McSponge's Spotify 2020 Wrapped Review

[McSponge]

Ho boy, 2020 has been quite the year. Musically speaking, it was a very enlightening experience for myself, given the multitudes of artists and genres I’ve listened to. If you look at my 2019 Top 100, you’ll see I had a very narrow range of artists and taste. But 2020, oh look out, we still have ⅗ of the same artists in my top 5.

5.) Prince

In 2019 I listened to every album Prince ever released. This essentially made him my number-one artist of the year and subsequently, the decade. Around the anniversary of his death was the only time I heavily relistened to his work. Subsequently, my personal favorite albums from his are 1986’s Parade and 1987’s Sign O’ the Times.

4.) Beck

Beck had a lot of impact on me this year, Guero is still one of my favorite records and Colors and Hyperspace have really grown on me as pieces of art. Sure, they might not be the most lyrically defining works from Hansen’s catalogue, but man do they have some great tunes; Seventh Heaven, Square One, No Distractions are all particular favorites on my behalf.3

3.) KISS

KISS played a huge role in my musical experience in spring 2019; around February my interest in them rekindled, fizzling out by the start of quarantine. Only a few select songs remain personal favorites of mine that still get the occasional replay.

2.) Eminem

Music to be Murdered By came out in January and absolutely fascinated me. I began listening to a lot of his older stuff more, and finished binging him around March/April.

1.) Red Hot Chili Peppers
Absolutely not surprised by this, they’ve held a heavy presence in my setlist throughout this entire year.

Now let’s look at my Top 20 most-listened to tracks, according to Spotify.

 

20.) This is the Place- RHCP (2002) 4/5

Kinda surprised to see this so high on the list, considering the numerous other RHCP songs I’ve jammed out to over the year. This is the Place is the chilling third track off of 2002’s By the Way, an excellently layered album full of lyrical and sonic variety. I definitely respect this song more than I enjoy it, it’s a result of constantly shuffling my RHCP playlist over the year and naturally this one happened to arrive in the top 20.

19.) Not Afraid- Eminem (2010) 4.5/5

This one was more of my favorite in December 2019, but that love sort of carried over during the early weeks of 2020. Not Afraid is an incredibly uplifting song with an intensely catchy melody. It’s one of my favorite hits from Marshall Mathers, arguably the best of the 2010’s, second to the Monster.

18.) Baby Be Mine- Michael Jackson (1982) 5/5

Kinda surprised I listened to this song that much, and it still sounds incredible. I’ve loved this song for years, and frequently revisiting Thriller around Halloween definitely elevated this to the number 18 spot.

17.) E-Pro- Beck (2005) 4/5

Early 2020 was dominated by Guero and it’s crunching opening track, E-Pro. It sounds unlike any other Beck song, yet simultaneously sounds definitively Beck. It’s one of his heaviest, best songs with the layered guitars over his intricate flow, you have just an incredible start to an incredible album.

16.) Minor Thing- RHCP (2002) 4.5/5

One of the most underrated tracks from the RHCP. That’s all I’m gonna say. If you wanna listen to how beautiful it sounds, check it out yourself.

15.) Stressed Out- Twenty-One Pilots (2015) 4.5/5

I used to loathe this song as a young seventh grader, due to radio fatigue. But hearing this song as a Senior really elevated this song to higher standards in my viewpoint. Fall 2020 was dominated by this song, it truly resonates with me as a reflection of age and growth as a person. Not to mention the production is incredible.

14.) Heartless- The Weeknd (2019) 4.5/5

I hated it when it came out, but by the time After Hours released, I was in love. Heartless is such a joy to listen to, the Weeknd’s delivery is full of flair and charisma and I have the utmost respect for this song.

13.) Heart and Soul- Huey Lewis and the News (1983) 4/5

Heart and Soul miraculously ended up so high due to the amount of times I listened to it in February. I didn’t listen to much at the time, but Huey Lewis and Men at Work dominated my airwaves. Heart and Soul is one of the best of Huey Lewis, it’s probably my favorite track off of Sports, and is general one of the catchiest, danceable songs of the 80’s.
12.) Can’t Stop- RHCP (2002)

June-July 2020. That’s when this song received a second wave of love from me. My first wave happened quite a while ago, sometime around spring 2019, but last summer definitely saw me jam out to this banger on multiple occasions.

