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Oh, how time just fly by us, last.fm. We are very close to our second anniversary, so I brought you a gift. It's okay if you don't have anything for me, it's not that special. I did the same thing last year: a celebratory journal. This time around I decided to surprise you once again by posting it before the exact date but not on the same date as last year. I like to keep you in your toes.

This time around last year I had “47,036 plays since 26 Aug 2007” now it's "76,168 plays since 26 Aug 2007". So I've scrobbled +29,062 songs and went from "649 artists" to "1,119 artists" in my library. Yikes! I've been listening to a lot of radio that usually pads up the artists counts.

Reading back to that journal, I can tell you that some feelings stay the same. Rolling charts and journals are still rocking my world, and The Twilight Sad keeps hanging in there like a bad rash, when you think they are about to cave it, they release something. *sigh* There's also the Recommended Reading that's slated to make an official come back with a vengeance!

Some loving points have decreased and make me feel mad and annoyed:
- For some reason the "Similar Artists" list seems to be wrong about 8 out of 10 times these past few months. You can really tell when you know the artists involved.

- You seem to be getting a lot more popular with people and that has some pros and cons. One of the major cons is the serious amount of trolling and spamming from street team, regular people and even artists, remember that porn shoutbox spam attack?! Hilarious!

The street team people have also caught on a way of not getting their shouts deleted: attack in flock, so when the moderator visits the page s/he thinks they are regular fan recommendations. Like The Gossip shouts on the Sleater-Kinney page. I await the "flag this shout as spam"/"flag this shout as offensive" feature, pleeeease.

- Who can forgive the boneheaded move of removing the player from the album and artists pages. Makes it a bit hostile to listen to streaming albums. We also have a new fancy "visual radio" for whatever is worth, though the multiple tag radio station is not bad at all.

To compete with you on a certain extent, I have signed up for Blip.fm. It's not an in-your-face competitor, but I listen a lot more to the "radio" over there. And those geniuses let you scrobble your played songs. Ahhh, don't you love it when things just sync with one another?

With the Blipster application, it's easy to make a queue playlist to "blip" and filter your results by media type, it's actually better than using their site. I've also been abled to find some pretty good "DJs". If you are familiar with blip.fm, you'll know why those terms require quotation marks.

And then there's setlist.fm, which is pretty cool for people like me who like to get a sense of what artists - with an upcoming gig in my city - are playing on tour. I often go through artists events here just to see if there's a "Review" link, in case someone decided to take a souvenir... and read some post-gig shouts about how it all went.

I also found a new leisure activity: detect pattern in my artists images. Not the usual "this band has attitude" group shots. I'm talking weird coincidences. So far I've discovered two themes: baths and people who were run over.

Around New Year's eve, these bands felt really dirty and decided to do some band bonding by taking a bath together. Two of them also had snacks while they were at it.


More recently two guys were tragically taken down.


I don't know why this happened but I opened a tip line to uncover the secret. An anonymous tip suggested that Brent from Menomena ran over the two of them. The investigation is still open.

This is a troubling epidemic my friends. It's already extended to other user library. Like the following taken today from trainstobrazil_'s library

It seems to be getting worse. Now they are all lying down!

These little things mean that you've still got some love. I don't think I'll be bailing out just yet but you'd better watch your recently-handed-to-corporate-entity steps.

Let's reminisce the good things, shall we?

Artist charts
One thing I can admit is that I have a bit of a methodology for my playlists. When an album comes out, I will listen to it several times in the intended order; once I pin down the overall mood and flow of it, I start to shuffle it and if I really like the album, there is an "Artist playlist" consisting of basically every new song plus some past favorites. You can tell that one-sided artist dominance abounds.

The week following our first anniversary was dominated by The Walkmen with 129 plays. Last week, it was To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie with 54 plays. Some weeks there's more diversity. That definitely did not happen the week of August 31st when Xiu Xiu crushed the charts with a whooping 254 plays!

An interesting factoid was a tie for the number one spot, it happened on July 19th between To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie and The Kills, each got 91 plays. You could say they were killing it. Ha!

Here's a recap on chart toppers:

The following artists topped the charts one week only:
Xiu Xiu
TV on the Radio
The Beatles
Johnny Foreigner
Lykke Li
Deftones
Doves
The Horrors
Grizzly Bear
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
Women
Menomena
Voxtrot

2 times a piece for this group:
Maybeshewill
Errors
Morrissey
The Phantom Band
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie

3 weeks:
Mogwai
The Twilight Sad
Okkervil River
Fever Ray

5 weeks were topped by the following band
Explosions in the Sky

Aaaaand the past year was dominated by two bands with 7 weeks on top!
The Walkmen
The Kills

Judging from that 250+ week you can tell that thing tends to be go one way quite often. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I indulge on the songs I like from time to time, like listening to them back-to-back-to-back-to-back... to-back and repeating certain moments of the songs. So I decided to unearth the most dominating songs, chart style.

Most dominating songs:
01. Maybeshewill – You Can't Shake Hands With a Clenched Fist
June 14 - 28 plays
This song ends very abruptly and you feel like you must listen to it again... and again.

02. The Twilight Sad – Reflection Of The Television
26 plays - May 24
I'm going to guess that this happened on the week of its release. Just a guess.

