Tag: holiday

Spotify’s “Turkey Timer” Matches Just the Right Playlist to Your Bird

November 8, 2018

The average Thanksgiving dinner takes seven hours to prepare—and timing is everything. That’s why we created our Turkey Timer, which cranks out a special holiday playlist based on the size of your turkey and your Thanksgiving mood.

It’s simpler than setting the table: Select the weight of your turkey and indicate whether it’s stuffed. Then, choose your vibe from one of our six playlists: Bastin’, All the Seasonings, Deep Fried, Fam Faves, Holiday Countdown, or Sabor de Sangsgiving. Songs are timed to play for exactly how long your turkey should be cooking.

Pro tip: Playlists are best left unshuffled—the final track will remind you to take your food out of the oven, as well as call your hungry guests to the dinner table.

Not sure which option suits you best? Dig in to these:

If you like: Refreshing our Global Top 50 playlist every day like it’s Christmas morning

You should try: Bastin’. For those who like to marinate in today’s hits 24/7, this playlist supplies only the hottest tracks from artists like Ariana Grande, Drake, Rita Ora, and more. You and your loved ones can discover new music together—and maybe even find some fresh favorites that you can all be thankful for.

If you like: Rhythm as smooth as your grandma’s mashed potatoes

You should try: All the Seasonings. A collection of gospel, hip-hop, and R&B tracks like Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long,” “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars, and “Real Love” by Mary J. Blige will keep everyone dancing until dinner is done.

If you like: Wearing plaid, sitting by the fire and sipping on mugs of hot apple cider

You should try: Deep Fried. The laid-back feel of this playlist featuring country legends like Luke Bryan and Rascal Flatts is sure to bring out your inner cowboy while cooking.

If you like: Multigenerational cooking (your aunt’s secret-recipe apple pie is the stuff of legends)

You should try: Fam Faves. We may come from different walks of life, but everyone is family on Thanksgiving. This mix of oldies and family-friendly tunes from Aretha Franklin to Demi Lovato has ageless appeal.

If you like: The minute blasting Christmas music finally becomes acceptable again

You should try: Holiday Countdown. With ’tis-the-season classics like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and more, it’s for anyone who sees Thanksgiving as the perfect pregame to the rest of the holiday season.

If you like: Bringing a little bit of Latin flavor to everything you do

You should try: Sabor de Sangsgiving. This collection of hits from Hispanic greats like Celia Cruz, Bajofondo, and Gipsy Kings will bring the flavor to your dinner table (even if you botch the gravy).

Food coma setting in? We’ve even created a Stuffed Snooze playlist to help you nap once the leftovers are put away.

Is It Too Early for Christmas Music?

November 5, 2018

These days stores start cranking out yuletide tunes faster than you can say Black Friday. Santa’s elves (and you know they’re everywhere) have been waiting to hear jingle bells since July. Kids, of course, are counting down. Grinches may protest, much preferring a silent night over little drummer boys a moment before December 24. But with millions of Christmas-themed playlists streaming throughout the festive season, we set out to answer the age-old question: How early is too early for Christmas music?

Depending on where you live, the answer is never.

In our eyes, a country has officially started the jingle bell rocking once festive tunes make up more than 2 percent of all listening in the region. On average, most countries start hitting play on holiday hits towards the end of November. But as you can see in this interactive graphic, that’s not the case for all:

According to holiday streaming in 2017, most countries see the first surge in listening around November 1—unless you live in the Philippines.

The Philippines takes Christmastime very seriously—and kicks off the season months before any other country. To celebrate the holiday for as long as possible, Filipinos start shuffling their holiday playlists as early as September. And while they can’t get enough of the global top holiday hits, they also love to stream local veteran singer Jose Mari Chan, whose song “Christmas In Our Hearts” is a favorite in the region.

Not everyone is in such a rush. Some countries, like Argentina and Uruguay, wait until Christmas Day itself to start listening. The United States and Canada wait until November 13 to start—but once they get going, “All I Want For Christmas is You” is on repeat until the reindeer come home.

