Oh, good evening Last.fm. How you doing today? I brought you a gift for our anniversary. One year! Can you believe that? Hmm... what? You don’t remember? Sure you do, it’s in my profile page, under my username. It says “47,036 plays since 26 Aug 2007”
Ahhhh, I see. Today is only the 22nd. Well, I just couldn’t wait!
I had known about your existence for some time, but it never quite interested me. Kind of didn’t make sense from a distance. Then one sunday afternoon, I’m all bored and ended up here. Without much thinking I just decided to sing up. Things never been the same...
What I like about last.fm:
- It’s all about the music! Yeah, sure you can make “friends”, but again, it all revolves around music.
- It’s less time consuming than visiting several sites for the bands/artist you like. You don’t need to browse much away from here. You have pictures, streaming, even videos. And it’s nice to see what other people have to say about a certain song, album or artist... you don’t need to specifically sing up for anything. It’s all one search or click away. I personally love to just shout a certain thought that came to my mind as I listened to a song.
- You get the pulse of what people like, or why they like it... at least a snapshot.
- The events pages, flickr pics, and linking journals are pretty good features as well.
- It’s help me discovered lots of great music. More than their actual recommendation, to me it’s more interesting the “Similar artist” feature and seeing what other people, that like some of the music I listen to, are digging. Other great features such as track previews and radio stations help greatly!
On top all of that, the main highlights to me have been: stats and journals.
Stats
Presumably the main reason we join last.fm. Serves its purpose like no other, in my opinion. Although, I have to admit that stats make me somewhat self-conscious from time to time... like every 20 minutes time! It has completely changed the way I listen to music, for better or worse.
I mean, before I joined this place, I had no idea I listened so much to the Arctic Monkeys. In all seriousness. I rarely play them and they are still in my top 10!
Them and Menomena were the only artists that went beyond the 1000 plays mark back then. It’s not that I’ve stopped liking them, but there are artist I like better that lack such prominent chart recognition. Then it hit me, all their songs are so freaking catchy and short, I play them back to back all the time. To me, it feels like one normal length song, when I just listened to it twice... so that’s the reason.
It’s also fueled several ‘themed’, play count increasing weeks or any other stat malignancy. Like right now, me and my pledge to stop listening to The Twilight Sad for one entire month.... well, to be honest, I may have picked up on that without last.fm, just like I did with Menomena... it was common sense to realize it was just too much!
All in all, charts are cool. Like all that matters in the world is your Top 40, screw the radio!
With the new and revamped site, we can’t bitch anymore when it’s tuesday and your charts are nowhere to be found! Remember? Those were the days... Now we have the rolling charts, that are somewhat cool too.
I’ve been studying my stats and here are some relatively cool finds:
Grizzly Bear dominated my first week in last.fm with 152 plays. My most played track being
On a Neck, On a Spit with 15 plays. And their sophomore effort,
Yellow House dominating the album charts with 113 plays.
It makes sense that the first song that got 'loved' was that very same track, back in August 2007.
The biggest number one count for an artist in a single week was Radiohead with 317 times. On the week of, you guessed it, Sunday 14 October 2007 - release week of
In Rainbows. Although, not all those play counts are attributed to that album, I started playing their older stuff prior to the release, you know to get me in a Radiohead mood.
That makes me a bit mad, to be honest. Not because I got caught on the hype, like pretty much everyone else, but the new library has made me realize how little play time I've been giving them in these past two years! Meaning, when I'm browsing their page in my library, it doesn't represent properly their once, almost crushing, dominance in my ears. And/or gives the In Rainbow tracks more recognition than they deserve! So, yeah I may start some Radiohead listening streak some time soon.
The most times a single track got played during a single week was
Mapped By What Surrounded Them (Alternate Version) by The Twilight Sad, on the week ending Sunday 15 June 2008. It was played 32 times!... It was the release week of the EP, alright!
