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My TOP 30 albums. No further explainations needed. Comments in German.

gedankenhaufen's top albums (overall)
1.
Aphex Twin - Drukqs (111)

Seit ein paar Monaten höre ich Aphex Twin nicht mehr, was eigentlich eher nichtssagende Gründe hat: Ich kenne jedes seiner Lieder auswendig etc.
2.
The Conet Project - The Conet Project (106)

Nummernsender und Shortwave Oddities auf vier CDs. Keine Musik, aber auch kein Krach. Eher seltsame Klänge, die man findet und die man liebt.
3.
Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album (66)

4.
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do (44)

5.
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works II (31)

Das ist immer noch das Meisterwerk des Ambient. 1994 als Doppel-CD mit 24 unbenannten Liedern veröffentlicht, hat es mir nachts schon so viele Alpträume bereitet, dass ich es nie mehr missen will. Schade, dass die besten Tracks des Albums (Stone in Focus und Hankie) nur auf Vinyl veröffentlicht wurden.
6.
Broadcast and The Focus Group - Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age (29)

Großartige Collage aus Avantgarde-Rock, Elektro und zig milliarden Samples. Und darüber eine schwebende Stimme, die über seltsame Dinge singt. Toll.
7.
Set Fire to Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder (28)

Set Fire To Flames, haben in ihrer Geschichte zwei Alben veröffentlicht. Dieses Debütalbum, 2001, hat es in sich. Straßenklänge, vorbeifahrende Krankenwagen, Drones und Krach und dazwischen herzerweichender Post-Rock. Himmlisch, seltsam, manchmal unheimlich. Auf jeden Fall nicht greifbar.
8.
Die Goldenen Zitronen - Die Entstehung Der Nacht (28)

Wer sagt, dass deutsche Musik schlecht sein soll? Die Zitronen aus Hamburg liefern seit ca. 1992 großartige Musik mit feinen, politisch-abstrakten Texten und Beobachtungen. Kann man nur lieben eigentlich.
9.
Einstürzende Neubauten - Ende Neu (25)

Auch deutsch, auch großartig. Die Neubauten haben's 1996 mal wieder voll drauf ankommen lassen. Mit krachendem, lautem Gebrüll ("Was ist ist") und leisen, wunderschönen Liedern ("Stella Maris", "The Garden"). Bilinguale Platten können funktionieren.
10.
PeterLicht - Lieder vom Ende des Kapitalismus (24)

Na, dann werden wa eben siegen! PeterLicht singt vom getöteten Kapitalismus, von Wettkämpfen im Entspannen und sonstigen Seltsamheiten. Wer sich schneller entspannt, ist besser als jemand, der sich nicht so schnell entspannt, welcher aber immer noch besser ist, als jemand, der überhaupt nicht entspannt ist und -verdientermaßen, verdientermaßen- unentspannt ist.
11.
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (24)

Nachts im Radio bei 1live Fiehe gehört, und zwar einen Tag, bevor es ins Ferienlager in Italien ging. Dabei immer dieses Album rauf und runter. Alternative Folk geht sehr gut mit Sommer, Sonne und Strand zusammen. Eid ma clak shaw.
12.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven! (22)

Die Offenbarung. Die Liebe meines Lebens. Nur nicht auf Platz 1, weil das Album nur aus vier Titeln besteht, welche aber allesamt länger als 20 Minuten sind. Samples, Drones und Klänge, und durchgängig der beste Post-Rock, der je geschrieben wurde und wohl je geschrieben wird. Es kommt keine Band an Godspeed ran. Keine.
13.
The Books - Lost and Safe (20)

Super Band, super Album. Leider lässt sich ihre Musik kaum beschreiben. Folktronica? Sampled Music? Aleatoric? Keine Ahnung.
14.
Broadcast - Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (19)

15.
A Silver Mt. Zion - Horses in the Sky (19)

Sideproject von Gy!BE, mindestens genauso schön und zeigt, dass Efrim Menuck auch singen kann. Zynische, politische Lieder. Zum Weinen schöne Kanons. Glockenspiel, oh, Glockenspiel, how I missed thee.
16.
Terre Thaemlitz - Soil (18)

1996 war es, als Terre Thaemlitz, Gender-Aktivist und Glitch-Hedonist, mit diesem Album den politischen Ambient erschuf. Unheimliche Klangstrukturen wölben sich ins Gedächtnis, mit subtil verwobenen Aufnahmen über häusliche Gewalt, Globalisierung und Medialisierung des eigentlich Banalen. Große Kunst, große Freude. Thaemlitz verlegte später auf Mille Plateux, dem "Lieblingslabel aller damaligen, strukturalistischen, Glitch-Hedonisten" (spex).
17.
Fennesz - Hotel Paral.lel (18)

