Blog

Here I am, once again. Today my profile turns 3 years old. It's been a decently big year for listening. I reached the big 50,000 tracks played, which was exciting. I finally got my songs per day average to 50, after it hovering in the 40s for a long time. Of course, then it dropped drastically over the summer when I didn't listen to much of anything. But now I'm going big again. So, let's see where my charts are.

They Might Be Giants 3,673
The Beatles 3,441
Mike Oldfield 1,843
Gorillaz 1,772
Fountains of Wayne 1,356
Queen 1,206
Dong Bang Shin Ki 1,107
The Alan Parsons Project 1,062
The Killers 1,003
Michelle Branch 982
Vanessa Carlton 883
Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi 832
Simon & Garfunkel 826
Coldplay 782
Paul McCartney 778
Beck 773
KT Tunstall 773
The Presidents of the United States of America 762
Blur 727
Gabriel Mann 681
The Beach Boys 656
Elton John 650
Geri X 645
"Weird Al" Yankovic 629
Donovan 614
Billy Joel 538
tvxq 530
John Williams 460
The Rocket Summer 434
The Offspring 433
Daft Punk 428
Sean Lennon 416
The Cranberries 395
Michael Jackson 385
Scissor Sisters 355
Mannheim Steamroller 349
The Brian Setzer Orchestra 338
Imogen Heap 320
John Linnell 305
Mono Puff 287
Koji Kondo 277
Koji Kondo, Yoshiko Kawamoto 272
Creedence Clearwater Revival 268
Herman's Hermits 250
Bow Wow Wow 245
Cirque du Soleil 242
super smash bros. brawl 239
The B-52's 238
Paul McCartney & Wings 238
O-Zone 236

So, there you have them. My charts as of today, though more music is playing on my iPod right now, which will undoubtedly cause this to be out of date by the time I publish it. So, who was big this year? Who's on the rise, who's falling, and who stayed the same?

Well, first off, TMBG asserted their place as first quite dominantly, as opposed to when they and The Beatles were neck and neck. The Beatles still got 1,000+ plays though, so they were not neglected. Gorillaz also had another solid year. Fountains of Wayne had a big year, and rose up a few spots, not a small feat for someone in the top 10 of my charts. Queen moved up as well.

The two biggest new additions are The Offspring and Daft Punk. While they were both in my charts a year ago, their presence was negligible. Now, they both have 400+ plays. Both are amazing. Daft Punk's Discovery is my album of the year, without a doubt.

PUSA also moved up a good bit, and deservedly so, as they were not receiving enough attention in the past from me. The Beach Boys and Billy Joel also made some moves. Nice

Bow Wow Wow rocketed up, since I finally listened to the music of theirs I had besides I Want Candy, and realized I liked it. Yay. Also, a welcome to the B-52's, who are fun times.

So, who is making big moves outside of my top 50? Well, Owl City will probably be there soon enough. It seems I can't get enough of it. Also, Yui is fun. Nice mellow j-pop-rock is fun. Men At Work and Colin Hay are looking at making their moves into the charts soon. Oh, also Susumu Hirasawa, with the soundtrack to Paprika, has made his presence felt. No doubt about it, some of these artists will be in my charts next year. O-Zone is on the way out, as is the SSB:Brawl soundtrack. Herman's Hermits just doesn't have what it takes to really compete with any real competition either, given the small number of their songs I have. But only time will tell.

That's it for now. My charts are pretty nice. They've settled somewhat into what they'll sort of look like for the predictable future. The top 10 won't change too much, the next 20 may shift around, but will have most of the same members. But things aren't so defined that they can't move at all, and that's why watching the charts is still fun. I'll see you in a year!

Tinted Windows, the supergroup that features Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Fountains of Wayne bassist/tunesmith Adam Schlesinger and Hanson singer Taylor Hanson, has unveiled a track off their new album which will hit on April 21st.
The bar for supergroups has been set awfully low in recent years - but Tinted Windows sound like you want them to: Cheap Trick with Fountains Of Wayne's lyrical cleverness, The Smashing Pumpkins' blistering guitars, and a really gifted singer.

By MaxMarginal, Tuesday Feb 24, 2009

Meteoropatici utenti di BCIT,

vi avvisiamo che in aggiunta al tempo instabile, il vostro umore verrà scombussolato anche dalla presente newsletter, ricca di novità più o meno inaspettate.

