Someone asked me once why I waste my time compiling a list of my most-played songs each year. I told them to fuck off and die.
I can tell a lot from these lists. They serve me almost as well as a diary. If songs have made it into the Top 50, it means I've played them a helluva lot. Which could mean I've discovered a new musical obsession at some point during the year. It could mean, in the case of 2005, I've had completely wank year. You can tell this by the number of love songs that are in the chart.
You can tell when I've spent a lot of time in the company of certain people - 2006's chart is brimming with cheesy pop while, 2008's chart is brimming with... well, also cheesy pop. That speaks volumes.
From the charts, I can instantly see: "Ah, this is the year I was seeing Scrappy" or "Ah, this is the year I split up with Bolly" or... Actually, Humpy didn't really listen to music, so his tastes didn't influence my chart. That's no pissing help, really - fuck knows what year I went out with him. (Not a music fan? That was never going to last!)
And just being reminded, through the medium of these charts, that my most-played song of 2006 was When You Were Young brings back so many memories... The time I first heard it, the number of times I had to wrestle the remote off a trigger-happy young gent so I could continue watching it on MTV, the pub in Prague where it was playing in the background, actually seeing The Killers perform it live... These charts mean nothing to anyone else, but it holds the key to unlocking so many memories for me that I will continue to record this chart every year and I don't care what people think.
Actually, that's a lie. Please don't call me a geek. I'm not a geek. I'm too pretty to be a geek.
So, in association with those gorgeous statistic-lovers at Last.Fm, here are the songs I listened to the most during the year of 2009:
50 - I'm Yours by Jason Mraz
I can tell a lot from these lists. They serve me almost as well as a diary. If songs have made it into the Top 50, it means I've played them a helluva lot. Which could mean I've discovered a new musical obsession at some point during the year. It could mean, in the case of 2005, I've had completely wank year. You can tell this by the number of love songs that are in the chart.
You can tell when I've spent a lot of time in the company of certain people - 2006's chart is brimming with cheesy pop while, 2008's chart is brimming with... well, also cheesy pop. That speaks volumes.
From the charts, I can instantly see: "Ah, this is the year I was seeing Scrappy" or "Ah, this is the year I split up with Bolly" or... Actually, Humpy didn't really listen to music, so his tastes didn't influence my chart. That's no pissing help, really - fuck knows what year I went out with him. (Not a music fan? That was never going to last!)
And just being reminded, through the medium of these charts, that my most-played song of 2006 was When You Were Young brings back so many memories... The time I first heard it, the number of times I had to wrestle the remote off a trigger-happy young gent so I could continue watching it on MTV, the pub in Prague where it was playing in the background, actually seeing The Killers perform it live... These charts mean nothing to anyone else, but it holds the key to unlocking so many memories for me that I will continue to record this chart every year and I don't care what people think.
Actually, that's a lie. Please don't call me a geek. I'm not a geek. I'm too pretty to be a geek.
So, in association with those gorgeous statistic-lovers at Last.Fm, here are the songs I listened to the most during the year of 2009:
50 - I'm Yours by Jason Mraz
49 - Challengers by The New Pornographers
48 - 3 Little Words by FrankMusik
47 - If This Is It by Newton Faulkner
46 - Let's Start Again by Blazin' Squad
45 - 9 Crimes by Damien Rice
44 - Disappear by No Angels
43 - Still Alive by Lisa Miskovsky
42 - When You Look Me In The Eyes by Jonas Brothers
41 - Time Will Tell by FrankMusik
40 - The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice
39 - Give Me The Meltdown by Rob Thomas
38 - Wonder by Dan Black
37 - If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It by Snow Patrol
36 - Afterglow by Genesis
35 - My Vampire Heart by Tom McRae
34 - Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead
33 - Such Great Heights by FrankMusik
32 - Daddy's Gone by Glasvegas
31 - Paper Planes by M.I.A
30 - Spaceman by The Killers
29 - Nancy Spain by Christy Moore
28 - Mr Brightside by Amy McDonald
27 - Vacant Heart by FrankMusik
26 - That's Just The Way We Roll by Jonas Brothers
25 - Sound Of The City by Tom McRae
24 - Revelry by Kings Of Leon
23 - The Greatest Story Never Told by Murray Gold
22 - So What by Pink
21 - Runaway Train by Busted
20 - Apologize by OneRepublic
19 - Cheer Up (You Miserable Fuck) by David Ford
18 - Out Of This by Tom McRae
17 - Used To by Daughtry
16 - In A Word by Alex Cornish
15 - No Way Out by Phil Collins
14 - Frozen Oceans by Shiny Toy Guns
13 - The Reason by Hoobastank
12 - In For The Kill by La Roux
11 - The Bleeding Heart Show by The New Pornographers
10 - Got A Suitcase, Got Regrets by Tom McRae
09 - Your Boy by FrankMusik
08 - The King Of Hearts by Alex Cornish
07 - Paparazzi by Lady GaGa
06 - Oh Yeah by Tom McRae
05 - Summit Day by Mike Oldfield
04 - It's A Sin by FrankMusik
03 - Run by Snow Patrol
02 - Silent Boulevard by Tom McRae
01 - Complete Me by FrankMusik
Will I show myself up as even more of a geek if I say things like: "This chart has the most new entries of any chart since I started recording them in 2005?"
That might not be true, actually. I haven't bothered calculating it. But it seems right. The chart is almost unrecognisable from last year. Who'd have thought a Mike Oldfield song would make it into the Top 5 of ANYTHING?! And Tom McRae - my favourite artist - knocked off the top spot by a young (admittedly STUNNING) upstart called Vincent Frank. It's madness. I'll be here same time next year with my 'Geek Hat' on. You have been warned.
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Will I show myself up as even more of a geek if I say things like: "This chart has the most new entries of any chart since I started recording them in 2005?"
That might not be true, actually. I haven't bothered calculating it. But it seems right. The chart is almost unrecognisable from last year. Who'd have thought a Mike Oldfield song would make it into the Top 5 of ANYTHING?! And Tom McRae - my favourite artist - knocked off the top spot by a young (admittedly STUNNING) upstart called Vincent Frank. It's madness. I'll be here same time next year with my 'Geek Hat' on. You have been warned.
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