So We Shot The Line And We Went For Broke

Here is the first in what I hope will be a weekly breakdown of the music I listen to, done up in a parody of a Spotify Wrapped report.

I'm uploading my weekly listening information into ChatGPT and having it analyze and write it up for me. Things might be a little flaky for the first few weeks while I get an idea of what I want it to look like, but once I have everything figured out, it will just be a matter of format the Last.fm spreadsheet, copy the prompt, add the two together, have it generate a cover and post it.

This first one will be very sparse, since I started working on it yesterday afternoon, but here we go!

Podify Wrapped 

Week of June 1–7, 2026 

88 Plays. 49 Artists. One iPod Experiencing an Identity Crisis.

Welcome to another edition of Podify Wrapped, the monthly (or in this case, weekly) report where my iPod gently reminds me that I don't have a favorite genre—I have favorite moments.

This week's listening history was less a playlist and more a cross-country road trip. Over the course of 88 plays, I managed to travel from Led Zeppelin to Final Fantasy, from Pink Floyd to Alan Jackson, from Metallica to Mystery Science Theater 3000, and somehow made all of it seem perfectly reasonable.

Would Spotify's algorithm approve?

Absolutely not.

Would it be entertaining?

The evidence says yes.

By the Numbers

🎵 Total Plays: 88

🎤 Unique Artists: 49

📀 Unique Songs: 70+

🎙️ Live Recordings: 52 plays (59%)

🎸 Classic Rock & Hard Rock: 46%

🤠 Country & Americana: 15%

🎮 Soundtracks & Gaming Music: 7%

🤘 Alternative & Modern Rock: 17%

🎭 Miscellaneous Musical Shenanigans: 15%

📈 Playlist Consistency: Missing, presumed lost.

Top Artists of the Week

🥇 The Warning

6 plays (6.8%)

The biggest winner of the week.

"MONEY," "Qué Más Quieres," "EVOLVE," and "Dull Knives" made repeated appearances, proving that while most of my library was built before the internet existed, I do occasionally acknowledge that modern music is being made.

🥈 Led Zeppelin

5 plays (5.7%)

If there is a default setting for my musical taste, it's probably Led Zeppelin.

"Bring It on Home," "Stairway to Heaven," "Nobody's Fault But Mine," and "In My Time of Dying" accounted for a healthy percentage of the week's guitar-based decision making.

🥉 Pink Floyd Universe

6 plays (6.8%) Combined

Combining Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason creates a Floyd Extended Universe powerful enough to rival Marvel.

Apparently existential reflection remains a favorite hobby.

🏅 Brewer & Shipley

4 plays (4.5%)

The surprise contender.

"One Toke Over the Line" and "Oh Mommy" quietly became recurring themes throughout the week.

🏅 REO Speedwagon

4 plays (4.5%)

Three separate versions of "Take It on the Run" appeared.

At this point I wasn't listening to a song.

I was conducting peer-reviewed research.

Top Songs of the Week

🥇 Take It on the Run

3 plays (3.4%)

The undisputed champion.

Not only was it played repeatedly, but multiple versions appeared.

Apparently I was determined to compare every available interpretation.

🥈 MONEY

2 plays

The Warning's live version continued its strong showing.

🥈 One Toke Over the Line

2 plays

A folk-rock classic that somehow became one of the week's most revisited tracks.

🥈 Oh Mommy

2 plays

Brewer & Shipley making another surprise appearance.

🥈 Wish You Were Here

2 plays

David Gilmour's live version reminded me that some songs simply never wear out.

Genre Breakdown

🎸 Classic Rock & Hard Rock — 46%

The dominant force.

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Aerosmith, Boston, Foreigner, Cream, Blue Öyster Cult, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Gary Moore, The Who, and Rush carried nearly half of all listening.

At times my iPod appeared convinced it was broadcasting from a classic-rock station in 1978.

🤘 Alternative & Modern Rock — 17%

The Warning, The Offspring, The Presidents of the United States of America, and Ningen Isu brought newer energy to the mix.

This category mostly exists to prove I haven't completely stopped listening to music recorded after 1995.

🤠 Country & Americana — 15%

Alan Jackson, Sawyer Brown, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dierks Bentley, Mark Chesnutt, Lyle Lovett, Paul Brandt, and C.W. McCall made sure every so often the playlist took an unexpected exit toward Nashville.

🎮 Soundtracks & Gaming Music — 7%

Nobuo Uematsu and Frank Klepacki represented the gaming division.

Apparently saving kingdoms and destroying enemy bases remains an important part of my listening routine.

🎭 Everything Else — 15%

This category includes Mystery Science Theater 3000, which deserves its own genre anyway.

Most Surprising Transition Awards

🏆 Grand Champion

Roger Waters → Sawyer Brown

One song explores mortality, memory, and the passage of time.

The next song is about driving a truck.

There is nothing that can be said here that will make any sense...Moving on!

🥈 Runner-Up

Final Fantasy IX → Kick Out the Jams

From fantasy airships and magical kingdoms to chaotic garage-rock energy in under five minutes.

🥉 Third Place

Mystery Science Theater 3000 → Alan Jackson

A sentence that shouldn't exist.

Yet here we are.

Podify Achievement Badges

🏆 The Live Album Addict
More than half your listening came from live recordings.

You are basically attending concerts from your couch.

🏆 Guitar Solo of the Week
Winner: "Stairway to Heaven"

The committee deliberated for nearly three seconds.

🏆 Most Unexpected Country Detour
Winner: "Convoy" by C.W. McCall

Because nothing says "Pink Floyd marathon" quite like CB radio chatter.

🏆 Hero of Gaia
Awarded for repeated visits to Final Fantasy IX.

🏆 Classic Rock Preservation Society
Successfully prevented classic rock from becoming an endangered species.

🏆 The Shuffle Goblin Award
Granted for creating playlist transitions that would terrify Spotify engineers.

Listener Personality Report

If Podify generated a personality profile, it would probably say:

"This listener enjoys classic rock, live recordings, progressive rock, country music, video game soundtracks, and complete unpredictability."

Translated into plain English:

"User treats genres like buffet options."

And honestly, that's what made this week fun.

One minute I was listening to David Gilmour quietly reflecting on life. The next minute I was blasting The Warning. Then came Final Fantasy. Then truck-driving songs. Then Led Zeppelin.

Was it coherent?

Not remotely.

Was it entertaining?

Eighty-eight plays suggest the answer is yes.

And that's really what Podify Wrapped is all about.