::::Cominciamo con la notizia principale degli ultimi giorni: tra poco più di un mese inizieranno ad uscire le prime tracce del nuovo album degli Smashing Pumpkins, intitolato “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope”. Si tratta di un concept di ben 44 brani rilasciati prima gratuitamente in digitale (a partire da Halloween), e poi su supporto fisico a pagamento. Quest'album dovrebbe segnare il ritorno alle radici psichedeliche per le zucche, secondo le quattro componenti "atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty". Il tema dell'album riprende la metafora dei tarocchi del viaggio attraverso l'esistenza (Fool's Journey) dei personaggi "the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic, and the Mystic" (il bambino, lo stupido, lo scettico e il mistico). Vi interesserà sapere che Billy si è da poco regalato dell'attrezzatura audio vintage di qualità e prezzo notevolmente alti. Commenti a caldo e a freddo sul nostro forum.

::::I fan che hanno seguito il forum sanno però che poco prima dell'estate la band ha subito un'ulteriore perdita storica: il nostro Jimmy Chamberlin (anche detto amorevolmente peppuccio da qualcuno) ha deciso di abbandonare i Pumpkins poiché, a suo dire, non era un progetto al quale si stava dedicando al meglio, per cui ha preferito comportarsi in modo sincero e lasciare il posto a qualcun altro piuttosto che non lavorare bene. Niente paura però, di recente lo abbiamo visto più in forma che mai a un evento promosso dalla Zildjian in cui ha ribadito che non uscirà dal mondo della musica e che ha ottimo materiale su cui sta lavorando con i Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. Topic sull'addio di Jimmy qui.

::::Largo quindi alle nuove reclute: Mike Byrne, diciannovenne di Beaverton (Oregon), dopo aver superato le selezioni è entrato ufficialmente negli Smashing Pumpkins. Il giovane batterista è stato lodato, oltre che da Corgan, anche da Kerry Brown, il quale ha aperto un blog per tenere i fan informati più o meno quotidianamente sullo sviluppo delle registrazioni del nuovo album dei Pumpkins.
Verso il nuovo batterista…link
Glittercop / ain't no sleep when you're living the dream: segui il blog insieme ai fan... link

::::A fine luglio Corgan ha subito un'altra perdita personale e musicale con la morte dell'amico e collaboratore Sky Saxon (oltre al video di Superchrist, vi rimandiamo alla discussione sulle collaborazioni tra i due nel nostro forum). Per onorare la memoria di Saxon, Billy si è unito ad altri musicisti (tra cui Dave Navarro, Kerry Brown, Mark Weitz, Sierra Swan, lo stesso Mike Byrne – alla sua prima prova live) sotto il nome di “Spirits in the Sky”, e ha tenuto sei concerti in California suonando cover e nuovo materiale dei Pumpkins. Date un'occhiata al topic relativo per avere un assaggio di quelli che potrebbero essere tra i brani inseriti nel prossimo album!

::::Restando in ambito più o meno spirituale, segnaliamo che dopo l'apertura dell'account Twitter, dal quale elargisce riflessioni che in molti casi hanno venature filosofico-religiose, Billy ha aperto anche un sito intitolato “Everything from Here to There” che tratta di argomenti di religione e spiritualità proponendosi di stimolare riflessioni e discussioni attinenti a questi temi. Qualche commento dei fan sul nostro forum.

::::Già da febbraio è in atto il progetto “Smashing Pumpkins Vault”. Frank Quinto, storico fan e taper del gruppo, sta gestendo l'archivio privato dove è raccolto tutto il materiale inedito registrato e conservato dal gruppo sin dai suoi albori e persino prima. Dopo varie proposte discusse e commentate da Corgan e fan sul forum ufficiale, si è deciso che tutto il materiale verrà distribuito tramite un circuito di Fan Club. L'iscrizione al Fan Club darà l'accesso a materiale esclusivo digitale e sconti per l'acquisto di materiale fisico (probabilmente box set e forse persino vinili), ma comunque ci saranno anche uscite dedicate a coloro che decideranno di non iscriversi (digitali, gratuite e non). Il materiale in questione ricopre tutto il catalogo della band, dalle registrazioni di Billy datate 1985 a interviste e oggettistica varia. Vista l'enorme mole di lavoro Quinto ha pronosticato che la distribuzione inizierà questo autunno; nel frattempo cercherà di tenere aggiornati i fan tramite una mailing list alla quale è possibile iscriversi tramite questo indirizzo. Segnaliamo anche, per i fan che se lo possono permettere, che si sta lavorando all'apertura di un negozio eBay ufficiale dove saranno in vendita rarità e memorabilia dei Pumpkins (link).
Per maggiori informazioni consultate la discussione sul nostro forum!