But no one gets quite into the Christmas spirit like Liechtenstein: Though off to a slow start, in the few days before December 25th, almost 70 percent of all listening is exclusively Christmas music—triple the global average for Christmas listening.

Yet no matter when they get into the spirit, listeners on Spotify worldwide have created over 21 million Christmas-themed playlists full of tried-and-true Christmas classics, from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Brenda Lee to today’s jingle ball jams by Ariana Grande, Michael Bublé, and Justin Bieber. Also check out our global playlists, Christmas Classics, Christmas Pop, and Christmas Jazz. (Or if Hanukkah is more your style, we’ve got that too.)

Whether your gift-bringer is Santa Claus, the German Christkind, or the Niños Dios of Costa Rica, get ready to turn up the volume on Christmas music in the 50 days to come. (But who’s counting?)

Kendrick, Halsey, Post Malone and Other Surprising Artists on Yoga Playlists Around the World

June 20, 2018

Yoga might be an ancient art, but the 5,000-year-old practice remains as essential to modern life as ever. Yogis throughout the world enjoy both the physical and emotional benefits from yoga, which is thought to be calming and restorative. But that doesn’t mean the soundtrack to accompany it has to be.

While soothing, ambient sounds—like Tibetan singing bowls and chimes, and the serene tones of nature—tend to comprise the traditional yoga soundtrack, some 21st-century practitioners have begun to think outside the box. In fact, when we dug into common unexpected genres found on yoga playlists, we found that pop, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and reggae are being used to inspire yoga practices. For some, yoga is no longer just about mastering asanas (postures), but taking the opportunity to get creative and expressive with the right beats to match.

“There is a growing interest globally on the impact certain music has on performance,” says Dr. Amanda Krause, a psychologist and Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne, Australia, who specializes in the social and applied psychology of music. “We refer to it in the industry as ‘musical fit,’ where the type of music you feel ‘fits’ an activity creates an impact on the way you physically react.”

“A person’s judgement of musical fit relates to their listening preferences, environment, and goal for certain practices,” Amanda explains. “For example, with yoga, the variety of music is chosen with regard to how it helps timing, focus, and motivation, which in turn enhances your overall performance.”

People aren’t just enjoying the unexpected and non-traditional music when practicing yoga, they’re potentially getting performance benefits from it, too. And more than ever—there’s been an 11% increase in yoga playlist streams year-over-year—they’re turning to one of Spotify’s 2.4 million user-generated, yoga-inspired playlists to stream while in downward dog.

“While music has always been a huge part of our lives, the advent of streaming has made it even more so, to the point that nowadays we even shape our yoga practice around it,” says Julie Stevanja, Stylerunner CEO.

“This evolution of using music as the base of our practice has almost become a yoga style of its own. It’s all about tapping into our subconscious, which music allows us to do more freely. Upbeat songs make poses stronger and more dynamic, while relaxing tunes can help us feel more grounded in our resting poses.”

If you’re looking to spice up your own yoga playlist, look no farther than some of the top streamed songs on yoga playlists around the world—from Toronto to Bali—and as you can see from this list, music of all types is being played in the yoga studio.

1. Kendrick Lamar – LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI.

2. Halsey – Now Or Never

3. Post Malone – I Fall Apart

4. Khalid – Location

5. Bob Marley and The Wailers – Is This Love

6. Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton – Say Something

7. Future ft. Rihanna – Selfish

8. The xx – Intro

9. Coldplay – Fix You

10. José González – Heartbeats

11. Sia – Breathe Me

12. ODESZA – Kusanagi

13. Leon Bridges – River

14. Rae Sremmurd – Do Yoga

15. Florence and the Machine – Shake It Out

16. Van Morrison – Into The Mystic

17. Ryan Adams – Wonderwall

18. Andra Day – Rise Up

19. Pearl Jam – Just Breathe

20. The Lumineers – Stubborn Love

“Handstand with Splits”
Image credit: Stylerunner

 

If you’re looking for some more traditional, curated yoga playlists, look no further than one of our many yoga or meditation options.

For many modern yogis, music is fun and motivating; for others, silence is still golden. No matter your preference or style, it’s clear that traditional yoga music is now anything but.