03. Johnny Foreigner – Salt, Pepa and Spinderella
25 plays - October 12
What?! This song is so catchy. It's sickening.

04. The Twilight Sad – Twenty four hours
25 plays - November 9
Killer cover! It makes the original feel so tame and... old.

05. Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart
23 plays - March 22
"If I had a heart I would love you... ahhhhh" It just gets in that head of yours.

06. The Walkmen – Postcards from Tiny Islands
21 plays - August 24
This song... it just owns! That guitar, those crashing cymbals... it's excellent!

07. The Daysleepers – Distant Creatures
21 plays - December 7
Great atmospherics. Sadly the rest of the album doesn't live up to this song.

08. The Twilight Sad – In The Blackout
21 plays - July 19
This is a b-side. I repeat a b-side. The lo-fi metal-ish intro is... whooooaaaaa. Makes my head spin.

09 Interpol – Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
20 plays - September 14
My friend Vikki made me listen to this!

10. The Walkmen – On The Water
19 plays - August 31
Look, if the mean triangle doesn't get to you, maybe the piercing whistling will.

11. Ramona Falls – I Say Fever
19 plays - August 2
I'm going to share a little tragic story here. This album came out Tuesday of last week. A couple of weeks ago I decided that I'd do something special by going to the actual record store instead of ordering online. So, on Tuesday I headed out to the record store during my lunch break and it turned out they didn't have it! Apparently no one goes to the record store to buy albums the very same day they are released anymore. So I had to order it online and lost some precious scrobbling time. Please learn from my experience.

Expect a lot more play counts in the upcoming weeks... and months! :)

12. Lykke Li – Let It Fall
18 plays - November 23
Cool pop song.

13. TV on the Radio – Love Dog
17 plays - September 28
Poor little love dog.

14. The Walkmen – On The Water
17 plays - November 16
Notice that the best song of 2008 made two appearances here!

15. The Kills – Sour Cherry
17 plays - February 1
I'm surprised that Sour Cherry ended up here instead of Getting Down. Undeniably catchy and addictive songs.

Journals: The talk of the town
I wrote 16 more journals after last year anniversary thing. There's been more balanced.

One journal a piece

This group were recognized for opening for Xiu Xiu!
Common Eider, King Eider
Prurient
Evangelista
Xiu Xiu! (and a whole bunch other artists) at The Bowery Ballroom - 28 Aug 2008

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie - The Patron (2007) - 22 Aug 2009

These artists have put on some solid play counts so far this year.
Grizzly Bear
Fever Ray
The Horrors
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009

This group had at least one awesome song that deserved recognition in 2008.
The Daysleepers
Elbow
Gang Gang Dance
Jason Collett
Marnie Stern
This Will Destroy You
We Were Promised Jetpacks
White Hinterland
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009

These artists put on their solid work in 2007 but were truly appreciated last year. Doesn't make them less deserving of a journal.
A Place to Bury Strangers
Battles
Caribou
Efterklang
Film School
Panda Bear
The Field
Yeasayer
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008

The following group got the "honor" of getting a mention on my awards last year.
David Cook
Glasvegas
Guns N' Roses
Metallica
Michael Johns
New Kids on the Block
Oasis
Portishead
The Ting Tings
The Verve
Travis
Vampire Weekend
Weezer
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

I did this crazy journal where I went through my library trying to find out which artists would best represent each state.
Andrew Bird
Annuals
Band of Horses
Beirut
Better Than Ezra
Black Dice
Built to Spill
Caspian
Daniel Johnston
DeVotchKa
Discover America
Elliott Smith
Forget Cassettes
I Hear Sirens
Iron & Wine
Jimmy Eat World
Joan as Police Woman
Johnny Cash
LCD Soundsystems
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Mates of the State
Menomena
Moby
My Morning Jacket
of Montreal
Remy Zero
Slipknot
Sparklehorse
St. Vincent
Sufjan Stevens
The Hold Steady
The Killers
The National
The Spinto Band
The Velvet Underground
Voxtrot
White Rabbits
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008

Deuces journals

A Sunny Day in Glasgow
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008

Animal Collective
Bon Iver
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008

The following group's work entitled them to a mention for their songs and an award of sorts:
Crystal Stilts
Death Cab for Cutie
Fleet Foxes
Friendly Fires
The Big Sleep
The Last Shadow Puppets
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

The Dodos
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009

The Phantom Band
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
The Phantom Band - Checkmate Savage - 19 May 2009

TV on the Radio
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009

Give me two! No wait, give me three journals!

2008 was a good year for the following artists, they were recognized in my most played, song list and award journals.
Deerhunter
Johnny Foreigner
Lykke Li
M83
No Age
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Fuck Buttons
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Mogwai + Fuck Buttons @ Terminal 5 - 19 Sep 2008

Maybeshewill
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009

Slaraffenland
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Telepathe
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Four journals. I repeat f-o-u-o-r. Fouor?

Errors
Errors - It's Not Something But It Is Like Whatever - 9 Mar 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Frightened Rabbit
Thrice
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Can you people believe that I saw this following band in concert three night in a row... with Mogwai?! It was amazing, of course! I have two more concerts in the can that will surely be even better because it's a headlining affair... *swoon*
The Twilight Sad
The Twilight Sad @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Apr 27 - Apr 29) - 1 May 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
The Twilight Sad Killed My Parents and Hit The Road - 25 Nov 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008

Five journals. Hang in there, little Timmy. We are almost there.

