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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.

1. How did you get into 30? Novembre
I saw them on the top of neuzmirstuole Top Artists and became interested.
2. What was the first song you ever heard by 20? Nickelback
"How You Remind Me" looong time ago :D *blush*
3. What's your favourite lyric by 27? Death in June
Too difficult to choose!:P
4. What is your favourite album by 39? Inca Babies
"Evil Hour"
5. How many albums by 11 do you own? Siela
Only 2 original CDs.
6. What is your favourite song by 40? 36 Crazyfists
"Slit Wrist Theory"!
7. Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad? Tori Amos
Many songs of her makes me melancholic, but it's in a good way :P
8. What is your favourite song by 15? New Model Army
I think it's "Poison Street" at the moment *blush* :>
9. What is your favourite song by 6? Novembers Doom
At the moment... "Autumn Reflection"...
10. Is there a song by 7 that makes you happy? The Smiths
Manyyyy songs of them! :)
11. What is your favourite album by 25? Siouxsie and the Banshees
hehe, i think it's "The best of" :P
12. What is your favourite song by 10? Nouvelle Vague
Ummm... Maybe "O Pamela"...
13. What is a good memory you have involving 33? Emilie Autumn
No good memories i think :D I really don't like her music, what is she doing in my top? :P Maybe the "good memory" would be that first song of her i've heard from my best friend and it was a song of The Beatles. EA, hads off The Beatles!!!
14. What is your favourite song by 24? Rozz Williams & Gitane Demone
"Flowers", of course.
15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? Foje
Umm... "Juodas vyrukas"? xD
16. How many times have you seen 21 live? Skylė
Maybe 3 or 4?.. I love their concerts!
17. What is the first song you ever heard by 18? Rotting Christ
I don't remember the song, but the first album i've heared was A Dead Poem.
18. What is your favourite album by 8? Joy Division
"Unknown Pleasures"
19. Who is a favourite member of 1? Sentenced
Ville Laihiala, Sami Lopakka, Taneli Jarva... (...) Don't make me sad!
20. Have you ever seen 14 live? R.E.M.
Unfortunately, no :( I was in Warsaw already, when they were playing in Vilnius...
21. What is a good memory involving 45? Lemon Joy
Karolis! :D All people with this name i've met in my life ;}
22. What is your favourite song by 16? Agalloch
I can't indicate one song. I drown in their albums.
23. What is the first song you ever heard by 46? Fields of the Nephilim
"Moonchild"
24. What is your favourite album by 21? 1984
"4891"
25. What are your favourites songs by 17? Saulius Mykolaitis
"Matrica", "Nieko nepasakyta", "Kalėdos"
26. What is the first song you ever heard by 36? London After Midnight
"Where the good girls go to die" ;)
27. What is your favourite song by 3? Diary of Dreams
"Flood Of Tears"
28. What is you favourite song by 2? Frank the Baptist
Long time it was "Propellered Hearts"..
29. What was the first song you ever heard by 41? The Cranberries
"Zombie"
30. What is you favourite song by 9? The 69 Eyes
"Graveland"
31. How many times have you seen 26 live? John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Zero times :P
32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? Final Fantasy
Almost all the album "He Poos Clouds" :))
33. What is your favourite album by 12? The Beatles
"The Blue Album"
34. What is the worst song by 46? October Tide
I don't know :P
35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? The Cure
Ummm... "Friday I'm in Love"?
36. What is your favourite album by 49? HIM
"Razorblade Romance" :PPP
37. How many times have you seen 28 live? Spiritual Front
2 times.
38. What is your favourite album by 48? Gackt
I don't know his albums, just separate songs.
39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? The Dresden Dolls
"My alcoholic friends" :P
40. What is your favourite album by 5? Frédéric Chopin
"Etuder" :)))

i've rediscovered John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy this week. i like the mix of straight pop (starting over, beautiful boy, wheels...) weird experiments (second half of kiss kiss kiss, give me something), and 70's sleaze beats (um, every song here). the guitar solos (Hugh McCracken, who's name is dickensian in how perfectly it sums up his tone...) are pure cheez whiz, and the synth (Ed Walsh) has an aerosol quality, too. generally i hate these kinds of sounds, but in this context they kind of work...

