Music: Questions about top 50 artists on Last.fm

I like this little games, and I love lists. It makes me reflect around the music I like in new ways and remind me of the things we used to write about favourite hunks, movies and horses when I was a kid. I found this questioner in an old post from 2008 and wanted to do it again, just to see how much had changed. Here is the original post. It seams like a perfect little Easter quiz for me.

Yes, I know it's kind of childish but I love these things. Makes me reflect on my relationship with music, and is exciting at the same time to see what combinations that turn up.

1. What's your favourite song by 15?
Keane
Hamburg is an amazing song written about Tom by Tim and how he's worried about how he's doing. It's amazing to then again hear Tom sing that. Bedshaped is a good second and an amazing video.

2. How did you get into 20?
U2
I can not really remember a time that I didn't know about U2. But I think I got really into them in 1998 before going to see them in concert on the Pop mart tour. They are one of the constants in music life for me. Seen them twice and would love to again.

3. Who is your favourite member in 1?
(same as in 2008:)

Radiohead
I love them all but Jonny Greenwood often gets a bit underrated and he is just a brilliant musician and songwriter.

4. Whats your favourite lyric bit by 29?
(unknown) so impossible to tell.

5. Have you ever seen 22 live?
Jezebel
My own band, so yepp, about 1000 times ;)

6. What's your favourite album from 10?
Björk
Debut, Post and Homogenic are all just plain brilliant.

7. Do you own any merchandise from 3?
Travis
Yepp, I have a t-shirt. I love it, but it's tiny and almost impossible to wear. From "The invisible band" tour.

8. What is a good memory you have of 7?
(still the same as in 2008:)
R.E.M
Wow... A lot of good memories... Some of love, some of theatre and a lot of growing up.

9. Is there a member of the same age as you in 2?
Elliott Smith
I think I am just about the same age now as when he died. Sad.

10. When did you first get into 8?
Imogen Heap
Vivian, Jørgen and me was watching The late show with David Letterman, when she suddenly turned up and played live there. We wondered "What the hell is that?" and "Wow, that's one cool girl" Turned out, she's brilliant.

11. Who likes 4 along with you?
Phoenix
I have a few friends that like them, some more than others, and the last years just about the best of the world.

12. Which song did you first hear from 16?
The Cardigans
I don't really remember.. I must have heard them on the radio maybe? I think it's very likely that it was Lovefool.

13. What song made you fall in love with 5?
Blur
That must have been Song 2. But quite quickly after, the whole Blur album.

14. Which song do you not like by 18?
Graham Coxon
There are a few songs on the latest album so far that are extremely repetitive (Caspian sea!!!) I don't really care that much for them. But must of his stuff is truly brilliant.

15. Why do you like 14's songs?
Frank Sinatra
The class! The style! The velvet voice! The feeling! The feel of times gone and lost.

16. Where did you first hear 6?
Lali Puna
I truly have no idea. Must be through some related artist things, I think?


17. How long was 19 a singer before you liked them?
The Most Serene Republic
A quite long time, I think. I didn't discover them until my boyfriend showed them to me about 2 years ago :)

18. Does 13 have a song that gives you a bad memory?
(same as in 2008:)
Thom Yorke
Harrowdown Hill always give me a knot in the stomic because of the lyrics.

19. When did you get into 17?
Arctic Monkeys
I had heard about them for years and didn't really get around to listening to them before I heard Brainstorm. Then I was hooked.

20. How long have you been into 9?
Kent
Since 1998 when I bought Isola on a gas station in Sweden on my way to Praha.

21. If 11 had a concert 300 miles away, would you drive there to see them?
Odd Nordstoga
Nah, don't think so. He would be around soon again.

22. How many CDs do you own of 12?
Coldplay
4 albums, I think.


23. Does 21 have a song that makes you cry?
Bo Kaspers Orkester
No, moved in many ways, yes. But not to tears.

24. Does 27 have a song that makes you happy?
Jamie Cullum
He's just a very happy go lucky person. He generally makes me very happy.