::::Grandi novità da James Iha: l'ex chitarrista degli Smashing Pumpkins è ormai da parecchi mesi impegnato in una nuova band insieme a Bun E. Carlos (batterista dei Cheap Trick), Taylor Hanson degli Hanson e Adam Schlesinger dei Fountains of Wayne. Si chiamano Tinted Windows e il primo disco, omonimo, è uscito il 21 aprile: link.

::::E infine un ritorno inatteso: dopo dieci anni di silenzio è attraverso una telefonata alla radio chicagoana Q101 che abbiamo notizie di D'arcy. L'ex bassista dei Pumpkins aveva telefonato solo per richiedere informazioni su un cantante, ma, dopo la sorpresa iniziale, il conduttore Manno ha chiacchierato con lei per una decina di minuti. Dalla conversazione, durante la quale hanno parlato di musica, di Chicago e dei problemi della vita, è emerso che D'arcy continua la sua vita in campagna ormai lontana dagli ambienti musicali, anche a causa di periodici problemi di salute. Infine D'arcy ha salutato gli ascoltatori rinnovando la sua nostalgia per la sua città natale e incoraggiando tutti ad amare la 'Windy City' anche per lei: link.

::::Per concludere vi segnaliamo qualche info minore relativa al mondo delle zucche. L'ex bassista Melissa Auf Der Maur si è ammalata di febbre suina, ma niente paura: è già guarita ed è sempre al lavoro sui suoi progetti musicali (link). Billy Corgan, oltre ad anticipare una possibile collaborazione con Linda Strawberry per una linea d'abbigliamento, ha partecipato a un pranzo di beneficenza messo all'asta dal sito Charitybuzz (asta vinta da un fan per 15000 dollari) durante il quale ha dichiarato, tra le altre cose, di non voler più sentire parlare di Zwan e di non avere intenzione di rilasciare nient'altro di inedito di quel periodo (link). E infine segnaliamo pure che sia Billy sia Jimmy Chamberlin hanno firmato la petizione contro KFC per fermare la tortura e lo sterminio dei polli (link)!

Vi avevamo avvertiti ;)

A presto!

BCIT

Name your top 10 most played bands on Last.fm:
1. The Killers
2. Coldplay
3. Spoon
4. Fountains of Wayne
5. Green Day
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. Linkin Park
8. Kaiser Chiefs
9. Foo Fighters
10. Snow Patrol


Now answer the questions according to the numbers:
What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
I think it was Scar Tissue.

What is your favourite album of 2?
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

What is your favourite lyric that 5 has sung?
Don't really have a favorite lyric for them.

How many times have you seen 4 live?
Never.

What is your favourite song by 7?
Shadow of the Day

What is a good memory you have considering the music of 10?
None really.

Is there a song of 3 that makes you sad?
Nope.

What is your favourite lyric that 2 has sung?
"I just got lost!
Every river that I tried to cross
Every door I ever tried was locked
Oh and I'm just waiting til the shine wears off"

What is your favourite song by 9?
Hmm... I'd have to say The Pretender

How did you get in to 3?
I saw a music video for Sister Jack on ME TV, which is an Austin music video station. Saw it, thought the video was funny and liked the music.

What was the first song you heard by 1?
Mr. Brightside, like most people.

What is your favourite song by 4?
Mexican Wine

How many times have you seen 9 live?
Once, at the ACL Music Festival last year. They were awesome.

What is a good memory you have concerning 2?
Listening to X&Y while driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in California during vacation.

Is there a song of 8 that makes you sad?
Nope.

What is your favourite album of 5?
American Idiot

What is your favourite song of 1?
Gah, have too many favorites. But I really like All These Things I've Done, Spaceman, and Neon Tiger.

What is your favourite song of 10?
Shut Your Eyes

How many times have you seen 7 live?
Never.