So viel Krach, so viel Wiederholung, so viel obskure Schönheit. Wenn das Computer-Geknarze anfängt, setze ich mich mit Popcorn vor den Bildschirm und beobachte die Winamp-Visualisierungen, die angesichts dieser Klänge verständlicherweise kapitulieren müssen. Auch, wenn Lieder wie "aus" wunderschön sind.
18.
PeterLicht - Vierzehn Lieder (18)

Die Schwerkraft ist überbewertet, man braucht sie doch gar nicht, wie man ja wohl im Weltraum sieht. Und die Sonne kocht auch nur mit Wasser. Die soll sich nicht so aufspielen, die gelbe Sau! Und der Himalaya, der alte Arsch, da kann ich mich auch drüber aufregen. Oder der Kölner Dom, da kann ich mich auch drüber aufregen. So'n Hals habe ich über den! So'n Hals!
19.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In The Light (17)

Ein gruselig aussehender Mann schnappt sich seine Gitarre, sein Notizbuch und macht ein wunderschönes Folk-Album mit wenig Abwechslung. Die würde der Musik aber auch nicht gut tun.
20.
Aphex Twin - On Ep (16)

21.
Mouse on Mars - Idiology (16)

Orchester, Krach, Elektronisches. Mouse On Mars verbindet Klassik-Elektro und Experimentelles zu einer seltsamen Melange. Informatikbefehle und Erdbeereis.
22.
Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (16)

Anschalten, träumen, fürchten, Ehrfurcht. BoC bleiben die Altmeister. Das ist ok so.
23.
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Vrioon (15)

Skizzen für skelettiertes Klavier. Mit heißer Nadel zersetzt Alva Noto die wunderschönen Piano-Sequenzen, fügt und klittet sie neu zusammen. Alles klingt neutral, sachlich, leer und wunderschön künstlich. Ein Album für die Nacht.
24.
Mouse on Mars - Niun Niggung (14)

25.
Daniel Johnston - Hi, How Are You (13)

1983 schnappt sich der bei McDonalds arbeitende Daniel Johnston ein schlechtes Aufnahmegerät, seine verstimmte Gitarre und macht in seiner Kellerwohnung unglaublich authentische Lieder, die ohne jedes Mastering vom 4-Band-Rekorder auf Tape gebrannt werden. Johnston verbreitet sie, indem er die Tapes in die Mc-Donalds-Bestellungen hinzutut. 1992 trägt Kurt Cobain ein Daniel-Johnston-T-Shirt mit dem Hi,how are you-Cover bei den VMA's und Johnston, welcher psychisch labil und manisch-depressiv ist, wird weltberühmt. Johnston lebt immer noch bei seinen Eltern und wird bei jedem seiner seltenen Konzerte von seinem Bruder dazu motiviert, wirklich auf die Bühne zu gehen. Kurze, intime Lieder voller rauer Schönheit, aufgenommen mit einem kaputten Kassettenrekorder.
26.
Die Goldenen Zitronen - Lenin (13)

27.
The Books - Thought for Food (12)

28.
Aphex Twin - Classics (12)

29.
A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms... (47:06) (12)

Wer bei "13 Angels standing Guard 'round your bed" nicht fast weinen muss, hat kein Herz. Kammermusik für Post-Rocker. Tribut-Album für Efrim Menuck's Hund Wanda, der 2000 bei einer Gy!BE-Tour an Krebs starb.
30.
Set Fire to Flames - Telegraphs In Negative/Mouths Trapped In Static [cd1] (12)

This was really meant to be a top 100, but when my girlfriend and I pulled together an initial "long list" a few weeks ago, that was way beyond 300 songs. So 200 it is, simply as I have far too much to even try and cull it further. There are things missing, I'm sure - I'll have committed a cardinal sin somewhere and have neglected one of my favourite bands, no doubt! - but then there a few deliberately missing as it will be easier to deal with them in the albums list, as I simply cannot pick a particular song. Anyway, here are the first forty (split over two posts), and to avoid stretching this out into sometime next year I'll be posting the next forty on Friday.

200
The Sisters of Mercy
Ribbons (video)
Vision Thing
1990

They might be the ultimate goth cliché nowadays, but it's easy to forget that Andrew Eldritch's band did many, many classic goth tracks. Aside from some of the more obvious tracks, though, it has been this track that I have loved the most for a good many years. It's unusual beat structure sets it apart from many other Sisters tracks, and it's oh-so-sleazy lyrics are all kinda fun, too. Even this live version of it ain't bad...

