Blog

Took me a bit longer to create this one. But here it is.

1. Stereolab - Black Ants in Sound-Dust
2. M. Ward - Hold Time
3. Big Jay McNeely - There Is Something On Your Mind
4. Malo - Suavecito
5. Dennis Wilson - Thoughts of You
6. Wire - Outdoor Miner
7. The Monochrome Set - The Monochrome Set
8. Esquivel - Flower Girl From Bordeaux
9. The Righteous Brothers - Ebb Tide
10. Night Control - Two Hard
11. Bernard Herrmann - Fahrenheit 451: The Garden
12. Harold Budd - The Gunfighter
13. Connie Francis - Don't Break the Heart That Loves You
14. The Skyliners - Since I Don't Have You
15. Stanley Black And His Orchestra - Cavatina
16. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

Ok, so a significant part of the draw to Last.fm has always been the recommendations.

You listen to a bunch of tracks that you like and through the magic of databases, algorithms, and other listeners with similar tastes; you're presented with artist recommendations courtesy of the machine.

Their used to be a sweet feature subset of the recommendation engine that allowed groups and other users to send you recommendations to which you could also mix in to your musical discovery journey.

Unfortunately with the most recent 'overhaul' of the site, group recommendations went away completely and personal recommendations went to pot. Instead of being displayed on a singular page and allowed to populate a radio stream of unbroken recommendations, they now appear in your inbox where you have to sample them one-at-a-time.

Not nearly as fun nor conducive to the discovery listening process. :-(

I'd previously found a tool (I'll stick a link in here later) that would scrape some of your top artists data and present you a cloud of recommended artists -- it worked as good or better than the machine recommendations mentioned above.

As good as artists recommendations are however, I've always hoped for a track recommendation system... and now there is!

My understanding is that your top tracks are compiled, the most similar tracks to these, which you have not previously scrobbled, are extrapolated and then weighted on how many times they appear as a similar track to one of your top tracks. You're then presented with a list and a Last.fm friendly bb code you can copy-paste. One day hopefully there will be the ability to quickly dump the list in to a playlist or mass tag the result set in order to effortlessly begin the listening discovery process.

Until such time we'll just have to dump them somewhere here, such as a journal and either sample independantly, or use the resulting links to compile a tag set or playlist ourselves.

They say that one day in the future, the machines will do all the work for us, instead of us doing all the work for the machines...

IIRC, the first list is from feeding in my top 50 tracks, and the second list (which should be more accurate) is from feeding in my top 200. I decided to save both for sake of comparison. I expect a lot of duplicates, which should be strongly recommended, but am also interested in the uniques.

The author of this tool, kurtrips also presents a 'Random Song Statistics' generator, that will reveal how many unique tracks represent the total of all your listened tracks, and present as well an SRI or 'Song Repetition Index' representing how many times you listen to a track, when averaged over all the tracks to which you have listened.

In fact, you need to run the Random Song Statistics tool on that site before you can benefit from running the Song Recommendation Tool.

More information can be found here: Random Song Statistics And Song Recommendation Tool

Recommended Songs (sorted by most recommended songs)