I'm Losing You and Moving On is a great his'n'hers pair of riffs on the same theme...like an argument resolved by the Paul Simon-esque Beautiful Boy. Watching the Wheels almost feels like john parodying a Wings song, it's so over the top, and i love how the beginning of the second verse is semi spoken ("dreamin' my life away..."), like the beginning of a Ink Spots monologue. and the Something reference in losing you is great, too.

a recording teacher of mine was an assistant engineer on this record, and her giving me vocal instructions over the studio intercom is in the background of an early version of the S. Rich (& the K.N.O.) song native state (back when it was called 'transformer/telephone' and had a string quartet). listening to (Just Like) Starting Over and hearing what sounds like the same thing was kind of a thrill.

i like this record. it's slick as hell, but wears its flaws on its sleeve at the same time. and there's a real story in the song cycle. i feel like i know more about john and yoko's relationship from the lyrics and the sequencing, and despite the experimentation and how much leeway it feels like the session musicians were given, as a whole, the record feels so intentional.

it's weird, i'd never use this record as a sonic example of what i want my music to sound like, but somehow thematically it's a real inspiration.

1945 - Born on this day, Vic Briggs, guitar, The Animals.

1946 - Born on this day, Doug Simril, Steve Miller Band.

1947 - Born on this day, Tim Buckley, singer, songwriter who recorded the 1972 album 'Greetings From LA'. His singer, songwriter son Jeff Buckley drowned while swimming in 1997. Tim himself died on June 29th 1975 of a heroin and morphine overdose.

1950 - Born on this day, Roger Fisher, Heart.

1951 - Born on this day, Kenny Hyslop, Slik, Skids, Simple Minds.

1959 - Born on this day, Ice- T, (Tracy Morrow), male rapper.

1959 - Cliff Richard was voted the best new singer in the annual NME awards.

1969 - Over 300 fans were injured during a concert by Love Affair and Amen Corner at an ice rink in Glasgow, Scotland.

1970 - The Who appeared at Leeds University, England. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming 'Live At Leeds' album.

1972 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono started a week long run as co-hosts on 'Mike Douglas' US TV show.

1973 - David Bowie collapsed on stage during a concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

1974 - Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille (of Captain and Tennille) married in Virginia City, while on a promotion tour of the States.

1974 - The New Seekers split up. During their career the group scored over 10 UK Top 40 singles.

1977 - The B-52's made their first live performance appearing in a Greenhouse at a Valentines day party in Athens.

1977 - US singer songwriter Janis Ian received 461 Valentine's day cards after indicating in the lyrics of her song 'At Seventeen', she had never received any.

1978 - Dire Straits began recording their first album at Basing Street Studios, London. The whole project cost £12,500 ($21,250) to produce.

1980 - Lou Reed married Sylvia Morales at a ceremony in his New York apartment.

1981 - Mike Barson from Madness married his girlfriend Sandra.

1984 - Elton John married recording engineer Renate Blauer in Sydney, Australia. The couple divorced three years later.

1986 - Frank Zappa appeared on an episode of the television series Miami Vice. Zappa portrayed a crime boss named 'Mr. Frankie.'

1989 - Keyboard player Vincent Crane died. Member of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster.

1990 - The Rolling Stones played the first of ten nights at the Korakuen Dome, Tokyo, Japan. The shows were seen by over 500,000 fans, making the band $20 million (£11.76 million).

1992 - Jon Farriss from INXS married actress Leslie Bega.

1994 - Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia married moviemaker Deborah Koons.

1995 - Rapper Tupac Shakur was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual abuse charge. He was later released on appeal.

1996 - Prince married Mayte Garcia in a Minneapolis church, he also composed a special song for his wife, 'Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother, Wife', which she heard for the first time when they had their first wedding dance. Garcia had appeared on the US television program 'That's Incredible!' at the age of 8 as the world's youngest professional belly dancer. She came to the attention of Prince in 1990 when her mother submitted a video cassette of Mayte performing. The couple split in 1998.

1999 - Elton John appeared as himself in a special episode of the animated series The Simpsons shown on US TV.

2002 - Mick Tucker, drummer with glam rock band Sweet died of leukemia.

2003 - David Bowie played to a sold-out 35,000 strong crowd at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.

