It's that magical time of the year where Spotify really comes for you.
I'm talking about the 2020 Wrap-Up that Spotify just released yesterday, outing you and all of your music tastes. If you were like me last night, you couldn't necessarily go onto Instagram without seeing all of your friends sharing their Spotify Wrap-Up on their stories. It was actually really fun getting to see what everyone's tastes are.
My musical tastes are really weird. I'm just going to stay that up front. Here's a peek into what my Top 5 was with a bit of reasoning why I think the song might have been included.
5. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" by Jimmy Ruffin
Over quarantine, I found myself OBSESSED with "Big Little Lies". The music in the show was just captivating as well - I'm a huge "Scandal" fan and one of the things that Shonda Rhimes does is incorporate a lot of Motown into the show. So that's how I started paying attention to show's soundtracks, and sure enough "Big Little Lies" has an amazing one.
I walked a LOT over quarantine, and this song was included in one of the several playlists that I made to accompany me on my walks. Considering the amount of walks I went on, it's no surprise that this ended up in my Top 5.
4. "exile" by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver
I hopped on the folklore train pretty soon after the album came out. This was the one song that I found myself continuously coming back to. Iver's voice is haunting and matched with Swift's; it was just something truly special. I found myself really into acoustic and folk music this year, so it makes sense that this ended up in my Top 5.
Not to mention, when I went through my break-up this fall, this was definitely one of the songs that I found myself listening to on repeat. Word of warning, this is definitely going to be a reoccurring theme.
3. "Cold Little Heart" by Michael Kiwanuka
Once again, this song not only appeared in "Big Little Lies", but was the theme song. So natch, I added it to my playlist for walking this year. I started off every walk with this one, which I am now realizing was a bit obsessive. But that's how I am with my music - a bit obsessive.
It's just such a beautiful song. Ugh.
2. "Winter Blooms" from "Alice By Heart"
This little known show had an Off-Broadway run not too long ago, but never went anywhere. Being the big fan of Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater that I am, I added it to my list for listening. Colton Ryan being in the cast didn't hurt either. This score exists in the same vein as "Spring Awakening" - this song in particular actually was a cut song from "Spring Awakening" that was reworked to be the finale for "Alice By Heart".
Surprise, surprise - this song was on my walking playlist over quarantine. It had this redemptive feel to it and gave me some hope in the face of uncertainty.
1. "Lost Without You" by Freya Ridings
I first heard this song this summer when I was binge watching "Love, Victor", the spin-off for "Love, Simon" on Hulu. I immediately fell in love with it and added it to my playlist. I don't want to spoil the ending of the first season, but let's just say it's steamy and this song is so fitting for the moment in which it appears.
This was my ex and I's song that we listened to on the night we started dating - and so now of course it bears so much extra meaning to me. I may have listened to it 174 times exactly since we broke up, which is actually quite impressive and little troubling. Thanks Spotify for pointing out my issues.
But seriously - it's a beautiful song and it makes perfect sense that this is my number 1 listened-to song from this shit hole of a year.
As you can tell, I'm an odd duck with an even more odd taste in music. What's on your list?