Artist that have dominated my weekly charts
One week apiece for the following artists:
Beirut
Jason Collett
Joy Division
Menomena (<<<shocker to me! They've been number two on many weeks though)
Minus the Bear
of Montreal
Radiohead
The National
Thrice
Two times for these:
The Big Sleep
Yeasayer
Three times:
Animal Collective
Grizzly Bear
The Besnard Lakes
Most popular chart toppers:
Frightened Rabbit - 5 weeks
Xiu Xiu - 6 weeks
The Twilight Sad - 16 weeks (now here's a shocker!)
Journals
A newfound interest to me. I’ve written a lot of them, this is my 30th journal. And only two of them have been completely useless. One a
lyrics game and the other one
the ‘survey’. Also, there was a
Musical Timeline So, you can imagine how many artist are in there.
To celebrate this great feature, I’ve decided to make a list of all those journals by artist. It will also serve me as an index from now on.
The following set of artist were somewhat mentioned… ordered alphabetically, then grouped by the single journal that bounds them for all eternity.
!!!
Natasha Bedingfield
New Young Pony Club
PJ Harvey
Tacks, the Boy Disaster
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
120 Days
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Jack Johnson
Metallica
Sigur Rós
Team Sleep
Third Eye Blind
A dreamy playlist - Nov 22 2007
22-20s
Incubus
Jimmy Eat World
Tegan and Sara
The Features
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
Akron/Family
Day for Night
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
Band of Horses
Noisettes
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
Broken Records
I Hear Sirens
In my playlist: new and noteworthy (July - August 2008) - Aug 20 2008
Broken Social Scene
Muse
TV on the Radio
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Coldplay
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
Death Cab for Cutie
Metric
No Doubt
Rogue Wave
The Shins
Weezer
What else could be expected? - the encore - Oct 31 2007
Depeche Mode
Elvis Presley
Lenny Kravitz
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
Fuck Buttons
No Age
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Panda Bear
Person Pitch - Mar 22 2008
The Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches by The Moldy Peaches - Mar 22 2008
The next group had two journals a piece, writing is increasing. Some may be misleading... they were merely mentioned
A Perfect Circle
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
A dreamy playlist - Nov 22 2007
Deerhoof
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Elbow
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
The Seldom Seen Kid - Mar 30 2008
Feist
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
Jason Collett
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Here's to being here - Apr 02 2008
Justice
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
LCD Soundsystems
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
M83
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Three releases, one busy week - Apr 26 2008
Slaraffenland
Private Cinema - May 14 2008
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
Sleater-Kinney
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
St. Vincent
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
The Big Sleep
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
The Dodos
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
The Killers
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
What else could be expected? - the encore - Oct 31 2007
White Rabbits
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
The following set was honored with 3 journals each:
Arctic Monkeys
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Beirut
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Handsome Furs
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
of Montreal
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Arcade Fire
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
The National
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Voxtrot
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
What else could be expected? - the encore - Oct 31 2007
Xiu Xiu
WAAC: Xiu Xiu - The Air Force - Jul 15 2008
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
With 4 journals:
Grizzly Bear
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
A dreamy playlist - Nov 22 2007
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
Thrice
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Three releases, one busy week - Apr 26 2008
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
Almost gettting to the top... 5 journals!
Frightened Rabbit
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Frightened Rabbit + The Brother Kite @ Pianos - May 29 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Three releases, one busy week - Apr 26 2008
*new* music that will surely have some dominance over my charts this year - Apr 12 2008
Radiohead
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
The Besnard Lakes
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Volume I - Mar 22 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
A dreamy playlist - Nov 22 2007
Almost. There. 6 journals for these two groups!
Animal Collective
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
Animal Collective's Take Away Show - Feb 05 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
Strawberry Jam - Dec 02 2007
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
What else could be expected? - Oct 27 2007
Menomena
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
Friend and Foe - Nov 17 2007
Better said with songs - Nov 9 2007
And the most talked about artist of my first year in last.fm is…. *drumroll*
The Twilight Sad
With a whooping 8 journals! <<< TOTALLY UNEXPECTED! I mean, did you see that coming?! I think not...