2003 - Stolen reel-to-reel studio recordings by The Beatles were found in Australia. Police recovered the tapes of the bands 1968 'White album' and the 'Abbey Road' album after they were advertised for sale in a Sydney newspaper. Australian police had been tipped off by British detectives from Operation Acetone, an investigation into thefts of original Beatles music from Abbey Road studios in London in the 1960's.

2004 - Dave Holland, former drummer with Judas Priest was jailed for eight years for indecent assault and the attempted rape of a 17-year old boy. The youth, who had learning difficulties, had been taking drum lessons from Holland.

2005 - Kerrang! magazine announced the results of its readers’ poll for the best British rock albums ever. The Top 10 were: No.1, Black Sabbath’s Black Sabbath; No.2, Iron Maiden’s Number Of The Beast; No.3 Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks; No. 4, Led Zeppelin’s IV; No.5, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid; No.6, Muse’s Absolution; No.7, The Clash’s London Calling; No.8, Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack; No.9, Iron Maiden’s Iron Maiden and No.10, Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible.

2007 - Winners at the 27th annual Brit Awards at London's Earls Court included Muse who won Best British Live Act, British Breakthrough Act went to The Fratellis. Winner of the Best International Breakthrough Act was Orson. Take That won the first-ever live vote, when they took home the Best British Single for 'Patience.' Arctic Monkeys were named Best British Group, James Morrison was named Best British Male and Amy Winehouse won Best British Female. Justin Timberlake won Best International Male and Nelly Furtado won Best International female. The Killers won Best International Group and Best International Album for Sam's Town and Oasis won the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.

1934 - Born on this day, US sax player King Curtis. Stabbed to death by a vagrant on the front steps of his New York home on 13th August 1971. Worked with John Lennon, played on The Coasters' 'Yakety Yak'.

1948 - Born on this day, Jimmy Greenspoon, organ, Three Dog Night.

1949 - Born on this day, Stoney Browder, Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

1949 - Born on this day, Alan Lancaster, bass, Status Quo.

1959 - the funeral of Buddy Holly took place at The Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock.

1963 - Appearing at The Manor House, London, The Blues By Six plus The Rolling Stones, tickets 4 shillings, ($0.56c).

1964 - Pan Am flight 101 was greeted by over 5,000 Beatles fans as it arrived at New York's JFK airport, bringing The Beatles to the US for the first time and causing riotous scenes as they touched down.

1967 - Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees appeared on UK TV's 'Top Of The Pops.'

1967 - Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees returned to the UK after living in Australia for nine years.

1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents, (2/6). John was named as Rolling Stone’s ‘Man Of The Year’.

1970 - Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull married record company secretary Jennie Franks.

1970 - One hit wonders Shocking Blue went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Venus', making them the first Dutch act to top the US charts. It made No.8 in the UK; Bananarama took the song to No.8 on the UK chart in 86.

1970 - Led Zeppelin scored their first UK No.1 album with 'Led Zeppelin II'. Featuring the US single 'Whole Lotta Love', it went on to stay on the chart for 138 weeks selling over 6 million copies in the US.

1970 - Appearing at Leicester University, England, Deep Purple.

1974 - Born on this day, Danny Goffey, drums, Supergrass.

1976 - Bob Dylan started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Desire', his second US No.1.

1989 - Georgia state representative Billy Randall introduced a bill to make Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti', the state's official rock song.

1994 - Blind Melon's lead singer Shannon Hoon was forced to leave the American Music Awards ceremony for his loud and disruptive behavior. Hoon was later charged with battery, assault, resisting arrest, and destroying a police station phone.

2000 - Big Punisher died of a heart attack, aged 28. The rapper had weighed 318kg (50 stone) when he had the attack.

2001 - U2 played a secret show at London's Astoria. Stars attending the show included actor John Hurt, Queen's Roger Taylor, Mick Jagger, Bob Geldof, Chris Evans and members of Toploader.

2003 - Courtney Love arrived at a benefit concert at London’s Old Vic Theatre dressed as Donald Duck. Courtney joined Elton John on stage for a version of ‘The Bitch Is Back.’

2004 - Queen's single 'We Will Rock You' topped a poll of music fans to find the greatest rock anthem of all time. The 1977 song beat the band's classic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' into second place in a survey of 1,000 people carried out for the UCI cinema chain. The poll was carried out to mark the release of new Jack Black comedy 'School of Rock.'