199
Ultraviolence
Hardcore Motherfucker
Life of Destructor
1994

God, remember when this was the last word in dancefloor extremity? Earache Records certainly took something of a punt on Ultraviolence in the first instance - with them bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the rest of the bands on their roster - and it appeared to be a gamble that paid off. Perhaps even they helped to broaden the minds of a few metalheads. On the other side, this was an industrial dancefloor staple for years, despite it being an exhausting nine minutes long, and at a stretch could even be suggested that it might well have been the way into industrial-dancefloor-noise for many. UVR and Johnny Violent may be a parody of their former selves in recent years, but this track and a handful of others (Masochist in particular) are still bulletproof.

198
Stuck Mojo
Pigwalk (video)
Pigwalk
1994

Unusual then and unusual now for being a multi-racial metal band, the mix of rap and thrash worked surprisingly well…for this song, anyway. Yes, they continued for a few more albums after this, but I defy anyone to honestly be able to remember any of their songs other than this. That's fine, though - this is one of those awesome metal tracks of the time that was unconcerned with worrying about genres and instead brought the metal in a big way (it's an awesome riff that underpins the song), and needless to say kicking off brutal moshpits in any club it was played in.

197
Peace, Love & Pitbulls
Pig Machine
Red Sonic Underwear
1994

Here's one from the "who?" file, I suspect. A little-known swedish industrial metal band, they released three albums, of which I only ever had this one. Apparently influenced by Einstürzende Neubauten and Entombed (!), this track in particular sounds more like Ministry to me, but either way it's pretty damned good.

196
Kerbdog
Dummy Crusher
Dummy Crusher
1994

The jury appears to be out as to which version of this I have - it may be one of the remixes (either way, it's the one on this Youtube link), but whatever it is, it's an awesomely feral metal track raging at the stupidity of one of the wars of the time. The original isn't actually bad, just that this version is much better. In addition, they were never this good again, either (I can't honestly remember another of their songs, now...).

195
Coal Chamber
Loco
Coal Chamber
1997

Yeah, it's nu-metal, but fuck it, this track ruled from the start and still does now. They may have gone shit extremely quickly - half of their debut album sucked, never mind the follow up albums - but this track took off like a freight train and never looked back. A brilliantly teasing intro, before all hell breaks loose for extended periods, and while the lyrics are memorableish, they are little more than childish nursery rhymes and frankly isn't whats important. With tracks like this, it's all about the mosh potential, and this has a lot of it.

194
Slipknot
Eyeless
Slipknot
1999

Ten years on (Ten years!), it's really hard to emphasise just how much of a shock to the system Slipknot were when they first appeared. Nine masked mentalists offering an extraordinarily extreme take on metal for the "mainstream", and this was the first track that broke cover, by appearing on various metal magazine's cover-CDs. The bizarre samples, the even more bizarre chorus ("You can't see California without Marlon Brando's eyes" Eh?), and the ear-bleedingly extreme sound stood out, to say the least. Not bad for a band dubbed nu-metal. They never were, really, of course - well grounded in their extreme metal history, when you got past the gimmicks the first album was awesome. The shock wore off, of course, but they remain an absolutely fantastic live act.

193
Powerman 5000
Supernova Goes Pop
Tonight the Stars Revolt!
1999

This band may well have only got famous thanks to lead singer Spider's brother (a certain Rob Zombie), but they did offer a slightly different spin on what Zombie did - instead of a horror B-movie fixation, it was sci-fi B-movies PM5K turned to for inspiration. This album, their debut, was a whole bunch of fun, too, a collection of short, sharp industrial metal tracks with big choruses, silly lyrics and some cracking songs. Like this one, in fact, even if it could have come straight off a White Zombie album. Altogether now: "Are You Ready...to go?"

192
Screaming Trees
Shadow of the Season
Sweet Oblivion
1992

The odd men out in the grunge explosion, and probably the band of them all that sadly never were able to capitalise on the success of the scene as a whole. Perhaps that was down to their grounding in seventies hard rock, with some psychedelic touches, that made them sound less, I dunno, dark as their peers? Dig deeper, though, and they were. Mark Lanegan's dry, deep voice, the desperate lyrics, and the epic sweeps of tracks like this certainly made them worth a listen. Dust may have been the better album, but this remained their finest single by miles.

191
The Dillinger Escape Plan
43% Burnt
Calculating Infinity
1999

Always just on the right side of descending into total chaos, this early track by the band is a useful pointer to what they'd become. A track that twists and turns and changes shape numerous times, but never losing focus and crossing boundaries at will. And at the moments when it cuts loose, it's extraordinary.

190
System of a Down
War?
System of a Down
1998

SOAD's finest moment, both musically and politically, was this rampaging three minutes from their first album. Thematically it's about the constantly changing excuses for starting wars that are given, and the role of religion in such decisions, and musically it's played at a breakneck pace, apart from the near-ambient middle-eight, before it kicks the doors through one last time. Awesome stuff.

