Unwrapping My Spotify Wrapped
The end of year review is a highlight for the music and podcast app's listeners
Welcome to my Spotify Wrapped.
For many, including myself, the unveiling of one’s Spotify Wrapped has become a cultural event. I equate it to receiving your yearbook back in high school.
The Wrapped playlist is a slideshow of your life the past year, filled with memories, favorite artists, favorite new1 artists, moods — depressed or happy — and concerts.
There’s a growing concern and backlash against Spotify and its impact on the music industry, but as someone who also publishes a podcast — TheBrianLennonShow — on Spotify, it is yet another vehicle, just like Substack, for me to put my “art” out into the world.
Listen to TheBrianLennonShow here:
If you’re interested in more about the conundrum and moral dilemma Spotify presents to music fans, I would encourage you to read Matty C’s take on Spotify and streaming.
But for now, let’s celebrate another year and another version of my Spotify Wrapped!
That’s nearly 97.5 days listening to Spotify. Over three months. An entire meteorological season.
July 26th was a Friday. I went back into my Google calendar to see what was going on that day. Nothing.
I imagine I left work early, came home to throw some dogs and burgers on the grill, popped some cans or poured some vodka and brought the Blockrocker out onto the patio to enjoy a nice summer day well into the evening.
That’s a pretty big number. Not sure how it compares to other listeners. Figuring an album has an average of 12 songs, I listened to a total of 704 unique albums. I feel like I “discovered” more artists this year, especially through Spotify.2
I’ll admit, I’m a podcast junkie. Now, most of this listening is while nodding off to sleep, although I will listen in the car on the way to and from work, about a 20 minute drive each way. My podcast intake alone equates to 62.5 days of listening. That’s about two months worth. I’m not apologizing.
I also feel like this year’s political environment, with the election and all, boosted that number significantly, especially following the Biden-Trump debate in June. It was game-on for podcasters to dissect the next move in each of the campaigns after that and I couldn’t get enough.
That being said, Sports is still my top topic. Funny too, because I also host a sports related podcast — Tailgators Setup Podcast— with
and that is also available on Substack and Spotify. We talk college football.Listen to the Tailgators Setup Podcast here:
Below you can see my Top 5 podcasts.
The Joe Rogan Experience is my No. 1 with no apologies. That’s probably because most of his podcasts are 3+ hours. Rogan landed Trump and JD Vance in the days leading up to the November election, and the numbers for both of those episodes were in the millions. Kamala, meanwhile, just couldn’t make the time for Rogan.
We know the result of that. So politicians, you are officially on notice for Election ‘28.
The Ringer Wrestling Show is my No. 2 podcast. This production by The Ringer consists of three different wrestling podcasts that come out five days a week, and depending on where we are in the wrestling calendar — Mania and SummerSlam are heavy listening times of year — I listen to this one a lot. Pretty much everyday.
I’m also figuring Spotify classifies pro wrestling as a sport, but that’s another debate for another time.
Being a former journalist and old media junkie, The Press Box, with Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker (who also co-hosts The Masked Man Show on The Ringer Wrestling Show), is one of my favorite podcasts. They discuss everything from media coverage to sports.
All-In was a new find for me this year. Chamath, Jason, Sacks and Friedberg are four really smart, wealthy guys who discuss everything from tech, to the economy, to politics. In fact, Sacks, was just named by Donald Trump to be his crypto and AI czar.
My wife and I always remind each other, we shouldn’t be the smartest person in the room. This podcast fulfills this credo for me.3
Reviewing my Top 5 artists for the year, there are old 1990s standbys such as Stone Temple Pilots and Hootie & The Blowfish, who I happened to be seeing in concert that fateful night of the Trump-Biden debate. Hootie played a fantastic cover of STP’s “Interstate Love Song” that night, which I come to find out is my son’s No. 1 song on his Spotify Wrapped this year.4
As far as Ratboys, I don’t really know. I couldn’t tell you the name of one of their songs. They have a female singer, and are along the lines of a Mazzy Star-esque artist. I really dig the sort of dark, brooding, moody female singer-led bands. “Morning Zoo” is a little more jangly and upbeat.
Listen to my No. 1 Ratboys song, “Morning Zoo,” here:
BANKS is along the lines of a moody seductress too.
Wilco is a band I had heard of for years, but never really got into. The local college radio station plays a number of their songs, and I would always look to see what band it was, and lo-and-behold, it was Wilco.
They are heavily influenced by the Beatles. Their music is good for any season — winter, spring, summer, fall, and it’s easy to listen to, in a good way.
If you want the full experience of my 2024 Spotify Wrapped playlist, you can listen to it here. Happy listening!
Let me know what you were listening to in 2024. Comment with your No. 1 Song or Artist for the year…
or new to you
One of the things I didn’t like about Pandora was that it would only play the same 5 artists. Maybe their algorithm has changed, but I haven’t listened to Pandora in years.
What if me and my wife are the only two people in the room?
I take a certain amount of pride in that fact.