Speaking of which...
Mogwai
Mogwai @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Apr 27 - Apr 29) - 3 May 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Mogwai + Fuck Buttons @ Terminal 5 - 19 Sep 2008

The Walkmen
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
The Walkmen - You & Me - 12 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008

Xiu Xiu
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
Xiu Xiu! (and a whole bunch other artists) at The Bowery Ballroom - 28 Aug 2008

Aaaaand this year crowning winner is *drumroll* Okkervil River!!!! With six journals. Woohooo.
Okkervil River
Okkervil River @ The Bell House - 9 Jan 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008

EXCELLENT winner! Thought The Walkmen had this one in the can. Oh well, both released great albums last year. I'll leave it up to you to predict who will be the most talked about for next year. :P

//////////
> 1st anniversary journal

So I guess everyone is aware of Pitchforkmedia.com’s Top 500 Best Songs of the Decade list.

Partly because I disagree fundamentally with a whole hell of a lot of it (e.g. “Crazy In Love” at number 4 [WTF??]) and partly because this is something I’ve been contemplating since I realized the decade was almost over about 4 months ago, I have decided to compile my own list.

As a disclaimer I should go ahead and warn you that my favorite genres are shoegaze, post-punk, and spacey-rock. I also like ambient and some post-rock, although you’ll only find a handful of instrumentals or songs over six minutes herein. The cream of the crop, basically.

New Weird America, metal sub-genres, IDM, alt-country, lo-fi, garage rock, and other such genres are largely ignored or excluded. Although, once again, there are exceptions.

Songs from 2009 are understandably underrepresented compared to the other years in the decade. But of course that’ll all be taken care of in December. Let’s get started:

My 100 Favorite Songs: 2000-2009


100. Architecture in Helsinki – Do The Whirlwind [2005]


099. The Smashing Pumpkins – Stand Inside Your Love [2000]


098. National Skyline – Revenge [2008]


097. Unwound – Below the Salt [2001]


096. Radiohead – Everything In Its Right Place [2000]


095. Stars – Ageless Beauty [2004]


094. Psychic Ills – January Rain [2006]


093. Burial – Archangel [2007]


092. For Against – Why Are You So Angry? [2008]


091. The Sheila Divine – Back To The Cradle [2002]


090. The Daysleepers – Run [2008]


089. School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep [2008]


088. Film School – Go Down Together [2007]


087. Daft Punk – Digital Love [2001]


086. Jeremy Enigk – City Tonight [2006]


085. Thursday – Asleep in the Chapel [2003]


084. The Out_Circuit – Across the Light [2008]


083. Pacific UV – Need [2008]


082. The National – Available [2003]


081. The Church – After Everything [2002]


080. Belle and Sebastian – The Blues Are Still Blue [2006]


079. Film School – Lectric [2007]


078. Spiritualized – Out Of Sight [2001]


077. Metric – Waves [2009]


076. National Skyline – Reinkiller [2001]


075. My Morning Jacket – One Big Holiday [2003]


074. Absinthe Blind – Antarctica [2001]


073. Film School – Two Kinds [2007]


072. Editors – Munich [2005]


071. Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better [2005]


070. Longwave – Make Me Whole [2001]


069. The Sea and Cake – An Echo In [2003]


068. Absinthe Blind – Rising [2001]


067. Editors – Escape the Nest [2007]


066. The Knife / Jose Gonzalez – Heartbeats [2003 / 2005]


065. Air France – Collapsing At Your Doorstep [2008]


064. Aarktica – Big Year [2003]


063. National Skyline – A Night at the Drugstore [2001]


062. Interpol – Say Hello to the Angels [2002]


061. Broken Social Scene – 7/4 Shoreline [2005]


060. The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go [2007]


059. School of Seven Bells - Connjur [2008]


058. Interpol - The New [2002]


057. National Skyline - Tropical Depression [2000]


056. Southpacific - Built To Last [2000]


055. Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives [2006]


054. M83 - We Own The Sky [2008]


053. Codeseven - All the Best Dreams [2004]


052. Editors - An End Has A Start [2007]


051. Film School - Pitfalls [2006]


050. The Daysleepers - Moonfrost [2006]


049. Mew - Apocalypso [2006]


048. National Skyline - Some Will Say [2001]


047. Elliott Smith - Junk Bond Trader [2001]


046. Airiel - Mermaid In a Manhole [2007]


045. The National - Apartment Story [2007]


044. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends [2007]


043. The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?? [2002]


042. Pantha du Prince - Saturn Strobe [2007]


041. Asobi Seksu - Thursday [2006]


040. Cerulean - Here Is Hoping [2004]


039. The Dismemberment Plan - Time Bomb [2001]


038. Radiohead - There There [2003]


037. Dntel - (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan [2001]


036. The Drop - Spiderbite [2002]


035. Film School - 11:11 [2006]


034. My Morning Jacket - Dondante [2005]


033. Sonic Youth - I Love You Golden Blue [2004]


032. Absinthe Blind - You Should Get Out More [2001]


031. Bjork - Unison [2001]


030. Six by Seven - Eat Junk Become Junk [2000]


029. Air - Playground Love [2000]


028. M83 - Don't Save Us From the Flames [2005]


027. Neko Case - Star Witness [2006]


026. The Joy Circuit - The Last Place On Earth [2005]


025. The New Pornographers – The Bleeding Heart Show [2005]

The NPs already had several solid power pop albums under their belt by the time follow-up Twin Cinema’s more diverse aspects launched them into a broader layer of music fans. Now, it’s interesting because this is usually when most bands start to lose some of their down-from-day-one fans. Although Twin Cinema was unarguably their most compromised batch of songs up to that moment, this didn’t mean it was full of duds. Chalk it up to the fact that the members of this supergroup had already been recording and playing music for a while prior or chalk it up to something else, but upon its release TC just sounded like the kind of album that the NPs had always been destined to make sooner or later. And this inclination to branch out yielded what is easily their best song to date. It’s a song as grandiose in its composition as it is in its title: “The Bleeding Heart Show”.

