Tag Archives: the queen of white lies

My 2021 music trends with Last.fm and Spotify

Last year was another year of really loving Hamilton it seems – along with some pop and instrumentals.

This visualization is a little off because it’s based on data from the last 365 days and not 2021, but it’s close and I like it.

My top ten artists:

  1. Leslie Odom Jr. – for Hamilton
  2. Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton again
  3. Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton – obvious
  4. Weezer – because I loved their Teal Album
  5. Vitamin String Quartet – due to their instrumental versions of songs from Bridgerton
  6. Call Me A Hole – actually a mash-up of Nine Inch Nails and Carly Rae Jepsen on YouTube
  7. Poppy – all because of one cover of a t.A.T.u. song
  8. Montaigne – thanks to making the new theme song for My Brother, My Brother and Me
  9. Lil Nas X – because Matt was surprised I didn’t know any songs by him and claimed I actually did. Turns out, I had heard Old Town Road but didn’t know who performed it
  10. Spice Girls – because my neighbors started blasting Spice Girls at 3 in the morning and it put me in the mood to listen to more

My top albums:

  1. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda
  2. Bridgerton (Covers from the Netflix Original Series) by Vitamin String Quartet
  3. Weezer (Teal Album) by Weezer
  4. All The Things She Said by Poppy
  5. Spice by Spice Girls
  6. Heaven & Hell by Ava Max – but only one song I think
  7. Nena by Nena – again because of one song
  8. Release Me by The Like – thank you Barnes & Noble for making me listen to this all day until I loved it over a decade ago
  9. 7 EP by Lil Nas X
  10. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish

My top tracks mostly make sense given the top albums and artists, although there are few stragglers – numbers 9 and 10 don’t have artists or albums that show up on my top ten lists.

  1. Call Me A Hole, Nine Inch Nails / Carly Rae Jepsen Mash-Up – I can’t believe this was my most played song, although I’ll note that it’s actually tied with a real song haha
  2. All The Things She Said by Poppy – tied for first
  3. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton
  4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
  5. Guns and Ships by Leslie Odom Jr.
  6. Nur geträumt by Nena
  7. Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
  8. Technicolour by Montaigne
  9. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive
  10. Merry Happy by Kate Nash

Spotify Wrapped gave some interesting bits of information, but I don’t think it reports as clearly as Last.fm – plus, Spotify only considers data from 1/1 through 10/31.

Looks like I’m pretty average as Spotify users go.

I really have no idea what this means. I don’t think I’ve ever thought to myself “time to listen to some spooky and bold music.”

This, on the other hand, seems super accurate! I didn’t even realize how accurate it was, but now I love it.

As for live music, 2021 was obviously better than 2020. I went to one concert – The Aquabats, The English Beat, and Dead Man’s Party; it was awesome! I saw one virtual concert – The Aquabats! Legion of Righteous Comrades! You Pick the Set List! Livestream Concert! That title sure had a lot of exclamation marks. I saw a singer/guitarist at a small event.

I also saw The Nightmare Before Christmas Live-to-Film Experience at the Banc of California Stadium, which features Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Billie Eilish, and Ken Page. Plus, at the end Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo joined Danny Elfman on stage to play Dead Man’s Party.

And I can’t leave out more Hamilton! I saw Hamilton at the Pantages twice in 2021!

My music trends in 2019 with Last.fm

Every year, I like to examine my music tastes from the previous year. The image above was generated a couple weeks into 2020, so the actual data from 2019 is slightly different.

Here are my top 10 artists from 1/1/2019 through 12/31/2019. It has a lot of good stuff on it – but of course I’d think that, right? And in case images break in the future:

  1. The Orion Experience – 111 scrobbles (1st place in 2018 too)
  2. Lin-Manuel Miranda – 105 scrobbles
  3. Leslie Odom Jr. – 98 scrobbles
  4. Tally Hall – 54 scrobbles
  5. Ariana Grande – 45 scrobbles
  6. It Boys! – 35 scrobbles
  7. Phillipa Soo – 35 scrobbles
  8. Queen – 32 scrobbles
  9. Keke Palmer – 29 scrobbles
  10. Regina Spektor – 24 scrobbles

The Orion Experience was number 1 last year also, and It Boys! and Regina Spektor have been on my top 10 previously. The rest appear new!

In the image above, you can see my top albums of the past year; again, it’s a little inaccurate given that it was generated a couple weeks into 2020.