2005 - Michael Jackson's Thriller was named the top pop video in a poll of Channel 4 viewers in the UK. The 1983 video, which depicts the singer as a werewolf and a zombie, beat videos by Madonna and Robbie Williams. Animated videos for Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer and a-ha's Take On Me were in second and third place respectively. 4th was Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody, 5th, Madonna Like a Prayer, 6th, Robbie Williams, Rock DJ, 7th, Michael Jackson, Billie Jean, 8th, The Verve, Bittersweet Symphony, 9th, Madonna Vogue and 10th Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit.

2006 - The Darkness kicked off a 9-date UK tour at Alexandra Palace, London.

1941 - Born on this day, John Steel, drums, The Animals.

1948 - Born on this day, Alice Cooper, (Vincent Furnier), singer.

1951 - Born on this day, Phil Ehart, Kansas.

1952 - Born on this day, Jerry Shirley, drums, Humble Pie.

1967 - The Monkees self-titled debut album started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK chart.

1968 - Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles recorded ‘Across the Universe.’ John and Paul decided the song needed some falsetto harmonies so they invited two girl fans into the studio to sing on the song. The two were Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living near Abbey Road and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease.

1968 - Billed as 'Tour 60 cities in 66 Days' The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Winterland in San Francisco.

1970 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair for an auction in aid of the Black Power movement.

1975 - Saxophonist Louis Jordon died aged 66. Influenced artists from Chuck Berry to Joe Jackson.

1978 - Appearing at the Oasis, Swindon, England, Talking Heads plus special guests Dire Straits.

1978 - ABBA started a seven week run at No.1 on the UK chart with 'The Album' their third No.1 LP.

1982 - Scottish singer Alex Harvey died of a heart attack in Zeebrugen, Belgium. Formed Alex Harvey Big Soul Band in 1959 and then mid 1960's band Tear Gas.

1983 - Karen Carpenter died aged 32 of a cardiac arrest at her parent's house; the coroner's report gave the cause of death of imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa.

1983 - The Smiths appeared at The Hacienda, Manchester, England.

1984 - Paul Gardiner bass player with Gary Numan's Tubeway Army died of a heroin overdose.

1984 - Eurythmics scored their first UK No.1 album with their second release 'Touch', featuring the singles 'Here Comes The Rain Again', 'Who's That Girl' and 'Right By Your Side'.

1992 - Appearing at The Borderline in London Pearl Jam. Tickets cost £5 ($8.50).

1996 - Former MILLI-VANILLI member Rob Pilatus was hospitalised after a man hit him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, California. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car at the time of the attack.

2000 - Bjorn Ulvaeus confirmed that the members of ABBA had turned down a $1 billion (£0.58 billion) offer by American and British consortium to reform the group. “It is a hell of a lot of money to say no to, but we decided it wasn’t for us,” band member Benny Andersson told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

2003 - Courtney Love was arrested at Heathrow airport for 'endangering an aircraft' on a transatlantic flight. The singer was said to have hurled abuse at the cabin crew on the flight from Los Angeles to London after her nurse who was in an economy seat was barred access to sit with Love in the upper class cabin.

2004 - Police questioned Noel Gallagher after a photograph of him trespassing on a railway line appeared in a newspaper. The Oasis guitarist was in a studio in Cornwall recording the bands new album when he took a walk along the railway line. British Transport Police said 'he was setting a bad example.'

This is Part 1 of my all time top 100
Part 2 (Positions 1 to 50) is the next journal.


Only albums I have bought are in this list. There are many albums on my wish-list that probably ought to be included ... another time perhaps.

