As I’ve done at the end of both 2004 and 2005, I present my list of my most frequently listened to songs across 2006. As always, since I use my central iTunes library to keep track of my statistics, the playcount of a song is only increased if I listen to it in its entirety.
For the second year in a row, “The Boxer” by Carbon Leaf is the top played in my library, at 36 recorded plays over the past year. “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service slipped to 2nd place for all-time plays, falling one play short of “Life Less Ordinary” by Carbon Leaf at 134 plays, the new leader.
iTunes Library Growth Over Time:
| Year | Total Tracks | Total Plays | Tracks Played >0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 6505 | 7861 | 2084 |
| 2005 | 9484 | 17810 | 4703 |
| 2006 | 10524 | 25464 | 5317 |
This year’s stats (and my listening habits) might have suffered from a few more repeats than previous years since I put playlists on my iPod representing the Songs of 2005 and Overlooked Songs of 2005. These were often my “goto” playlists when I wanted to listen to something familiar and comfortable. This meant I was shuffling my entire library less frequently, meaning playcounts were concentrated on previous top placers. Also, podcasts really came around this year, so a good deal of my time was spent listening to non-music.
Bold items were added to the library in 2006
| Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| The Boxer | Carbon Leaf |
| Mary Mac | Carbon Leaf |
| Trees1 | Marty Casey & Lovehammers |
| Life Less Ordinary | Carbon Leaf |
| 5ves | Heiruspecs |
| Paloma | Carbon Leaf |
| What About Everything? | Carbon Leaf |
| Orange Sky | Alexi Murdoch |
| Code Monkey2 | Jonathan Coulton |
| Such Great Heights | The Postal Service |
| Happy Holidays (Beef Wellington Remix)3 | Bing Crosby |
| Meg Ryan (Every Valentines) | Self |
| Bang for the Buck4 | Ugly Duckling |
| Still Making Babies | Something To Do |
| Short Skirt/Long Jacket | Cake |
| Rollin’ With Saget (Explicit Version)5 | Jamie Kennedy & Stu Stone |
| Left Behind4 | Ugly Duckling |
| Banjo Boy | Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband |
| Good Things | The BoDeans |
| Bloomington | Old 97’s |
| Baby Got Back2 | Jonathan Coulton |
| Slow the Flow4 | Ugly Duckling |
| Love Loss Hope Repeat6 | Carbon Leaf |
| Could Well Be In | The Streets |
| Money Folder | Madvillain |
| Slowly | Max Sedgley |
| Amsterdam | Guster |
| Ikea2 | Jonathan Coulton |
| Carolyn’s Booty7 | The Presidents Of The United States Of America |
| Weapon of Choice | Fatboy Slim featuring Bootsy Collins |
| Black Horse & The Cherry Tree (Radio Version) | KT Tunstall |
| Learn To Fly6 | Carbon Leaf |
| Under The Wire6 | Carbon Leaf |
| Re Your Brains2 | Jonathan Coulton |
| The District Sleeps Alone Tonight | The Postal Service |
| A Girl And Her Horse6 | Carbon Leaf |
| Pimpin’ All Over the World | Ludacris & Bobby V. |
| Deck the Halls3 | The Roches |
| Nice Day8 | Persephone’s Bees |
| City Of Love8 | Persephone’s Bees |
| Way To Your Heart8 | Persephone’s Bees |
| Cobrastyle (Featuring Mad Cobra) | Teddybears |
| The Gambler | Mike Doughty |
| Stranded in the Jungle (Alternate Version) | The New York Dolls |
| Let Your Troubles Roll By | Carbon Leaf |
| Life, In A Nutshell | Barenaked Ladies |
| In the Waiting Line | Zero 7 |
| Mao Tse Tung Said9 | Alabama 3 |
| Hip Hop Thighs #1710 | Ike Reilly |
| Multi-Family Garage Sale (Bargain-Bin Mix) | Land of the Loops |
| Climbing8 | Persephone’s Bees |
| Popular Mechanics For Lovers | Beulah |
| Recycled Air | The Postal Service |
| Tupelo Honey | Van Morrison |
| No Children | The Mountain Goats |
| Baby It’s Cold Outside3 | Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan |
| Against All Odds | The Postal Service |
| Let It Out4 | Ugly Duckling |
| Yudee!4 | Ugly Duckling |
| Heaven Is For Easy Girls69 | The Awkward Stage |
| Morning Broadway | Keith Mansfield |
| Gary3 | MC Lars |
| Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living) | Eels |
| God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-We Three Kings (with Sarah McLachlan)3 | Barenaked Ladies |
| I Saw Three Ships3 | Barenaked Ladies |
| The War Was In Color6 | Carbon Leaf |
| Ms. New Booty | Ying Yang Twins |
| Lazy Sunday (The Chronic-WHAT-nils of Narnia) | Saturday Night Live |
1 What in the heck is this doing so near the top of the list? Somehow I managed to squeeze in 33 plays of this song since March, making it the highest playcount of any title I added in 2006. I mean, it is a fun, poppy song, but 33 times?
2 Jonathon Coulton deserves your admiration and support. The Thing A Week concept is great and has produced a few gems, most of which are featured in the list above.
3 Christmas songs are only on my iPod (and available for shuffling) from Thanksgiving to New Years. Takes quite a bit of plays during that time to make their way onto this list, for sure.
4 I had never been exposed to Ugly Duckling before this year. Late one night I’m up late working, when I hear “Left Behind” on 89.3 The Current. I’ve always been a sucker for rhymes paired with samples, UD pulled me in and hasn’t let go, as you can see from their representation on the list.
5 I wanna roll with Sagat, too.
6 It is no surprise that Carbon Leaf is all over my list, they make great music (and can perform it live just as well!) However, considering their new album came out on September 12th, one might be surprised just how well tracks from it are represented on this list. There’s a reason for this, and it isn’t because I fell asleep while listening to it on repeat…
7 I just have to say, Carolyn’s booty deserved it more than “Lump”.
8 I had chance to visit San Francisco on business this year…while I was in the local Virgin Megastore I saw this band featued in the “local artist” section. I can see why their career took off soon thereafter.
9 If you’ve pissed me off, after I leave your presence odds are this is the song I’ll be listening to as I get over your stupidity.
10 This song is for all the BBW’s out there.
69 It really is, “So say the Lord”.
Comments (1)
I meant to say this earlier, but I'm impressed to see self on the list. And the Awkward Stage! How much does that song rule?
Posted by Jodi | January 9, 2007 3:36 PM
Posted on January 9, 2007 15:36