I’m forever being sent the results of various music surveys. Most are barely-disguised ads for a company repackaged by a marketing company to look like scholarly research (the British are especially adept at this, largely on behalf of online betting sites and ticket resellers), but there is also some proper science being done as well. Here’s what I’ve learned so far this year.
Best songs for stress relief: A health-care company called The Intake commissioned a study of 155,626 tracks on 560 stress-relief and mental health playlists on Spotify in order to find the song used most often for chilling out. Coldplay’s Sparks finished first, followed by Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex; Lord Huron’s The Night We Met; Sailor Song by Gigi Perez and 505 from Arctic Monkeys. The most-used genre for relaxing, according to this study, anyway, is hip-hop/rap, followed by pop, then rock. Drake is included on more stress relief playlists than anyone else.
What does Gen X think of metal? I’m a little late to this formal study from 2016, but I still found it interesting. Psychologists followed 1,777 metal fans over 30 years. They were found to have a “remarkable level of resilience” when dealing with life. They emerged in middle age “significantly better adjusted” and “more satisfied with their lives” than other age groups. If you were a Gen X metalhead, chances are you’re happier than your peers who didn’t listen to metal.
What’s the most popular music on-the-job? An American company that supplies workplace materials tracked 532 workers and their on-the-job listening preferences. Classic rock (42 per cent) is the No. 1 genre for tradespeople. AC/DC, Metallica and The Rolling Stones are the top classic rock artists for increasing productivity, especially among older workers. Hard rock/metal is in second spot at 40 per cent. Metallica, Pantera and Tool are the top three favourites for those folks. The best for productivity? Linkin Park, followed by AC/DC, Eminem, Metallica and Nirvana.
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What do long-haul truckers listen to on the road? The highways are always filled with 18-wheelers hauling goods around the continent. It can be a lonely job, so music is essential to keeping spirits up and staying awake. The next time you pass someone in a freightliner, he/she may be listening to the following. Country is the top genre with the three favourite artists being Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Johnny Cash. Rock comes second with (surprise!) Drive-By Truckers in first place, followed by Nickelback and AC/DC. In third spot, it’s hip-hop/rap. Eminem, Jeezy, and 2Pac are tops. Metal is the fourth-favourite trucker music, led by Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch and Ozzy Osbourne.
What are the most-wished-for band reunions? This came from a British ticket reseller. They asked 4,000 people, “Who would you like to see back together and on the road again in 2027?” Oasis led the way with 18 per cent, followed by ABBA (good luck with that) at 13 per cent, and One Direction at 12 per cent.
Which historical figures appear in song lyrics most often? Saboton is a Swedish metal band that draws most of its inspiration from historical events like wars, famous battles and popular uprisings. They did a little homework for us all, creating a list of the historical figures that appear most often in song lyrics. Bob Marley was at the top with no fewer than mentions in 927 songs, followed by Plato (737), Bonnie and Clyde (712) and Donald Trump (656).
How bad is streaming for the environment? Bad. Very bad. A study published on Hypebot shows that streaming is not a good thing when it comes to a carbon footprint because of electricity usage. I quote: “The 20 most-streamed albums in a single Spotify week generated 10.62 billion streams and used an estimated ~29.1 million kWh of electricity — roughly equal to the daily electricity use of ~1.0 million U.S. homes. Combined, streaming these albums during their record-setting weeks was associated with an estimated ~11.2 million kg of CO₂, using a U.S. average grid emissions factor.” The worst artist for the environment? Taylor Swift. Just three of her albums have dumped millions of kilos of CO2 into the atmosphere every week.
And finally, beware of driving on new album release day: Earlier this year, Harvard Medical School released the working results of an interesting study. There seems to be a correlation between fatal car crashes and the days on which big albums get released. They call the correlation “statistically significant.”
Using the American Fatality Analysis Reporting System and Spotify to track the most-streamed albums between 2017 and 2022, they found that the number of streams increased by 40 per cent on the days artists such as Drake and Taylor Swift released albums. At the same time, deaths in traffic accidents spiked by 15 per cent.
Why? It could be that people are distracted by the new music as they’re driving. Maybe it’s the songs themselves that encourage speed and inattention. Or maybe the crashes result from people fiddling with the controls on their streaming device instead of keeping their eyes on the road. Or maybe it’s because albums are released on Fridays, a big party day, which may mean increased drinking or drugs, etc.
Distracted driving is a major problem, and I think we’ve known for some time that the issues extend beyond texting behind the wheel and that music, too, could also be at play.
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