Positions 51 to 60:
51. Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On (1970)
52. Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge (1974)
53. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
54. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)
55. Yes - Close to the Edge (1972)
56. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing..... (1996)
57. Anathema - Judgement (1999)
58. Espers - Espers (2003)
59. Neil Young - Harvest (1972)
60. REM - Monster (1994)

Positions 61 to 70:
61. Pink Floyd - Ummagumma (1969)
62. Moody Blues - To Our Children's Children's Children (1969)
63. John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (1980)
64. Genesis - A Trick of the Tail (1976)
65. Antony and the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now (2005)
66. Pink Floyd - Meddle (1971)
67. Lambchop - Is a Woman (2002)
68. royksopp - Melody AM (2001)
69. Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
70. Mercury Rev - Deserters Songs (1998)

Positions 71 to 80:
71. Grateful Dead - American Beauty (1970)
72. Archive - Londinium (1996)
73. Kings of Convenience - Quiet Is The New Loud (2001)
74. Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
75. Death Cab for Cutie - We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes (2000)
76. Engineers - Engineers (2005)
77. Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
78. Lambchop - Nixon (2000)
79. Comus - First Utterance (1971)
80. Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (2000)

Positions 81 to 90:
81. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999)
82. Evanescence - Fallen (2003)
83. Kosheen - Resist (2001)
84. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)
85. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (2004)
86. Tangerine Dream - Ricochet (1975)
87. Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)
88. Zero 7 - Simple Things (2001)
89. Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street (2004)
90. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (1995)

And finally ...
Positions 91 to 100:
91. Decemberists - Picaresque (2005)
92. No-Man - Flowermouth (1993)
93. Dream Theater - Scenes From a Memory (1999)
94. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
95. Love - Forever Changes (1967)
96. Battles - Mirrored (2007)
97. Porcupine Tree - Warszawa (2004)
98. Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006)
99. Bjork - Vespertine (2001)
100 Blackfield - Blackfield (2004)

Phew!

No Bob Dylan? He's at number 120.

Ok, time for another album of the week. This time I finally decided to write something on an album that has haunted me for the last couple of weeks, an album that has been the root to an extreme obsession, and has possibly become my all-time favorite album. I am speaking of John Lennon’s first solo outing; PLASTIC ONO BAND.

After having broken up with The Beatles, Lennon went into something called ‘primal scream therapy’, where he basically learned to stand up to and face his fears and thoughts that had been haunting him since childhood, most noticeable in the album is the death of his mother.

The album opens with the song “Mother”. After several seconds of nothing but church bells and silence, then Lennon shouts “Mother” and music follows. This is not like any Beatles recording, much of the music is sombre and dark, as well as sparse and simple. Lennon decided to only use a three-man band, himself on guitar and piano, Ringo Starr on drums, Klaus Voormann on bass and some guest musicians on a few tracks. The album is pretty much a confessional one, but the music still remains strong and touching, without becoming sentimental. In many ways the album almost becomes horrifying, when Lennon screams out of breath “Mama don’t go / Daddy come home” on the opening track, there’s just something overtly powerful about the album. The sweet little tune “Hold On” follows the horrifying “Mother”, and is sort of Lennon attempting to put himself back into the world. Then the pages are turned and he sings the bitter and angry “I Found Out”, which is a really good rock song as well. Following is the excellent political song “Working Class Hero”, where Lennon attempts to bring down the walls between the worker and upper class, as well as confessing his bitterness about the “system”: “As soon as you’re born they make you feel small / By giving you no time instead of it all / Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all”.

The most powerful piece on the album is perhaps the song “God”, which lists all the things that Lennon used to believe in but no longer, among other Jesus, butter, Bob Dylan and Beatles. The great thing about this music is that Lennon could have left it very bitter and angry, but ends on a more somber note: “And so dear friends / You’ll just have to carry on / The dream is over”. The album ends with the acoustic number “My Mummy’s Dead”. An almost terrifying confrontational piece, its recorded as if an old delta blues recording, with distortion and feedback.

I could go on about every track on the album in detail, but what’s the point? I love every song here, every song is powerful, lyrically, musically and thematically. Plastic Ono Band is a much stronger album than Imagine was, due to the stronger thematic connection in the songs and also the varying quality of the songs in Imagine, which I find quite dreary. I believe this to not just be the strongest of the post-Beatles albums, of any of the former members, but at some times surpassing the original Beatles albums. It’s such a powerful musical statement, but is also strengthen by Lennon not allowing it to become to dreary, preachy or overtly sentimental, although Lennon was guilty of all those sins on the Imagine album. Plastic Ono Band is sparse, honest, sometimes depressingly stark, and perhaps the greatest album of all time.
Bottom line: Get it!



Connections:
Yoko Ono
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney & Wings
George Harrison
John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Sean Lennon