It all started when I bought a cheap-ass mp3 player and began listening to music while walking to work. I have experience with only this one player, and since I have no frame of reference of this one versus another, please forgive me if I make assumptions that are false.
I assume that other, more expensive players allow the user to play music in any order they wish (or playlist). However, this cheap-ass player only allows the music to be played in alpha-numeric order, i.e., it will play music that begins with numbers first, and afterwards, it will move through the selected songs in alphabetical order. (By the way – WHY is it called “alpha-numeric” when the numbers are addressed first and the letters second? … hhhmm) So the only way I can listen to music in any order I desire is to rename the songs as numbers in ascending order on my computer before loading them into the player.
Opting out of this choice (not wanting to waste time renaming song files), I always load them as-is and listen away. This lead to an interesting revelation, that being the speed at which the alphabet was being ticked off as I listened. I began to notice that certain letters were cropping up more often than others. So, I decided to compile and alphabetize my music library, totaling approximately 1500 song files, and the music runs the gamut from country-western to classical to hard rock, and even my collection of Pilsner downloads. I’ll include a sample song with each letter of the alphabet, but not necessarily from my library.*
The big winner is, not surprisingly, the letter T. This letter totaled at 12.5 % of the 1500. This means that from a playlist of 100 songs, I’d average 12 to 13 songs that begin with the letter T (randomly chosen, of course). Here are the top 4 letters:
T – 12.5% (The Battle of New Orleans – Johnny Horton)
S – 11% (Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits)
I – 8% (I’m Too Sexy – Right Said Fred)
B – 6.75% (Boat Drinks – Jimmy Buffet)
L and M chimed in at 5.5%, while C came in at 5.25%.
(Livin’ la Vida Loca – Ricky Martin)
(Macho Man – The Village People)
(Candle in the Wind – Elton John)
5% belongs to A, D, and W, while H rings in at 4.75%.
(Across the Alley from the Alamo – Bob Wills)
(Desperado – The Eagles)
(When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman – Dr. Hook)
(Hot Blooded – Foreigner)
And in descending order there’s …
P – 3.75% (Pine Apple Rag - Scott Joplin)
G – 3.5% (Get Dancin’ – Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes)
R – 3% (Rhapsody From Hunger – Spike Jones)
F – 2.75% (Fish Heads – Barnes and Barnes)
Y – 2.5% (Yellow – Coldplay)
J and O share the 2% spot.
(Jamaica Farewell – Harry Belafonte)
(Ode to a Superhero – Weird Al Yankovic)
E and N have 1.5%.
(El Capitan – John Phillip Sousa)
(Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues)
The rest of the letters, namely K, Q, U, V, X, Z and songs that begin with numbers all garnered less than 1%.
K – (King Tut – Steve Martin)
Q – (Questions 67 and 68 – Chicago II)
U – (Under the Boardwalk – The Drifters)
V – (Vera – Pink Floyd, The Wall)
X – (Xanadu - Olivia Newton John)
Z - (Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie)
Numbers – (57 Channels [And Nothin’s On] – Bruce Springsteen)
* Actually, ALL of the above referenced songs exist in my current library, but I make an exception with the letter X, as I have NO songs in my current library that begin with that letter … however, I DO recall the above mentioned song by Olivia Newton John, and thus I included it so as to make a full-and-complete list … thank you.