What is your favourite album of 1?
Day & Age

One of the first compilation CDs I made. I think it's about three years old?



Tracklist
1. The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret
2.Ashlee Simpson - Boyfriend
3. The Veronicas - 4ever
4. Avril Lavigne - Together
5. Bowling for Soup - 1985
6. Billie Joe Armstrong - Mechanical Man
7. Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom
8. Good Charlotte - The Anthem
9. Green Day - Holiday
10. Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
11. Sum 41 - Fat Lip
12. Hilary Duff - Who's That Girl?
13. Jack's Mannequin - I'm Ready
14. The Veronicas - When It All Falls Apart
15. Morningwood - Nth Degree
16. Green Day - Minority
17. Nickelback - Savin' Me
18. Rihanna - Unfaithful
19. Ryan Cabrera - 40 Kinds of Sadness
20. Sum 41 - Pieces
21. The Veronicas - Leave Me Alone
22. The Strangers (a band at our school that only briefly existed) - time of your life (Green Day cover)

1. Sleater-Kinney
2. Cat Power
3. Kimya Dawson
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. The Dresden Dolls
6. The Moldy Peaches
7. They Might Be Giants
8. The Beatles
9. The Decemberists
10.PJ Harvey
11. Belle & Sebastian
12. M.I.A.
13. Camera Obscura
14. Le Tigre
15.Cansei de Ser Sexy
16. Guster
17. Feist
18. The Clash
19. Ben Folds
20.Patti Smith
21. Pixies
22. Seatbelts
23. Santogold
24. The Donnas
25. The Kinks
26. Fountains of Wayne
27. Tegan & Sara
28. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
29. Flight of the Conchords
30. The Ditty Bops
31. Lily Allen
32. A.F.I.
33. R.E.M.
34.The Smiths
35. The Cramps
36. Bob Dylan
37. The Essex Green
38. Shakira
39. Yann Tiersen
40.Sean Paul
41.Polaris
42. Neutral Milk Hotel
43. TLC
44. Southern Culture on the Skids
45. Echobelly
46. The Cure
47. The Velvet Underground
48. The Ting Tings
49. Chuck Ragan
50. Barry Louis Polisar




1. How did you get into 31?
Picked it up by chance, thinking it wouldn't be that good but surprisingly was.


2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Tank! I think.

3. What's your favourite lyric by 29?
Because you know when I'm down to my socks, what time it is..
It's business, It's business time because when i'm down to my socks, it's time for business, that's why they call them business socks.

4. What is your favourite album by 49?

Feast or Famine. I think it's his only studio album but I could be wrong about that.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own?

4, I think...

6. What is your favourite song by 50?
"Me And You"

7. Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad?

Not that I can think of... maybe Diamond Sea.

8. What is your favourite song by 15?

I like Lets Reggae All Night or Let's Make Love And Listen to Death From Above

9. What is your favourite song by 5?
The Perfect Fit

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?


All of their songs make me happy

11. What is your favourite album by 40?
Dutty Rock

12. What is your favourite song by 12?
I know Paper Planes is my number one most listened to song by M.I.A. but my favorite song is probably Boyz or Mango Pickle Down River

13. What is a good memory you have involving 33?

The day I realized I knew the lyrics to "It's the end of the world as we know it." took me a month. xD

14. What is your favourite song by 37?

The Pride

16. How many times have you seen 24 live?

I have never seen them live but I would love to.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 17?
1234

18. What is your favourite album by 11?
If You're Feeling Sinister

19. Who is a favourite member of 1?

Do I have to pick just one? I have a serious girl crush on the whole band but seriously... Carrie with Janet as a very close second and Corin as last but not least.

20. Have you ever seen 14 live?
No, they broke up before I could do that. :(

21. What is a good memory involving 21?
None that I can think of.. maybe singing them in the car

22. What is your favourite song by 16?
I can't pick a favorite Guster song. All of their songs are wonderful and amazing.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47?
"I'm Waiting for the Man" I think

24. What is your favourite album by 45?
On

25. What is your favourite song by 18?
Hard question. Maybe Hateful or Spanish Bombs.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 38?
I think Whenever, Wherever. Her spanish stuff far exceeds her english stuff. I can't listen to her english stuff anymore.

