Spotify Wrapped 2023: A Music Lover’s Favorite Holiday
What better way to wrap up another shit show of a year than with the one day I look forward to during the holiday season: Spotify Wrapped.
The 2020’s have turned out to be some of the hardest years of our lives thus far — from a global pandemic to invasions and wars nobody signed up for, economic crisis and riots, loss and grief, it’s safe to say that the post-COVID years are still feeling some growing pains. It seems like I’m not the only one who has felt the pinch and we’re all breathing a collective sigh of relief 2023 is coming to a close.
Nothing lifts my spirits more than music though, as you guys know, and the annual music astrology didn’t disappoint. While I will admit my taste was pretty on-brand for me this time, it was cool to remember some of the tunes that got me through the rollercoaster that was the last year of my twenties. In case some of you aren’t aware of what I’m talking about, you can check out the FAQ I made last year about Spotify Wrapped here.
Top Picks Of 2023 From Funk Punk Lives:
This year’s musical spectrum for me was pretty consistent despite being labeled the “Shapeshifter,” and a few surprises sprinkled into my tune profile. With over 5,300+ songs under my belt, being in the top 8% of listeners worldwide with 26 days worth of music — there was one artist that stood out from the rest for me this year. As a fan in the 0.5% percentile, you could say I was this musician’s biggest fan.
And that was Istasha.
With ‘Flatworm Friday,’ clocking in as his top song for me, it’s undeniable he was my top dawg. As an artist that frequently engages with his followers on social media and creates unbelievable digital artwork to go along with his macabre tracks, he is without a doubt one of my favorite dark trap / shadow rappers in the scene (learn more about those genres here). It’s not often that I stumble across a truly inspired, innovative, unique style in the music world — and Istasha is one that is making his mark in a big way. Never shying away from the strange and grotesque, the raw and distorted, the crooked and twisted, I was not surprised in the least to see he was the soundtrack of my year.
I cannot wait to see what he continues to create, and what else comes out from the runner ups in my list — especially from fellow shadow rap / dark trap / drift phonk artist Sxmpra, and ever-so spooky electronic dance band, Priest.
One of my criticisms of Spotify Wrapped as a whole are inaccuracies and discrepancies in the report. A lot of my top artists are usually ones I listen to at the gym, so the music I listen to in my leisure time gets left out of the mix. A lot of fellow top listeners I know put music on while they sleep — hence how they rack up those high stats in their Wrapped profiles. There’s also inconsistencies that don’t add up, such as several darker, harder artists being featured in my top five, while my top genre was apparently pop. Diving into that further, pop is a pretty broad genre at this point, and it’s hard to say which of the undesignated artists in my Spotify Wrapped data fell under that umbrella.
Despite these setbacks, an additional feature that Spotify included this year that gave us something fresh and new, was a personal message video from artists in our profile. I got one from Gus Dapperton, seeing as he was in my top five. This more intimate touch point from musicians to listeners is something I appreciated, although I can imagine only a few of the bigger names were approached to make them. If you’re a niche listener like me with an eclectic palette, I doubt Spotify would prompt smaller artists to create the same — even though I’m sure it would bring just as much delight to their customers. Getting a video from Istasha would obviously have made my day, even my whole year you could say.
Top Five Songs From Funk Punk Lives:
‘Flatworm Friday’ by Istasha
‘Fever Dreams’ by Istasha and OutsiderX
‘Step Back!’ by 1nonly and Sxmpra
‘Cellcast’ by Istasha
‘Sunset’ by Gus Dapperton
Screenshot courtesy of Spotify.