11.) American Idiot- Green Day (2004) 5/5

One of the most poetic songs for me this year, I dub it the anthem of 2020. Not a reflection on Trump or Biden, rather the entire US government for their ineptitude on handling this pandemic. Also it’s a kickass song with excellent instrumentation. I’ve cranked this on multiple occasions throughout the year, it’s really aged like fine wine in a sense.

10.) Starboy- The Weeknd (2016) 5/5

For some reason around August/September I really latched onto this song; and I haven’t gone back since. Starboy is just a top tier-Weeknd song; the lyrics don’t make any sense, and they don’t need to. The beat and vocals sell this song alone.

9.) Never Love Again- Eminem (2020) 3.5/5

I’m surprised this reached number 9; it is one of the better songs off Music to Be Murdered By, but I suppose it only reached this level because I frequently replayed throughout early 2020. It’s not a bad song, I still find it quite good, but it’s definitely not in my Eminem Top 20.

8.) Hey- RHCP (2006) 3.5/5

I suppose this showed up because of simple playlist shuffling. It is a really tranquil track, I’ll give it that. If you just want to zone out and relax, definitely tune into this track.

7.) Island in the Sun- Weezer (2001) 4/5

Yes! This deserved to be #7; when I first realized this hit I’ve heard on the radio for years was by Weezer, my heart exploded. From March through August this was a song for the car. An excellent tune when you’re cruising along with friends, or even solo it’s a great track. Island in the Sun is one of Weezer’s greatest hits, and I will continue to defend it to this day..

6.) Money- Michael Jackson (1995) 3.5/5

I’m surprised this reached so high on my list, I honestly did not realized I’d listen to it this much. It peaked my interests in February, and honestly it still really holds up. It’s not my favorite MJ track for sure, but Money is definitely one of his most well-written. It dissects the greed that consumes the rich and ultimately has aged incredibly well. Also, Jackson opens up his lower register on this track and I find it just phenomenal.
 

5.) Juicy- The Notorious B.I.G (1994) 4/5

If it weren’t for Covid, this would probably be my defining song of the spring. Juicy is a glamorous look into the life of the late Christopher Wallace. I adore the production on this song, Biggie’s smooth and iconic flow over the funky bass is excellent. It doesn’t even feel like Wallace is trying to flex on his audience, he remains grateful in his presentation, humbled at the life he’s been granted because of his success. It’s one of hip-hop’s finest moments of rappers presenting their wealth and luxury.

4.) Blinding Lights- The Weeknd (2019) 5/5

It may be overplayed, but damn do I love this track. It’s one of the biggest hits of the year, and rightfully so. It’s retro, yet modern synthline, and hauntingly profound vocals make for a sonically atmospheric experience. 

3.) Dani California- RHCP (2006)  4.5/5

If there’s any song I’d love to represent my top band of the year, it’s Otherside. However, if I had to choose a second song to represent my love for the Chili Peppers, Dani California is excellent in that regard. Symbolically, it’s the song that got me into RHCP in the first place, and it still remains one of their greatest jams in their discography. I adore Frusciante’s guitar work on this song, he and the band are just killer on this track.

2.) Godzilla- Eminem (2020) 4.5/5

I have no regrets enjoying this song way more than it rightfully deserves. A posthumous feature from an artist I don’t even listen to, a beat that was incredibly annoying first listen-through, and everybody’s favorite “Eminem flexing his rap capabilities to the point of being overbearing.” And it’s still amazing, it came on recently for me and I saw no problem with my constant listening of this track from February through April. 

1.) Buddy Holly- Weezer (1994) 3.5/5
I was super shocked to see this hit number-one, but I’m sort of glad it did. Unlike Godzilla or Starboy which stretched a specific period of time, Buddy Holly’s always sort of been there. It’s the track that got me into Weezer (Albeit it took awhile for me to find a song I liked as much as this one). Again, throughout the year it’d be my go-to Weezer track, and even when I wasn’t in a Weezer mood, sometimes I’d just jam out to this song. A great song from a good album from an okay band in a bad year. Oh well, I don’t really care ‘bout that.