Lady Folly : Ilya (Score = 114.66)
Inside My Mind (Blue Skies) : Groove Armada (Score = 93.58)
Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens : DJ Cam (Score = 86.25)
Ramblin' Man : Lemon Jelly (Score = 85.65)
La Luna : Robert Rich & Steve Roach (Score = 84.87)
The Dream Is Always the Same : Tangerine Dream (Score = 83.91)
SOS : Asura (Score = 83.85)
1/1 : Brian Eno (Score = 82.95)
Yo-Yo (Abbey Road Version) : Amorphous Androgynous (Score = 82.46)
Tristesse Globale : Röyksopp (Score = 82.3)
Soluble Ducks : Animals on Wheels (Score = 81.54)
Lunar Orbit Four - Back Side Of The Moon : The Orb (Score = 81.39)
The Rhythm Resonator : Kilvo (Score = 81.39)
Self transforming experience : Solar Fields (Score = 81.24)
Velius : Helios (Score = 81.2)
Novio : Moby (Score = 81.19)
Understars : Brian Eno (Score = 81.11)
The Claddagh of Sera Kirby : Flim (Score = 81.07)
Noun : Pan•American (Score = 80.73)
Out Of Nothing : O Yuki Conjugate (Score = 80.71)
Heliopolis : Banco de Gaia (Score = 79.86)
Nummer 6 : Porn Sword Tobacco (Score = 79.83)
MOS 6581 (Album Version) : Carbon Based Lifeforms (Score = 79.68)
Waveform (Ambient Jungle mix) : The Irresistible Force (Score = 79.67)
Black Lamb & Grey Falcon : Biosphere (Score = 79.53)
Green Reflections : Biosphere (Score = 79.45)
Nummer 14 : Porn Sword Tobacco (Score = 79.2)
Mobility Cookie Redirection : SK123 (Score = 78.99)
Big Teeth Man : Metricks (Score = 78.95)
Night Bus : Burial (Score = 78.81)
Everyone in the World Is Doing Something Without Me : The Future Sound of London (Score = 78.77)
Blue Haze : Ishq (Score = 78.57)
Butterfly : Piana (Score = 78.5)
Beat of Desire : Steve Roach (Score = 78.37)
Isometric unit construction : Domotic (Score = 78.16)
Snowflake 8 : Yagya (Score = 78.15)
Lucky Saddle : FFWD (Score = 77.97)
Sensitive Data : Chris Korda (Score = 77.89)
Mullholland : Stars of the Lid (Score = 77.88)
Poem - Aztec hotel : Harold Budd (Score = 77.86)
Remember My Name : Bliss (Score = 77.8)
The Sea is in the Boat : The Boats (Score = 77.77)
Yara 06 : Marsen Jules (Score = 77.75)
Winston : Naked 9 (Score = 77.58)
Dark Eyed Sister : Harold Budd/Brian Eno (Score = 77.53)
Chinook : Loscil (Score = 77.46)
Reliant : Planet Bliss (Score = 77.44)
Ultrasound : Transient (Score = 77.41)
Chamber of Synthi Dreams : Pete Namlook (Score = 77.38)
Subharmonic Passage : Pete Namlook (Score = 77.38)
Fractal Liason : System 7 (Score = 77.32)
Nea 3 : Solar Fields (Score = 77.29)
Ruido : Murcof (Score = 77.26)
Lazy Sunday Funerals 01 : Marsen Jules (Score = 77.16)
A Swimming Pool Down the Railway Track : Colleen (Score = 77.12)
A Year in a Minute : Fennesz (Score = 77.1)
Samsara : Helios (Score = 77.1)
Pictures at an Exhibition : Tangerine Dream (Score = 77.02)
Through You : Seefeel (Score = 77.02)
Disk 0 : Atom Heart (Score = 77)
Track 01 : Atom Heart (Score = 77)
Kincajou (Duck! Asteroid) : Banco de Gaia (Score = 76.98)
015 + - 06 - 8.01 : Fennesz (Score = 76.91)
smell memory traktor remix : MUM (Score = 76.9)
Cloud Cover : O Yuki Conjugate (Score = 76.89)
In Moll 5 : Markus Guentner (Score = 76.86)
Shark : Juno Reactor (Score = 76.84)
Kojan : Omnimotion (Score = 76.81)
How Vacantly You Stare at Me : Harold Budd (Score = 76.75)
Speedleam (empathy mix) : The Higher Intelligence Agency (Score = 76.72)
Halcyon : Loscil (Score = 76.7)
Yu : Ishq (Score = 76.7)
Long Life : Bliss (Score = 76.68)
d|p 4 : William Basinski (Score = 76.66)
Wing : Pan•American (Score = 76.65)
District : Patrick Pulsinger (Score = 76.55)
der wuestenplanet : Markus Guentner (Score = 76.46)
DSP Terminal : Tetsu Inoue (Score = 76.44)
Untitled 9 : Sutekh (Score = 76.29)
from star to seed : Rena Jones (Score = 76.23)
Undercurrent : Rena Jones (Score = 76.23)
The Deep (original mix) : Global Communication (Score = 76.18)
Bubbaluba : Renegade Soundwave (Score = 76.18)
Starethrough : Seefeel (Score = 76.08)
Falling, Flying, Dreaming : Steve Roach (Score = 75.99)
Holy Dance : Tetsu Inoue (Score = 75.96)
The Biosphere : Global Communication (Score = 75.95)
One Night and It's Gone : Colleen (Score = 75.85)
Mmin : Bad Loop (Score = 75.79)
Reverendrum [Tunnel Mix by Nylon Union] : Abuse (Score = 75.74)
Selinite : The Higher Intelligence Agency (Score = 75.73)
Track3a(2waynice) : Keith Fullerton Whitman (Score = 75.65)
Here : Manual (Score = 75.55)
Amongst the Ruins : Delerium (Score = 75.5)
Snowflake 10 : Yagya (Score = 75.47)
Transmit Liberation : Single Cell Orchestra (Score = 75.46)
Kika : EZ3kiel (Score = 75.39)
Flight 2127 : Single Cell Orchestra (Score = 75.33)
Lifeforms (Path 5) : The Future Sound of London (Score = 75.31)
Sketch : Julien Neto (Score = 75.18)

=====

Recommended Songs (sorted by most recommended songs)