27. What is your favourite lyric by 3?
Just one?
open up your eyes and see the beauty over there
open up our ears and be surprised by what you hear
'cause it's not just on the radio, it's not just on the video
it isn't all downloadable, there's music everywhere

28. What is you favourite song by 2?
He War or Free

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32?
I don't remember. I want to say Silver And Cold but I am not sure.

30. What is you favourite song by 8?
Across The Universe or Can't Buy Me Love

31. How many times have you seen 25 live?
Never

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
ha ha. Most of their songs make me smile. maybe Daddy Was A Preacher But Mama Was A Go-Go Girl

33. What is you favourite album by 9?
Picaresque

34. What is the worst song by 46?
I can't think of anything I don't like off the top of my head.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34?
I don't know... maybe This Charming Man

36. What is you favourite album by 42?
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
37. How many times have you seen 39 live?
Never. He's a composer. I don't think he does concerts.
38. What is your favourite album by 35?
Songs The Lord Taught Us
39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28?
Rewrite

40. What is your favourite album by 7?
Lincoln, probably. It's heard to pick a favorite TMBG album. they are too full of awesome.

Bands A-Z

I like letters.

A Alice Cooper
B Beatles
C Cat Power
D dresden dolls
E Echobelly
F Feist
G Guster
HHarry & The Potters
I Iggy Pop
J Jonathan Coulton
K Kinks
L Le Tigre
M Moldy Peaches
N Neutral Milk Hotel
O Old Crow Medicine Show
P Patti Smith
Q Queen
R REM
S Sleater-Kinney
T They Might Be Giants
U Uncle Tupelo
V Velvet Underground
W White Stripes
X X
Y Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Z Zombina & The Skeletones

01) Sleater-Kinney

First Song Heard: One Beat
Favourite Song: One Beat
Favourite Album: One Beat
Most Played Song on Last FM: One Beat

02) Cat Power

First song heard: Free
Favourite song:He War
Favourite album: You Are Free
Most played song on Last FM: He War

03) Kimya Dawson

First Song Heard: Tire Swing
Favourite Song: right now Time To Think
Favourite Album: Hidden Vagenda or Remember That I Love You
Most Played Song on Last FM: So Nice So Smart

04) Yeah Yeah Yeahs

First Song Heard: Bang
Favourite Song: Black Tongue or Y Control
Favourite Album: Fever To Tell
Most Played Song on Last FM: Gold Lion

05) The Dresden Dolls

First Song Heard: Girl Anachronism
Favourite Song: The Perfect Fit
Favourite Album: The Dresden Dolls
Most Played Song on Last FM: The Mouse & The Model

06) The Moldy Peaches

First Song Heard: Lucky Number Nine
Favourite Song: Steak For Chicken
Favourite Album: The Moldy Peaches
Most Played Song on Last FM: Steak For Chicken

07) They Might Be Giants

First Song Heard: Istanbul(Not Constantinople)
Favourite Song: Ana Ng
Favourite Album: Lincoln
Most Played Song on Last FM: Don't Let's Start

08) The Beatles


First Song Heard: Love Me Do
Favourite Song: Can't Buy Me Love or Across The Universe
Favourite Album: Hard Day's Night or With The Beatles or Help!
Most Played Song on Last FM: Across The Universe

09) The Decemberists
First Song Heard: The Infanta
Favourite Song: The Mariner's Revenge Song, The Engine Driver, Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect
Favourite Album: Picaresque
Most Played Song on Last FM: The Engine Driver

10) PJ Harvey

First Song Heard: Down By The Water
Favourite Song: Dress, Sheela Na Gig, Losing Ground
Favourite Album: Dry, Rid Of Me
Most Played Song on Last FM: Losing Ground

2009.4.9
★Marié Digby - Bring Me Love
？Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie
？Sara Bareilles - Love Song

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It Happened Last Night: Lily Allen Kicks Off U.S. Tour
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Q&A: New "Megagroup" Tinted Windows
Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger on his collabo with members of Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, and Cheap Trick. 

The Killers: Sick of Each Other?
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Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow, Katy Perry Top Bumbershoot Bill
Click here to find out who else is confirmed for the annual Seattle Festival. 

Listen to Neil Young's New Album!
Plus: Watch the rocker roll in a limo and dis Wall Street in the music video for "Cough Up the Bucks"! 

Live Review: Lily Allen's Saucy Tour Opener