An Analysis of my Spotify Wrapped, 2023

Ok girl, it's that time again. Everyone's looking at their Spotify Wrapped and saying "wow, I never could've guessed that I'd listened to Taylor Swift 67 times this year!" Exhilarating stuff. So yes, it is time to take a long and hard look at My Own Stats.

A screenshot from Wednesday Campanella's 'Maneki Neko', a song I've been listening to a lot recently.

The unsurprising truth is that I have listened to a huge amount of SHINee and SHINee member solo stuff. My favourite of the solo members' work has, happily, been Onew's album Circle. Onew has always been my favourite SHINee guy, so it makes me really happy that his solo stuff has come out on top, but it also really pleases me that I love all the other blokes' stuff enough to make it a full SHINee sweep for top artists this year (Lana Del Rey is an honorary member).

I have been particularly delighted by Key's output though, too. I love the office aesthetics of the Good & Great release, and god damn it's just such a banger. Thank you Key.

In other important stats, Lana Del Rey's National Anthem is my sweet top song. I keep thinking about how perfect the lyrics of this one are. It's addictive, it's mysterious, it's yearning. It's a modern masterpiece and very slightly and oddly nostalgic (when I am nostalgic for 2012 I must bonk myself on the head, and I do, but it happens).

"Over your body, hold you like a python."

There is also a small hint of Fujii Kaze here, who I have been listening to a lot of lately. I've been trying to listen to more Japanese artists more of the time, since it's a nice compliment to learning the language - as much Japanese media as possible at any given time. So that's one goal I will try to pursue for next year. And, by the way, a trip to Tower Records I made recently was eye-opening. Obviously Japan's music market is huge, but seeing the whole store laid out with Japanese artists I've never heard of was really exciting. I'm gonna try to get into a lot more of them.

The last note is that Spotify said "you listen to a lot of albums", and, true, I do. I love the experience of listening to an album and thinking about how the overall collection works. Sure, I listen to plenty of single tracks, but the art of the album has never relinquished it's hold on me. It's always my favourite way to listen.

Right now my favourite album is Wednesday Campanella's NEON. It's so good. My favourite song from the album is probably Maneki Neko. It speaks for itself really, but I love the specific and slightly unusual concepts that these songs go for. And this one is... very cute, and very catchy.

It's really quite good.

Wish me luck in discovering many new and powerful artists in 2024! I am going to go crazy :-)