First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 8 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.
Ok, it’s been a bit of a slow year musically for me, only 3 of my 15 most played albums where actually released this year, so I can’t really state my favourite albums of the year. But 2009 has been a really important year for me, graduating from uni, and really starting to have a feel of who I am, and the albums I have listened to this really reflects on what I have felt, seen, heard, and done, so here my 15 most listened:
There was no doubt that this album would top my album charts of most listened in 2009. Again, John as crafted an album which is so different from his previous 9 records, yet it’s so distinctively his work. I was trying to compare this album with others, and I think the closest I can arrive at is pink Floyd’s dark side of the moon. Not sound wise, but the way the album is constructed, the way it flows, and narratively. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this album is the way his influences really present themselves, which I fucking love. Any album that has touches of other artists ingrained into the subconscious of a way an artist creates his work really hits the rights notes for me. From Frank zappa in One more of me (which I can’t get enough of), to funkadelic/parliament in dark/light. There might be some bias, as I’m such a massive frusciante fan, but there are not many modern day artists that continue to constantly work in such a fashion, and constantly produce work at such a high standard.
Two suns really fits into the mould of music I listen to, anything that is spacious, colourful, and puts you in a different place. I must admit, I arrived at listening to two suns on the back of all the hype from the music press and a certain Mr Thom Yorke after her, there, first album fur and gold (which I have since brought and rather like too). Two suns has the brilliance that each song sounds different at different times, songs will surprise you in certain moods and reveal hidden depths in various plays, and like any good record, you will end up changing which is your favourite track
So it’s been a year since release, and the good news is the album has stood the test of time. Ok a bit too optimistic, but still playing it loads a year later normally means good things. And the best part? Blood bank was equally impressive, and bracket of dark was the night compilation was great too. Actually the best part is seeing the band on TV live at Glastonbury (ok so seeing him live would have been better!), the band he has rocked, I was really impressed, and it added a whole different depth and sound to his already beautiful music. And then there’s that Jools Holland performance where he delivers one of the shows best ever performances, which fully captures the mystique, imagery, emotion and the recording process of sitting a cabin in forest country mourning the loss of a relationship, in 3 odd minutes of pure bliss.
This is perhaps John’s most underrated album. Its one that IS very understated, which catches, creeps on you at the most unexpected times. It’s a rather fragile album, yet really assured, delivered in full confidence. Perhaps its Frusciante most straightforward album, not overly produced, but rich in his personal experiences, and written directly from the heart without being overly abstract in its lyrics and musically. For some bizarre reason, this album really makes me think of the colour green, so much so It rather frightens me. (The album does talk a lot about rebirth, growing etc.??)
So, 2009 was the year I fell In love with pearl jam, pretty much ignored them in the past , well not ignored, but listened to them properly. So I had a lot of random pearl jam albums spinning, so I haven’t had chance to fully get to know there albums (apart from ten, obviously, everyone heard ten countless times right?), and gain an overriding impression of each one, its subtleties, its moments . So yield, has won the war of being most played, so what of it? Well it’s fast paced, vibrant, it’s what I so far perceive as a typical PJ record. Perhaps the album as the best combination of what pearl jam is. Its has punchy moments, its stadium rock moments, its solitude moments. It is pearl jam. Sciatica and flight perhaps?
This is the album that deftones always promised to deliver! I mentioned in the bats for lashes part about fitting into the mould of being a spacious, colourful album, this fits into that category, yet it comes from another universe of music, style, and thought. Oh and all the best for Chi
What a film! What a soundtrack! Mr Nick Cave what an astonishing piece of music! This album as you may as guessed is seriously good. One that I often just stick on for piece of mind.
Simply put - A list of my favourite songs of all time and why so. If anyone's interested, I compiled them all into a .zip folder that you can download at http://www *.mediafire .co m/ ?zlnwou mymmn (remove the spaces). (This download contains all the studio versions, some of which I couldn't find on youtube, except the Fiona Apple cover which has only been recorded live)
Ray Lamontagne has one of those voices. It’s impossible for me to dislike anything he does. There’s something very honest about him. He is untouched, pure. He hasn’t been moulded into another one of those heartbroken crooners and it’s that raw magic that makes him so special. I knew for definite that I wanted to put him first on my list. It was originally a toss-up between this and “Burn” but I decided that this song reigned simply because it read as a beautiful story. It captures Ray’s life journey in a very real, poignant manner. That’s the beauty of it too - because it is so genuine, it’s easy to transcribe some facet of your life into some element of the song because at bottom, it's about having gone through some rough, confusing, and lonely times in life.
