Few winter holidays are more sacred than the annual release of Spotify Wrapped.
The ultra-popular music streaming service shares insights into its users’ listening activity near the end of every year. The results are usually an intimate, amusing and somewhat embarrassing breakdown of the songs that scored a listener’s year. And of course, Wrapped is complete with neon-colored graphics perfect for posting to your Instagram story, so you and all your followers can talk about why Spotify thinks you should move to Burlington, Vermont.
Whether you’re proud or deeply, deeply ashamed, Spotify Wrapped results are meant to be shared. Here’s what we on the Arts Desk listened to in 2023.
Tory Basile, Arts Desk Co-editor
Top Song: “Crush” by Ethel Cain
Top Artist: boygenius
Top Genre: Indie Pop
Minutes listened: 21,304
I don’t do hard drugs, but if I did, I imagine they might feel something like “Crush” by Ethel Cain. Her melodies are angelic, dreamily intoxicating — Cain belting “He looks so coo-ooo-oool" is my “Ave Maria.” What makes “Crush” so good is its intrinsic guilty pleasure quality. It’s a semi-sardonic ode to young love, to teenage infatuation with a local dirtbag who you will later realize is a loser (we’ve all been there). With a smoky, addictive flow and lyrics that scratch your brain like acrylic nails, “Crush” just never gets old.
Taylor Satoski, Arts Desk Co-editor
Top Song: “OWN MY MIND” by Måneskin
Top Artist: Måneskin
Top Genre: pov: indie
Minutes Listened: 45,158
A text I have received from one of my closest friends reads: “u r a war god against anything fundamentally societal.” Most of my favorite songs are products of independent artists, devoid of corporate ideals and rejecting of societal norms. It comes as no surprise that my top genre is indie.
July 16 was my peak listening day. On the forementioned sweltering day, I was driving through Nebraska on a road trip home from California. The wide-open spaces left too much space to ponder, so the 775 minutes (about 13 hours) of music was comforting.
My obsession with Måneskin was sparked with my discovery of their cover of Bob Gaudio’s “Beggin’.” I have since dived deep into the Italian rock band’s original discography and my life will never be the same. I listened to their captivating song, “OWN MY MIND,” 120 times this year and landed myself within the top 0.5% of Måneskin fans.
Halie Jasinover, Columnist
Top Song: “Let the Light In” by Lana Del Ray
Top Artist: Jeff Buckley
Top Genre: Rock
Minutes Listened: 69,206
I’ve felt a little isolated lately, as Spotify has placed me in Ithaca, NY— a town with my favorite saying ever: “Ithaca is Gorges.” Seriously, all I wanted in middle school was a tie-dye shirt from there. Glad to know Ithaca has Jeff Buckley, Phoebe Bridgers and Fleetwood Mac fans (if anyone else was put in Ithaca, let me know). “Let the Light In,” my hyper fixation song of 2023 is a sugar-coated sad girl anthem. Lana Del Rey lulls me to sleep every night accompanied by the ever-soothing Father John Misty. It’s a life in the mountains, a standout track on her Grammy-nominated album. She references The Beatles, who used to hold my #1 artist slot for the past two years (now in the #2 slot), exploring the grief of past romance. Jeff Buckley, my comfort artist, takes the #1 spot effortlessly with the best album in the world, “Grace” on constant replay. And when I went to Paris last year, his cover of Edith Piaf’s “Je N’en Connais Pas La Fin” was the staple.
Gino Diminich, Jacobs School of Music Reporter
Top Song: “Out In the Street” by Bruce Springsteen
Top Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Top Genre: Broadway
Minutes Listened: 70,447
If excessive amounts of coffee are what keeps me moving, then listening to Bruce Springsteen is what I’m moving to. “The Boss” has a song for every mood I’m in, and his lyrics are just so poetic that, no matter the song, it speaks to me on some level. Not to mention how stirring those live performances are — I recently discovered their set from the No Nukes Concert in 1976 which I HIGHLY recommend, go. Listen to it right now. Close this article (come back to it after) and listen to it. Harmonica solos go hard.
