My Music Listening Habits for 2020

Yeah, those monthly updates were kind of bleh, so I dumped them. But I still want to do a yearly wrap up. Though overall there isn’t a lot that’s surprising to me about the yearly stats.

The year was dominated by most of the artists I would expect it to be dominated by. Sigrid, Tessa Violet, Aurora, CHVRCHES have 14 of my top 25 albums. This grid doesn’t even include a few additional Sigrid “Albums” of live tracks that don’t properly show up so they get filtered.

Anyway, a bit better breakdown…

I am actually surprised that Sigrid still topped the chart above Aurora. I’ve been listening to a TON of Aurora, and not just “recently” or something, like all year. Plus Sigrid hasn’t had anything new since November 2019, so I felt like I had been listening to her music less. I still had around 100 more scribbles on Sigrid than Aurora. Tessa Violet, I’m less surprised about. I’ll comment a bit more later, but Tessa Violet has kind of dominated my individual song listens, she just… has less songs.

CHVRCHES has been kind of slowly building up more and more in rotation, and I expect them to continue to come in pretty high going forward as well. Another sleeper to look out for next year will be Dodie, at number 13. She only has a handful of tracks, and I’ve only recently started listening to her, but I really like her music, and next year, she has her first full album coming out.

On the “falling” list, I’ve hardly been listening to Alice Merton and Kiesza lately. Nothing wrong with either, they just sort of, have fallen off the rotation. And despite both ranking high, Dua Lipa and Carly Rae Jepsen were never really in the rotation. I’m honestly not sure how either is so high.

There are also a few of my more mainstay artists making a showing. The Who, BT, Pink Floyd, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morrisette, Taylor Swift. I’m a little sad that Raffaella only really had one new song recently. She was the opening act for Sigrid when I saw them in 2019 and I really like her music. She has put out one track, Bardot, and a collaboration track called On the Look Out, that may as well just be a Raffaella track.

My single top track for the year, is, without question, the “2020 Anthem” of Bored.

Granted, this track is older than 2020, but it got a music video in 2020, and it kind of just sort of… fits the feel.

Half of my top ten were Tessa Violet tracks, so like I said, she kind of dominated on an individual track list. Everything else is about as expected, though I would have thought more Aurora tracks would have made the cut for that top 20.

Anyway, if you want, you can always just follow me on Last.fm.

2020 Reading List

How to Be Black

How to Be Black

Baratunde R. Thurston

Published: 2012 | Pages:254

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Caliban's War (Expanse, #2)

Caliban’s War (Expanse, )

James S.A. Corey

Published: 2012 | Pages:583

My Rating: 4/5

Description: In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun . . .

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America

Matt Kracht

Published: 2019 | Pages:174

Description: Perfect book for the birder and anti-birder alikeA humorous look at 50 common North American dumb For those who have a disdain for birds or bird lovers with a sense of humor, this snarky, illustrated handbook is equal parts profane, funny, and—let’s face it—true.Featuring common North American birds, such as the White-Breasted Butt Nugget and the Goddamned Canada Goose (or White-Breasted Nuthatch and Canada Goose for the layperson), Matt Kracht identifies all the idiots in your backyard and details exactly why they suck with humorous, yet angry, ink drawings. With The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America , you won’t need to wonder what all that racket is anymore!• Each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird’s (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more.• The essential guide to all things wings with migratory maps, tips for birding, musings on the avian population, and the ethics of birdwatching.• Matt Kracht is an amateur birder, writer, and illustrator who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life’s absurdities. Based in Seattle, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds.”There are loads of books out there for bird lovers, but until now, nothing for those that love to hate birds. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America fills the void, packed with snarky illustrations that chastise the flying animals in a funny, profane way. ” – UncrateA humorous animal book with 50 common North American birds for people who love birds and also those who love to hate birds• A perfect coffee table or bar top conversation-starting book• Makes a great Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthday, or retirement gift

The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Left Her Mini)

The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Left Her Mini)

Greg Rucka

Published: 2011 | Pages:156

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Transformers: The Manga, Vol. 1

Transformers: The Manga, Vol. 1

Masumi Kaneda

Published: | Pages:288

My Rating: 4/5
I really dig the art but the plot lines are really random. Sometimes the random weirdness works, but don’t go into this expecting some sort of Deep Lore.

Description: The Autobots and Decepticons have been locked in a brutal civil war for eons, and now their battle has come to Earth! The Autobots seek peace and coexistence, while the Decepticons seek power and control. Earth and its populace are caught between the two as these mighty factions go head-to-head. Transformers took the world by storm shortly after their debut, and these previously uncollected stories were a vital part of that takeover! In this collector’s volume, the Autobots and their young friend Kenji must stand tall against the Decepticons in an interplanetary conflict! These classic stories are from the dawn of the Transformers, and this volume contains thrilling tales such as “The Great Transformer War” and “Fight! Super Robot Life-Form Transformers!”—plus an extensive art gallery!

Kill la Kill 01 (Kill la Kill, #1)

Kill la Kill 01 (Kill la Kill, )

Trigger

Published: 2013 | Pages:184

My Rating: 3/5

Description:

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), 2020 – 4/5

I had low expectations and enjoyed this film a lot more than I expected to.

The fight scenes are great, the soundtrack was great, Ewan Mcgregor was super entertaining, and even Harley was less annoying than she felt in Suicide Squad.

Also I find it entertaining how Joker is a character in this, despite not being in the movie.

Advent of Code 2020 – Wrap Up

Well, my desire to complete this totally fell apart about halfway through. I managed to get around 25 out of 50 stars total for the 25 days of tasks. I two started 11 of the 25 days, and one stared 3 more.

There are a myriad of reasons for failing to finish all the tasks. For starters, I started to have a few one star days that I would “get back to”. Most of these I have a good idea of how to solve them, but there are little problems somewhere that are stopping me from solving them.

I also just got busy/bored of it. After Day 17, I just kind of got tired of it. I also started being busier with life activities like the holidays and Doctor appointments for my wife, and just didn’t have the energy to bother. I did check on what a few of the other later tasks were and have some ideas on how to go about completing them, but it just all became too tedious.

I’m not a professional programmer, so every tasks just becomes this uphill slog and int he end, they don’t run very quickly or great. Meanwhile people are posting their one line trick code work on Reddit. I know it’s not that kind of competition, but it still kind of drags my motivation down.

I may come back and finish things up, but for now, I am still pretty good with getting half the stars.

Home Alone 4, 2002 – 1/5

A confusing remake/reboot combo story that feels incredibly watered down compared to the last 3 installments.

Just following the trend of the 3rd and 5th movie in making this a different kid would have helped with expectations. Instead you spend the whole time wondering why Kevin has become younger and where the rest of his family went.

It doesn’t help that the trap gags feel super tame next to what’s been established. Predictably there is a lot revolving around the “Smart house” gimmick, but there is no flames or cuncousion level head blows or sticky traps or permenant scarring at all.