#BestScottCooleySongs
Survey
Is Scott’s music amateurish? Yes. Is liking it an acquired taste? Certainly. Are there flashes of brilliance? Maybe. Many people have shared which of Scott's songs they like the best, and we hope you'll be one of them. The survey below is a simple anonymous web form with checkboxes for each song on each album Scott has released, and a submit button at the bottom. It is sort of a human research opinion poll to gather statistical data aimed at measuring fan listening preferences. Despite the possibility of response bias, we trust you to help us identify which songs resonate more than others, which can shape Scott's future songwriting and recording activities to bring you more joy and happiness in your life.
To participate:
1. Listen to the songs here (free web streaming): music.scottcooley.com
2. Check your favorite songs in the survey form below, then click Submit:
3. View the result statistics collected so far: response data
After submitting, scroll back to the top to see the confirmation message. Refresh this page and take it again if you want to.
2023 Update: This form was broken and out of commission for the last several years, but as of mid-2023, it has been fixed and is accepting responses again. Also, it has been updated to include the 3 most recent album releases, Bluebird Days, Bluebird Days II & Lockdown Leftovers, which were not previously on the form.
In a related blog post I questioned why I should conduct such a survey, but have now decided to reopen it out of pure curiosity. In case you, too are curious which songs resonate most with people, you can view the responses submitted so far.
I've publicly released over 140 original songs, and I guess I'd rather be judged on the works catalog as a whole more than individual songs. I haven't done much of anything to market my music to people, and I never research trends to intentionally write hits. So, I'm obviously not out to achieve popularity, but when I've learned that people like some of my songs more than others, I don't mind knowing that information.
It's usually a combination of qualities that can't all easily be explained that make certain songs stand out from others. There's no exact science to writing a good song, but people know one when they hear it. Your favorites can be different than other people's favorites.
Although a consensus on one being good is always interesting, there's no guarantee it can be duplicated by following some formula. I enjoy artists with an expected signature sound, but I also enjoy artists who offer pleasantly surprising variety. I suspected a survey like this might tell a different story than the streaming service stats, and so far, there are some pleasant surprises that paint a new picture of opinion.
When it comes to songwriting and music recording, it takes guts to try and fail, but it's always worthwhile, because when I achieve some positive consensus with certain songs, I know that listening to them makes people feel good...which in turn makes me feel good. That potential is why I release them in the first place.
Thank you and happy box checking!