Lady Folly : Ilya (Score = 178.04)
Inside My Mind (Blue Skies) : Groove Armada (Score = 160.08)
pure : Sal Boca (Score = 156.63)
Ramblin' Man : Lemon Jelly (Score = 153.65)
Angel : Massive Attack (Score = 134.6)
Message in a Bottle : Saint Etienne (Score = 132.53)
Deep Love (Nitin Sawhney remix) : Mandalay (Score = 130.92)
Going Under : Rockers Hi-Fi (Score = 130.73)
La condition pour aimer : Autour de Lucie (Score = 130.69)
Either Way : Etro Anime (Score = 130.53)
Overdue : Bitter:Sweet (Score = 129.65)
Associates : Simpletun (Score = 127.78)
Tripping on a Trip : Felix da Housecat (Score = 126.88)
Venus : Funki Porcini (Score = 126.54)
Heaven : Bitter:Sweet (Score = 125.09)
The Big Sea : Funki Porcini (Score = 124.92)
Underground Vibes : DJ Cam (Score = 124.9)
Diablo : Etro Anime (Score = 124.61)
Let Me Sleep : Laika (Score = 124.58)
Enough : Alif Tree (Score = 124.58)
Abandoned : Cling (Score = 124.07)
Bittersweet : Atomica (Score = 123.89)
Lifeboat : Lovage (Score = 122.72)
Shock Corridor : Saint Etienne (Score = 121.1)
Keep on Moving : Audio Bullys (Score = 121.1)
No Feedback : Khoiba (Score = 120.76)
Worry : Atomica (Score = 119.86)
Laisse le temps : Olive (Score = 119.3)
Bad Things : Tricky (Score = 119.09)
Alicia Blue / Flow : Material (Score = 118.99)
Seven Souls (Tim Simenon Mix) : Material (Score = 118.99)
Ghetto Youth : Tricky (Score = 118.8)
Intro : DJ Krush (Score = 118.49)
Sweet : Lamb (Score = 117.99)
Spooky Rhodes : Laika (Score = 117.52)
Glory Box : Portishead (Score = 117.23)
07. Piano Playa Hata : Wagon Christ (Score = 116.02)
Downhill Racer (Kenny Dope Remix) : Everything but the Girl (Score = 115.82)
Scratch Yer Head (Squarepusher mix) : DJ Food (Score = 115.36)
Another Membrane : MUM (Score = 115.02)
Blue Movie : Sneaker Pimps (Score = 114.93)
Candy Mckenzie : Death in Vegas (Score = 113.37)
Beautiful (7 Canny Mix) : Mandalay (Score = 113.22)
La contradiction : Autour de Lucie (Score = 112.59)
Little Hitler : Everything but the Girl (Score = 112.07)
Shorty's Judgement : The Herbaliser (Score = 111.85)
Beautiful World : Archive (Score = 110.26)
UNKLE (main title theme) : UNKLE (Score = 109.73)
Softly : Lamb (Score = 109.49)
This Love : Sarah Brightman (Score = 109.47)
Women Lose Weight (feat. Slick Rick) : Morcheeba (Score = 109.3)
Love Dub : Waldeck (Score = 108.4)
Spirits Fall : Pressure Drop (Score = 108.32)
Sheared Box : Portishead (Score = 106.91)
A Well Deserved Break : Morcheeba (Score = 106.38)
Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens : DJ Cam (Score = 106.35)
Safe From Harm (Perfecto Mix) : Massive Attack (Score = 105.43)
Attica's Puma States Remix : Sneaker Pimps (Score = 104.62)
what are you to me : UNKLE (Score = 103.82)
Lunar Orbit Four - Back Side Of The Moon : The Orb (Score = 98.58)
Perfect : Supreme Beings of Leisure (Score = 96.97)
Battersea : Hooverphonic (Score = 96.82)
Novio : Moby (Score = 96.07)
Sister Curare : Kid Loco (Score = 94.81)
Tristesse Globale : Röyksopp (Score = 94.01)
Double Drums (DJ DSL mix) : Peace Orchestra (Score = 93.94)
Everyone in the World Is Doing Something Without Me : The Future Sound of London (Score = 93.77)
Soluble Ducks : Animals on Wheels (Score = 93.03)
Remember My Name : Bliss (Score = 92.81)
La Luna : Robert Rich & Steve Roach (Score = 92.6)
SOS : Asura (Score = 91.61)
1/1 : Brian Eno (Score = 90.9)
Lifeforms (Path 5) : The Future Sound of London (Score = 90.8)
Not So Blue : Quantic (Score = 90.46)
Ain't Got Nothin' : Supreme Beings of Leisure (Score = 89.62)
The Rhythm Resonator : Kilvo (Score = 89.22)
Reliant : Planet Bliss (Score = 89.17)
Guimar : Aim (Score = 88.82)
Understars : Brian Eno (Score = 88.64)
MOS 6581 (Album Version) : Carbon Based Lifeforms (Score = 88.56)
Yu : Ishq (Score = 88.35)
The Dream Is Always the Same : Tangerine Dream (Score = 88.08)
Heliopolis : Banco de Gaia (Score = 87.49)
Yo-Yo (Abbey Road Version) : Amorphous Androgynous (Score = 86.71)
Night Bus : Burial (Score = 86.48)
Blue Haze : Ishq (Score = 86.2)
The Sea is in the Boat : The Boats (Score = 85.6)
Lucky Saddle : FFWD (Score = 85.56)
Dark Eyed Sister : Harold Budd/Brian Eno (Score = 85.27)
Pure Synthetic : Planet Bliss (Score = 85.17)
The Claddagh of Sera Kirby : Flim (Score = 85.16)
Ultrasound : Transient (Score = 84.9)
Ruido : Murcof (Score = 84.88)
smell memory traktor remix : MUM (Score = 84.53)
Moon : Sia (Score = 84.47)
Hide and Seek : Kruder & Dorfmeister (Score = 84.44)
d|p 4 : William Basinski (Score = 84.38)
Out Of Nothing : O Yuki Conjugate (Score = 84.24)
Kojan : Omnimotion (Score = 84.18)
der wuestenplanet : Markus Guentner (Score = 83.95)