Cocaine flame in my bloodstream / Sold my coat when I hit Spokane / Bought myself a hard pack of cigarettes in the early morning rain / Lately my hands they don't feel like mine / My eyes been stung with dust and blind / Held you in my arms one time / Lost you just the same
I don’t know how much can be said about this song. It’s so wonderfully simple. Proof that love songs don’t have to be complicated or cringe-worthy. It reminds me of The Beatle’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in a sense, because it’s about a moment. Just one moment, whereas most bands write about sex and pain and the hardships of love… this song, it’s perfect, it’s easy, it’s effortless. No strings attached… I love you now, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow and I don’t care about what happened yesterday love.
Your world turned upside down / You're making not a sound / No one else around / That's where it's at, yeah / Let me tell you / Your heart beating fast / You're knowing that time will pass / But hoping that it lasts / That's where it's at
This is very different from the previous two. There’s dispute as to whether this song was written as part of The Amory Wars (a series of science fiction comics written by Claudio Sanchez) or not. I’ve read that it’s about Coheed being injected with a virus and the panic following and I’ve also read more personal meanings behind it but I guess the whole reason I love it is because it builds up this great energy and in the last minute, it just explodes. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Oh dear God, I don't feel alive when you're cut short of misery / Will you pray it be the end? Give a look surprise wide eyed to me / Then you'll know just what I am / The scare that triggers your fear / Come know me in a different light, come know me as God
I see this as a song about dehumanisation. It’s about someone who is tired of life, the over industrialisation and the loneliness of it all. Although it’s relatively upbeat, there’s a darkness (“headache grey”) to it. Strangely enough, it’s a song that makes me happy. There is a light music behind it and a big contrast. You could pick the lyrics out and create one of the saddest songs in the world. Perhaps the music conveys a sense of acceptance?
I see today with a newsprint fray / My night is colored headache grey / Don't wake me with so much / The ocean machine is set to 9 / I'll squeeze into heaven and valentine / My bed is pulling me / Gravity / Daysleeper
I once saw an acoustic version of this song on a list of the 100 Saddest Songs of All Time. I was confused because I had always thought it was incredibly romantic. Now I look back and I don’t think I was really listening to it because as beautifully romantic as it is, it’s very dark. There’s a gentle sadness behind Adam Duritz’s words. I remember watching their Across A Wire - Live From New York DVD and hearing him explain the feeling of emotional instability, avoiding the unavoidable… the inevitable end of a relationship. There is so much love in this song (“I should snap her up in a butterfly net pin her down on a photograph album”, “Every time she sneezes I believe it’s love”) but repetition of words like “can’t” and “not” leave a dim, somber tone behind Adam’s words.
The time when kindness falls like rain / It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind / And everytime she sneezes I believe it's love and / Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing / She's talking in her sleep / It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn / And every word is nonsense but I understand
A song about overwhelming lust… obsession even. It's both creepy and sexy. The reason I chose Fiona Apple’s cover over Elvis Costello’s is simple… I think she sings it better. I absolutely love the original but the way her voice shivers, the emotion, the way she almost wails certain lines… it’s intense. She expresses Costello’s lyrics in a way that creates the most incredible air of terminal and fatal passion. The amount of times I have watched and rewatched this video on you tube is almost embarrassing, but damn, it’s powerful. I want you / It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for / It's the way your shoulders shake / And what they're shaking for / I want you / It's knowing that she knows you now / After only guessing / It's the thought of her undressing you / Or you undressing / I want you / She tossed some tatty compliment your way / I want you / And you were fool enough to love it / When she said "I want you"
This song is all about the build-ups and the break-downs... The bass and then the silence, the crashing cymbals and heavy guitar... It’s crazy and angry and eccentric. Weiss‘ yells are fantastic, but the most arresting and powerful moment is when all is quiet and he murmurs "you'd better be alone". Although he admittedly hates this song because it’s so full of hatred and resentment, it’s my favourite. It’s taunting and expressive and undeniably vicious.
