en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal The Last.fm journal for Michahh. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2011/01/29/46pkbb_friend_compatibility_update Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:22:27 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2011/01/29/46pkbb_friend_compatibility_update Michahh's friend compatibility:
99%__reihmusic
99%__Popgefahr
99%__heroldh
99%__WarriorWithin84
99%__dhyani666
99%__Joekingjoe123
99%__sth22
99%__Julezfoolez
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99%__Jensle
99%__hedanos
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98%__davidhorizon
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97%__Tearsofglass89
97%__fallen-angel81
96%__moon24child
96%__Empathy82
94%__plastiCsofA
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91%__boy_in_the_well
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91%__milzbrand
90%__bennyhertlein
87%__MelonerasHH
87%__HH-Bongo
87%__bjorkboy_sparks
85%__warriorgreen
85%__Stoov
83%__fairwesr
82%__mick27
82%__JCN6
79%__Atypical80
76%__zepharius2007
75%__Otterleo
71%__archangel9
71%__Coshida_81
71%__southern-trees
70%__tosheq
69%__mhx77
62%__marc31en
58%__Sequenz_
58%__heinzes
55%__Disneygirl1
47%__Anshka
45%__biology_boy
45%__depechedream
36%__randombob18
35%__ghostchild]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/12/18/43y3og_top_30_of_2010 Sat, 18 Dec 2010 15:54:42 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/12/18/43y3og_top_30_of_2010 2010 has been a great year of music for me. Several of my favourite artists have released new albums, and there also was some new stuff to discover.
So for now, these are my Top 30 of 2010, including 2010 releases only:

1. Marina & the Diamonds – Shampain
2. Iris – The Marianas Depths
3. Deine Lakaien – Gone
4. Angelzoom – The Things You Said
5. Hurts – Wonderful Life
6. Keane – My Shadow
7. Scissor Sisters – Invisible Light
8. De/Vision – Be A Light To Yourself
9. Goldfrapp – Head First
10. Hey Champ – Star
11. iamamiwhoami – y
12. Ashbury Heights – Anti Ordinary
13. Hey Champ – Face Control
14. Hurts – Silver Lining
15. Loreena McKennitt – The Star of the County Down
16. Alphaville – End Of The World
17. Donkeyboy – Ambitions
18. Angelzoom – Fragile
19. iamamiwhoami – t
20. Ladytron – Ace Of Hz
21. Kylie Minogue – Closer
22. Deine Lakaien – One Night
23. Lissie – In Sleep
24. Hurts – Devotion
25. Loreena McKennitt – As I Roved Out
26. Angelzoom – Hypnotised
27. Keane – Stop For A Minute
28. Silly – Ich sag nicht ja
29. Iris – Red Right return
30. Alphaville – Heaven On Earth (The Things We’ve Got To Do)]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/09/23/3xpv7s_the_shortest_%2526_the_longest_track_in_my_music_collection_are... Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:12:05 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/09/23/3xpv7s_the_shortest_%2526_the_longest_track_in_my_music_collection_are... Shortest
The Beatles - Carry That Weight (1:36)

Longest
Porcupine Tree - Buying New Soul (10:25)

What are yours?]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/09/12/3wu1rx_recent_favourites Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:55:21 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/09/12/3wu1rx_recent_favourites Some great songs I fell in love with recently - many of them are old, I know :-)

Parralox - Sharper Than a Knife
Ghosts - The World Is Outside
Hurts - Silver Lining
Dragonette - True Believer
Embrace - Ashes
Róisín Murphy - Overpowered
Interpol - Rest My Chemistry
Athlete - Black Swan Song
White Williams - Headlines
Kylie Minogue - Closer
Infadels - Girl That Speaks No Words
Mind.In.A.Box - 8 Bits
Angelzoom - The Things You Said
Deine Lakaien - Gone
Zeigeist - Dawn/Night
Scissor Sisters - Invisible Light
Iris - Closer To Real
Ashbury Heights - Derrick Is a Strange Machine]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/06/10/3p8941_the_voices%21 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:38:06 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/06/10/3p8941_the_voices%21 It's high time to do a blog entry collecting my all-time-favourite vocalists in Pop & Rock music, including some representative songs. So let's start with...

Frida
Over the years, I became aware that Frida is my favourite ABBA voice, darker and often edgier than Agnetha's. One of my favourites, because Frida's voice fits the Spanish wonderfully: Conociendome, Conociendote

Tom Chaplin (Keane)
Being a singer myself I'm just totally in awe of this voice... How can a man hit such high notes with such power and emotion at the same time? Perfect Symmetry

Maggie Reilly
This beautiful voice has accompanied me through my whole life, starting with Oldfield's Moonlight Shadow, later with her solo recordings in the 90s, and I wouldn't wanna live without it. She still releases a record every other year, and her 2006/07 release "Rowan" is her best solo CD ever. Away wi' the faeries is the first track.