Elizabeth Bowling, Arts Reporter
Top Song: “With All of Your Heart” by Ariana DeBose
Top Artist: Cecily Strong
Top Genre: Broadway
Minutes listened: 276
I have a problem and its name is Broadway. Seriously, I am obsessed. And while I may use Spotify rarely, it is filled with the newest songs Broadway has to offer. After watching the second season of Apple TV’s “Schmigadoon!” I had to listen to the soundtrack for seasons one and two on repeat, and it shows (although it would be nice if Spotify weren’t so enthusiastic about it…). Other songs were on there too, like from the show “Galavant” and Disney musicals, but my Schmigadoon! binge outdid them all, earning all top five spots on my list. While I may move on to other cast recordings (and will), 2023 will always be the year of Schmigadoon! for me. And yes, I am now officially an Ariana DeBose superfan.
Marnie Sara, Food Columnist
Top Song: “Homesick” by Noah Kahan
Top Artist: Taylor Swift
Top Genre: Pop
Minutes Listened: 22,899
I would love to see some further data surrounding my Spotify Wrapped because I swear I haven’t listened to the song “Homesick” in months. As catchy as it is, I would 100% skip that song if it popped up today. With that said, during the summer I loved listening to Noah Kahan and pretending I was a superior human from New England.
Additionally, Taylor Swift is my top artist this year. All I have to say about that is, if you supposedly “do not like Taylor Swift’s music,” you must’ve never listened to “Folklore.” The album is a masterpiece and the reason why Taylor Swift is my top artist this year.
Eva Remijan-Toba, Columnist
Top Song: “Cool About It” by boygenius
Top Artist: Taylor Swift
Top Genre: Pop
Minutes Listened: 18,315
Needless to say, it’s been a sad year for music. Well, the actual music released this year has been utterly sublime, yet the theme of my music seemed to surround an all-encompassing sadness. My fellow “Vampire” listeners can agree. Seeing as three out of five of my top songs were boygenius, I suppose I tapped into my emotional side during 2023. The supergroup’s “Cool About It” song carried me throughout the year, as well as the rest of their tracks from “the record” and “the rest.” You, boygenius, have rocked my world, at least for 2023. You too, Taylor Swift.
Lilly Luse, Arts Reporter
Top Song: “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin
Top Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Top Genre: Rock
Minutes Listened: 51,210
This year my music taste was based on comfort, returning to favorite genres and years-long favorite artists of mine like Simon and Garfunkel, Orville Peck, The Replacements, Aretha Franklin and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. My top genre has been rock for as long as I’ve had Spotify, but my second most played was actually jazz.
In 2023, I kept a lot of personally comforting music on repeat, like vocal jazz classics and soul music and plenty of ‘60s folk. Aretha making it to my top song is absolutely not surprising to me. Anytime I needed a song to take a pause to, or to encourage me to keep going, I would play it on repeat. I think it’s one of the best songs ever made, and it endlessly uplifts and comforts me. Aretha’s lyricism and incredible voice has always amazed me, but I really came to appreciate her music this year.
This was my big Simon and Garfunkel year. I listened to each of their albums from top to bottom over and over again. I could not get enough (and I managed to collect all of their studio albums on vinyl, too). Especially in the colder months, whenever I was walking around campus alone, I would put Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits on to keep me company.
Carolyn Marshall, Arts Reporter
Top Song: “Lovers Rock” by TV Girl
Top Artist: Taylor Swift
Genre: pov: indie
Minutes listened: 39,497
I feel rather exposed with admitting to what songs became my favorite this past year. When “Lovers Rock” came up as my top song, I was surprised at first. Then, I remembered my obsession with its ‘80s retro vibe mixed with simplistic heartfelt lyrics. I vividly remember playing it in my car full blast with the windows rolled down during the summer on repeat. Vibes.
Somehow, Lana Del Ray jumped to my second top artist even though I just started listening to her in August. September was when I listened to her most, and three of her songs are in my top five. Out of the entire year, Lana Del Ray trumped most of the other songs and artists within the span of two to three months. It’s safe to say I was listening to her constantly and I may have memorized her older album “Ultraviolence” in the span of a week. I also had many late nights of listening to my top artist, Taylor Swift’s album “folklore,” to which I think I got my Spotify “Vampire” categorization. Overall, it was a year to remember, especially with the company of my favorite artists and songs.
Listen to the Arts Desk's top songs on Spotify.