We never met, you and I / We were always inside / We were somewhere inside one another / And I'll live without you, love / But what good is one glove without the other? / You only ask about my leaving / Well honey I had no choice / So I call and / (When you hear that heavy breathing) / For that sound of your voice
A song generally about freedom. This song embodies a man's struggle to go back to the simplest way of life. Going back to basics is knowing the freedom that we have in life. The fast paced guitar creates a sense of movement and progress and compliments Vedder’s calm but firm tone. “Guaranteed” is the outlook on life that Chris Mcandless had in when he ventured into the wild. In this case, the song and the movie go hand-in-hand. The great thing about it is that it also manages to touch on the one glitch in Chris' philosophy, the missing link he did not understand until, devastatingly, the end of his life: happiness is only real when shared.
Everyone I come across in cages they bought / they think of me and my wandering / but I'm never what they thought / got my indignation but I'm pure in all my thoughts / I'm alive... / Wind in my hair, I feel part of everywhere / underneath my being is a road that disappeared / late at night I hear the trees / they're singing with the dead / overhead...
Well it's the end of 2009 and with it, time for a bunch of album of the year reviews. Mine is no exception. This review will be based solely on my likes, dislikes and opinions. I will present some facts and use them accordingly. I encourage anyone to chime in and let me know what they think, if I missed anything or even their top lists. Only albums that came out during the calendar year 2009 will be here. Without further hesitation, here are my top ten releases followed by the total track scrobbles per album. These are in no order.
If I were to go strictly by the scrobbles then Stone Axe would walk away with the title hands down. The self titled album was released in March of this year. I've had plenty of time to play it and play it I did. I also turned a few people onto the band in the process. My initial reaction was this sounds a little like a southern Soundgarden. In some songs where Drew is singing, he does remind me of Chris Cornell. It's not a bad thing. I didn't care for Chris Cornell's solo release this year. If I were Chris I would try to tell people that Stone Axe was my other band. Of course we all know better.
Sometime in the summer of 2009 I got into this big Queens of the Stone Age kick. I never really listened to an album thoroughly until this year. during that kick it was rumored then confirmed that Josh Homme was working with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. I'm a fan of Foo Fighters and Led Zeppelin so I was pretty psyched. I couldn't see their first show due to a slow Ticketmaster website and then them selling out so quick. The end result was Them Crooked Vultures. They put out a self titled release and I tell you I'm hooked. I'm hooked more then I was with any Queens material and there's a lot more of it. the first two tracks are just mind blowing and the rest of the album is just as equally good. I ordered two copies of the album. The CD/tshirt combo from the band and the iTunes release with two live tracks. I can't put this album down even if I tried.
Pearl Jam's Backspacer album was highly anticipated by me. Pearl Jam has been consistently my favorite band for the last 16 years. I don't know why but it seems that every chapter in my life revolves around a Pearl Jam release. Anytime a new album comes out, something big in my life happens. Perhaps I was always finding solace in my life by listening to their music but they always got me through. Backspacer is a much slower mellower album then past albums. Maybe because their anti-Bush messages are no longer part of their music since W is no longer president. I think Eddie Vedder's solo album had a lot of influence on making this album because there are a lot of similarities in the two.
First they disbanded then they got back together with a somewhat different lineup. The end result was a good long rocking album. Wolfmother came back this year with a pretty powerful album. Of course it has its highs and lows but it's a pretty consistent album. The last album got my hooked for the first few tracks but then it faded off. I can't think of a time when I listened to the last album from start to finish without skipping songs or turning it off all together. Cosmic Egg was a good listen from start to finish.
Clutch are no strangers to making good solid hard rocking albums. Strange Cousins From The West is no exception. The album starts out hard from the get go and doesn't let go. I think they should've called the album 50,000 Unstoppable Watts, after the song of the same name because of the amount of energy in this album. Clutch easily became one of my favorite bands this year. Seeing them four times (once as The Bakerton Group) helped solidify that. Not to mention that because of Baroness dropping out of the tour in the summer, my favorite band, Low of the Low, got to open on the main stage for them when they played in Milwaukee. Being the photographer for Low of the Low I got all access to the venue and got to see the soundcheck and meet Neil Fallon. I got to talk music for a few minutes with Neil and got to talk to him about his side project which is....