189
The Orb
Little Fluffy Clouds
The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
1991

Famous for it's unauthorised Ricki Lee Jones sample - that she was really not impressed about, and as I recall Alex Paterson had to pay a substantial sum later on for it - this really did soundtrack so many people's summer afternoons gazing at the sky. This is ambient music that is actually interesting, that has a playful sense of fun and ended up being a pop hit. Wierder things have happened, obviously, but something as odd as this being a hit was quite something at the time...

188
Placebo
Bruise Pristine
Placebo
1996

Oh yes. Placebo's first ever single, this (I saw them supporting Whale when promoting the original 7" on Fierce Panda, and about another eight times after that), and still their best song. At it's heart, it's punky powerpop, but draped in gothic sensibilities that set it apart, and the sudden zip up the scale into the chorus is a real rush.

187
Korn
Shoots and Ladders
Korn
1994

Bagpipes, lyrics from nursery rhymes, crunching metal…this really shouldn't have worked, should it? Somehow, to the band's immense credit, it does - to some extent thanks to the way that just about everything on this album sounded so…unsettling. Parts of it really did appear to be more than we ever needed to know about Jonathan Davis, while this simply was a twisting of the usual childhood memories into something oh-so sinister.

186
Pavement
Cut Your Hair
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1994

The recent confirmation of Pavement's long-rumoured reformation has been met with joy in these parts, mainly as it might mean we hear more of this always-great band again, although also as it will be the return of a band who managed to retain their indie "cred" while writing what was, at least at points, great pop music. In fact, much like this single - a snide dig at those bands who change their style to fit the latest trend, something that Pavement never apparently desired, never mind attempted. But then, with songs of this calibre, why bother? Glorious, summery harmonies and a song that you keep in your head for weeks, even if there isn't really a chorus as such. For once, also, this is a band now reforming that I actually saw (twice) the first time around...

185
Spiritualized
Shine a Light
Lazer Guided Melodies
1992

There is more to Spiritualized than just "Ladies and Gentlemen…", in particular the two albums that precede it. This comes from the debut album, and there was seven minutes of fragile beauty that unfolded in it's own sweet time. The live version from the Royal Albert Hall October 10, 1997 album is where the track really comes into it's own, though - it's begins with Jason Pierce's vocals being even more fragile and thin, before the track builds to a crescendo of staggering proportions that the album version never even hinted at.

184
Meshuggah
Future Breed Machine
Destroy Erase Improve
1995

Is this really fifteen years old? God. No matter what age, though, this is ageless stuff from a metal band so forward thinking that they are still showing the way ahead even now. Still, this track - still a big live favourite - is a chomping, ultra-technical moshdown with countless time changes and a tight, clean production that simply serves to make it sound even more savage.

183
Foo Fighters
This Is A Call
Foo Fighters
1995
As a way to step away from the still recent end of Nirvana, the lead track from Dave Grohl's first album under the Foo Fighters name is, in my view, still the best song he's done (only All My Life really comes close to this). An urgent, almost jubilant step into the unknown for Grohl, this was the first of many, many great rock songs by the band that have helped to at least provide something to watch/listen/enjoy in the moribund world of music television nowadays, and starting out with a song this damned good helped to ensure that the shadow of Nirvana wasn't hanging over him for too long, either...

182
Aphex Twin
Come to Daddy
Come to Daddy EP
1997

Something of a sensation at the time - for the terrifying Chris Cunningham video as much as the track itself - this was Richard D. James playing around, and the result was a track more metal than many so-called metal tracks of the time. Scattershot breakcore fused with guitar samples and demonic vocals, it was bizarrely also a chart hit. The kids with Aphex Twin faces still freak me out, though.

181
Dollshead
It's Over, It's Under
Frozen Charlotte
1998

A band that few or any will have heard of or remember, I suspect - they appeared and disappeared pretty quickly, although singer Sierra Swan has had an attempted solo career since and has also made appearances with other bands. The one reason this song had any promience, sadly (it deserved so much better in my view), was it's appearance on the soundtrack for The Jackal. Anyway, it's more female-fronted electronic rock (although bass-heavy, and for once in the late 90s not sounding particularly like Garbage), but one that is certainly worthy of some belated attention, perhaps.

Shortly: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.01b: 180 to 161
Friday: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.02: 160 to 121

Here are some more stats: Top 20 artists for each year I've been a last.fm member (not calendar years - those stats can be found in earlier journal entries). The first year doesn't have any statistics before February because these stats have been calculated on the basis of weekly charts (@ http://troublewithdreams.com/scrobbler/) which didn't exist before that.

