2024 Wrapped
Or whatever other word we're using these days, I've been told that Spotify has a monopoly on Wrapping in apps. Really, I'm open to suggestions.
Someone told me I should write a dating wrapped, and I told them I already had to write about my music listening wrap for the year, and they understood why the dating one would probably be substantially shorter. I don't feel like litigating my failures blog style, so I will get on with the music wrapups.
Top 10s
Top 10 Albums
Mk.Gee - Two Star and the Dream Police
Clairo - Charm
Charli XCX - brat (extended and remix album)
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Slow Hollows - Bullhead
Fontaines DC - Romance
Jack J - Blue Desert
Jonah Yano - Jonah Yano and the Heavy Loop
Mustafa - Dunya
Jamie xx - In Waves
Honourable mentions:
Hayden Pedigo - Live in Amarillo Texas
Tv Girl and George Clanton - Fauxlennium
Peach Pit - Magpie
berlioz - open this wall
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Nxworries - Why Lawd?
Floating Points - Cascade
Billy Strings - Highway Prayers
Slow Hollows - Bullhead
Salute - True Magic
Nia Archives - Silence is Loud
1tbsp - Megacity1000
Barry Can't Swim - Where Do We Land
Shabaka - Perceive it's Beauty, Acknowledge it's Grace
Justice - Hyperdrama
Matt Champion - Mika's Laundry
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
The Story So Far - I Want to Disappear
Patrick Holland - Infra
Mount Kimbie - The Sunset Violet
Vegyn - The Road To Hell is Paved With Good Intentions
Top 10 Singles
Mk.Gee - Rockman
Clairo - Sexy to Someone
Charli XCX - Club Classics
Jamie xx - Baddy on the Floor
Disclosure - She’s Gone Dance On
Slow Hollows - Bullhead
Patrick Holland - Blue
Confidence Man - All My People
Jonah Yano - Concentrate
Salute - Saving Flowers
Top 10 Festival Sets
Jamie xx at Form
Four Tet at Parklife
AG Cook at Portola
Los Esplifs at Form
Interplanetary Criminal b2b Sammy Virji at Parklife
Dylan Brady at Form
Four Tet at Portola
Mustafa at Form
Justice at Portola
Four Tet at Form
Top 10 Shows Attended
KGLW at Gorge
Dead and Co at Sphere
Clairo at Mesa Amp
Mk.Gee at Hollywood Theatre
Sampha at Vogue Theatre
Charli XCX at Climate Pledge Arena
Benji B at Paradise
Kacey Musgraves at Rogers Arena
Laraaji at Granville Island Performance Theatre
Hillsboro at Green Auto
Top 10 Shows Worked
Rolling Stones at BC Place
Pearl Jam split doubleheader at Rogers Arena
Justin Timberlake at Rogers Arena
Noah Kahan at Rogers Arena
Missy Elliott at Rogers Arena
Bruce Springsteen at Rogers Arena
Billie Eilish at Rogers Arena
Taylor Swift at BC Place
Madonna at Rogers Arena
Sunfest at Laketown Ranch
As someone who is an album listener ostensibly, and who religiously tracks their listening habits via Last.fm I wasn't surprised with my Spotify wrapped. I would agree with the general consensus that wrapped was lazy, and the charm of wrapped is the weird and quirky conclusions drawn from the large scale harvesting of your data. I feel like this is another fumble in a long line of missteps by the streaming giant. From demonetizing songs with less than 10k plays, to their recent controversies with AI music and fake artists, the platform is dying and wrapped is the only think keeping people around.
I spent more of the year focused on DJing and acquiring the knowledge in that area, than concerning myself with completing playlists or listening to the right music. It was a year focused partially on discovery and partially on just hanging on as the ground shifted below my feet.
I'm looking to continue writing like this on more of a quarterly basis, rather than monthly. I have found that my tastes haven't changed drastically from month to month, and making this more of a project with standard issues that show a hair more difference seems to be a worthwhile move.
Here's to 2025, which will no doubt bring immeasurable change, as well as countless joys and sorrows. I'll see you on the other side, probably sometime around March? Maybe monthly mixes sooner..