2020 15 #showerthoughts from top 50 Spotify songs
Something new, something old
Mostly old
Used statsforspotify.com which only counts tracks played for at least 30 seconds |
| 1 | Filo & Peri
Ordinary Moment
"We've been working too much..." has been perennially accurate for me for a long time |
| 2 | Paola & Chiara
Bella - Re Vox
Keep finding new (old) Italian pop acts somehow. This kind of sounds like SWV's mix of "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson |
| 3 | Enigma
Traces (Light and Weight)
Ephemeral, meditative, transportive. |
| 4 | As One
사랑했던 날처럼
One of the most word-paint-y and emotionally hyperfocused without being overwrought songs I've heard in K-Pop, if you can even call this that, more like K-Adult Contemporary...piano riff from B-section of the verse is almost patterned identically to opening of "All My Life" by K-Ci and JoJo |
| 5 | BoA
Can't Let Go
I had been trying to pin down what about this has compelled my ears for a while, and I think it's because melodically it resembles a lot of solo sax in smooth jazz |
| 6 | Various Artists
Sittin' Up In My Room
On the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. One of the most serious-sounding, urgent, and calculated songs I've heard relative to its subject matter, where "How can one be down?" somehow makes philosophical sense after each listen in this kaleidoscopically produced quest of a song about a simple crush |
| 7 | Ashley Ballard
Second Thoughts
For about one minute of presence in 2001, it was pleasantly surprising to hear such a high level of taste and musicality in her singing at around only 15 or 16. Reads almost like an R. Kelly, Whitney Houston, Richard Marx, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey song wrapped into one. |
| 8 | Mandy Moore
From Loving You
It was impressive to me how the synths are delayed/panned/accented in relation to the lyrics, almost constellation-like, against the contrast of the matter-of-fact-ness of the drum kit/machine, almost instantly calling forth introspection and reflection |
| 9 | Martin Page
The Door
I had been wondering what this song was about for ~1 year before it occurred to me where I'd heard "Treblinka" before. Reads almost like "Lead Me On" by Amy Grant but with more soul |
| 10 | Andrea Bocelli
Somos Novios
Christina's flourish/melismatic riff around 3:21 on "mas oscuro" is one of her best ideas |
| 11 | James Horner
Remember Me
"...Time can be transcended"
Josh Groban singing something in C Phrygian is both surprisingly and unsurprisingly good |
| 12 | Michael Bolton
I'm Not Made of Steel
The wailing high harmonies that frame the outro of the song always stood out to me as significant |
| 13 | Peter Gabriel
Red Rain
What a dynamic and intense song...touches almost every edge of emotional and verbal liminality |
| 14 | As One
위대한 유산
The soft rock guitar solo around the bridge of the song at 2:47 is almost too kind to the song, if that is even possible |
| 15 | Utada Hikaru
Final Distance
The last 30 seconds or so of this are some of the most purposefully and thoughtfully detailed layers of a soundscape I've ever experienced, a consummate celebration of life, whether it's about beginnings or endings |
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