For quite a while now, I have been looking at the "play count" column on iTunes and doing a little thinking. First thought, have I ever cleared my play count? Second thought, I wonder what my play count would look like for certain songs over a certain period of time. I'm definitely a stat guy, and would surely find it interesting to see the patterns in my listening habits.
So I decided, on a whim, to clear the play count for all my songs and start over again this past Saturday with my drive out to Kalamazoo. Before I did my complete reset, I noted my top 25 most played songs. Some of the numbers here surprised me, as did the placement of a few songs, and the absence of others.
Just posting these songs is going to take long enough, so no more rambling. Here they are in reverse order, with the play count in parenthesis.
25. Drunken Lullabies- Flogging Molly (28). I was surprised at the low play count here. I know I have heard this song a lot more than this....but I have about 7 copies of this CD laying around, so that could explain it. I think everyone already knows how much I love this band, but I have to say that I will do all in my power to see them perform at least once a year as long as they are touring. This year, the Detroit date wouldn't work for us....FINE, we'll go see them in Cleveland. Although the show itself was not one of my favorites, the time we had down there was well worth the cost of the trip. The phone calls after the show alone were worth the price of admission.
24. The Dirty Glass- Dropkick Murphy's (28). While I think Flogging Molly is by far a superior band, these guys have some great songs too. This is one of my favorites. The pace of the song and the back and forth with the girl who sings on this really makes the song.
23. Teenagers- My Chemical Romance (29). The Black Parade was a very good album, and this song was my favorite for quite a while. It also came out just before the shooting at Virginia Tech a couple years ago, so I played it a few times for people just to listen to the eerie foreshadowing that I got out of it.
22. Viva la Vida- Coldplay (30). I just loved this song from the start. I have since learned to appreciate a few other songs from the CD, which is how it seems to go with me and Coldplay albums....get sucked in by one song, learn to like the rest. I know that this song played twice during Marktoberfest last year, and I can remember both times. I honestly couldn't pinpoint any other song that whole night....this song alone was pretty much my soundtrack for the party.
21. Everything's Magic- Angels and Airwaves (30). Honestly, who wouldn't like this song? I think this was the last AVA song that got any real airtime, but I have both of their CDs so I really have no idea. I know this was the first song I liked a lot from the second album, I-Empire, but not the one I ended up liking the most.
20. A Call to Arms- Angels and Airwaives (32). This song ended up being my favorite from I-Empire. The lyrics, and the way they are sung, really struck a chord within me. I can't say exactly what it is about this song that gets me, but it does. The lyrics for most of their songs are just fantastic, and this happens to be the one that I like to listen to the most right now. Since this is the last time AVA appears on this list, I know I must have cleared my iPod playcount at some point, because I played the hell out of their first album, We Don't Need to Whisper, and not one of those songs is on here.
19. The Good Left Undone- Rise Against (33). The amazing thing about this song is how "young" it is in my library. I've had it maybe 6 months or so, where all the other songs on this list I have had at least a year, and most more than two years. This is definitely the most played song for me in 2009. So many songs have parts that I really take to heart, some songs even go the distance with lyrics that I can relate to. This song is one of those songs, and not just for the lyrics (which are scary accurate for me in one regard) but also for the passion with which it is sung. If I could have written and sung any song in the last 5 years, this one would probably be it.
18. Supermassive Black Hole- Muse (33). Get used to seeing this band. With a solid 16% of my top 25 coming from Black Holes and Revelations, I'll be typing the name Muse a lot. The band is aptly named, as I can think of many things that have spawned from their music, including the Twilight series. A lot of what I hear on this CD can be easily personalized for me, and I am sure that's why I love it the way I do.
17. God's Gonna Cut You Down- Johnny Cash (34). Unbelievably, this is the only song from J.R. Cash on this list. I supposed the rest of them have been in my CD collection longer than I have had my iPod, so that kinda makes sense. A deeply religious man, this song just made sense for Johnny Cash. Even though his voice was considerably weaker when he recorded this than with any of his other big songs, it seems rather fitting when you listen to it.
