Tag: van morrison

Pick Out the Perfect Father’s Day Gift With a Little Help From Spotify

June 2, 2022

father and daughter dancing to music

Father’s Day is just around the corner, which means it’s time to find a gift dad will love. Do they need a new Bluetooth speaker for their backyard cookouts? What about a better way to consume podcasts in the car during their morning commute? Or maybe they could benefit from a good pair of wireless headphones. Whatever it may be, there are a variety of perfect gift options that also integrate easily with Spotify to deliver an experience perfect for music and podcast discovery. 

Check out these gift ideas to help you get started:

  • Car Thing: Spotify’s smart player provides a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience. Just in time for Father’s Day, it will be available for a limited time at $69.99 (normally $89.99). Whether it’s their daily commute or the next family road trip, your dad can easily listen to their favorite music and podcasts using “Hey Spotify” voice commands, as well as with simple taps, turns, and swipes. 
  • Ikea Vappeby Speaker: This Bluetooth speaker lamp is perfect for dads who enjoy the great outdoors. And thanks to Spotify Tap, the perfect soundtrack to their adventure is just a single button push away.
  • Philips Hue Light Bulbs: Dads may love to complain when people leave the lights on, but even they can’t resist these Spotify-integrated light bulbs. Once they’re synced up, they’ll flash, dim, brighten, and change color right along with the beat, mood, genre, and tempo of any music on Spotify. 
  • Sony LinkBuds: Whether they’re concentrating in the office or hard at work in the yard, a pair of wireless headphones is a handy accessory for any dad. With a pair of these plugged into their ears, they can jump into their favorite songs with Spotify Tap.
  • Spotify Premium Gift Card: Want to introduce dad to your favorite new song or podcast? How about giving them a new way to find old favorites? A gift card is the perfect way to get them started on Spotify Premium, where they can enjoy music without ads, with unlimited skips, and with the ability to go offline and keep listening. 

Gift a custom playlist made just for dad

So what pairs perfectly with shiny new audio gear? A good selection of tunes, of course. And nothing says “I’m thinking of you” like a custom playlist. Create a playlist with all of dad’s favorite tracks and podcasts—and even take the extra step of adding custom cover art, a name, and a description. 

Need some inspo? Here are the top songs users in the U.S. typically stream on Father’s Day: “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffet, “Father and Son” by Yusuf / Cat Stevens, “Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, “Daughters” by John Mayer, “Dance with my Father” by Luther Vandross, and “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo. 

Some of the top artists streamed on Father’s Day going back to 2016 include Jimmy Buffet, Van Morrison, Frank Sinatra, Marc Anthony, Vincente Fernandez, Bob Marley & The Wailers, and Steely Dan.  

This Father’s Day, give your dad the gift of music and discovery! And for the perfect Father’s Day soundtrack, be sure to check out the playlist Father’s Day Love:

Spotify Listeners Are Getting Nostalgic: Behavioral Science Writer David DiSalvo and Cyndi Lauper Share Why

April 14, 2020

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

With all the uncertainties of our current climate, music from decades past is striking a particularly strong chord. From April 1–7, we saw a 54% increase in listeners making nostalgic-themed playlists, as well as an uptick in the share of listening to music from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s (with ’50s music listening increasing the most). But what exactly is driving this interest?

For the Record spoke with David DiSalvo, a behavioral science writer and author of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, to get his take. “Nostalgia is an extremely powerful force linked to memory,” he noted. “But it has a way of putting a rosier view on our memory. When we smell those chocolate chip cookies, it’s a link to memory that brings us back to a more stable, comfortable place in our lives. We can inhabit it in our minds and feel a level of support that most of us aren’t feeling right now because there is so much instability.”

DiSalvo also explained the powerful role music specifically plays. “Music, like smell, is one of those things with immediate access to that direct, nostalgic memory. It takes you back to that place. For example, everyone can remember the specific song they were listening to during their first kiss.”

Perhaps Spotify listeners are trying to recreate moments from their past to find comfort, calm, and a break from the day-to-day. When making or updating playlists, listeners have been adding plenty of throwbacks—just take a look at the most-added tracks to playlists from each decade:

And they aren’t the only ones feeling the nostalgic vibes. Artists, too, are thinking of days long gone.

We asked Cyndi Lauper, whose upbeat hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is one of the most-streamed songs from the ’80s in the past week, for her thoughts on what’s driving folks down memory lane. “Music marks time for me. So when I hear a song, it brings me back to that exact moment in time. It also helps that I have a really good memory, but music has always been such an important part of my life. Like most, I have a soundtrack. Broadway cast recordings of The King & I and Funny Girl bring me back to when I was 5 and just discovering my voice and love for music.”

Cyndi is also featured prominently on All Out 80s, Spotify’s popular throwback playlist with over 7.1 million followers. She thinks there’s a good reason why the playlist is so popular.

“The music of the ’80s was melodic. That was the common thread and why music from the ’80s is so good. I know for me, my intention was to make music that people would want to listen to for years and years, for decades and decades, long after I was gone.” 

Though many listeners have taken to more “chill” music in the past few weeks, there is also something to be said for pausing on the present and getting down with your favorite oldies. According to DiSalvo, “There is a good part of ‘distraction.’ It plays a healthy role in giving us a break, a reset point when we are in deep anxiety and stress.”

