Brian Lehrer: Yesterday, Spotify released its annual individualized music summaries that they call Spotify Wrapped, W-R-A-P-P-E-D, like a present that's gift-wrapped, Spotify Wrapped. We're going to spend our last 15 minutes today opening up the phones for you if you got a Spotify Wrapped package, if you use Spotify, for you to call in and talk about the soundtrack of your life in 2022. How did you feel about your Spotify Wrapped this year when they told you what you listen to more than anything else? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Were you surprised by your top artists? Did you see that your taste had changed this year? Give us a call 212-433-WNYC if you have looked at your Spotify Wrapped. 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer.
I know that these can come out a little bit warped because even though it's supposed to be a very personal reflection of your taste in music, many people share music, you're in a group Spotify with your kids. Maybe your six-year-old’s favorite song that goes on repeat comes out from Spotify Wrapped as your most listened to song of the year. It's easy for it to get distorted or in some other ways that you share playlists with people and they with you or whatever. Had that happened to you in the past or this year? 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692.
According to Spotify, as we take a step back and look at what they're telling us people in general listen to, this year throwbacks were some of the most popular songs. Like Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. It looks like nostalgia was a huge musical theme for a lot of people this year. For you, which artists, which songs, which albums from the past 12 months struck a chord with you so much this year that Spotify told you yesterday when they sent you their Wrapped package that these were your personal biggest hits of 2022? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer and we'll take your Spotify Wrapped calls right after this.
Hey, that's not The Brian Lehrer Show theme. It's a track called Montreal by the jazz guitarist Mark Lettieri from his 2016 album Spark and Echo. Some of you may know him from the band Snarky Puppy, but this is the track that Spotify identified as my most listened to track of the year. It's actually not my most listened to track of the year, but I often play this as I'm starting the warm up phase of working out, and then I kick it up to something higher energy but Mark Lettieri is really great. Not that you care, but for me, I tend to use YouTube Music more than Spotify because I like YouTube's fast music video library. I will say that even though we're supposed to hate algorithms these days, both the YouTube and Spotify algorithms have turned me on to a good number of artists in recent years that I didn't know about, but have come to really like including Michael Lettieri who two years ago I didn't know.
Now we'll take your calls on your own Spotify Wrapped results. Did the data about your own listening habits surprise you? Also, do you find it more enlightening and fun or more creepy that Spotify's digital brain knows not just your password, but every piece of music you've listened to this whole year and then throws it in your face with this feature they call Wrapped whether you ask it to or not? Beyond that, what new music has the algorithm led you to discover and what did you learn from your Wrapped package about yourself and your own musical tastes this year? Carissa in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Carissa.
Carissa: Hi. Pretty much, my top played artist was called Dean Blunt. He goes under different monikers such as Babyfather and whatnot. This was followed by Radiohead, The Mars Volta and Animal Collective, bands I hadn't really listened to since high school. I think it had to do with a breakup that I had gone through earlier in the year. Yes, I thought that was really fascinating. You're right, the algorithm is giving you really interesting artists to listen to, but it's kind of creepy. I'm on the side of creepy, but wonderful, but more creepy than wonderful.
Brian Lehrer: I hear you. In your case, I think, extra creepy because it reminded you of your breakup.
Carissa: Yes, but you know what? This Dean Blunt artist, he has a lot of variety. It was interesting because there were sad songs of his that really resonated and then really high-energy songs that really resonated as well. It's like we were growing together, we were going through the breakup together.
Brian Lehrer: That's very enlightened. Carissa, thank you so much. Call us again. Stacy in Fanwood, you're on WNYC. Hi, Stacy.
Stacy: “We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no, no. We don't talk about Bruno.” All five of my top tracks were from Encanto. Everything else was a distant second. I have three children.
Brian Lehrer: I was going to say I’m going to take a wild guess that you have kids at home.
Stacy: I've got kids at home. It was nice to see that wrap up report. It took me back to when Encanto was playing in the house every hour that the kids were awake, and remember that song that none of us will ever forget.
Brian Lehrer: Thanks for singing a little of it for us, Stacy. Thanks a lot. Raoul in Jersey City, you're on WNYC. Hi, Raoul.
Raoul: Hi. Thanks for taking my call. I had a quirk with the Spotify list where my top artist of the year was Giuseppe Verdi, who is an opera composer from the 1800s. When I cook, I just play that song on a loop La donna è mobile, which is [hums], you know?