The best part is that by the time that glorious harmony of vocals, synths, and everything else is front and center, you’re ready for it. And it could go on forever for all you care, but you know what they say about all good things.


024. Studio – Impossible [2007]

I’ve never listened to the original Shout Out Louds’ version of “Possible,” even though I know I should. But I imagine that “Impossible” is Studio’s interpretation of what that song would sound like if you were dreaming about listening to it. It reminds me a lot of MBV’s “Sometimes” in feel, except it’s sunny side up.


023. Cat Power – Maybe Not [2003]

The feminine answer to “Imagine.” Enough said. Nobody melts hearts like Chan Marshall.


022. Poem Rocket – Reurbanization of the Space [2000]

From an album named for the concept, this song is about Guy Debord’s theory of psychogeography. If you don’t know what that is, I’ll leave you to Wiki it. I’ll just tell you this much: no song that’s about it could ever be boring or stale. And “Reurbanization Of The Space” is appropriately a monster. This song basically sounds like a Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth track beefed up on steroids. The guitars are louder and noisier; the smoggy bass would seep through your speakers if it wasn’t so dense; the drumming is the sound of a thousand starving urbanites banging pots and pans on a cracked and decaying street top, the vocals are unapologetically confrontational, and its subject matter is more dense than a comprehensive class in 19th century Western philosophy. What other song contains lyrics like: “Here is the new trend: examine the implications in the public and the private sector … you’re creating the mythology of the Great American City … the space around the buildings is the soul of the city”?

This song is an ideal introduction to this severely underappreciated and clearly brilliant trio. Even though they released a follow up album a few years ago, Psychogeography was kind of like their going away present to a world that did not appreciate them. And it still doesn’t. But there will come a time when people casually list them alongside Joy Division and Sonic Youth as urban rock behemoths. Just watch.


021. Interpol – NYC [2002]

It’s because of songs like this (or maybe in spite of songs like this) that Interpol became one of the most ubiquitous indie rock bands at the beginning of the decade. Either way, “NYC” is the sound of them in their prime. It’s a sound as stark and deliberate as it is delicate and mournful.


020. At the Drive-In – Cosmonaut [2000]

Before the band dissolved, they released an album in ROC that completely changed the game in that genre. With “One-Armed Scissor” getting adequate playtime on many major rock stations in 2000, it was the sound of a jolt of electricity punishing FM rock radio for its recent facilitation of the mundane, the unimaginative, and the just flat-out wimpy. Suddenly, post-hardcore music had reached the suburbs. And even though ATD-I was in the process of breaking-up to pursue less cohesive endeavors, Bixler and Rodriguez had positioned themselves as icons of a new generation of hard rock fans. Their wardrobe of tight black shirts and tighter jeans became the uniform for a broad new legion of vocal American kids fed up with “this Lifehouse bullshit.”

Naturally, the music lived up to the image. Especially on ROC. And absolutely nothing was more simultaneously eclectic and intense as the song “Cosmonaut.” The song begins and within three seconds it’s obvious that its already light years ahead of its contemporaries. All of that deep space imagery that had been in their song titles for a while had finally been absorbed into the music itself. A little Unwound here, a little Swervedriver there, and a little Refused way over there. That’s how “Cosmonaut” goes down. “Is it heavier than air?” You best your ass.


019. Yeasayer – 2080 [2007]

Spacey, pretty, and with one of the most sinuous bouncing grooves I’ve ever heard in a pop song. Outrageously surreal lyrics too.


018. National Skyline – Glimmer [2009]

NatSky is unsurpassed when Jeff Garber’s voice is spot-on. That key change comes out of nowhere.


017. M83 – Run Into Flowers [2003]

Anthony Gonzalez makes a career out of building whole otherworldy environments with his multi-instrumental electronica wizardry. And he’s got some pretty celestial tunes to back it up. But “Run Into Flowers” just doesn’t even sound like it could have been composed by mere mortals.

As for all of you wannabe laptop-electronica wunderkinds out there… do us all a favor and listen to this song (and some others like it) before you even try, okay? Not tryin’ to be an asshole or anything; I’m just sayin’.


016. Radiant – World [2004]

The rest of this album is available on Last.fm; but it’s too bad it sounds like AROBTTH-era Coldplay. (And that’s being kind.) Thankfully, I’ll always have this song. “World” is powered by chiming post-punk guitar work, thunderous early-U2 drumbeats, tight production, and it’s all held together by Dragan Jakovljevic’s keening voice. The best part is the ascendant ending.

Also, this was the most listened overall song on my Last.fm charts up until very recently.


015. Film School – Compare [2007]

So effortless and simply beautiful that it should be a crime to be this good.