I'm pleased to notice that the vast majority of these recommendations are streamable!

Now off to build a tag set to have a proper listen. :-)

I got home late today so I was really tired after getting up quite early on and having to listen to unusually uninspiring lectures all day. What I saw lying on my desk instantly cheered me up: My brother had brought me the Here Is What Is DVD that I had ordered. I don't mind supporting the bands and musicians that I like, so this was another case where I first downloaded the album off the internet and now gladly paid for. While I just downloaded the audio this is also the video footage that I spent my money on, and it was quite the bargain coming all the way from Canada(?).
After a few weeks delay, here's the review that I have promised to share with my readers. Giant spoiler alert!

The movie opens with a wonderful black and white sequence where we can see Garth Hudson from the Canadian legends The Band playing the piano, viewing nothing but his hands most of the time. This extensive instrumental introduction reminded me of how "There Will Be Blood" spends the initial 15 minutes on just silent acting and music, but the result was not as spell-binding as this was of course. As I had found out by listening to the album last year, this was an introduction to the next track of the movie, Danny's own song Lovechild, here performed in an instrumental version, where some of his band members and collaborators, drummer Brian Blade producer/bassist Adam Samuels and dancer Carolina Cerisola, among others, are introduced accompanied by the beautiful track. Here, the black and white sequences are at times interrupted by a sort of inverted infra-red/surveillance camera mode which provides a sort of impressionistic, psychadelic feeling to the video.
In the next chapter we're in exotic Fez, Morocco where we get to observe a conversation between Lanois and his long-time friend, mentor and collaborator Brian Eno about the subject of beauty and how art, and perhaps music in particular, can be about so much more than what we can see and observe as listeners, about the work behind composing music and trying out ideas before ultimately deciding what you as a musician want people to hear. I believe it doesn't stop there either, since I tend to interact with the music in a way and then I can relate music to certain situations and eras in my life, perhaps I'll elaborate on that in another entry - it probably sounds quite complex or mad though, I don't know quite how to describe it other than that making music is an everlasting process even if it's just one album or even one track. As Eno mentions; "things evolve out of nothing." and that's pretty much how I experience it as well when creating music. Then we leave the two men, at least for a moment, as they sit there on the floor of a Morrocan courtyard where they were taking a break in-between recording sessions with U2 for their most recent album No Line on the Horizon and switch over to another arty sequence where a child's marble head is spinning around slowly with sparks of light going off in the background followed by bright colours and clear blue skies. This is all accompanied by the instrumental track Blue Bus.
Chapter three consists of the above mentioned constellation; Lanois (pedal steel) Brian Blade (Drums) Adam Samuels (Bass) and Garth Hudson (Piano), performing Harry in Daniel's Toronto studio if I'm not mistaken and it ends with Carolina Cerisola walking out of a set of doors immersed in an angelic light, sort of relating to the lyrics in the song.
Next up, Danny talks about how he met the most magnificent magic man, Brian Blade, and heard his thundering drumming as he was walking past a night club in New Orleans and instantly decided that the two should work together. Then we get to see a mish-mash of Brian in action and get a taste of how the two interact on stage as well as in a studio setting. Then Blade tells Danny his thoughts about Lanois as a musician and producer, how he knew the music he was involved in creating - with U2 at Slane Castle in 1984-1985 among other things - before he knew Danny, and then gets to ask Danny a question about his heroes that has inspired him and still does, and Lanois says that Jimi Hendrix has been important to him both in terms of musicianship and producing records which has given him a security to always believe in himself and to have the courage of experimenting sonically - expanding horizons in a way, I guess. The first full colour footage then appears as Blade and Lanois are jamming together creating yet another amazing fuzz-guitar/rhythm improvisation of a track, which I don't know the title of actually. As this chapter focuses on Brian Blade we get to meet some other musicians in his family, his father Brady Blade Sr. and brother Brady Blade (also a drummer) as they perform This May Be The Last Time in a Shreveport Zion Baptist Church followed by a dreamy bus ride where we hear the track Smoke No. 6 and then Lanois tells us about his appreciation for the southern parts of the U.S. and how he worked there with Willie Nelson and The Neville Brothers.