Brian Lehrer: Yes.
Raoul: So now, I ended up in the top .1% of all Verdi listeners for the year. That's my accomplishment for this year.
Brian Lehrer: That's a cool one. I'll tell you another one of mine that sort of relates to that because I'm kind of a geek for wind ensemble music. I grew up playing in symphonic bands as a kid. I like stuff in the jazz world, Snarky Puppy, which I mentioned before where Mark Lettieri is the guitarist because they have a lot of horns, but they also have guitar and keyboards out front. The algorithm led me on to some saxophone ensemble stuff playing classical music, so like a saxophone quartet playing Vivaldi, a saxophone 17-piece University of Texas ensemble playing Jupiter from Holst's The Planets. Blew my mind, but that's all thanks to the, in my case, YouTube algorithm.
Raoul: That's awesome, learning about yourself while learning about yourself.
Brian Lehrer: That's right. Raoul, thank you very much. In the top 1% of Verdi listeners, Raoul in Jersey City. Who else? Let's see. Paige in Medford, you're on WNYC. Hi, Paige.
Paige: Hi.
Brian Lehrer: Hi. Did you get your Spotify Wrapped?
Paige: Yes, I did.
Brian Lehrer: And?
Paige: I had over 91,000 minutes, which is, it said, it was over 98% of listeners in United States.
Brian Lehrer: Wow.
Paige: I was in the top--
Brian Lehrer: Yes, because they give you that too, right? For people who don't know, they give you a total number of minutes spent listening to music on Spotify. 91,000 minutes. Go ahead. That put you in the what?
Paige: I scored 954 different artists and 68 different genres. I was in the top .5 listeners of Harry Styles.
Brian Lehrer: Of Harry Styles, which is so mainstream, but your music taste must be very eclectic, it sounds like?
Paige: Yes.
Brian Lehrer: What's something obscure that you listened to or genre? If you listened to 58 different genres, what's one that if our listeners were thinking, "I didn't even know there were 58 different genres," what's one?
Paige: Well, a lot of psychedelic rock, different forms of pop and yes.
Brian Lehrer: That's great. By the way, my producer, Zach, just did the math and determined that your 91,000 minutes of music listening is 63 days, so about two months- -doing nothing but listening to music 24 hours a day is another way to crunch those numbers. Paige, thank you very much. Let's see. How about Nick up in Corning, New York. You're on WNYC. Hi, Nick.
Nick: Brian. Hi, how you doing? I saw you at The Green Space before the COVID times so I'm a huge fan. I listen to you every day.
Brian Lehrer: Thank you.
Nick: I just wanted to mention that this year, I got an Apple Replay, which is their version of Spotify's Wrapped.
Brian Lehrer: Heard they do that.
Nick: Referring to my Apple Replay, my number one album was by Daniel Hope and it's called America. He's got these beautiful arrangements and covers. One of them, my favorite is by Sam Cooke and it's Change is Gonna Come but it's got a beautiful female vocal on it. He's got just a bunch of really great Americana on the album, classical, I recommend everybody take a listen.
Brian Lehrer: Neat, Nick. Thank you very much. Scott in Ditmas Park, you're on WNYC. Hi, Scott.
Scott: Hey, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. I use Spotify in two directions. I host a music show. I'm a volunteer at a community radio station. The Spotify algorithm gives me lots of recommendations of singers I never would have heard about. I've learned a lot about Canadian jazz singers, which is a new obsession of mine. Then what I can do is I take my playlist from each show, I post that on a playlist so then people can listen to what I played and then another way to disseminate information about new artists.
Brian Lehrer: Nice, very good. All right. We're going to give Shannon in Brooklyn the last one. Hi, Shannon. You're on WNYC.
Shannon: Hi, there. Hi, Brian. My top artist of the year was Hesperus, which is an early American folk band. They only play music from the 1700 and 1800s. That's embarrassing, but it's one of my favorite artists to listen to when I'm studying. I love them.
Brian Lehrer: Was it embarrassing when Wrapped showed you that or was it surprising to you?
Shannon: It wasn't surprising. When I texted my friends, they were not surprised because they can hear those violins playing in my room constantly. Great study music but yes, I love it.
Brian Lehrer: If I can listen to 17-piece saxophone ensemble playing Holst, you can listen to music from the 1700s. Thank you, Shannon and thanks to all of you for calling up and sharing your Wrapped music lists.
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