Music

[Ian Volante]

By the way is it just me that uses Spotify mainly to find songs to add to their list rather than actually listening to the songs?

Also, you have a list of songs? Why?

I mean, the idea is to listen to them. But in practice I don't go on Spotify very much except when I'm adding songs.

Oh, a playlist?

[Gevin Chapwell]

Yeah I suppose.

[Jon O'Neill]

Personally I'm still perplexed.

- By "find" do you mean "search for" or "discover new"?
- Where is your list?
- If not Spotify, why do you need to go on Spotify to add songs to your list?
- How are you hearing songs if not by Spotify?
- Why do you need Spotify at all?

[Gevin Chapwell]

Personally I'm still perplexed.

- By "find" do you mean "search for" or "discover new"?
- Where is your list?
- If not Spotify, why do you need to go on Spotify to add songs to your list?
- How are you hearing songs if not by Spotify?
- Why do you need Spotify at all?

It's not that complicated.

"Find" can mean any of the above. The list is on Spotify. There's "liked songs" plus a couple of other playlists. Songs are heard all over the world, including on the radio in my car, in the pub etc. I might hear a song and think "Oh yes, that one" and add it next time I go on Spotify.

Spotify is obviously to listen to songs, but in practice most of my time on Spotify isn't simply listening to the songs I already have on it. When I add songs, I will invariably listen to at least part of them when adding them though.

Most of the time in my life, I'm doing something, and generally listening to music will distract from that so I don't often put it on except on the car radio. I also don't have the premium version, which would mean adverts.

[Jon O'Neill]

I understand now. I guess the strange part to me is having playlists on a service you don't use. To your original point, yes, it probably is just you.

Music content: I'm going to Glastonbury this year. Very hyped for The Prodigy although the other headliners are quite shite. I got the original poster of 95 artists and made a big playlist (on YouTube Music, of which I am a subscriber) of 10 songs from each artist. Have discovered some pretty cool stuff this way: The Big Moon, Goat, Bob Vylan, Self Esteem, Vieux Farka Touré. There are a few artists I already knew who I want to see like Alanis Morisette, Father John Misty, Wunderhorse, and some who I like but probably won't bother to see like Supergrass, Weezer, Kaiser Chiefs.

[Gevin Chapwell]

Rein Me In by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean has been at number 1 for 16 weeks in the UK charts. You've probably never heard it. Contrast that with that Bryan Adams song that you heard a million times when it was number 1 for 16 weeks in 1991. (This one hasn't actually been all consecutive though.)

While comments on the YouTube comments for a song are pretty much all gushing praise, some more questioning ones have slipped through the net here and are currently quite prominent. The wokeparrot comment is currently the top non-pinned comment, and here it is along with the replies to it.

@wokeparrot
1 hour ago (edited)
Who's here after it became the longest running UK number one single?

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@GranCanariaUncovered
1 hour ago (edited)
Me. And have to say I've never heard this song before, I haven't noticed it played here in the bars or clubs... and we film nightlife. It's quite nice though.

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@musicbeat4609
40 minutes ago
I am a musician and song writer. I wrote better songs when I was a teenager.
This song is extremely average and breaks no new ground. It lacks individuality as it is so much like many songs of these times, which rely too much on production.
There are so many better songs which didn't even reach number one.
These days, too much is doubtful and extremely questionable.

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@standpa
18 minutes ago
Me and I am not that impressed, like others I hadn't heard it before. It is a pleasant tune, I suppose, and I do like Olivia Dean's contribution when she finally gets a chance. But overall, if this can last 16 weeks at number one, then it shows the lack of talent, decent lyrics and decent music around at the moment. Or maybe I am getting old

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@michaelhopewell7739
44 minutes ago
Me and it seems pretty basic (nearly two minutes in and Olivia Dean hasn't sung a note yet!) with a seriously low number of views for one year later too.

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@johnkay7354
35 minutes ago
​ @michaelhopewell7739 crap tune. Shit words, record breaker



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@denisseddon
39 minutes ago
me but sorry i don't think much of it

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@claudecarlyle9284
25 minutes ago
I don't think even music enthusiasts, never mind the average person, has followed the charts since maybe the mid-2000s. We don't really have a pop culture anymore outside of football, memes, and mostly-overhyped imported TV serials.

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@jamesparkin
1 hour ago
Me. Good tune but can’t say I’ve heard it played much around. I’m old enough to remember Bryan Adams being everywhere on every station but that might be because I was peak target audience at that age?



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@aquasolstice
39 minutes ago
I’m happy these two are getting recognition, both very talented singer songwriters and from what I can tell they really care about the music, the stories in their lyrics, the people that are moved by them and the people around them. Thank you Sam and Olivia



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@sabi1957-o8k
36 minutes ago
I'm here because I've never heard of them or the song. Played the song - still have never heard it before!!



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@specofdustson9056
29 minutes ago
Fr, I can maybe see the appeal to my generation of young adults but record breaking is a complete joke



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@traceypounder9250
19 minutes ago
Same here!!! Never heard it. It’s not like years ago. The charts were such a huge part of our lives back in the 80s. And 90s….doesnt mean anything now. Not a great song at all



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@elky1883
9 minutes ago
Me..first listen ..never got past base ..were all doomed



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@rpbmpn
1 hour ago
Yeah but it makes no sense. I've not heard the song, and it has just 19M views in over a year. That's not a record breaking No1 song, that's a mediocre pop song that barely makes the Top 10. Something fishy about that

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@musicbeat4609
1 hour ago
Me, but only because I accidently came across it due to what you stated. But, I am unimpressed.

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@redpaul1970
1 hour ago
Me and it’s not great. It just goes to show how bad music has become since the 80s and 90s.

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@grahambeech4634
53 minutes ago
Me. Just read about it on BBC News website breaking records. Never heard the song before and wished I hadn’t bothered wasting 2 mins of my life listening to it.

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@Doubledusss790
1 hour ago
Me, i cant even believe it, its so basic and rubbish and forgettable, a very weird thing

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@AndrewStark-q6p
51 minutes ago
Me. Never heard of it and now wish I never had. Bang average at best.

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@dwannda
1 hour ago
yes - I was expecting to hear something catchy. meh...

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@laurejon
1 hour ago
Me and I’ve never heard it before.

And unlikely to listen to it again.

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@simonbaker1239
56 minutes ago
Yep, assumed I'd recognise a song which had broken records. Don't. Seems like I'm not the only one. Did it get the streams by being in a lot of playlists called 'background music'?

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Perhaps the one that sums it up best being:

Yeah but it makes no sense. I've not heard the song, and it has just 19M views in over a year. That's not a record breaking No1 song, that's a mediocre pop song that barely makes the Top 10. Something fishy about that

The charts have been broken for years now.

[Philip A]

Unpopular opinion: Rein Me In is an okay song.

[Gevin Chapwell]

Far from unpopular, by damning it with faint praise you've hit the nail on the head.

[Ian Volante]

Aye, I listened to it the other day. It's okay. The weighting algorithm the chart uses seems to be overly simplistic, and relatively easily gamed (to an extent), leading to the situation we get now with songs just floating around in the chart forever.

Until they reduce the effect of playlists, the chart is going to be pretty much dominated by the non-choices of people who trust streamers to feed them stuff.

That, combined with the fragmentation of media just means that we're rarely ever going to have new consensus songs any more. Meh.