Music !
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Hi Readers,
Back in less than a week! This is what being confined to a couch with your leg up for a few weeks results in!
Another light hearted post that won't send you cowering thinking "Here he goes on one of his wayward posts again!"
Like many millions of Spotify users around the world on Friday, I received my "2022 Year In Review". For those who are not Spotify users, it's a summary of your listening habits for the past year on Spotify. The song/s you listened to the most, the artists you listened to the most, music genre etc.
I find it quite interesting to see what I've been playing, and like many others, would have have had a few shocks along the way.
Such as "How did that song end up in my most played list?!!!!
Many might be embarrassed to share their results, but what's the point of that? It's your choice of music to listen to, not a list for others to criticise. Maybe have a few little giggles, but let's not sink to ridicule. Who knows what theirs looks like !!!
I must admit that the song that I played most is not just a favourite of mine, but the kids in my class like it too and we play it a lot before school when we are doing maths games together before the bell goes. A 59 year old and 10/11 year olds sharing the same musical tastes, who'd believe that !!
Spotify then puts all your most listened to songs into a folder for you, and for me that means I'll only play them even more, something that I've been doing since Friday.
So what was my most played song I hear you asking? Or not asking.
You might just have to wait for that. It did get me thinking about the types of music I play, and when I play these songs. More often than not I have the music playing in the background and may be paying minimal attention to it. Other times I may be selecting a specific song for a particular reason. I have songs that cheer me up, relax me, put me to sleep, help me concentrate, inspire me, cause me to reflect or get me up and going. You name it, there's a song for just about every occasion.
And then there are songs that are just good to listen to!
Have I touched a chord here, no pun intended?
What are your go to tunes at different times in your life?
Unfortunately for anyone who has lived with me or been around me long enough they've had to put up with a playlist that extends from the 60's right through to today. You'll never know what is going to come up next, it's just so surprising and unpredictable.
Many would say deplorable!!
I know Jen couldn't fathom so much of what I played, and when we travelled in the car, like many others, it was "Driver's Choice" for the radio or music. I knew I couldn't put her through my music all the time so we'd often alternate each song. That way we each had 50% of good music!! Then we'd do random requests, or try to find cover versions of songs that we both liked. Sometimes we'd try to outdo each other by putting on the worst song that we could find. Jen had a habit of trying to convince me that she actually liked the song she had chosen, but the fact that she couldn't let it play out to the end was always a giveaway.
So, the first clue to my musical tastes from 2022...
So I listened for 20 334 minutes. I can't guarantee that I was focussed on every song as it was playing, as sometimes I just put the music on out of habit. I just can't seem to be able to cope with silence. What else could I have done with all of these minutes instead?
- I could have run 96 marathons at my best marathon time.
- Mown our lawns and trimmed the edges 339 times (That's 6.5 years of mowing time!!)
- Had 4 066 showers, based on my average 5 min showers at the moment.
- Driven from home to school 1 070 times
- Flown to London and back 8 times
- Cleaned my teeth 13 556 times
- Had the same operation on my ankle again 169 times
- Watched 339 editions of the nightly news
- Sat through 226 staff meetings !!!
- Mumbled "FFS" 🤬 406 680 times after bumping my foot against the table as I get up from the couch to get my crutches.
I could go on !!!
But I don't think I'd give up one of these minutes as I just love the music so much. I could listen to a particular song right now and it might take me back to any number of significant or memorable moments in my life. The one song could so many contexts, whereas others might be specifically related to a certain moment in particular.
Does this happen to you, or am I the only weirdo here?
In a previous post I did go into detail about a particular song by Coldplay that really struck a chord with me, and whenever I hear it I end up in the most positive frame of mind.
"Turn Your Magic On"
Before I go and and reveal the depths to which my music tastes sink or soar, can I just share one more example of a song that will stay with me forever I think, and this time next year I'm predicting it will be my most played song. I may have mentioned this in a previous post, so bear with me again.
In Jen's last few weeks she got me to listen to this song with her in her hospital bed, and we played it together most days. It became our song, and it is fitting that it was used for the final song at her funeral. We have always loved this artist, and the words in this song are so poignant. I can listen to it and be uplifted. Other times I hear it and am reduced to tears, but I just love it so much. It just goes to show how much a tune can have an effect on us. I feel it is type of legacy that Jen has left for our family, something to always remember her by.
Now back to the big reveal.
No surprise here, I think The Boss has topped my list for the past few years. I have been following him for so long, some of my all time favourite songs are attributed to him.
You may well be wondering why this song, but upon reflection I just find it uplifting and happy, something that I've needed to search hard for this year.
I was surprised by the other songs at first, but not once I realised that they are happier songs as well. It appears that I must have liked this type of music during a year that at was at most times very bleak.
And in the top 5 artists, does one stand out to you as being distinctly different from the others?
Yep. Andre Rieu.
Not for his mullet, but for the fact that the living area in our house is just glorious in the mornings when the sun comes streaming in. On Saturday mornings we'd have a long lazy breakfast together and put Andre on while we cruised through our eggs on toast, coffees and lazy reading of the papers. It was usually the best time of the week. I'd also put him on while I was writing my school reports as it was less distracting than my other choices.
I haven't been able to check how many times I played each song, but I'd be sure that there would be around 100 or so on very high rotation.
Not much else to say Readers, but I'd love to hear how some of you went if you have a Spotify account. And if you don't, you can always just tell us what songs float your boat via the comments tab below.
I might even lose readers after you see my results, as you might be thinking "Yep, he's totally lost the plot now!"
I hope as usual that this post might prompt some level of thinking for you, and take you back to various stages of your life.
Just because of a song.
Until my next post...
Cheers 😁. 🎶🎶🎶🎶
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