014. Absinthe Blind – Vanity Calls [2001]

An undeniably potent song. A standout on an album full of decade-long standouts, “Vanity Calls” has some of the best and most unique atmosphere ever laid to tape. The interplay of Adam’s and Erin’s vocals makes it that much more incandescent.


013. PJ Harvey – We Float [2000]

PJ Harvey’s most seductive song of her career. If you’re keeping score at home, that makes this song one of the most seductive of all time. Note that this song is called “We Float” and not “I Float.” Because when she croons the refrain, you’re right there with her.


012. TV on the Radio – Young Liars [2003]

These Brooklyn iconoclasts are well known for making some of the most accessible experimental music of the decade. When you strip this song to its basic elements – (that is, if you remove all of the woozy atmosphere and advanced synthesizers and just use an acoustic guitar) – it’s still amazing. Plus any song that boasts the lyrics: “Someday suppose that my curious nervousness stills into prescience, clairvoyant consciousness; I will be calmer than cream” has to be a classic.


011. Voxtrot – Wrecking Force [2005]

This song certainly lives up to its name. With their EPs, Voxtrot was releasing the kind of music that was so fucking hard to come by mid-decade. Shambling indie rock that sounded like it was recorded on a rainy day in somebody’s bedroom, but is actually way more rich and complex than that.

It’s a song about living life to the fullest. And it doubles as an outright invitation to do so. Actually, a lot of their songs have this kind of fatherly advice thing going on. But sounding more like an ancient philosopher than a straight-laced patriarchal figure. Religion? “You can be your own god if you want to.” Art? You can lose yourself in it. Pain and loss? It’s gonna happen, kid. But it’s a hell of a lot better than what comes out of avoiding new experiences. Trust me… I have the overgrown iTunes library and record collection to prove it.

Now get out there, champ, and climb a mountain or something… (after you finish reading this list, of course.)


010. Junius – A Word Could Kill Her [2006]

Junius is what would have happened if Interpol hadn’t decided to look toward the growing chorus of collegiate hipsters for their emergent fanbase and instead grew beards, traded in their dapper suits for hooded sweatshirts, and started frequenting sludge metal shows. In case you’re trying to ponder that, it’s a compliment.

The red-and-black is still there, except the red aspects are deeper in hue and dripping with vitality. In fact, I don’t think this band has any other colors within its aesthetic range than those two. The mopey quirkiness of trendy indie rock, however, is not there. In fact, the ferocious Junius will bite the head off of any number of such bands that may just happen to have cutesy animalistic names.

And for my money, they could probably take down a Mastodon or two.


009. The National – The Geese of Beverly Road [2005]
Oh, man. That intro is so illuminate and vivid that you can basically watch the fireflies float around under the neighborhood streetlights. This song is about kids setting off car alarms for thrills, yes, but it’s also about so much more than that.


008. The Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies) [2004]

I remember the moment I fell in love with this song. I had been listening to this album casually for days after seeing it nerped on a message board, but on a December night in 2004 I was driving home from an after-work get-together/party kind of thing with some new co-workers. All of a sudden, the song began and upon the moment when that already-familiar bass line entered my immediate consciousness, I was hearing the whole song in my head in fast-forward. Well before I was actually hearing it.

You know how you grow up watching Looney Toons and they use classical compositions therein, but you don’t know it’s, for instance, Bach when you’re like six-years-old? It’s kind of like that. That’s how instantly memorable this song was for me. I’m comparing it to Bach, for Christ sake!
I identify with it, in other words; it completes me; etc.


007. Lansing-Dreiden – A Line You Can Cross [2006]

Holy huge-as-shit, decadent 80s synth-pop chorus, Batman! Except there’s no underbelly of melancholy to be inferred from it or anything within 20 yards of it. Listening to this track is like having an ice-cream sundae, a KB Toys shopping spree, and your parents getting back together all on the same day. It must be your birthday.

And of course they’re from Miami! But unfortunately nothing else off of The Dividing Island comes anywhere close to this.


006. Absinthe Blind – The Break (It’s Been There All This Time) [2003]

You see? I know this song is about God and all. And despite being an atheist, I don’t even care about its unquestioning allegiance to the Almighty. Because this song is proof enough that beyond all of the suffering and misery in this world, there is an ultimate glory in which the virtuous and meek shall bask forever.

Or maybe it’s just that I dig songs with really humongous, ethereal and wispy instrumentation coinciding with strong, passionate vocals. A lot.


005. Poem Rocket – Subway Relocation Memo [2000]

“Please take meeeeeeeeee!” These guitars, do not, in fact, sound like guitars. They actually sound like a subway train navigating one of the most chaotic and unnerving cities you could possibly imagine. It is a real train, but there is no love on it. And it does not, in fact, run on time.


004. Doves – Catch The Sun [2000]

This is what it sounds like when Doves fly.

003. The Dismemberment Plan – The Other Side [2001]

Those drums are absolutely insane and in a hurry to just do something. But then again, those lyrics sound like the kind of social insight that a Beat writer would have come up with after a few grammar courses and a 12-step program. Juxtaposed with that cool-as-a-cucumber but reverberating melody, it’s enough to make your mind bend in several different directions.

