Hey everyone. I missed January and the whole 2024 year music listens on the app i was using last month because I waited until January 1st to look at the app. I was listening on the 31st so I wanted a full update like normal, but the app I was using didn’t have the data on the 1st. I was annoyed to say the least.
But I moved on.
What I did find out is that another app that I use, Plexamp, also tracked listens by week, month, season, and year. So, I decided to give it a try this month. It does a few things differently: One thing that is that it streams my music from my personal server rather than using what is locally on my phone so I need internet coverage. The other thing is that it collects the data from all devices that use the same login and compiles it all together. I use Plexamp on my mac mini as well so that means they combine the stats together.
Now, I had to rebuild my plexamp library recently due to an issue with plex and my server so I had no playlists or anything setup. As a result I decided to let the system play through any and all music I had. This allows the system to use AI to learn my music and what I like and don’t like as much and then create AI generated playlists at later dates (I already have a few populating in the program).
So here are the top artist and top songs for January 2025:
On the song side of things you see there many new ones here. You get 3 songs by Switchfoot, but the top song, while a Switchfoot song, is performed my a string quartet. It is a great version of a great song. The theme fro one of my favorite TV shows in Farscape is there there. Two songs with Lindsey Stirling made the list. You get Friday Tonight by MXPX. I was a bit surprised by Jesus is God by Scarecrow and Tinmen. There’s a group that didn’t last long. A great Switchfoot song with This is Your Life. It is one of their best songs. And look the VeggieTales made the list with Everlasting God (a cover of a praise and worship song). So, not the typical songs you see from me.
Then you get to the artist list and you see many of the normals: Switchfoot, Five Iron, Relient K, MxPx, and Lindsey Stirling. So, while I didn’t repeat their songs I own so much of their music that that they get listened to a lot.
But there are a number of new artists on this months list. You get James Horner, Dennis McCarthy, and John Williams. I own quite a number of soundtracks. And Horner and Williams are legends in the movie world for their music – Braveheart, Start Trek 2 and 3, Star Wars, Superman, and Jurassic Park just to name a few by these two great men. Dennis McCarthy is better known on the TV side of things. He did a lot of the music for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and some Voyager. He also did both of the 1980’s TV miniseries V, which I happen to own as well. As a result I own a bit of his music as well.
You have have Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot) doing his solo work and the Apologetix there. The Apologetix are a parody band that takes songs from the 60’s-today and puts Biblical based lyrics to the music. They have done really great work with almost everything I have heard form them. They are very talented.
I enjoyed having a mix of soundtracks and rock and ska and alternative all together this month. It was a fun change. I haven’t decided if in February I will switch to more of a playlist of given styles music or if I will just leave it on random.