The Company Band self titled. When I talked to Neil in August he had said the album was finished and was just waiting on the record company. He said about 8 weeks or so. It was more like 12 but who's counting? This album, as good as it is and as psyched as I was to hear it, was unfortunately over shadowed by the Them Crooked Vultures release. Not only did the album release on the same day, the albums were leaked on the same day as well. I came across The Company Band album first and I'm glad I did otherwise I probably wouldn't have given it a fair chance. It's a good solid album and doesn't sound to much like a Clutch album. Obviously the comparisons are going to be there due to Neil singing on both but it's the instrumentals that set the two apart. Clutch has more a southern spacey tune to the instruments whereas The Company Band doesn't have much distortion to it. The end result is a good rock album.
When I read the reviews on Weird Owl's album and read the comparisons to Neil Young and Crazy Horse I was intrigued. I couldn't have agreed more. It's good, it rocks and there is a little psychedelic to it which is probably why they are signed to Tee Pee Records. Any Neil Young fan would like this unless the only thing by the godfather of grunge you like is his acoustic material in which case you're in for a huge disappointment.
Truckfighters and Throttlerod I'm going to talk about here at the same time. I love both bands. I think very highly of both and they both put out solid albums. I wasn't overly thrilled with either and while good, it didn't exceed my expectations like other top albums did or their previous albums. Mania sounded a little to commercial compared to past albums and Pig Charmer wasn't to far off. Maybe it was the commercial radio sound that keeps me from giving it a fair chance. I don't know. Both albums are on my iPhone still and haven't been taken off yet. I haven't listened to either album start to finish in a while but tracks have come up numerous times when I hit shuffle.
The last album I want to discuss here is Sun Gods In Exile. Eye For an Eye is the opening track and it seems that is what the band is trying to do to make their mark in music. They don't disappoint. I heard the term somewhere that said the greatest southern rock not from the south. That may be true. I don't know about the greatest but great, yes, I'd agree with that. The album doesn't let up. Like Stone Axe, I've turned quite a few people onto this band.
Now that I've gone through all that onto my album of the year for 2009. Ready, the album of the year is....
going to revealed....
after these messages.
Ok, enough with the messing around. My 2009 album of the year goes to:
Enough said. Maybe it's because I'm listening to the album right now, maybe I can't put it down. I'm not sure. There were a lot of worthy candidates and a lot that I had difficulty trimming down to my top 10. It is what it is. It's a great album that will stick with my for quite sometime, perhaps well after the world ends in 2012. We shall see.
2010 promises to be another great year for music. There's a lot of good stuff in the works that will hopefully see daylight next year. Here's a list of bands working on albums that are due next year.
13. Qual é seu integrante favorito de 1?
O bebado do Rodrigo Amarante !
14. Você já viu 14 ao vivo?
Bah ainda não ! .... Mas ano que vem tenho fé que o Pearl Jam venha a Porto Alegre!
e verei a divindade Eddie Vedder ao vivo e a cores!!!! :D
15. Há alguma boa lembrança relacionada a 27?
Quando dancei Eddie's Gun com a minha namorada no Beco... :D
16. Qual é sua música favorita de 16?
Facil!!!! Panda
23. Quantas vezes você viu 17 ao vivo?
Nenhuma.... mas to nas pilha de ir ver quando tocarem em Buenos Aires! The Mars Volta
24. Qual é a pior música de 12?
Não tem ! todas tem um mesmo padrão ... adoro Interpol!
25. Qual foi a primeira música que você ouviu de 28?
Marisa Monte ....Não lembro mas deve ter sido alguma de Rose and Charcoal
ouço esse disco desde pequeno!
Alright, as we near the end of this first Y2K decade, it's time to take a look back at all the best Albums that have been released in the last 40 years.
I'll start off this extensive research with 2000, up until 2009. I'll then go back to 1980, all the way up to 1999, to then wrap things up with the 70s and before.
I'll be choosing my Top 25 Albums for each year; an ordered Top 10, and ~15 others worth mentioning. I'm also considering the live albums and EPs (~5), but they have their own section since songs on these have usually been released on official releases. The final result will be a Top 1000 for Official Albums, and Top ~250 for Live/EP albums.
These are general rankings of how I see them today, and based on my Last.FM songs playcounts (2005-now) put through the formula:
Total Sum of each Album's Song's (running time X playcount)
DIVIDED BY
Album's Total Running Time
Thanks to MediaMonkey and its amazing scripting abilities, that formula gives an Album's REAL playcount, taking into consideration every song's lenght & playcount in relation to the overall album's lenght and # of songs on it.