To put it simply, [iChange has the best career-finishing trifecta of all time in “Time Bomb,” “The Other Side,” and “Ellen And Ben.” Because after completing your swansong with three songs like that, you have nothing else to prove to anyone. Just dare someone else to eclipse it. Besides, there are actually important things in life other than music. Like T. Mo says, “I’m staying busy hanging with my nephew and tryin’ to keep my eyes on the prize.”


002. Aveo– Haley [2004]

Not only does William Wilson sound particularly like Rob Dickinson and Mark Hollis here, the bassline refuses to relent; the arpeggiated main riff eventually explodes into a full-blown scorcher; and the density of the atmosphere gives one the impression that this is all being transmitted from a remote distance. These are some of the lyrics, which beg all sorts of questions, both literally and figuratively speaking:

“Haley made a curious remark: “Think we can leap-frog this month? Think we can hop-scotch this whole damned year? You wanna play hide and seek? No, I wanna play at sardines in a bomb shelter with love and A.M. radio.”


001. Oceansize – Amputee [2003]

Before you can even fasten your seatbelt and take a deep breath, this titan of a rock song blindsides you like doing four shots of four different types of liquor in less than 20 seconds. It hits you right in the goddamn nose, is essentially what I’m saying.

With unquestionably some of the best production that I’ve ever heard on any track in the modern era of recorded music, this isn’t just all about style either. No, sir. Upon first hearing it around the time of Effloresce’s release, this one five-and-a-half minute song was single-handedly responsible for making 20% of my CD collection at the time seem obsolete to me.

The only aspect of this song that can even remotely come close to being called into question is the lyrics. But they don’t matter. I mean, lyrics are great and everything. But if that’s really what you want out of life, go read some fucking poetry. If you want good music, listen to a band that’s both strong and advanced enough to harness and channel the best of what shoegaze, post-hardcore, and art-rock have ever had to offer into one power-packed song.

“Hip, hip hooray we’ll lose again…”

----------------------------------------------------------

So congratulations to any of the aforementioned artists or members of bands that may read this list. And thank you for making this truly stressful decade bearable to some extent with your wonderful music.

By September, I should have completed a list of my 200 favorite albums of the decade. Stay tuned.

(In roughly chronological order from most recent)

The Ting Tings
Cut Copy
Freezepop
Ladytron x3
Datarock
Radiohead
British Sea Power x3
Film School
Editors x2
Patrick Duff
New Young Pony Club
Pete and The Pirates
Wild Beasts
Fists
Klaxons
Crystal Castles x2
Simian Mobile Disco
The Raveonettes
Scissors For Lefty
Bloc Party x2
The Noisettes
Arcade Fire
Electrelane
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Muse
The Presets
Yo La Tengo
Kasabian
The Reverend Horton Heat
CSS
Art Brut x2
We Are Scientists
The Spinto Band
The Rakes
Every Move a Picture
Morningwood
stellastarr*
Franz Ferdinand
The Dead 60s
The Bravery
The Libertines
Southern Culture on the Skids
Supergrass x2
The Coral
Beck
The Dandy Warhols x3
KC and the Sunshine Band
Super Furry Animals x2
Neil Diamond
Tindersticks
Strangelove
Gene x2
The Charlatans
Kula Shaker
The Moody Blues
Pulp x2
Lush x2
Blur x2
Whale
PJ Harvey x3
The Rentals
REM
Oasis x2
Suede
Nine Inch Nails
Marilyn Manson
Smashing Pumpkins
Swervedriver
Rage Against the Machine
Dinosaur Jr
Front 242
Fishbone
Alice in Chains
Primus
Gallon Drunk
Scrawl
Fugazi
Pearl Jam
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Soundgarden
Ministry
Red Hot Chili Peppers
AC/DC

surveys ofc. who cares I'll have to pass extended physics at mature exams...



--
What are the eight tracks recently added to your library?

1.7th and 17th
2.Anytown Graffiti
3.Rooftops (Moth Song Outro)
4.Tenement Teeth
5.Your Desert's Not A Desert At All
6.song writes itself
7.Cavalry
8.The Trouble with River Cities

What four artists is Last.fm currently recommending to you?

Calla
The Helio Sequence
Ghost of the Russian Empire
Dungen

Have you listened/heard of any of them before?

I've considered checking out Calla recently as it's similar to my beloved Film School. and I like the song Panda by Dungen.

Last loved track?

How Soon Is Now?

Last five recently listened tracks?

1. Drone Refusenik
2. Do You In
3. Kill Me (Before I Kill You)
4. Howl
5. Dear Me

Last song you added to your playlist?

White Jazz

Last person you left a shout to?

vaaaniiila

Last person who left you a shout?

vaaaniiila

Most frequently used tag?

'czwarta nad ranem'

Closest event?

a jam session, on thursday. I'll go if I have somebody to go with.

How long have you been a member?

11 april '07.

How many overall plays do you have?

73228 and more to come!

How many loved tracks?

804, but it should be more.

What are your top 10 overall artists?

1. Primus
2. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
3. The White Stripes
4. The Brian Jonestown Massacre
5. The Greenhornes
6. Placebo
7. Brendan Benson
8. Beck
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
10. Cool Kids of Death [I'm still wondering how come they're in my top ten]

Top 10 artists in the last seven days?

1. Tom Waits
2. Film School
3. Brendan Benson
4. The Smiths
5. José González
6. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
7. The Verve
8. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
9. Pela
9. [the same amount of plays as Pela] The Brian Jonestown Massacre

What are your top 10 overall most played songs?