25. Does 23 have a song that makes you smile?
Beirut
Beirut is a wonderful guy and lots of his music just makes you smile in the way you would at the local pub with all your friends and family around.

26. What's the last song you've listened to from 28?
Editors
Escape the Nest, I think.

27. Is there a song by 32 that you've listened to more than 30 times?
Brendan Benson
If The Raconteurs – Many Shades of Black counts, yes :)

28. What is a song from 50 that you've only listened to once?
Aleksander With
I am sure there are many...

29. Is there a song you are sick of hearing by 24?
DumDum Boys
Sick and tired of Splitter Pine, but it's still an amazing song.

30. What song got you into 40?
The Strokes
Nice and simple: Last Nite!

31. What is your favourite single by 25?
deLillos
Oh dear, that is many! Klokken er mye nå is one of the more unknown favourites.

32. If 49 hated you, what would you do?
Michael Bublè
Not fight him. He's from Canada and they know their hockey fights.

33. What would you say if 42 or one of the members from 42 asked you out?
Johnny Cash
I would go in an instant! Wow, imagine having dinner with Cash.

34. Would you care if 41 had a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Ane Brun
Couldn't care less!

35. Who has the best voice in 46?
Ella Fitzgerald
Say no more!

36. Do you think 26 is/are good looking?
Span
Sure, angry little rocker boys.

37. How many times have you listened to your favourite song by 36?
The Postal Service
Such Great Hights - 51 times

38. How many CDs do you own of 30?
The Raconteurs
Wish I had CD-s or LP-s. Have two on MP3.

39. Is there a song from 38 that makes you mad?
Kings of Convenience
Nah, they are quite guys and good background music.

40. Which member from 31 do you want to see go solo? If 31 is only one artist, what would you do if they joined a group?
Madrugada
Sivert Høyem seams to be the obvious answer here.

41. What does your favourite song from 48 remind you of?
The September When
Leave to Wonder was the background track for my life from years 17-19.

42. Did you hate 43 at first?
PJ Harvey
Nope, think I never hated her.


43. Does your best friend also listen to 33?
Foo Fighters
Yepp, I think a lot of my best friends listen to them.


44. Do you think your parents would like 37?
Bill Frisell
I highly doubt it. They are more into rock.


45. Does 47 have a song that makes you want to dance?
Aretha Franklin
I think everybody has a Aretha song they like to dance too :) Just a little bit!!

46. Have you ever seen 34 in person?
Oasis
Yepp, seen them live on stage twice - 1998 and 2008.


47. Do you like 44's name?
The String Quartet
Yepp, simple and beautiful.

48. Is there someone in 45 that you want to go out with?
Supergrass
Nah, seam like nice guys, but not dateable.

49. Do you know anyone that hates 39?
Belle and Sebastian
How can anyone hate them? Nah...

50. Have you ever danced to a song from 35?
Stereophonics
Of course! Tons of stuff.

Fran Healys first singel from his solo album

I have for months been awaiting Fran Healy of the band Travis' new solo album. As followers of this blog will have noticed, I am huge fan of Travis. I think I might be just as big fan of Andy Dunlop's guitarsolos as Fran's writing skills though. They have been a little up and down the last years too, I think, though I really liked their last album where they went a little back to their rock'n'roll roots. Anyhow I was eager to hear Fran's new song, but at the same a little prepared that it would be a bit boring maybe. And yepp, I am sad to say, but I was right. It's a very cute little pop song, but not particularly catchy, the lyrics seam quite random and a bit boring, and yepp I really miss the sound of the rest of the band. It's just quite frankly a little blend. I don't hate it, but it doesn't give me a little kick like a lot of Travis songs do. Let's hope there are other stuff to come from the album that I will like better or/and that Travis will come back soon. I am sure they will and sometimes you have to try something else to see what you are missing ;)

Here you can judge for yourself:
http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-song-travis-fran-healy-goes-solo

Fran is also writing a quite amusing little blog and he wrote about trying to fill inn for Tom Cheplin of Keane the other day. Very well written. Here.