Here’s the actual top 10 album list for 1/1/2019 through 12/31/2019. Hamilton won, by a ton. I didn’t want to listen to it much before seeing it live. I waited until I had my ticket, listened to the album once, watched the show, and then listened to the album a ton. And to ensure I have it written in case the image breaks:

  1. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) – 350 scrobbles
  2. Cosmicandy by The Orion Experience – 110 scrobbles (down from 1st place in 2018)
  3. Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum by Tally Hall – 53 scrobbles
  4. So Uncool by Keke Palmer – 29 scrobbles
  5. My Everything (Deluxe) by Ariana Grande – 28 scrobbles
  6. Guys Don’t Like Me – Single by It Boys! – 25 scrobbles
  7. Soviet Kitsch (U.S. Version) by Regina Spektor – 23 scrobbles
  8. Absolute Music 64 by Ariana Grande – 17 scrobbles
  9. Лучшие by Звери – 15 scrobbles (down from 2nd place in 2018)
  10. Steven Universe, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack) – 13 scrobbles

And here are my top 10 tracks:

  1. Right Hand Man by Lin-Manuel Miranda – 66 scrobbles
  2. The Cult of Dionysus by The Orion Experience – 45 scrobbles
  3. The Queen of White Lies by The Orion Experience – 43 scrobbles (down from 1st place in 2018)
  4. A Winter’s Ball by Leslie Odom Jr. – 38 scrobbles
  5. Guys Don’t Like Me by It Boys! – 35 scrobbles
  6. Break Free (feat. Zedd) by Ariana Grande – 33 scrobbles (not present in 2018 but 10th in 2017)
  7. Bottoms Up by keke Palmer – 29 scrobbles
  8. Helpess by Phillipa Soo – 21 scrobbles
  9. Eye to Eye from A Goofy Movie – 18 scrobbles
  10. Your Obedient Servant by Leslie Odom Jr. – 15 scrobbles

Overall, a lot more Hamilton and a lot less ska. And a surprise showing by A Goofy Movie, which really amuses me.

And I saw some live shows as well:

  • Sweeney Todd at South Coast Repertory
  • Heathers: The Musical at Cal State Fullerton
  • The Little Mermaid: Live-to-Film Concert Experience at the Hollywood Bowl
  • Anamanaguchi concert at SDCC
  • Shrek: The Musical at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center
  • Half Past Two in Anaheim
  • Codename: Rocky, Skapeche Mode, Suburban Legends, Voodoo Glow Skulls, “Save Ferris”, and The Aquabats at OC Brew Ha Ha
  • We Will Rock You at the Microsoft Theater
  • R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium: The Musical at the Chance Theater
  • Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway
  • Anastasia at Segerstrom Hall
  • Suburban Legends in Downtown Disney twice
  • Frozen: The Musical at the Pantages
  • The Aquabats with PPL MVR and Dirt Farm at the Fonda Theatre

It was a pretty great year for music for me!

My music trends in 2018 with Last.fm and Spotify

Let’s take a look at my Last.fm account for last year, which I enjoy doing at the start of each year. The Orion Experience took the top spot. They weren’t even in my top 10 artists of 2017. Suburban Legends and The Aquabats also broke into the top 10 after not being in it in 2017. Звери dropped from number 1 to number 3, but Hayley Kiyoko went from number 10 to number 4.

Here’s my full top 11 (since 10 and 11 were tied).

Cosmicandy by The Orion Experience takes the top album spot, which isn’t a surprise to me because I’ve been listening to The Queen of White Lies, Obsessed With You, and The Cult of Dionysus off that album a ton.

Here’s the top 10 albums.

These were the top 10 tracks of 2018 for me. Only one song isn’t in English, just like 2017.

Spotifywrapped.com gives some interesting highlights from Spotify:

  • I started 2018 by listening to Для тебя by Звери.
  • The first artist I discovered was Big Black Delta… and I have no idea who they are right now.
  • I listened to 10,675 minutes listening to Spotify.
  • I spent 7 hours listening to The Orion Experience, my top artist.
  • My top artists were The Orion Experience, Camila Cabello, Suburban Legends, Звери, and Let’s Get It. I wonder how Last.fm doesn’t have Camila Cabello higher? I listened to her a lot. Sometimes Last.fm tracks artists with different names. For example, if a song features another artists, it might be considers “Artist A featuring Artist B,” separate from both A and B.
  • Top songs were We Don’t Care, Carnivore, Hit Me Up, Into It, and The Queen of White Lies.
  • Top genres were pop, indie, rock, punk, and hip hop.
  • My top 100 playlist was generated and can be found here or below.
  • I listened to non-mainstream artists 80% more than the average Spotify listener.
  • My oldest song played was “Did You Ever Have to Make up Your Mind?” by The Lovin’ Spoonful.
  • I listened to more Pisces artists, which Spotifywrapped notes includes Camila Cabello and Kesha, than any other sign. Hm, and I’m a Pisces too.
  • It suggested I broaden my horizons with this playlist.

I saw some concerts:

  • Suburban Legends in Downtown Disney – 3 times
  • Goldfinger with The Suicide Machines, Buck-o-Nine, and Suburban Legends at the House of Blues, Anaheim
  • The Fury of the Aquabats 20th Anniversary show with C.J. Ramone

And I watched some musicals:

  • The Book of Mormon at Segerstrom
  • Allegiance at the Aratani Theatre
  • The Unauthorized Musical Parody of Jurassic Park at the Rockwell: Table & Stage
  • Dear Evan Hansen at the Ahmanson Theatre
  • Wicked at the Pantages