France Gall
I just recently re-discovered France Gall by hearing "La déclaration" on the radio. I owned the Babacar album as a 10-year-old in the 80s already, because I loved "Ella elle l'a", and I still think she has a captivating voice. Certainly not as big as others in this list, but unmistakable for sure. And her biography is very interesting too. La Déclaration d'amour

Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree)
The fascination of PT's music lies in the contrast between Wilson's soft, very melancholy vocals and the Progressive Rock sounds. Many of their songs use this contrast perfectly, especially when Steven adds his 2nd and 3rd voices. But there are also the beautiful, epic ballads that come without any Rock parts at all... Hard to pick a favourite! Maybe Blackest Eyes

Dolores O'Riordan
Talking about unmistakable voices, you cannot forget this one... Still fascinating. Shattered

Veronika Fischer
Another interesting biography and another unmistakable voice... probably my favourite German singer. She tried many different styles and some of her stuff is labeled as "Schlager", but she released some beautiful songs that mix Pop, Chanson and other styles, such as Weit über's Meer. With her poignant voice, she manages to avoid Kitsch completely.

Midge Ure
Ah, the best (male) voice of the 80s... And still very powerful when performing live on stage. All In One Day

Nina Persson (The Cardigans, A Camp)
The perfect voice for calming down, getting carried away... The whole Long Gone Before Daylight album is a masterpiece, one of my favourites is Feathers And Down. Would love to see her performing live one day.

Claudia Uhle (X-Perience, Angelzoom)
Either on the light-hearted and simple X-Perience pop songs or the more classical/ambient Angelzoom recordings, Claudia's crystal clear soprano turns just about every song into something remarkable and different. E.g. the Depeche Mode cover Blasphemous rumours

Daniel Bellqvist (Eskobar)
A bit similar to Tom Chaplin, although maybe not as powerful. Eskobar is just one of many, many examples for Sweden's irresistible pop music, and Daniel's voice fits the dreamy mood of many of their songs very well. Love Strikes

Sian Evans (Kosheen)
Quite the opposite to the sopranos in this list, Sian Evans has a powerful alto voice, and: She is just dazzling on stage. Probably the best live performer I have ever seen. Hungry

Loreena McKennitt
No need to comment on this one I guess... She's kind of in a different league. The Lady of Shalott]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/04/25/3lb07r_songs_that_are_much_too_short%21 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:34:30 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/04/25/3lb07r_songs_that_are_much_too_short%21 All these songs should just last at least one minute longer IMHO...

Coldplay - Don't Panic (2:17)
First song on the first album and maybe still their best

The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (2:04)
Beautiful tune and a very special mood because of the sitar sound... lovely

Porcupine Tree - Kneel and Disconnect (2:03)
Just the kind of haunting, melancholy song with excellent vocal harmonies that they do best... Best one from The Incident CD I

Neko Case - A Widow's Toast (1:37)
Beautiful vocals in this one, too...]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/03/14/3hl1ez_friend_compatibility Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:38:05 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/03/14/3hl1ez_friend_compatibility Thanks boy_in_the_well for the idea :)

Michahh's friend compatibility:
99%__reihmusic
99%__Popgefahr
99%__WarriorWithin84
99%__davidhorizon
99%__AzraelNoir
98%__CQuadrat
98%__scm84
98%__facethefear
98%__violetta11
98%__sth22
98%__midigirl
98%__schemerdonker
98%__depecherid
98%__Jens33
98%__Nikkidm
98%__educoelho
98%__FondueKnight6
98%__mist70
98%__aladan
98%__flame2276
98%__heroldh
98%__nelson2k
98%__pink_gin
98%__rricardouk
97%__electroboy73
97%__Stoov
97%__nanchuscmps
97%__wmtnyc
97%__Zeritas
97%__fallen-angel81
96%__Lamprog
96%__Tjordal
96%__moon24child
96%__fewtrem
95%__Mlili
95%__takbud
95%__mick27
95%__schneert
94%__mikkavivian
94%__mogenicwolf
94%__hyperballadbrad
94%__Eyolf_Aki
94%__evanggelos
94%__reeseporter
93%__Thomas104
93%__danced-in-fire
92%__Coshida_81
92%__randombob18
91%__bjorkboy_sparks
91%__Emerson_Olaf
91%__Dimplesweden
91%__alphavto
90%__southern-trees
90%__MichaMal
89%__gkhnbc
89%__Indigo_Ice
89%__FACT100
89%__davidbowiegirl
88%__MelonerasHH
88%__efssweden
88%__chikamen
85%__brightfrontier
85%__cydesigner
85%__Killerkette
84%__cyber-clean
83%__Anshka
83%__ASHL3Yx
82%__boy_in_the_well
82%__phantom_gahan
82%__legrecdimitri
80%__elfaerie
78%__gungh0
78%__HH-Bongo
76%__spnkr117
73%__tonschachter
72%__ehiter
71%__OrdinaryDreams
71%__cmishot
70%__XSone
70%__charait
70%__tosheq
70%__mattiasw
67%__marioland_81
66%__JCRM
65%__KeyserSoze1983
59%__julian2012
59%__docampovogler
54%__lhulhuzinha
52%__Diadith
51%__firstfooter
48%__voicelessroom
46%__ohneziel
45%__lamqa
30%__ghostchild
30%__Teodora_muy
26%__FoerdeRadio
0%___SpinySonic
0%___archangel9
0%___biology_boy
0%___retroindiano]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/03/10/3h8et7_finally%21%21%21_removed_mis-tagged_songs%21_%3A-%29 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:43:16 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/03/10/3h8et7_finally%21%21%21_removed_mis-tagged_songs%21_%3A-%29 Wow, I finally managed to remove all mis-tagged songs from my last.fm music library. I always thought I just have to live with them, but now I found out that you can remove all artists and songs just by going to your music library and click on the "x" that appears either on the artist photo, or on the right side next to each song in the list of songs for each artist.
So I got rid of all artists I had once tagged with "XXX feat. XXX" for example, or of songs like "S.H.E" which should of course be "S.H.E." and more stuff like that which bothers people who have no life. :-)