New single from Blur: Fool's Day

It's due to lots of work, school, love and last but not least, it's been a long time since I've found something new that I really liked. Though Blur came out with a new single yesterday, and that was of course very exciting. It sounds a lot like I thought it would, to be honest. Like a strange mix of Graham Coxon's solo stuff and Gorillaz somehow. Still it's lacking the ultimate magic.. There are a lot of talent in that room, that's for sure, but it somehow sounds like they are standing next to each other rather than working together. I have a feeling that is what happens when you haven't made music for a while. I absolutely love Graham's guitar parts though and after listening to the song quite a few times I am really starting to love the lyrics. It's a good song, not brilliant, but good. I hope we'll get some more from them soon :) And sigh.. Can't wait 'til Flea and Thom are not playing together more and go back to their own bands. We need some real quality from some of the big bands soon.

You can download Blur's single here. Darn I wish I had one of those LP-singles :)

Best of 2009

According to my Last.fm account this is what I like the most in 2009 in plays:

Artist:
* Phoenix (544 plays)
* Radiohead (539 plays)
* Imogen Heap (241 plays)
* Blur (221 plays)
* Frank Sinatra (209 plays)
* Elliott Smith (183 plays)
* Graham Coxon (179 plays)
* Kent (175 plays)
* Arctic Monkeys 162
* Bill Frisell 151
* Bo Kaspers Orkester 148
* Coldplay 141
* Björk 128
* Travis 126
* Beirut 123

I think the biggest surprise for me in this list was that Radiohead wasn't on top and that Frank Sinatra was this high up! Other then that.. No surprises.

Top tracks:
1 Phoenix – 1901 60
2 Phoenix – Lisztomania 36
3 Ida Maria – Oh My God 33
4 Phoenix – Rome 29
5 4our5ive6ix – 7even8ight 28
6 Thom Yorke – Black Swan 27
7 Phoenix – Lasso 26
8 Phoenix – Fences 25
9 Phoenix – Love Like A Sunset Part I 23
10 Lily Allen – Smile 21
10 Phoenix – Consolation Prizes 21
Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill 20
12 Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot 20
12 Regina Spektor – On the Radio 20
12 Phoenix – Girlfriend 20
12 Sia – Electric Bird 20
Phoenix – Countdown 19
deLillos – Flink 19
Phoenix – Love Like A Sunset Part II 19
Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone 18
Radiohead – Paranoid Android 18
Justice – D.A.N.C.E. 18
Phoenix – Armistice 24
Blur – Song 2 24
Kaiser Chiefs – Oh My God 24
Radiohead – Palo Alto 24
The Teenagers – Homecoming

wow! I listened to a lot of Phoenix this year, and I hope 5ive6ix7even is happy about beating Thom Yorke :) All this songs are extreemly good though, so check them out if you haven't :) and wow the gap between number 1 and 2 on this list!

Merry Christmas Everyone. Let's home they know it's Christmas.

As this years Christmas treat and because it's still important to remember the message, even though it's also of course fun to spot the celebrities, here are no less than 3 versions of "Do They Know It's Christmas". For me it's hard to decide if I like the original or the 20 version best. The 2 version is a bit weird though ;)

Original version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE



Very cool live version of the original more or less: But with Bowie, Mercury, Paul McCartney and Bob Geldof among others!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvnBruaVRg





Version 2 (1989)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_oz1-2mq14



Version 20 (2006?)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzlQD_aqgnc

Must be the best band that has played together ever, and also spot mr. Albarn, the tea man :)