1st Year (Feb 13 2005 - Nov 7 2005)

1. Depeche Mode (666)
2. Nine Inch Nails (625)
3. Icon of Coil (606)
4. Covenant (521)
5. The Legendary Pink Dots (411)
6. Deine Lakaien (402)
7. CMX (359)
8. Death in June (340)
9. Assemblage 23 (316)
10. KMFDM (296)
11. Combichrist (295)
12. Current 93 (266)
13. Siouxsie and the Banshees (266)
14. Mew (251)
15. :wumpscut: (249)
16. VNV Nation (236)
17. Diary of Dreams (234)
18. Front Line Assembly (210)
19. Rammstein (209)
20. System of a Down (200)

2nd Year (Nov 8 2005 - Nov 5 2006)

1. Swans (1267)
2. Current 93 (847)
3. Covenant (612)
4. Depeche Mode (601)
5. Death in June (498)
6. The Legendary Pink Dots (438)
7. Project Pitchfork (399)
8. Icon of Coil (270)
9. Coil (247)
10. KMFDM (244)
11. Mesh (224)
12. Front Line Assembly (218)
13. Nine Inch Nails (208)
14. Einstürzende Neubauten (204)
15. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio (193)
16. Pet Shop Boys (190)
17. The Angels of Light (184)
18. CMX (183)
19. VAST (176)
20. Heijala (174)

3rd Year (Nov 6 2006 - Nov 4 2007)

1. Swans (1124)
2. Coil (775)
3. Nine Inch Nails (626)
4. Current 93 (496)
5. Depeche Mode (407)
6. The Angels of Light (312)
7. Black Sun Productions (307)
8. CMX (306)
9. The Legendary Pink Dots (300)
10. Woven Hand (260)
11. Coph Nia (251)
12. The Dresden Dolls (248)
13. Covenant (234)
14. Death in June (213)
15. Lustmord (213)
16. Front Line Assembly (199)
17. Sol Invictus (186)
18. KMFDM (180)
19. 16 Horsepower (170)
20. Antony and the Johnsons (166)

4th Year (Nov 5 2007 - Nov 2 2008)

1. Sleep Chamber (577)
2. The Tiger Lillies (440)
3. Coil (323)
4. Swans (317)
5. The Doors (296)
6. The Legendary Pink Dots (261)
7. Nine Inch Nails (245)
8. Einstürzende Neubauten (226)
9. Naevus (217)
10. Current 93 (205)
11. In Slaughter Natives (185)
12. Eleanoora Rosenholm (183)
13. Karjalan Sissit (182)
14. Death in June (167)
15. Sieben (158)
16. Kirlian Camera (149)
17. Ladytron (146)
18. Throbbing Gristle (146)
19. :wumpscut: (141)
20. Dead Can Dance (140)

5th Year (Nov 3 2008 - Nov 9 2009)

1. Depeche Mode (474)
2. The Legendary Pink Dots (294)
3. Swans (292)
4. Sleep Chamber (273)
5. Militia (247)
6. Crash Worship (224)
7. Coil (208)
8. Einstürzende Neubauten (203)
9. KMFDM (200)
10. The Tiger Lillies (190)
11. Die Form (183)
12. Dernière Volonté (182)
13. Vuk (161)
14. Current 93 (159)
15. Nine Inch Nails (154)
16. Foetus (140)
17. Test Dept. (134)
18. The Young Gods (131)
19. Coph Nia (129)
20. Esplendor Geométrico (127)

Playlist 09. November 2009

01. Hippieshit (0:23)
02. Elephant Foot - Surfing Here (5:05)
03. Karnatriix - Exorcism (8:24)
04. This Morn Omina - Suneater (7:55)
05. Nurse With Wound - Yagga Blues (6:12)
06. Aphex Twin - Digeridoo (Live In Cornwall, 1990) (6:13)
07. Thriloka - Maha Ravana (7:48)
08. Lou Reed & John Cale - Images (3:27)
09. Caspar Broetzmann Massaker - War Horse (8:39)
10. Einstürzende Neubauten - Seele Brennt (3:45)
11. Elephant Foot - Gangara (5:58)
12. Neurosis - Cleanse (18:44)
13. Neurosis & Jarboe - Within (4:44)
14. Lionel Hampton - Satin Doll (2:40)

Just like last year (and the year before that), it's time to compare the artist stats of this year to the previous one. The first number in parantheses is the position in the last year's top 50 and the second number in parantheses is the play count for past 12 months.