Also looking for a break from the moment? Take a listen to some of the most popular tracks streamed by decade April 1–7:

’50s:

“Put Your Head on My Shoulder” – Paul Anka

“Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry

“I Walk the Line” – Johnny Cash

“Dream A Little Dream Of Me” – Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

’60s:

“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles

“Feeling Good” – Nina Simone

“(What A) Wonderful World” – Sam Cooke

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell

“Fortunate Son” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

“Brown Eyed Girl” – Van Morrison

“Son Of A Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield

’70s:

“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

“Hotel California – 2013 Remaster” – Eagles

 “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Dreams – 2004 Remaster” – Fleetwood Mac

’80s:

“Back in Black” – AC/DC

“Under Pressure – Remastered” – David Bowie, Queen

“Livin’ On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Remastered” – Eurythmics

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper

’90s:

“Wonderwall – Remastered” – Oasis

“I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana

“Wannabe” – Spice Girls

“…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears

“No Scrubs” – TLC

 2000s:

“Lose Yourself” – Eminem

“Hey, Soul Sister” – Train

“Mr. Brightside” – The Killers

“Hips Don’t Lie (feat. Wyclef Jean)” – Shakira, Wyclef Jean

“Halo” – Beyoncé 

Podcasts more your thing? Get hooked on a ’90s earworm in the popular Reply All episode “The Case of the Missing Hit.”

How Counting Crows’ Sleeper Debut Album Helped Define a New Era of ‘90s Rock

September 18, 2019

In 1993, Bay Area folk-rockers Counting Crows released their epochal first album, August and Everything After, but it didn’t land on the charts until the following January. Looking back 25 years later, the remarkable thing is not that the Crows took so long to gain traction, but that they cracked the top of the charts that grunge acts like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam had dominated for so long.

Fronted by the dreadlocked and endearingly nerdy Adam Duritz, Counting Crows couldn’t have been further removed from the primal roar of Generation Grunge. While most of the era’s big bands sounded like they’d stolen the Black Sabbath and Black Flag records from their older siblings’ collections, the Crows seemed like they’d gone straight for their parents’ classic-rock stash. References to Bob Dylan, The Band, The Byrds, and Van Morrison were tossed around repeatedly when music critics started reaching for comparisons. And while the Crows were just as enamored with and influenced by more contemporary bands like R.E.M., the boomer-friendly analogies weren’t entirely off-base. It’s tough not to call to mind Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl,” when Duritz lays into that sha-la-la refrain on the album’s first single, “Mr. Jones.” 

Despite the album coming out in September, that single wasn’t released until December, making the Crows’ success a slow burn. Of course, once “Mr. Jones” was released, that Morrison-esque hook helped drive the tune all the way to No. 5. And by the time ’94 rolled around, the momentum propelled August and Everything After high into the charts too, where it reached No. 4 and eventually turned platinum seven times over.

Photos by Danny Clinch

Ironically, the very song that made the Crows bona fide rock stars is a wary examination of some musicians’ motivation for seeking stardom. But that coincidence probably made it go down easy in the irony-intensive ’90s. Plus, a major part of the band’s appeal right from the get-go was Duritz’s tendency to skeptically view the world like a giant Rubik’s Cube that he confronted colorblind. He plowed the hypersensitive-artist furrow for all it was worth, and it worked because it wasn’t a put-on.

The second single from the album, “Round Here,” is loaded with dramatic atmosphere and vivid storytelling, coming off like a moodier, folkier answer to Springsteen‘s “Thunder Road.” It wasn’t as ubiquitous a hit as its predecessor, but when the band played it on Saturday Night Live in ’94, the simultaneously hypnotic and jittery tale of a woman who “has trouble acting normal when she’s nervous” let an even larger number of the Crows’ fellow misfits know somebody was speaking their language.

Other artists were paying attention too, and over the next few years, Counting Crows’ success—built largely on their milestone debut—helped carve a path through the dense forest of grunge for other groups to follow. Would bands like Train, The Wallflowers, or even Hootie & The Blowfish become as big as they did in the mid-to-late ’90s had the twinkling arpeggios, male sensitivity, and classic-rock redux vibes of August and Everything After not made for such a monster hit? Maybe, but it sure seems a lot less likely. Someone had to get people past grunge, and Counting Crows, with their tendency towards emotional processing and pathological over-thinking, ended up being the new era’s perfect shepherd. 

Hear the album that influenced an entire wing of ‘90s rock.

Spotify Supper Chef Kristen Kish Dishes on the Complementary Balance of Food and Music

January 9, 2019

Now in its sixth year, Spotify Supper is our signature CES event. Amidst the fast-paced, high-decibel Las Vegas tech conference, Spotify Supper is a standout celebration of the senses through an incredible pairing of music and cuisine. Commanding the sights, sounds, and tastes this year was a female powerhouse duo: international pop singer Rita Ora delivered an outstanding performance, while Chef Kristen Kish, winner of Top Chef (Season 10) and owner, executive chef, and partner of critically acclaimed restaurant Arlo Grey, served up a meal to match.