Yesterday was the second anniversary of my Last.fm account creation and, in keeping with the tradition I started last year, I thought I'd document what I've listened to in 2008...
The iTunes library has taken up residence on a dedicated, external drive, and I've taken the concept of backing it up to a new level of paranoia - (one external HD in the house and another I keep off site, you know, in case the house burns down or anything). Here's how the overall library stacks up against last year's:
Total Songs - 34,858 - I've added 10,232 songs in the past 12 months
Total Listening Time - 98 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes and 6 seconds - an increase of approx. 29 days since last year
Total Disk Storage - 193.49GB - roughly 62GB of music was added
Number of tracks scrobbled - 17,266 - compared to the 14,662 scrobbles in 2007
Here's what I've been listening to in the past 365 days:
Top Ten Artists of 2008:
1.
Nada Surf - Up from #8 in 2007
Nada Surf's music worked its way into my head for most of the first two-thirds of 2008. It didn't matter what I was doing or where I was, there was a
Nada Surf song doing its best to make me hum, sing, or whistle it. I've come to appreciate the apparent happiness in their music - even though many of the songs are dense and somewhat dark lyrically, the music is there to help you remember things work themselves out, usually for the best. I've also watched and read many interviews with the band and their attitude and appreciation for fans is more than endearing.
2.
Ryan Adams - Down from #1 in 2007
Last year I commented on how surprised I was that I had listened to
Ryan Adams over all other artists and mentioned it was his live shows that I listened to so frequently. Over the course of 2008, I've come to regard
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals (or
The Cardinals as they're called at the moment) as much less of a guilty pleasure. I've revisited a number of his older releases and have come to a much better appreciation of his talent and weaknesses. I also had the chance to see
The Cardinals play live again this year and saw a much improved band over the 2007 show. There's a great discussion covering all of Ryan's music - official releases and, more interestingly, his non-released studio releases, at the Sound Opinions forum (link -
http://tinyurl.com/8hk96k). The discussion includes links to nearly everything the guy has recorded and has been a source of great insight into some of my favorite music created by
Ryan Adams.
3.
Wilco - Up from #4 in 2007
Another band whose live recordings keep me coming back, again and again. Depending on what mood I'm in I can choose a show from one of their various tours and have a completely different experience. I'm not the first to say Jeff Tweedy and
Wilco have become masters of reinventing their sound time and time again, but it's completely true. The same songs have been given new life so many times over that I find myself looking forward to each new release, not so much for the release itself, but to see what will happen to the old material when they bring it out in tour. Seek out the 'Alpha Romeo Tango' bootleg series if you're interested at all in the evolution of
Wilco's sound, specifically during the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era.
4.
The Gutter Twins - New to the List
A side project of
Greg Dulli and
Mark Lanegan with what may be the most apt band name of all time. Dark and dense, it's another sign that I'll enjoy anything
Greg Dulli decides to become involved with.
5.
The Twilight Singers - Down from #3
Another
Greg Dulli project. If you know me, there's nothing I have to say.
6.
The Broken West - New to the list
I discovered
The Broken West via a post at the fantastic blog
http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com in mid to late 2007 and immediately identified with their version of power-pop. What's solidified my fandom in the past year (few months really) was their spot on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic in October (10/7/2008 to be exact). I have listened to that recording over and over again to the point where even my wife has submitted and, addition to admitting she likes them, will sometimes, spontaneously break into the opening of the unbearably catchy 'Auctioneer'. I can't understand why the whole world isn't listening to these guys right now.
7. The
Afghan Whigs - Down from #6 in 2007
So, if you added up all the
Greg Dulli bands in this list, he might top it, I'm not sure. The Whigs are an old staple and, at this point, after so many years, I think they may always be.
8.
Goldfinger - New to the list
There were days this year when I needed a boost - and had already worked through my morning espresso high. There were other days when I needed to listen to something with an energy that matched my morning espresso high. In both cases, I would set the iPod to shuffle amongst all the
Goldfinger tracks I have. I once said, or wrote, or thought the energy these guys put into their music could power a small city and still believe it. They may not be popular, their style of music may not be popular, and they may be a one hit wonder to most people, but I enjoy everything they've done. Sometimes it's enough for music just to be fun, isn't it?
9.
Matt Pond PA - Down from #5
Matt Pond's album Emblems is still a "go to" listen when I'm feeling melancholy, exhausted, or alone. I've listened to his other work throughout the past year and all of it's enjoyable but I find myself going back to Emblems over and over again, and that's fine with me.
10.
Washington Social Club - New to the list
I have no idea how I discovered the
Washington Social Club but I'm glad I did. Their music never fails to put a smile on my face and an extra spring in my step. I'm not sure how many times I was in airports in the last year feeling exhausted and dreading the rush needed to make my connection, but every time was much easier with
Washington Social Club playing. Are You High is certainly one of my favorite tunes of recent memory.
Top Ten Artists Overall from 1/3/2006 to 1/3/2008:
1.
Ryan Adams
2.
Nada Surf
3.
Wilco
4.
The Twilight Singers
5. The
Afghan Whigs
6.
Superdrag
7.
Matt Pond PA
8.
The Broken West
9.
Elliott Smith
10.
The Gutter Twins
Top Ten Albums of 2008:
1.
The Weight Is a Gift by
Nada Surf
2.
Lucky by
Nada Surf
3.
Let Go by
Nada Surf
4.
2008-10-07: KCRW Studios - Santa Monica, CA by
The Broken West
5.
Catching Looks by The
Washington Social Club
6.
Powder Burns by
The Twilight Singers
7.
Show Your Bones by The
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8.
Seven More Minutes by
The Rentals
9.
The Art Of Rolling by
The Blue Van
10.
Asleep At Heaven's Gate by
Rogue Wave
Top Ten Albums Overall from 1/3/2006 to 1/3/2008:
1.
Let Go by
Nada Surf
2.
Emblems by
Matt Pond PA
3.
Powder Burns by
The Twilight Singers
4.
Catching Looks by The
Washington Social Club
5.
The Weight Is a Gift by
Nada Surf
6.
Lucky by
Nada Surf
7.
Regretfully Yours by
Superdrag
8.
The Dust of Retreat by
Margot and the Nuclear So & So's
9.
2008-10-07: KCRW Studios - Santa Monica, CA by
The Broken West
10.
Plans by
Death Cab for Cutie
Afghan Whigs
Live With Me. This is a very powerfull track featuring Mark Lanegan on vocals. Every track this man sings is magical to me. So there can't go anything wrong if this man is singing. The second track 