Great live: Phoenix at La Blogotheque

If you have been reading my blog before, you know that I am huge fan of the French site "La Blogotheque" and of the French band Pheonix. Really it was just a matter of time before the two had to work together and what an amazing result!! La Blogotheque basically takes artists outside and around and let the perform and see what happens. My favorites so far have been Beirut and R.E.M's collaborations with them and this one is also amazing! Click on the La Blogotheque tag on the right side of this blog and you can see more posts about it.

http://blogotheque.net/Phoenix,5176

Features the songs: 1901, Lisztomania and Long Distance Call

New music: End of Fashion

Some of the best finds in music is find when you just jumble and stumble around on the net for instance on Spotify. I started to listening to an album called Essential Bands in there, cause I saw it had a lot of my favorite bands, and among the ones I hadn't heard before "End of Fashion" turned up. The song on the CD was OK and excited me enough to go and listen to a whole album of them and see if I like the rest. In most cases one is let down in those cases, but as I rolled into the second song on the album "O Yeah" I was still bobbing along, though it sounds an awful lot as the classic "Where is my mind?" by The Pixies. The third song on the slef titled album "End of fashion" is the amazing rock song "The game" and suddenly I was no longer in classic newer American alternative rock but in British rock in the style of one of my other bands Maximo Park. Hard, tight to the point and almost punky. The forth song really opened my eyes... And made me really stop what I was doing and listen. I suddenly heard Jeff Buckley singing without Jeff Buckley. "Anymore" is a quite standard pop/rock ballad, but wow! Singer Justin Burford sounds like Jeff Buckley and Kelly Jones of Stereophonics all in the span of a few lines. That to me, is one amazing voice. I still have to listen to everything in the rest of the album and will try to come back with more later. Now, the rest of my room needs to be moved.. And oh yeah, it's Australian, btw.. That's why I got confused about weather it sounded English or American. Apparently they have released a second album too.. hm.. I get confused when things are not on Spotify, need to find it somewhere else then :)

(Link to the album on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2AUu4arz88yY0bGU84KjfD )

Here is my absolute favourite so far:
The game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOIEcNouQOo


Unfortunately this is the only recording of Anymore I could find: and the quality is really very bad, but you can give it a try if you want to:




But here is "Oh Yeah" that also give you a little idea about the great voice and also how to rip off a Pixies song.. hehe
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/klneeqK8O1QPHqlYSU

End Of Fashion - O Yeah
Uploaded by JUAN-PABLO-LOVE-MEXICO. - Explore more music videos.

Great Covers: Punch Brothers (Chris Thile) Heart in a Cage

Wonderful little speech about Hanna Montana and The Jonas Brothers before an amazing cover of The Strokes "Heart in a Cage" bluegrass style! Amazing. Chris Thile never stop to amaze me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJW9IMfkfLM

The orginal can be heard and seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbw-LT5ZCJo

I love that one too :)

New music: White Lies - To Lose My Life

Why oh why haven't I checked out White Lies until now. It's a pure mystery too me. I think you will see more of them around me in the future! Surprised that I like this music? Probably not ;) Time to sleep now, but it was good to devote the soul to some good music in the night and knowing that I have the day off tomorrow:)

Celebrity blogs: Arctic Monkeys: The view from... The Laundry Room

Lovely absurd blog these guys are keeping. This is a very good one. For more check out their Youtube site.. This also comes from this site :)

New video: Cornerstone - Arctic Monkeys

This is quite frankly one of the greatest new things I have seen or heard in a long long time. I just have to watch it for the 5th time before I go to sleep. Amazing video idea, amazing tune, amazing lyrics and charming man. Very real somehow. Here.