Then another short piece with Eno follows, and the producer legend tells us about how he wants people to know how he creates his music, that it's rather simple and a process that everybody can understand. Then Lanois lets us in on the secret of how he works in the studio, defining it with the word "feel", and how Bob Dylan told him that "you can't buy feel", something Lanois agrees with him about. Danny says his approach has remained unchanged throughout the years and that it consists of making use of what is avaliable and maximizing the potential of the person or team that he is working with - directly followed by another performance by the team in the Toronto studio, Moondog. Meanwhile in Fez, Eno has found a box of sticks from which flutes are crafted, and the two starts conversing about instruments and Lanois says that he played the penny whistle for a short period of time at the age of 9, an instrument he bought for money that he should have spent going to the cinema in the weekend. The rest of chapter 7 Lanois spends with Brian Blade talking about how he found an interest in experimenting with sounds early on, explaining how he toyed around with a simple recording device in his youth, while Bells Of Oaxaca plays he tells Blade about experimenting with Harold Budd and Brian Eno in the 80's to develop the Ambient genre - which would eventually become synonymous with Eno - and the technique's they utilized to manipulate the sound coming from a single source - a piano - in order to create the music. An sample of one of these tracks can be heard in the beginning of a new U2 song, Cedars of Lebanon.
In chapter 8, fourty minutes into the movie, we finally get to see Lanois in action behind the console. Much to my surprise it seems that Bono's description of Danny's way of mixing a track is accurate, it actually looks like the console is his instrument as a producer, something which Lanois mentions as well. So, we're treated with a breathtaking live demonstration of how he goes about mixing a track called Bladesteel before he adds some bass overdubs coming from the sweet Moog Taurus device with Adam Samuels commenting on the performance.
The next chapter focuses on Lanois' songwriting process, where he explains the dynamics and story/setting of the song Not Fighting Anymore to his drummer companion Brian Blade as they're progressively recording the track. Some great insightful scenes mixed with a bit of comical flavours.
At the start of chapter 10 Lanois tells us that he never intended to become a producer but that he rather followed his instincts which has taken him from the first recording studio in his mother's basement together with his brother Bob Lanois, to working with some of the music industries biggest names. He explains that aside of his role as a record maker he thinks his greatest assest is that he can play instruments and in that way communicate and interact with the musicians he is working with before we see a psychedelic live video shot in the studio of Duo Glide. In the next sequence we get to learn Danny's way of playing the electric guitar, which is in his own words a kind of folky style since he doesn't use a plastic pick to pluck the strings but rather uses his fingers to play - a style quite prominent in the track The Maker from his debut album Acadie partly inspired by the Dublin river The Liffey which has been covered by a variety of artists such as Willie Nelson with Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews Band. Speaking of Dublin, in the following chapter Daniel talks about working with sinead o' connor and we get to see a brief glimpse of her recording the track Back Where You Belong for the soundtrack to the movie "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep". Then with chapter 12, we experience going into Fez at dusk by train (I guess?) which is a beautiful and colourful sight after seeing the dreadful, pixelated trailer on u2.com several months ago. In case you didn't guess already this is more or less the same scenes that could be seen in the special trailer for the film published on U2's official website shortly after the premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in september 2007. Danny speaks of his relationship with Eno and U2 and then the black and white theme returns as Eno explains his fascination with the complexity of objects, demonstrating his ideas on a piece of fabric he has found during a walk in the Moroccan marketplace. Lanois asks Eno about their current work with U2 as the group is jamming in the courtyard playing an as-of-yet unreleased heavy rock track, perhaps it ends up on the sister album, Songs Of Ascent, to be released in late 2009 or during 2010, we'll see about that. The next two works-in-progress would later become the
Fez - Being Born and Unknown Caller and I'm still not sure about the last track, a song that sounds like a earlier version of Moment of Surrender, but it was recorded in one take, perhaps it's part of the original unedited version, then. Back in Toronto, actor Billy Bob Thornton pays Lanois a visit and remembers how Danny worked in El Teatro with Willie Nelson and remarks that his approach seemed to involve going for the take which had the best vibe rather than the techically most perfect take. We then get to watch Danny from above with a electric mandolin in the recording room of his studio as he and Brian Blade tries another take of the title track Here Is What Is and Billy Bob just goes "Wow, that is great!". The end of the movie draws near as Brian Eno briefly tells us about an Indian Chest of Drawers in yet another conversation between the two.Carolina Cerisola returns for an encore dance performance to the tune of Luna Samba. Back in the courtyard in Fez, Eno talks about how everything comes from inside of us and then Brian Blade and Lanois fills in with their thoughts about how music can be Sacred and Secular to all of them and Daniel mentions that his pedal-steel guitar is his little church in a suitcase.
The final performance we get to watch is Joy where some funny moments are included with the visuals of a drive-in theatre as the credits are presented. The extra features are studio videos of Daniel Lanois recording Where Will I Be and I Like That with his band members.

