This year has been a weird one for my listening habits. Or maybe it’s just my perception of it. But I get the feeling that I listened to way less music this year compared to previous years. Yet my overall minutes are higher than last year? See, it’s a weird perception. I have no idea where it came from, but I can’t shake this feeling. Anyways, this is to say that facts don’t care about my feelings, because we have the stats right here to prove me wrong.
Putting all this aside, I know what you’re really here for – the stats, the breakdowns, and maybe some recommendations on bands or songs you may have missed. Fear not, adoring fan, for I have returned to make it all well within your sonic universe. And due to doing this replay wrap-up for a few years now, we can even compare to previous years. O frabjous day you exclaim! Stats!
Kicking us off with the total minutes played. This represents the total time of my life where some form of music was playing in my general vicinity. This ranged from in-depth music sessions, where I went to bed too late because I was enjoying getting lost in the harmonies, all the way to background melodies where I barely paid any attention. No matter the occasion, I have found two purchases to be the best when it comes to maximising my enjoyment of my Apple Music Subscription – Heavy’s Headphones (with a handy review right here on this very site) and Apple’s HomePods 2 (review to come, maybe, or I’ll just wait for HomePod’s 3…).
This year, I listened to 23,377 minutes (as of writing this post). I am still listening to music throughout December, so this will go up, but not by much, as the HomePods get taken over by Simone’s Christmas music. To put that into perspective, it’s 389.62 hours, almost 17 days, or just over half a month of constant music listening. Not too shabby, but how does it compare? In 2023, I did 18,380 minutes (306 hours or about 13 days), and in 2022, it was a colossal 31,238 minutes (520 hours or about 22 days)! Not too bad an effort this year, right?
Now let’s get into the good stuff – the breakdowns (that’s a metal pun, by the way). From Top Artists all the way to the genre’s I came back to again and again, there’s a lot to look forward to. Spoiler alert though – the genres are probably the exact same as last year. Hey, I know what I like!
My top artist this year, with a modest 644 minutes played, is Eluveitie. If you haven’t heard of this band, let me introduce you to the best folk metal ever recorded. While their latest album went more death metal and less folk, they have managed to pull it back with their latest single. I can undeniably say that Eluveitie is back to their best with the new song – Premonition.
Not to be outdone, Apple Music started doing Monthly Replay’s as well. I really love these and started to write about each one, until my site went offline for a while, putting a stop to that plan. Oh well, there is always next year, right? So now we get to see what my top artists were for each month. Consider this my recommendations for the year!
The top album this year, with another modest 200 minutes played, was Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse. What can I say about this album apart from I really need to do an album review of this. Ronnie Radke has spent his life standing up to cancel culture and has emerged as the realist, most outspoken, and probably the most down to earth frontman in recent memory. I decried a few years ago that bands were playing it safe – kowtowing to political correctness and not really saying anything with weight. Falling in Reverse has come in to lead the charge against that and Popular Monster feels like the tip of the spear.
And for the monthly stats, you can see when Popular Monster came out, but before that, there’s a lot of variety. The only one I won’t recommend is Bring Me the Horizon’s newest album – Post-Human: NeX GEn. I kept thinking it was bad, but then wondered if I was missing something, which is the only reason I kept coming back to it. But in the end, it’s just not great.
On to the top songs now! It’s no surprise that my top song for the year is Ronald – the first single from Falling in Reverse’s Popular Monster.
I mean just watch the music video and tell me it’s not everything right with metal! This song got a total of 24 plays. While that may seem low, if I look at my total plays on YouTube, it pushes it closer to 60. Yes, the music video is that balls-to-the-wall-epic that I kept dealing with YouTube ads just to watch it. And I love the line “Pull from the depths of the 36 chambers”. Then the rap from Tech N9ne kicks in and… Well don’t take my word for it, just watch it!
Genre should come as no surprise. Like what more do you expect? It was metal. Heavy, death, black, folk – it almost doesn’t seem to matter about the subgenre (although, folk is right up there with the best, and if you disagree, then you’re clearly wrong). Like I said, I know what I like, and at almost 40 years on this planet, I suspect this will never change now.
This year, Apple Music also introduced Milestones. I love, love, love this! It shows when you reach certain minutes played, songs and artists listened to. I suspect its going to be updated for next year because theres a ton of really cool data here, and also, if they start giving out badges ah-la Apple Fitness, then its all over!
To wrap this replay up, here’s all the stats in one easy to see image. And for the first time, presenting my very own sizzle reel – thanks to Apple Music fianlly allowing the video to be shared! We truely live in an age of wonders.
Apple Music continues to be something really special, and I think its probably the best streaming service out there. It’s no surprise that music runs in their DNA when the company was popularized by combining music and tech. And every year I am hopeful that Apple will make the next generational leap with Apple Music, but it never comes to fruition. In the end, do we really want it to change anyways?
And as is custom, here is my Apple Music Replay playlist for 2024. My top 100 songs, and over 7 hours of some of the best music to date. You’re welcome.
1 Comment
Simone · December 22, 2024 at 21:10
Great post and found your explination about Post-Human: NeX GEn to be very intersting.
Since your top December album is yet to be decided can we assume it’s a cringe Christmas album that you will never reveal because every Replay blog post stops at November?
We’re onto you. Conspiracy.