01 (01) Swans 3,086 (+297)
02 (02) Depeche Mode 2,374 (+471)
03 (03) Current 93 2,002 (+159)
04 (04) Nine Inch Nails 1,889 (+155)
05 (07) The Legendary Pink Dots 1,722 (+295)
06 (06) Coil 1,668 (+207)
07 (05) Covenant 1,531 (+40)
08 (08) Death in June 1,301 (+69)
09 (10) CMX 1,046 (+114)
10 (11) KMFDM 1,034 (+200)
11 (09) Icon of Coil 1,033 (+21)
12 (18) Sleep Chamber 849 (+272)
13 (15) Einstürzende Neubauten 848 (+203)
14 (12) Front Line Assembly 823 (+96)
15 (14) Combichrist 739 (+46)
16 (16) Project Pitchfork 723 (+119)
17 (13) Deine Lakaien 717 (+22)
18 (19) :wumpscut: 669 (+94)
19 (17) The Angels of Light 635 (+45)
20 (26) The Tiger Lillies 630 (+184)
21 (22) Coph Nia 597 (+129)
22 (21) Assemblage 23 (+41)
23 (20) VNV Nation 581 (+22)
24 (27) Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio 540 (+97)
25 (23) Paradise Lost 519 (+53)
26 (29) Black Sun Productions 505 (+73)
27 (25) Diary of Dreams 492 (+38)
28 (24) Rammstein 487 (+31)
29 (28) Mesh 481 (+41)
30 (32) Rotersand 448 (+52)
31 (30) Diorama 444 (+14)
32 (31) Pet Shop Boys 435 (+34)
33 (33) Dead Can Dance 429 (+37)
34 (36) Bauhaus 423 (+75)
35 (34) Siouxsie and the Banshees 412 (+24)
35 (35) Gary Numan 412 (+31)
37 (58) Foetus 408 (+140)
38 (38) This Morn' Omina 403 (+66)
39 (37) Velvet Acid Christ 378 (+33)
39 (50) The Doors 378 (+73)
41 (41) Lustmord 373 (+42)
42 (54) Ulver 366 (+78)
43 (40) Skinny Puppy 363 (+31)
44 (39) Joy Division 361 (+26)
45 (43) Sara 360 (+36)
46 (106) Dernière Volonté 358 (+182)
47 (53) Cabaret Voltaire 355 (+67)
48 (46) Woven Hand 352 (+40)
49 (47) Ladytron 348 (+37)
50 (59) Der Blutharsch 345 (+83)

Well, that was a boring year... at least looking at the changes in top 50. Everything was very static. The hottest climber of the year was Dernière Volonté by 60 positions straight to #46 outside of the 4th anniversary Top 100. Also Foetus and Ulver entered Top 50 for the first time. Cabaret Voltaire and Der Blutharsch returned after being absent from Top 50 for a while. The biggest mover that was in Top 50 last year was The Doors, up by 11 positions.

The static nature of my Top 50 is easy to explain because my listening habits have changed if the chart hasn't. I listen to a bigger amount of artists but a smaller amount of songs per artist. My overall listening amounts have stayed pretty much the same but now they are more divided between more bands. The same has happened to tracks a lot earlier: I rarely listen to a single track for a lot of times. This means that both my tracks and artist Top 50 charts aren't changing that much these days.

The overall charts are so static that sometimes I even think about resetting the statistics. But that would be a waste because I can set my default layout to show the stats for last 12 months which I think also represents my current taste in music a lot better. It's becoming more and more diverse each year, concentrating less and less on repetition of individual tracks or artists. It's also becoming less focused on ebm, futurepop and related genres, as you may even notice from the slight changes in positions of my top 50 artists.

On November 7th, just a few days from now, it will be exactly five years since I signed up with Audioscrobbler/Last.fm. In order to celebrate, I have planned several historical statistics posts. Here's the first, all the top artists and tracks for each month that I've been scrobbling. As for all stats that are based on weekly charts, the data is available only from February 2005 onwards.