Overall I think it was an interesting movie to watch and particularly the pieces with Brian Eno who always seems to offer insightful thoughts and ideas about most things in life. I've learned a couple of new things about my favourite producer and the life he's lead while enjoying his music in-between the speaking segments. What I didn't appreciate was how the format kept changing at times from full picture into small squares, and I think some scenes would've benefited from a bit more use of colour. But all these things aside, I highly recommend anyone to watch this documentary.

Thank you all for your patience, stay safe!
//Edge89

Thought it was about time I wrote a journal... anyway...

The idea is to go to the page of your number one artist, and follow the link of it's number one similar artist, then repeating that for this artist and so on, noting down each artist as you go. Do this until you've got to 50 artists. If you get any repeats, just go to the second similar artist or the nearest one that you haven't already had.

Starting with:

1. The Beatles
2. John Lennon
3. George Harrison (seeing a pattern here)
4. Paul McCartney
5. Paul McCartney & Wings
6. Paul & Linda McCartney (lol)
7. Wings
8. Ringo Starr
9. John Lennon & Yoko Ono
10. Yoko Ono
11. Nico
12. The Velvet Underground
13. Lou Reed
14. Lou Reed & John Cale
15. John Cale (hmmmm)
16. Brian Eno & John Cale
17. Brian Eno
18. Harold Budd/Brian Eno
19. Harold Budd
20. John Foxx & Harold Budd
21. Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd
22. Robin Guthrie
23. Cocteau Twins
24. This Mortal Coil (I stopped recognizing the names around here)
25. The Hope Blister
26. Dif Juz
27. The Wolfgang Press
28. Colourbox
29. Ultra Vivid Scene
30. Pale Saints
31. Chapterhouse
32. Ride
33. Slowdive
34. My Bloody Valentine
35. The Jesus and Mary Chain
36. Spacemen 3
37. Spiritualized
38. Spectrum
39. Sonic Boom
40. The Telescopes
41. Loop
42. Flying Saucer Attack
43. Bardo Pond
44. Hash Jar Tempo
45. Roy Montgomery
46. Dadamah
47. Dissolve
48. Magnog
49. Amp
50. Windy & Carl

So... wtf.

alfmas:
Daniel Martin Moore – that'll be the plan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-G4G8punvQ

AnMadraRua:
M83 - Graveyard Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY8iy8S0S4w

AscoltoVuoto:
Marlene Kuntz – Nuotando Nell'aria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvP-T94pitQ

asssawtheangel:
Arvo Pärt – Spiegel im Spiegel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh_zPsucV0U

barneybeej:
Deaf Center – Thread
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiWhQierkCE

beautycollector:
Alan Watts – Introduction
http://www.alanwatts.com/

BigBlock454:
Big Block 454 – Lush Ulan Bato
http://www.myspace.com/bigblock454uk

billybats:
Aril Brikha – Embrace
http://www.myspace.com/arilbrikha

BlissSeeker:
Max Richter – Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpMfjazKIvU

cloudeat:
Rafael Anton Irisarri – Waking Expectations
http://www.myspace.com/rafaelantonirisarri

concetta:
Tusia Beridze – Tusia Beritdze
http://www.myspace.com/tusiaberidze

craque:
Squarepusher – Welcome to Europe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAFWMIgLIgs

D2bussy:
Ólafur Arnalds – 3055
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6u5D-5LWSg

DanielRed:
Claudio Monteverdi – La favola d'Orfeo, opera, SV 318
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW7z5FD6Oxw

ddavedj:
cokiyu – Round In Fog
http://www.myspace.com/cokiyu

Eldad666:
Eldad Lidor – Closer
http://www.myspace.com/eldadlidor

emptyflow:
Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos – Havet låter på ett
http://www.myspace.com/ninaramsbymartinhederos

enigmapanda:
Ampop – Made for market
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3_6HuKxouY

faeerie:
Regina Spektor – Samson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKZ5XSKRBJ0

fallingbadgers:
Harold Budd – Templar
http://www.myspace.com/haroldbudd

With the release of Good King Of Cats this week on Dainty Records by instrumental outfit The Pleasure Cruisers, Dainty's been rummaging around last.fm to bring you a selection of other proponents of new instrumental and experimental music currently available for free download. Here are nine bright lights startling this particular bunny…

French Teen Idol (Italy)
Already garnering a huge response from last.fm and the wider world, FTI trade in atmospheric, ethereal surging compositions drenched in layered guitars, pianos and strings all bound together with glitchy soundscapes. The result is somewhere between cathartic and relaxing and very difficult not to like. Fans of Helios, Max Richter and even Yann Tiersen are unlikely to be disappointed, although notably in FTI’s music the beauty and sentimentality is married with a depth and sadness which this listener finds genuinely moving.