La Blogothèque and Andrew Bird

This blogg will tell you about a fusion of two very good things. First of all you have the amazing makers of "Take-away-shows" La Blogothèque and the Andrew Bird. I first became aware of La Blogothèque though videos they made for Beirut. They are all simply breathtaking. The concept is that an artist plays live and walks around and gets filmed. I have always though thought that I have to look for more videos by La Blogothèque, but I always forgot, until today when my kind friend posted a link to their site at Facebook. Andrew Bird is exactly the same, a musician that I always wanted to check out more and always like when I hear him, yet forget to check out more. So, here I found the combination of two very great things: Andrew Bird and La Blogothèque. It's quite lovely. Oh, and I love the whistling :)

This is a link to the general site, and if you have a look around you can also find other amazing stuff, included... Beirut :)

Great covers: Jim O'Rourke - Viva Forever

Wow... can't belive that I haven't heard this man before. I have always liked this Spice girls song and the beautiful video has even driven me to tears sometimes, but I also love this cover. It has that great laid back feel of another good old favorite of mine the genius Elliott Smith. I have to listen more to mr. O'Rourke. Just wish it was more of him on Spotify. I get all my music from there these days. Hope I am not missing out on to much.. On the other hand, I am also finding so much good stuff.. :)

Here it is:

The new Imogen Heap album!

This is so beautiful it makes me cry!! What a musician, what a composer and last but not least, what a producer!! ENJOY!

New Thom Yorke song/Mark Mulcahy cover with brother

Thanks to "Rock it out!" blog on YouTube I found out about this one. It's indeed a new Thom Yorke song. Or really it's a cover by Thom Yorke of a song of Mark Mulcahy. I must honestly say that this guy has slipped right passed me, because I have never heard about him before. I have to read up on this. Apparently though, when a guy get a tribute album like this with all kinds of famous artists, he must be a good guy. The album is out to support him since he's wife died and left him alone with their twins of 3 years old. (And after taking care of twin babies for three days this week I can honestly say that I understand why he need all the support that he can).
The Thom York cover sound very much like him. The really interesting part for me, as a fan though, is that his brother is actually doing the background vocals on this one. Wow, it would be very interesting if they could do more stuff together. Two great voices there. I think the other brother need to be brought even more into the lime light too..

Here is a link to the song.
Here is more about the cd.

Music: Diiiirty Pop

When you spend your whole day working on a program where the characters dance "dirty pop" the line "diiirty pop" suddenly pops into your head. Then you send half of the rest of the day wondering, where that came from. Then suddenly it becomes clear. It's the first line in a song of a boyband that you kinda liked a long time ago and already then had the most talented lead singer ever... yepp, we are talking N*sync, Justin Timberlake and.... "Pop". I even remeber watching a making of of this video at one time. I like it. It pops out of the screen. And Justin? well you know what happened to him :) And the rest of them... I have NO idea... Anyone? Oh and that's some great dancing ;) The whole video is kinda a big Justin advert when I come to think of it. He does vocals, beat boxing and amazing dancing in this one. A bit bad quality, but that was the only thing I could find.

Music: In preperation for Blur in July!

Judging by their current form it looks like
this is gonna be a hell of a lot of fun!! :D D

New song and video from Phoenix: Lisztomania!!

AHHH! Yet another elegant, brilliant, catchy, sweet and amusing video and song from Phoenix. Let's hope they don't get soaked up in the US now, after SNL, but then again, it will teach all the emo-kids some class and knowledge of classical composers :) Ironically the director of the songs video is called Wagner too. Of for a quick walk outside :) Have to practice before going to.. No other place then.,. yes, France! :D

Here it is :)

Great live: Phoenix on Saturday Night Live

This might be the first time I have ever seen the boys of Phoenix a tiny bit nervous. But my oh my, the still do an amazing job. Let's hope they can bring some french elegance to the American minds ;)

Enjoy, people!


22.03.2013 The original video has since been deleted, but I hope you enjoy this one:

Great songs & Great covers: Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics

This is one of those songs that really reminds me of being about 20. Kelly Jones voice is still as beautiful as ever and the lyrics are so so sad but still very well written, from a grandfather to a grandchild. The video is also very 90's with the lava lamps and everything. Just a great piece of music. Enjoy!