A musical fix: And She Would Darken the Memory and I'm taking the train home - Jul 31 2008
6 down 6 to go - Jun 29 2008
Here, it never snowed. Afterwards it did EP - Jun 14 2008
Good remix vs. Bad Remix - Jun 14 2008
Favorite flickr photos of my Top 20 artist - May 16 2008
My 15 most played albums of 2007 - Jan 22 2008
Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters - Nov 24 2007
DGA Awards 2007 - Nov 21 2007
This recap pretty much begs the question: why do I listen so freaking much to The Twilight Sad?! Well, besides the obvious ‘I love their music’ response, I’ve been thinking about it and the most direct answer is best explained with another question: have you ever listened to a band you think can really leave a mark in music? Forget mainstream success, mega loads of albums sells, a billion scrobbles or headlining the same festival two days in a row. I’m talking about being remembered long after they’ve stopped making music.
There are a lot of
good bands out there, but you don’t really get the they could be legends and my (the neighbor's) kids will be listening to them in 25 years. Well, The Twilight Sad sparks that sort of excitement in me. I’ve been reading around, and I’m not alone in this feeling. So, I guess we must be up to something!
Also, theirs is not the kind of music you’ll truly get if you are listening to it while IMing your friends, checking e-mail, browsing some blog, talking on your cellphone and holding a sandwich with your other hand. Instant gratification is a plague to this world. Most people just don’t pay attention anymore. You pretty much need to keep listening until one day it’ll hit you: these guys are amazing! I mean it didn’t happen to me overnight either.
Their walls of sound are too rich, even after over a year has passed I still feel like I’m discovering some small details in one song or another. This is loud music that begs to be listen with your headphones on and a pretty moderate volume!
I seriously can’t wait for their next album that is being recorded right this second! I mean, not
right this second. It must be like 6 AM in Glasgow! But, you know... Also, I’m pretty sure that as soon as they are ready to start promoting that album (early next year) they’ll renew their work visas, cross the freaking Atlantic and start playing some shows over here! I hope they stack up some different shows along the east coast. I may end up calling in sick to work, get an illegal medical certificate and hop to a couple of nearby cities. After so much suffering, I’m not about to let just one single concert be it...
For the record, I do get that same “they can be great” feeling with Menomena. At the end of it all, my Menomena obsession was not properly documented in here... And it was somewhat different, I used to listen
only to them, all the time, for over 2 months.... how do you spell obsession?
Here’s to another year!
Reminder
Next year, include a list of your top 20 artist and how they've changed after a year. These are the standings as of September 8, 08.
49,195 tracks scrobbled
649 artists in my library
01 The Twilight Sad - 3,697 plays
02 Menomena - 2,765 plays
03 Xiu Xiu - 2,226 plays
04 Frightened Rabbit - 1,362 plays
05 The Besnard Lakes - 1,343 plays
06 Arctic Monkeys - 1,332 plays
07 Grizzly Bear - 1,037 plays
08 Thrice - 1,011 plays
09 TV on the Radio - 971 plays
10 Animal Collective - 961 plays
11 Radiohead - 784 plays
12 The Walkmen - 761 plays
13 The National - 744 plays
14 Slaraffenland - 737 plays
15 M83 - 717 plays
16 of Montreal - 714 plays
17 Joy Division - 705 plays
18 Sleater-Kinney - 653 plays
19 Mogwai - 528 plays
20 Beirut - 503 plays
Rolling 12 months standing
01 The Twilight Sad - 3,518 plays
02 Xiu Xiu - 2,225 plays
03 Menomena - 1,559 plays
04 Frightened Rabbit - 1,362 plays
05 The Besnard Lakes - 1,343 plays
06 Animal Collective - 961 plays
07 Grizzly Bear - 821 plays
08 Slaraffenland - 735 plays
09 Joy Division - 705 plays
10 M83 - 687 plays
11 The National - 655 plays
12 Radiohead - 636 plays
13 Mogwai - 528 plays
14 Beirut - 494 plays
15 Deerhoof - 487 plays
16 Thrice - 473 plays
17 The Walkmen - 426 plays
18 Deerhunter - 365 plays
19 Efterklang 358 plays
20 Sigur Rós - 350 plays
I'm borrowing this idea from
heyadamo, who's
done it for his two anniversaries. :)
22-20s