Now I can go to sleep happily. :-)

Am I the only one who didn't know that this is possible??]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/01/10/3btkwb_my_top20_of_2009 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:06:25 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2010/01/10/3btkwb_my_top20_of_2009 These are my personal 2009 charts - including only 2009 releases - as I would see them now:

1. Antilles - Longing For The Spring
2. Northern Lite - Letters & Signs
3. IAMX - Think of England
4. La Roux - Cover My Eyes
5. Antilles - Friendly Fire (Acoustic Version)
6. a-ha - Mother Nature Goes To Heaven
7. Spandau Ballet - Once More
8. IAMX - The Great Shipwreck of Life
9. Porcupine Tree - Remember Me Lover
10. Dolores O'Riordan - The Journey
11. Yohanna - Is It True? (from ESC 2009)
12. Depeche Mode - Wrong
13. Urban Symphony - Rändajad (from ESC 2009)
14. Ruben Cossani - Es kann sein (die Wüste lebt)
15. Apoptygma Berzerk - Shadow
16. VNV Nation - Sentinel
17. Depeche Mode - Peace
18. OneRepublic - Secrets
19. Green Day - 21 Guns
20. Nouvelle Vague - Master And Servant]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2009/12/21/39l96h_favourite_duets Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:57:25 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Michahh/journal/2009/12/21/39l96h_favourite_duets Two great voices in one song... These are my favourite duets, including both popular classics and some more obscure stuff:

Peter Gabriel - Don't Give Up
Featuring Kate Bush of course... A beautiful 80s ballad that I love more and more each time I hear it. While I like both singers, I'm no huge fan of either of them... But the way they sing this is just amazing.

Morrissey - Interlude
Featuring Siouxsie. Another very calm 80s track... Just read this line from the lyrics, it's the atmosphere of the whole song in a nutshell: "Let's hold fast to the dream that tastes and sparkles like wine..." A shame that the 2 of them didn't get along, their very distinct voices make an excellent combination.

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Summer Wine
These two sounded so great together that they turned several duets into timeless classic hits. I couldn't really decide if Summer Wine's my favourite, or maybe Some Velvet Morning. Both songs have such a wonderful mysterious touch.

Tom Jones & The Cardigans - Burning Down The House
Enough dreamy stuff... This one is just totally addictive, and to bring "tiger" Tom Jones together with "kitten" Nina Persson (referring to what their voices sound like of course) is a stroke of genius.

Mike Oldfield - Tricks of the Light
Well, the vocalists are Maggie Reilly and Barry Palmer, who both sing several songs on the Oldfield album Discovery, but just this one duet. It's a great, energetic uptempo song with a tune where they both really shine.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis - Cruisin'
This is from the movie "Duets" which I never saw, but I've loved this song immediately when I heard it for the first time. Hearing Gwyneth Paltrow sing with this really nice, warm voice was an even bigger surprise than seeing/hearing Nicole Kidman in "Moulin Rouge". Lovely!

Eskobar - Someone New
Featuring Heather Nova. Nice uptempo song combining two great voices. Although I have to admit that I think Eskobar have many equally good or better songs and that they don't deserve to be known for this duet only.

IAMX - My Secret Friend
Featuring Imogen Heap. Very interesting collaboration, in this case because their two voices are very similar and it's actually not that easy to distinguish between them. They just blend well with each other.

Ladytron - Versus
The popular last.fm tag says it all: "male vocals in ladytron wtf" It's the only track where one of the two male band members takes lead vocals together with Helen. The result is very special and excellent.]]>