1. Berlin
2. Pattern Skies
3. Arnie
4. Electric Uncle Sam
5. After the Fall
6. Love Train
7. Mother Of Earth
8. Znam cię na pamięć
9. Howl
10. Pleasure Seeker

What are your top 10 most played songs in the last seven days?

1. On & On
2. Yesterday Is Here
3. How Soon Is Now?
4. Fields Of Gold
5. Blue Valentines
6. 20 Hours
7. Technology
8. Love Is Noise
9. I Will Possess Your Heart
10. Rifles

What bands do you find you most have in common with people?

Placebo, The White Stripes, Blur, Depeche Mode, Kaiser Chiefs, The Cure

What bands do you find you have least in common with people?

Primus, The Greenhornes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Brendan Benson... almost all of my favourites.

What was the last band recommended by Last.fm that you really got into?

The December Sound.

Are you a member of any groups?

yes, 152.

Now playing?

Two Kinds

What are the eight tracks recently added to your library?

1. The Books- None But Shining Hours
2. Film School- On & On
3. Voxtrot- Silence is a Burden
4. The Go Find- Dictionary
5. Blood Red Shoes- You Bring Me Down
6. Electric President- Monsters
7. +/-- Ignoring All The Detours
8. Radical Face- Haunted

What four artists is Last.fm currently recommending to you?

The Besnard Lakes
Great Lake Swimmers
Kings of Convenience
Hello, Blue Roses

Have you listened/heard of any of them before?

I've heard of The Besnard Lakes, and last.fm isn't the first to tell me that I'd like them. I should probably check them out at some point. I've heard Great Lake Swimmers at Dylan's house because his dad is a big fan of them. I've heard Kings of Convenience, but I prefer Erlend Øye's solo stuff & Whitest Boy Alive. I haven't heard of Hello, Blue Roses, but I know Dan Bejar is in it, so I would most likely dig them.

Last loved track?

Shearwater- Red Sea, Black Sea

Last five recently listened tracks?

1. Dosh- Everybody Cheer Up Song
2. +/-- Steal The Blueprints
3. Math and Physics Club- You'll Miss Me
4. Minus the Bear- Drilling
5. Manchester Orchestra- the Procession

Last song you added to your playlist?

I haven't made a playlist. Yet.

Last person you left a shout to?

Clarabear, because my pumpkin cheesecake is awesome.

Last person who left you a shout?

Celebsereg, because The Books are awesome.

Most frequently used tag?

I don't tag anything, but I'm sure it'd be "indie" if I did.

Closest event?

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in Brooklyn next Friday. If only I lived anywhere near Brooklyn, I would definitely be at this show.

How long have you been a member?

Since June 20th, 2007. Almost two years.

How many overall plays do you have?

31,951 and counting.

How many loved tracks?

57.

What are your top 10 overall artists?

1. The American Analog Set
2. Camera Obscura
3. Andrew Bird
4. The Knife
5. Yo La Tengo
6. Annuals
7. Neko Case
8. Hot Chip
9. Animal Collective
10. Grandaddy

Top 10 artists in the last seven days?

1. Fleet Foxes
2. M. Ward
3. Annuals
4. MGMT
5. +/-
6. The American Analog Set
7. Jens Lekman
8. The Go Find
9. Shearwater
10. Mobius Band

What are your top 10 overall most played songs?

1. Animal Collective- Grass
2. The American Analog Set- Magnificent Seventies
3. Wolf Parade- Fancy Claps
4. Thee More Shallows- Night At The Knight School
5. The Knife- Girls Night Out
6. The American Analog Set- Gone to Earth
7. Andrew Bird- Fake Palindromes
8. José González- Heartbeats
9. Andrew Bird- Heretics
10. Camera Obscura- The Last Song

What are your top 10 most played songs in the last seven days?

1. MGMT- Electric Feel
2. Annuals- Down the Mountain
3. Peter and the Wolf- The Owl
4. MGMT- Kids
5. +/-- Steal The Blueprints
6. The American Analog Set- The Green Green Grass (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
7. Annuals- Blue Ridge
8. Jens Lekman- Someone to Share My Life With
9. Shearwater- Red Sea, Black Sea
10. Death From Above 1979- Romantic Rights (Dahlback remix)

What are your top 10 overall most played albums?

1. The American Analog Set- Know by Heart
2. The American Analog Set- The Golden Band
3. The American Analog Set- Set Free
4. The American Analog Set- Through the 1990s: Singles and Unreleased
5. The Knife- Deep Cuts
6. The American Analog Set- From Our Living Room to Yours
7. Andrew Bird- Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
8. The American Analog Set- Promise of Love
9. Animal Collective- Feels
10. Annuals- Be He Me

Can you tell I like American Analog Set?

What are your top 10 most played albums in the last seven days?

1. M. Ward- Hold Time
2. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
3. MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
4. Annuals- Such Fun
5. Fleet Foxes- Sun Giant EP
6. The Go Find- Stars on the wall
7. Copeland- You Are My Sunshine
8. The Books- Lost and Safe
9. Jens Lekman- Oh You're So Silent Jens
10. The Notwist- The Devil, You + Me

What bands do you find you most have in common with people?

Among my Last.fm friends, The American Analog Set, Camera Obscura, Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, and Grandaddy. In "real life", the only semi-ubiquitous band is Death Cab For Cutie.