Monthly Top Artists

Feb-2005
Icon of Coil (307 plays)
Mar-2005
Icon of Coil (69 plays)
Apr-2005
Nine Inch Nails (162 plays)
May-2005
Icon of Coil (52 plays)
Jun-2005
KMFDM (16 plays)
Jul-2005
System of a Down (117 plays)
Aug-2005
Combichrist (131 plays)
Sep-2005
KMFDM (74 plays)
Oct-2005
Depeche Mode (198 plays)
Nov-2005
The Legendary Pink Dots (141 plays)
Dec-2005
Project Pitchfork (84 plays)
Jan-2006
Regina (88 plays)
Feb-2006
Project Pitchfork (136 plays)
Mar-2006
Covenant (193 plays)
Apr-2006
Depeche Mode (88 plays)
May-2006
Mesh (112 plays)
Jun-2006
Current 93 (244 plays)
Jul-2006
Swans (221 plays)
Aug-2006
Swans (272 plays)
Sep-2006
Swans (435 plays)
Oct-2006
The Angels of Light (162 plays)
Nov-2006
Depeche Mode (144 plays)
Dec-2006
The Dresden Dolls (198 plays)
Jan-2007
Coil (207 plays)
Feb-2007
Swans (146 plays)
Mar-2007
Swans (117 plays)
Apr-2007
Nine Inch Nails (186 plays)
May-2007
Nine Inch Nails (120 plays)
Jun-2007
SPK (99 plays)
Jul-2007
Coil (77 plays)
Aug-2007
Swans (132 plays)
Sep-2007
Swans (131 plays)
Oct-2007
The Angels of Light (140 plays)
Nov-2007
Marissa Nadler (81 plays)
Dec-2007
Sleep Chamber (171 plays)
Jan-2008
Sleep Chamber (180 plays)
Feb-2008
The Doors (98 plays)
Mar-2008
Nine Inch Nails (101 plays)
Apr-2008
The Tiger Lillies (125 plays)
May-2008
Nine Inch Nails (55 plays)
Jun-2008
Ladytron (93 plays)
Jul-2008
Psyche (54 plays)
Aug-2008
Dead Can Dance (66 plays)
Sep-2008
Coil (67 plays)
Oct-2008
The Tiger Lillies (161 plays)
Nov-2008
Black Sun Productions (41 plays)
Dec-2008
Triarii (59 plays)
Jan-2009
Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio (66 plays)
Feb-2009
Crash Worship (114 plays)
Mar-2009
The Legendary Pink Dots (90 plays)
Apr-2009
Depeche Mode (234 plays)
May-2009
Depeche Mode (112 plays)
Jun-2009
The Young Gods (80 plays)
Jul-2009
Militia (91 plays)
Aug-2009
Swans (51 plays)
Sep-2009
Die Form (62 plays)
Oct-2009
Einstürzende Neubauten (78 plays)

Monthly Top Tracks

Feb-2005
Sara : Sydän (27 plays)
Mar-2005
Death in June : Death is the Martyr of Beauty (12 plays)
Apr-2005
Nine Inch Nails : The Hand That Feeds (54 plays)
May-2005
Combichrist : Blut Royale (32 plays)
Jun-2005
Talk Talk : Such A Shame (3 plays)
Jul-2005
System of a Down : Violent Pornography (18 plays)
Aug-2005
VNV Nation : Chrome (16 plays)
Sep-2005
Dupont : Motel lover (28 plays)
Oct-2005
Depeche Mode : Free (28 plays)
Nov-2005
Rammstein : Wo bist du (16 plays)
Dec-2005
Katatonia : My Twin (50 plays)
Jan-2006
Code 64 : True Faith (23 plays)
Feb-2006
Covenant : Ritual Noise (edit) (35 plays)
Mar-2006
Covenant : 20 Hz (34 plays)
Apr-2006
Depeche Mode : Better Days (26 plays)
May-2006
Heijala : Korkeus (25 plays)
Jun-2006
Pet Shop Boys : Integral (23 plays)
Jul-2006
Swans : Failure (26 plays)
Aug-2006
Boyd Rice and Friends : People (37 plays)
Sep-2006
Swans : Where Does a Body End? (18 plays)
Oct-2006
Tuhat kuolemaa sekunnissa : Heräää (16 plays)
Nov-2006
Seize : Don't Let Me (Diskonnekted mix) (21 plays)
Dec-2006
The Dresden Dolls : Sex Changes (26 plays)
Jan-2007
Coil : Heaven's Blade (34 plays)
Feb-2007
Nine Inch Nails : Survivalism (29 plays)
Mar-2007
Nine Inch Nails : In This Twilight (24 plays)
Apr-2007
Black Sun Productions : Pimp Ballad (18 plays)
May-2007
Triarii : Heaven &Amp; Hell (22 plays)
Jun-2007
Coph Nia : Sympathy For The Devil (11 plays)
Jul-2007
Coil : Sex with Sun Ra (Part One - Saturnalia) (17 plays)
Aug-2007
Paradise Lost : Missing (15 plays)
Sep-2007
CMX : Vallan haamut (13 plays)
Oct-2007
Antony and the Johnsons : Cripple and the Starfish (24 plays)
Nov-2007
Suruaika : Kartanon pihalla (8 plays)
Dec-2007
Victoria : Like Rats (Rattus Rattus) (12 plays)
Jan-2008
Eleanoora Rosenholm : Maailmanloppu (10 plays)
Feb-2008
Blutengel : Lucifer (8 plays)
Mar-2008
Underworld : Beautiful Burnout (5 plays)
Apr-2008
The World Of Skin : You'll Never Forget (15 plays)
May-2008
Nine Inch Nails : Corona Radiata (10 plays)
Jun-2008
Ladytron : Deep Blue (11 plays)
Jul-2008
Nouvelle Vague : Dance With Me (12 plays)
Aug-2008
Antlers Mulm : Painted Grave (6 plays)
Sep-2008
Antlers Mulm : Filth in several styles (7 plays)
Oct-2008
The Tiger Lillies : Banging in the Nails (11 plays)
Nov-2008
Black Sun Productions : The Milky Intro (5 plays)
Dec-2008
Triarii : Europa (7 plays)
Jan-2009
Coph Nia : Levitation (16 plays)
Feb-2009
The Legendary Pink Dots : The More It Changes (17 plays)
Mar-2009
The Tiger Lillies & Justin Bond : Life's A Cunt (9 plays)
Apr-2009
Depeche Mode : Oh Well (15 plays)
May-2009
Depeche Mode : Peace (12 plays)
Jun-2009
Ministry : Work for Love (7 plays)
Jul-2009
Sixth Comm : Sonfelte (8 plays)
Aug-2009
Snog : Love Power (8 plays)
Sep-2009
Lama : Turpa kiinni ja nussi (16 plays)
Oct-2009
Teurastamo 5 : Eläviä ruumiita (8 plays)