16. Snuff on Digital- Blaqk Audio (35). Ended up being my favorite song on CexCells, even though I was sucked in by Stiff Kittens like most anyone else who knows this band by name. Their sound is unique and refreshing, very much how I would describe Muse as well, and I appreciate how the songs lift my energy level.
15. Welcome to the Black Parade- My Chemical Romance (36). Not too much to say here. The lyrics don't have any hidden meaning to me or anything, I just really like the way this song was made.
14. Stiff Kittens- Blaqk Audio (37). As I said, this is what got me interested in the band and I bought this CD on a whim on the strength of this song alone. I think it was a great purchase. I have made some bad decisions on similar whims, and am very happy this one worked out.
13. Riot- Wyclef with Serj Tankian (39). My man-crush on Wyclef hit an all time high when The Carnival II was announced and came out, and this being the first song on the album it's just natural that I dug it. Beyond that, it's a really good song. I honestly never would have thought these two would sound good together, but that's why he is Wyclef, and I am not.
12. Baba O'Riley- The Who (40). Better known to most as "Teenage Wasteland", this has always been one of my favorite songs. Even though it's pretty long, I can't turn it off if it comes on my iPod during a shuffle....even if I have to sit in my truck in my driveway to finish listening to it.
11. What a Wonderful World- Joey Ramone (40). Yet another song I have always loved....but this version has renewed my interest in it in the last couple years.
10. Take a Bow- Muse (41). Ahh, the beginning of Black Holes and Revelations. This song is so good, that I decided to see Watchmen because they used it in a trailer for the movie. I still haven't seen it yet, but that's a pretty good song nonetheless, eh?
9. Starlight- Muse (41). It's no shock that these two songs have the exact same playcount since this follows Take a Bow on the album. To me, I can't play one without the other. It's like one long song with Take a Bow leading into Starlight. If one comes up on random, I have to listen to them both in the correct order.
8. Sweetest Girl- Wyclef (42). Another song from Clef. This isn't my favorite off the album, but it's just so easy to listen to....and sing along with as I drive. That's gotta be funny to see.
7. Paralyzer- Finger 11 (42). This song makes me want to kick a door down. Not sure why, but it does. I've never kicked a door down....so it's even more confusing. Punched through a door, yes, but never kicked.
6. I'm Shipping Up to Boston- Dropkick Murphys (42). I wouldn't like this song as much as I do without the movie The Departed....and I haven't really liked it that much recently anyway. Boston is just getting on my nerves lately. I cringe every time they win a major sports championship because I know I have to deal with their fans who just all sound so ignorant. Ugh.
5. Slither- Velvet Revolver (43). Absolutely LOVE this song. Quite possibly the best rock song made in the last 5 years. Just listen to it.
4. A-Punk- Vampire Weekend (43). This is a good song, was used in a few commercials not too long ago, but the reason it's so high on my list is NOT the quality of the song. It's the name. With the A followed by a dash, it's the first song on my iTunes songlist when sorted by title. If I start listening to my songlist without having it on shuffle, this is the song I hear. It took me a long time to be able to turn it off when that happens
3. Shadow of the Day- Linkin Park (44). I liked this song a lot when it first came out, but it has recently taken on a new meaning for me....so I have been listening to it a lot again.
2. Bleed it Out- Linkin Park (48). This song doesn't make me want to kick a door down, but it does get my adrenaline pumping. If I still played any sports, this would definitely be on my pregame playlist, somewhere around Thunderstruck and One from Metallica.
1. Map of the Problematique- Muse (62). Obviously I really like Black Holes and Revelations. Funny enough though, this was not my favorite song on the album for a long time. I listened to the album from the start every time I turned it on, and this was one of the songs early in the album....but I never really thought it was that great. Then I saw a youtube video that changed it all for me. The video below originally had this song as the background. Without the song, it's a very cool video, with the song, it was soooo much better. After I saw this video with this song, I was hooked. I am a thrill seeker by nature, and this just gets my blood pumping now. I feel alive when I hear it....and, I've decided, I like feeling alive.
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