What bands do you find you have least in common with people?

Lots. Out of my favorites, Yelle, Peter and the Wolf, Thee More Shallows, Raymond & Maria, David E. Sugar, Bracken, and any of the yé-yé girls like Françoise Hardy and France Gall.

What was the last band recommended by Last.fm that you really got into?

The Go Find. I absolutely adore them. They kind of remind me of The Notwist, and they're on Morr Music, who can never do any wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Are you a member of any groups?

Yes, 15. iScrobbler, Swedish Music, I Still Buy Vinyl, Indietronica, Twee Folks, Fuck Me I'm Twee!, Kitsune, French 60's, It's Called Electro!, Ye-ye Girls, Indie Disco, I Like Hand Clapping, I Still Buy Vinyls, Daytrotter, and Strongbad's Concubines. My tastes are teasingly diverse.

Now playing?

The Rosebuds- El Camino

que oye?

CC
Muslimgauze
Negativland
Psychic TV
The Grateful Dead

Más y más cosas locas
Pussy Galore
Destroyer
Beach House
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Cranes
Calexico
Butthole Suffers
This Mortal Coil
Kitchens of Distinction
The Belltower
The Chinese Stars

Puros Negros:
Black Dice
Black Lips
Black Kids
Black Eyes

American-Gaze
Autolux
Film School
Skywave
A Place to Bury Strangers
No Age
Atlas Sound

Maravilla
Dead Can Dance
Einsturzende Neubauten

Artists of the Season:
Spiritualized
Spacemen 3
The Brian Jonestown MassacreMethodrone

just another iwantedto.be mixtape

Telefon Tel Aviv the birds
Lemonade blissout
Dreamend your kiss
Film School february
Jeniferever green meadow island
Deerhunter neither of us, uncertainly
School of Seven Bells half asleep
Telepathe chrome's on it
Kap Bambino acid eyes
Love of Diagrams shadow
Psychic Ills fingernail tea
Dreamend scratch
Telefon Tel Aviv you are the worst thing in the world

playlist, stream & download

Answer the questions based on your current top 50 artists (as listed in your overall charts).

1. How did you get into 25?
Brett Anderson: at first i started listenin to Suede, we all was 'so young' that time. now am not a big fan of Brett's solo work, just remember good old 90s

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
The Doors: People Are Strange, my fav song by the doors so far

3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33?
Officer Kicks: hmmm.. 'mona lisa', i just like the song

4. What is your favorite album by 49?
Einstürzende Neubauten: 'ende neu'

5. How many albums by 13 do you own?
Kasabian: all the LPs, EPs and so on

6. What is your favorite song by 50?
God Is an Astronaut: Fragile

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad?
Arcade Fire: yeah, it should be Crown of Love

8. What is your favorite album by 15?
Hope of the States: 'the lost riots'

9. What is your favorite song by 5?
British Sea Power: Be Gone

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
R.E.M.: yeah, Electrolite

11. What is your favorite album by 40?
Tinariwen: 'amassakoul'

12. What is your favorite song by 10?
Mogwai: dunno.. maybe Glasgow Mega-Shake

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30?
Keane: one night when i was totally drunk sayin: 'whats the hell am listenin to?!' :P

14. What is your favorite song by 38?
Elliott Smith: Can't Make a Sound

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
She Wants Revenge: Out of Control

16. How many times have you seen 25 live?
Brett Anderson: once, on the backstage

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23?
Oasis: guess it was Supersonic

18. What is your favorite album by 11?
Joy Division: both 'closer' and 'unknown pleasures'

19. Who is a favorite member of 1?
The Cooper Temple Clause: Ben Gautrey

20. Have you ever seen 14 live?
CatPeople: nope

21. What is a good memory involving 27?
Maybeshewill: Leicester. i love the city and all the bands from this city

22. What is your favorite song by 16?
Radiohead: Street Spirit

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47?
Thirteen Senses: it was.. hmmm.. Into the Fire

24. What is your favorite album by 18?
Editors: 'b-sides' :P

25. What is your favorite song by 21?
Film School: i dont know actually

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26?
Kings of Leon: Charmer

27. What is your favorite album by 3?
Interpol: OLTA

28. What is your favorite song by 2?
Clinic: Come Into Our Room

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32?
Yann Tiersen: it seems it was Le Quartier

30. What is your favorite song by 8?
iLiKETRAiNS: The Deception

31. How many times have you seen 17 live?
Troubles: zero

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
Joe Strummer: Island Hopping

33. What is your favorite album by 12?
Glasvegas: self-titled

34. What is the worst song by 45?
Vazz: i dont really know

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34?
Air: i just remember the first album i heard, it was 'talkie walkie'

36. What is your favorite album by 48?
Holy Fuck: 'LP'

37. How many times have you seen 42 live?
Encre: zero

38. What is your favorite song by 36?
Brainstorm: a thunder without rain

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28?
Manic Street Preachers: If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

40. What is your favorite album by 7?
Sigur Rós: 'takk'

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy?
Jay-Jay Johanson: yeah, sad song She Doesn't Live Here Anymore makes me happy

42. What is your favorite album by 41?
Jarvis Cocker: 'jarvis'

43. What is your favorite song by 24?
Andrew Lloyd Webber: all the songs from 'jesus christ superstar'