Over at my blog, Bear Among Bees, I like to feature a tune (or a few) each Tuesday. I decided to start posting links here in my last.fm journal because this is a music place after all.

I don't much like the last.fm journal format, thats why I don't just post the journals here in the first place. So that's the story and here are all the October links, I might try doing this once a month.

I love hearing from people so feel free to comment here or over at my blog. Cheers!

Tuesday October 6th 2009 was a little horsey and featured video clips for these songs

Cat Power - Silver Stallion
Dirty Three - Last Horse on the Sand
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Horses
PJ Harvey - Horses in My Dreams

Tuesday October 13th 2009 was all about one of my new favorite artists, Sibylle Baier. Tunes were Tonight and I Lost Something in the Hills.

Tuesday October 20th 2009 featured early 80's aussie band The Lighthouse Keepers' - Ocean Liner.

Tuesday October 27th 2009 featured a flowery number Blume by Einstürzende Neubauten.

size=10]wolkig's top albums (overall)
1. Forseti - Erde (71) 2. Tindersticks - Tindersticks (40) 3. November Novelet - Magic (33) 4. Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed: The Greatest Hits Disc 1 (29) 5. Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers (28) 6. Satie - Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes, Nocturnes, La Belle Ex (26) 7. Boyd Rice & Fiends - Wolf Pact (26) 8. Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge (25) 9. The Horrors - Primary Colours (25) 10. Current 93 - All The Pretty Little Horses (The Inmost Light) (24) 11. Death in June - But,What End's When The Symbols Shatter (23) 12. And Also the Trees - A Retrospective 1983-1986 (23) 13. Zoviet France - Misfits, Loony Tunes and Squalid Criminals (23) 14. Pulp - Hits (23) 15. Death in June - Burial (22) 16. Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See (22) 17. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit (22) 18. Leger des Heils - Memoria (22) 19. And Also the Trees - The Klaxon (22) 20. Joy Division - Permanent (22) 21. Matmos - Supreme Balloon (22) 22. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (22) 23. Laibach - Volk (21) 24. Cinema Strange - Cinema Strange (21) 25. Leger des Heils - Gloria (21) 26. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (20) 27. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - The OMD Singles (20) 28. The Knife - Silent Shout (20) 29. Blood Axis - The Gospel of Inhumanity (20) 30. Suede - Suede (19) 31. Of the Wand and the Moon - Sonnenheim (19) 32. Clair Obscur - Play (18) 33. Monolake - Cinemascope (17) 34. Nitzer Ebb - That Total Age (17) 35. Virgin Prunes - If I Die ,I Die (16) 36. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs (16) 37. Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible (16) 38. Nitzer Ebb - Body of Work (16) 39. Death in June - Nada! (16) 40. Forseti - Windzeit (16) 41. Coil - Love's Secret Domain (16) 42. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (16) 43. SPK - Leichenschrei (15) 44. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (15) 45. Ladytron - Witching Hour [Bonus DVD] Disc 1 (15) 46. Haus Arafna - Trilogie Des Blutes / Nachblutung (15) 47. GusGus - Attention (15) 48. Killing Joke - Killing Joke - Killing Joke (14) 49. Throbbing Gristle - Part Two: The Endless Not (14) 50. Suede - Dog Man Star (14)