High point: Lamb
More sad than woolly


David Elsener (Switzerland)
Enjoyably heady and rich compositions with a definite and deliberate cinematic quality. Elsener is not afraid to be eclectic, pushing his experiments in many different directions from chamber folk to retro electro. Although this diversity never eclipses his remarkable craftsmanship as a musician or masks the genuine emotional depth that his compositions posses. To this listener the music is occasionally reminiscent of the classic Editions EG recordings of the 80’s by the likes of Roger Eno, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and ‘Gunfighter’ era Harold Budd, however Elsener’s eclecticism and playful experimentalism propel him to an invigorating new realm.

High point: Theme Of Memory
Unforgettable…


miacros (USA)
Taking a refreshingly dismissive view of their own musical output Miacros are pretty much unclassifiable with output ranging from lo-fi Jandek-esque acoustic confessions to sonic experiments reminiscent of Fennesz or some of Jim O’Rourke’s more obscure moments… the latter of which are of interest in the context of this article. Unafraid to allow sounds to breath and speak for themselves, Miacros crosses a boundary into sonic art that stops just short of the unlistenable – one of my favourite points on the accessibility / inaccessibility spectrum…

High point: density
It’s heavy


Crepusculum (United Kingdom)
Sumptuous is the word that comes to mind… Combining evocative, accomplished compositions with faultless musicianship and production, Crepusculum present a pastoral folkish (or post-folk?) package that needs no further qualification. Highly recommended listening.

High point: This Is Mechanism, Not Ectoplasm
As if Bert Janch and John Renbourn’s Tic-Tocative went all math-folk on yr ass. Or something…


Marilyn Roxie (USA)
Marilyn Roxie is the somewhat unlikely purveyor of minimal synth-based sketches and soundscapes that don’t skimp on either melody or musicianship. The music is, to these ears at least, something of an enigma. Listening repeatedly in an attempt to unlock its secrets I have now succumbed to its charms, though they remain puzzling and mysterious.

The knowingly retro influence of computer game soundtracks, new wave and synth pop, as have been acknowledged, are certainly evident but also present is the unmistakable echoes of baroque fugues and distinct nods to middle eastern music. These diverse elements are fused in a way that is not at all incongruous but oddly presents a false veneer of naïveté subtly belying the sophisticated compositions and exceptional musicianship that underpin the whole enterprise. Fascinating listening.

High point: Once, In a Dream I Had...
A souvenir from a dream…


Drṓwryh Creesp (Australia)
Initially seeming like another visit to the territory of Eluvium, Helios, Goldmund et al… as with the latter, a crispness cuts through the muddy ambience to reveal a true craftsman at work.

High point: Unterwasser Valse
…You can do it in a submarine


Message to Bears (United Kingdom)
Very melancholic guitar led sketches with occasional resemblance to The Dead Texan, Eluvium and, in particular, Last Days but with a somewhat more folky, lo-fi sensibility making it all the more human and, as a result, all the more sad…

High point: unfold
It won’t crease you up.


The Late Virginia Summers (USA)
I have been addicted to this track for a while now. post-rock electronica influenced instrumental music somewhat in the vein of Tortoise, Broken Social Scene and compatriots… this isn’t wholly unfamiliar territory but it is emotive, beautiful and for me has stood up to many many repeat listens. Quality assured. Their other material however reveals a much greater field of experimentation than your average post-rock outfit, veering at times towards a starker minimalism – although never minus a warmth and playfulness to rein it back from austerity. In fact the whole of the sundowning album comes highly recommended.

High point: you are what gets me in trouble (sundowning)
Now go and wait outside the Headmaster’s office


ThomasV (France)
Insanely exciting experimental compositions characteristically consisting of cut-up sounds from a variety of instruments and other sources. Obvious tags might be indietronica or toytronica but to this reviewer the compositions demonstrate greater ambitions, inviting comparison with minimalist composers from Andrew Poppy to John Adams. And the cover artwork is great too!

High point: Fête
You can ring my bell

***

Good King Of Cats, the new release from The Pleasure Cruisers is online with Dainty Records now. www.daintyrecords.co.uk

***

Related tags not mentioned above:
ambient chill out minimalism modern composition avant-garde

Related artists not mentioned above:
Jóhann Jóhannsson Steve Reich Philip Glass Brian Eno Daniel Lanois The Album Leaf William Basinski Keith Fullerton-Whitman

I've been listening to Harold Budd much more than it's healthy as of late. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but I've been listening to his music quite a lot. Finally gave a well-deserved listen to "Perhaps" and was stunned by it. I loved the way Budd often played a note when the previous one was long gone -- there's a lot of silence in that album and it works very, very well. Which made me think a bit about what exactly the music I listen to comprises of.

