazu Iwamoto

Sort by Album: First Album: 1st Magic (D’Nell) Last Album: You’ll Disappear (Augustana)

Top Three Most Played Songs-BE HONEST: 1. Duel of the Fates (Star Wars Episode 1) – 100 times 2. The Breaking of the Fellowship (The Lord of the Rings) – 95 times 3. Theme from “Battlestar Galactica” (original) – Stu Philips – 93 times

First song that comes up on shuffle: Entire Library (No Party Shuffle): Saturday Night Fish Fry – Louis Jordan Party Shuffle (Entire Library): Ballad of Ted Clampett – From “The Beverly Hillbillies”

Search for… “sex”: 2 out of 1596 “death”: 2 out of 1596 “love”: 43 out of 1596

Un-bear-able

Posted on 30 November 2005 by RTOlson

Just another Monday at the Bear.

Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers
Speak Softly Love (Theme from The Godfather) – Wow, I so didn’t know that song.
Beautiful Day – It was U2’s song, I only sang it.
This Love – From Maroon 5. I thought I didn’t know it, but it came through in the end.
Just the Way You Are – Much better this time out although I doubt it will ever become a crowd pleaser.
Good Morning Starshine – Nooby Nobby Low Low.
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash sang it right the first time.
Take Me Home, County Roads – Mountain Momma.
Wanted – I took the lead after providing back-up for months.
Rawhide – Another song about a cowboy (but with real horses, not metal ones)

QuesoGuapo

Easy. Cheesy. Not at all sleazy.

Tag Archives: music

My Spotify Unwrapped for 2023 is a bit odd

‘Songs for the end’

Odd conclusions

What’s missing

Flashback Fourth – Check out my July 4 ‘Evening Jazz’ from 2014

Racing home to the Mexican National Anthem

Sing, sing a song … or 226 of them

Is the party over for ’80s nights?

The four stages of listening to Christmas music

Get ready to geek out

Un-bear-able

‘Songs for the end’

Odd conclusions

What’s missing

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