You'll see the result (# of times I've really listened to an album since 2005) besides each, along with my 10* Rating. (x/x)
Besides each Year, you get the Total of all Albums' Playcounts and the average of all Albums' Ratings. (x / %)
Note that I haven't necessarily discovered and enjoyed all these albums on their released years, some I discovered years later. So these are also based on how important (to me) some of these albums were at the time.
(**) are the complete albums I was into at that time;
(*) are albums that contained only a few song(s) I was into or listened to at that time;
and those without (*) are albums I discovered years later.
Opening Credits Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
HELL YEAH!!! This is EPIC!
Waking Up Pink Floyd - High Hopes
Great song for waking up and then, when David Gilmour's guitar solo kicks in... THIS must be a great day! =)
First Day At College Bob Dylan - 4th Time Around
Yeah the other three times I was visiting the young and attractive female professor, if you know what I mean, harrharr.
Falling In Love Joshua Radin - What If You
Really beautiful song. It's a break-up song though. Maybe she's falling in love with me but I'm not with her.
Like he sings:
"So, for tonight
I'll stay here with you
Yes, for tonight
I'll lay here with you
But when the sun
Hits your eyes
Through your window
There'll be nothing you can do"
I'm such a bad guy! :D
Losing Virginity Jack Johnson - Cocoon
She is losing virginity and I'm the one who breaks her cocoon. Oh what a metaphor! ;)
Fighting Eddie Vedder - Long Nights
I'll not use "fight" as the common term of "combat", more like "struggle". Maybe I'm struggling with not knowing who I am, where I belong, etc.
Breaking Up Blackfield - Open Mind
Is it that I'm too open minded that she breaks up with me?!
Prom Robbie Williams - Feel
Wow, this is a beautiful song! I could imagine dancing with a gorgeous girl to this song.
Life The xx - Fantasy
Erm, my life is just a fantasy?
Depression Bright Eyes - The Movement Of A Hand
Maybe I'm depressed 'cause I couldn't understand the movement of a hand.
Driving Death Cab for Cutie - Bixby Canyon Bridge
I'm listening to this song while driving on an early winter's day.
Partying The Doors - Soul Kitchen
Not the party song that I had expected, but yeah, nice though.
Happy Dance Pink Floyd - Bike
Yeah, I'd love to dance to this song! It'd be ridiculous and funny.
You & Friends The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Red House
Me & friends making a jam session and listening to this song to get inspired by.
Betrayal Tenacious D - Fuck Her Gently
I'm so sorry honey! It was just that girl I've seen on the streets, you know, she was so drop-dead gorgeous and I, I just couldn't resist.
Regretting Jack Johnson - Times Like These
I miss times like these, where everything was so perfect and these times were only with you. So please, don't leave me!
Long Night Alone Jack Johnson - Enemy
You might think I'm your enemy, but that don't make you mine.
Flashback Bright Eyes - Arc of Time (Time Code)
Would fit nicely as a flashback song.
Getting Back Together Coldplay - Swallowed By The Sea
Cute and tearful reunion. Very moving.
Wedding Bon Iver - Flume
GREAT! I love it. Memo to myself: This song should be played on my wedding.
Honeymoon Yann Tiersen - Comptine d'un Autre Été L'Après Midi
Beautiful!
Birth of Child Iron & Wine - Carousel
Nice song for one of the best moments that life offers: The birth of a child.
Losing Someone Dear Weezer - The Damage In Your Heart
Man, it fits so perfectly.
Final Battle E.S. Posthumus - Ebla
An epic battle this will be.
Death Ólafur Arnalds - Fok
I didn't expect that Ólafur Arnalds would be the last thing I'd hear.
I'm sure I'll die peacefully and with a happy smile after listening to Fok.
Funeral Mono - Pure As Snow (Trails Of The Winter Storm)
Really beautiful. The funeral will be very moving.
Final Credits Ludovico Einaudi - Yerevan II
Sad ending credits. Could imagine half of the people are crying while leaving the theatres.
So here's how you do it:
- Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
- Put it on shuffle
- Press play
- For every question, type the song that's playing
- When you go to a new question, press the next button
- No cheating!
Eddie Vedder