What I mean is... Oh hey, why don't we use an example. I don't listen to post-rock nearly as much as I used to only a couple of months ago. Now, I know it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it seems to be too "full" for me. Most of post-rock music is instrumental, so the lack of vocal melody forces the arrangement to be more melodic than in vocal music. Thing is -- it doesn't really force melodic arrnangements. And this fullness of melody seems to be what's driving me away from this kind of music. I'd love to hear something post-rocky, but non-melodic, a bit like Belong or The Hope Blister's "Spider and I" and "Is Jesus Your Pal?"; something like five Harold Budds on sedatives playing at once. I'd love to hear something with as little melody, substance and structure as possible -- just the sound. Budd with the occasional Belong, Hṛṣṭa (who have a lot of substance, but the dream factor neutralises that) or similar artists do the trick for now, but I'm going to have to find more music of that kind.

I've been also listening to quite a bit of sung poetry lately. It's an Eastern European genre with a pretty large underground following in Poland -- of the Western genres, I think folk is the most similar to it. As the name suggest, it's largely lyrics-based and the arrangements, though often wonderful, have a secondary role. Which I guess is in line with my latest obsession with ambient-like, Budd-esque music: while sung poetry definitely does not like melody or substance, the stress is placed in different elements than in more standard kinds of music. Or maybe I just like spewing out pretentious tosh disguised as contemplations about what music really is, you decide!

Oh, all this reminds me, I need to finally give a listen to the Delia Derbyshire album I got frmo theloveisgone, it should be pretty close to the kind of substancelessness I'm looking for.

If you know of any music that might do the trick as well (and somehow managed to read through this messy stream of consciousness of mine and get here), please tell me, I'll be grateful!

Albums that are not scrobbled by me because of the fact that I listen to them at night. This report contains mostly ambient related albums. I am going to update it every week(or maybe more often, i will see). This list was created for my own usage, so it probably won't be interesting for the other peple, but who cares...

25.01.2009 - Fennesz - 'Black Sea'

26.01.2009 - Deaf Center - 'Pale Ravine' & Biosphere - 'Man with a Movie Camera'

27.01.2009 - Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'The Pearl'

28.01.2009 - Steve Roach - 'Structures from Silence'

29.01.2009 - Steve Roach - 'Structures from Silence' & Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'The Pearl'

30.01.2009 - Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'The Pearl'

31.01.2009 - Slowdive - 'Catch the Breeze', Disc Two.

01.02.2009 - Vidna Obmana - 'The River of Appearance' & Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'The Pearl'

02.02.2009 - Tim Hecker - 'An Imaginary Country' & Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror'

03.02.2009 - Harold Budd/Brian Eno - 'Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror' & excerpts from Steve Roach - 'Structures from Silence' & Fennesz - 'Black Sea'

04.02.2009 - Steve Roach - 'Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces', Disc One.

05.02.2009 - Solar Fields - 'Leaving Home'

06.02.2009 - Various Artists - 'Lost in Translation' & excerpts from Steve Roach - 'Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces', Disc One.

07.02.2009 - Steve Roach - 'Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces', Disc Two.

08.02.2009 - Harold Budd - 'The White Arcades'.

09.02.2009 - Global Communication - '76:14'.

10.02.2009 - Biosphere - Substrata.

11.02.2009 - Brian Eno - Apollo.

12.02.2009 - Global Communication - '76:14'.

13.02.2009 - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson & Sigur Rós - 'Angels of the Universe'.

14.02.2009 - Michael Stearns - 'Encounter'.

15.02.2009 - Michael Stearns - 'Encounter'.

16.02.2009 - Brian Eno - 'On Land'.

17.02.2009 - David Helpling - 'Sleeping on the Edge of the World'.

18.02.2009 - Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Vir Unis, Stephen Bacchus & Vidna Obmana - 'Ambient Expanse'.

19.02.2009 - Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Vir Unis, Stephen Bacchus & Vidna Obmana - 'Ambient Expanse'.

22.02.2009 - Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Vir Unis, Stephen Bacchus & Vidna Obmana - 'Ambient Expanse'.

23.02.2009 - Brian Eno - 'Apollo'.

24.02.2009 - Biosphere - 'Substrata'.

25.02.2009 - Steve Roach & Robert Rich - 'Soma'.

26.02.2009 - Steve Roach & Robert Rich - 'Soma'.

01.03.2009 - Deaf Center - 'Pale Ravine'

02.03.2009 - Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Vir Unis, Stephen Bacchus & Vidna Obmana - 'Ambient Expanse'.