MoogleFan's Last.fm Journal

Marilyn Roxie - New Limerent Object

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:37:51 +0000

I generally don't promote my stuff through journal entries, but what the heck, I've been a Last.fm user since 2007 and I'm excited about it. I (Marilyn Roxie) have a new album out: New Limerent Object, and all tracks are free to stream+download.

If you've heard my stuff before, echoes of the video game music influence (植松伸夫, 近藤浩治, 西浦智仁, and so forth), and hints of library music remain, though I'd like to think that my sound is expanding to include some of my other influences as well, like krautrock, drone, and maybe even some shoegaze, too.

Some assorted influences and/or lovely comparisons I've received (not that I'm as epic...yet!): Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, My Bloody Valentine, Jean-Michel Jarre, Harmonia, Natural Snow Buildings, Spectrum, Liquid Liquid, Cluster, Splashdown, Egg, Faust, Belbury Poly, Delia Derbyshire, Raymond Scott, Susumu Yokota, Ananda Shankar, Dead Can Dance

I don't know how many potential ears I'll reach with putting something up like this, but I'm giving it a shot... :D I appreciate my comrades here at Last.fm taking the time to listen to these track I've turned out, it still boggles me that my music has been heard around the world!
~Marilyn Roxie

Brilliant Out-of-Print Albums

Sat, 9 May 2009 20:18:02 +0000

(originally posted at A Future in Noise)
Suggest your fav out-of-print albums in the comments!

The 2000s have seen a host of wonderful re-issues; the Japan discography,Tom Verlaine - Dreamtime, Danielle Dax - Dark Adapted Eye, the Wipers Box Set, for instance. Even still, there are many more critically important albums and hidden gems that could certainly stand to be re-released. Many of these I hadn't realized were out-of-print until I began poking around Amazon/Amazon UK for the purpose of this list, though you may be in luck with some individual sellers there, on eBay, and particularly through GEMM. Hopefully, the music discussed here will lead you to some great discoveries!
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Selected Ambient Works 85-92 - Aphex Twin (1992)
This one registered as a huge ?! in my mind when I discovered it was no longer available in physical form. One of the grandest achievements in ambient and electronic music and vastly influential.

What Does Anything Mean? Basically - The Chameleons (1985)
Largely unrecognized in the field of post-punk, apart from a cult following, the Chameleons were also big-time precursors to shoegaze, especially throughout this album. The 25th Anniversary Edition of the Chameleons' Script of the Bridge is available as an import, though What Does Anything Mean? Basically hasn't been re-issued since the mid-90s.

Horse Rotorvator - Coil (1986)
Coil pioneered the industrial genre (founded by the late John Balance, who would later collaborate with Nurse With Wound and Psychic TV, amongst others), with Horse Rotorvator being a landmark release- darkly eerie and making for an incredibly intense listen. "Slur" (with guest vocals from Soft Cell's Marc Almond) appears in my 'Top 100 Fav Songs' iTunes playlist.

World Shut Your Mouth - Julian Cope (1984)
Known for founding the Teardrop Explodes (and the short-lived Crucial Three with Pete Wylie and Ian McCulloch), Julian Cope's impressive legacy of solo work is very much worth exploring. While Peggy Suicide (1991) remains his most acclaimed release, World Shut Your Mouth sounds very much ahead of, and likely providing direct inspiration to, the 90s Britpop movement.

Woman's Gotta Have It - Cornershop (1995)
Heard this one thanks to AFIN contributor Ian (check out his Starter Guide: Cornershop post). When I Was Born for the 7th Time may be the critical, and commercial, choice, but Woman's Gotta Have It is most definitely Cornershop's best, not to mention one of the should-have-been-a-classic albums of the 90s. I have a particular weakness for sitars, what's more.

Levitate - The Fall (1997)
One of the Fall's most inaccessible, bizarre albums (yes, standing out even within the context of their whole discography of 'inaccessible, bizarre albums'). A smorgasbord of styles and randomness- as puzzling as it is entertaining. Thanks to John P. for hooking me up with this and several other now-discontinued Fall releases!

Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies (1980)
Another criminally un-reissued album; the influence of the jangle-pop music of the Feelies has touched anything and everything under the vast 'indie rock' umbrella to the present-day. Present here is their cover of The Beatles song "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey)", which makes a good case for trumping the original.

Live At Winterland - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1987)
Originally recorded in 1968 and not released until 1987 (!), Live at Winterland is as crucial a recorded document as the Jimi Hendrix Experience's studio albums.

Autobahn - Kraftwerk (1974)
A turning point in German electronic/kraut group Kraftwerk's body of work, the title track "Autobahn" is one of their most important tracks; the album as a whole makes for a lovely listening experience while traveling anywhere (of course).

The Maria Dimension - The Legendary Pink Dots (1991)
Sounding less like it's from 1991 and more like a combination of great lost 60s-70s-80s albums, The Maria Dimension is the height of this quirky band's achievement (though Plutonium Blonde was a pleasant surprise in last year's releases).

Unanswerable Lust - Luxuria (1988)
Despite being familiar with (and loving) Magazine, I had no clue about Howard Devoto's subsequent band Luxuria (formed with Noko, a multi-instrumentalist he met through Pete Shelley), until I was reading an article about thenewno2 which compared the two bands' sounds. Like Magazine, this is wondrous, uncategorizable music that must be heard!

The Dance of the Moon and the Sun - Natural Snow Buildings (2006)
Unlike the other entries in this list, Natural Snow Buildings have consistently made their albums willfully obscure (typically under 200 copies)- a current search on Amazon or eBay will throw up nothing whatsoever. This group are a duo from France who have been putting out magically hypnotic psych-drone music since 1999. While The Dance of the Moon and the Sun is probably their 'best-known', this year's multiple-cassette limited release Daughter of Darkness is quite the achievement, and set to be one of my favourites of 2009- possibly one of the most powerfully epic albums I have heard. Ever. The entirety of 2003 album Ghost Folks is available for free download on Last.fm.

Feeding the Flame - Sad Lovers and Giants (1983)
(Thanks to Choutas at RYM for the recommendation) Like the Chameleons and the Sound, Sad Lovers and Giants were (and are) unheralded masters of the post-punk aesthetic, and beyond that into some of the most sublime, pure music you will find anywhere on Feeding the Flame. Stream "3 Lines" from Last.fm.

Jeopardy - The Sound (1980)
(Thanks to Matt M. for recommending this and Miss P's Rave and Roll article on the Sound) Described at allmusic as a musical blend of Joy Division and Echo & The Bunnymen, the Sound's string of releases (many of which were available as imports-only, in America) in the 1980s are all worthwhile, particularly Jeopardy and 1984 EP Shock of Daylight.

Soul Kiss (Glide Divine) - Spectrum (1992)
A fairly recent discovery, arising out of some heavy Spacemen 3 listening last week. After psychedelic-space-rock group Spacemen 3 dissolved, Jason Pierce ("J. Spaceman") formed Spiritualized, Stewart Roswell ("Rosco") formed The Darkside, and Peter Kember ("Sonic Boom") formed Spectrum, and later, Experimental Audio Research. Debut Soul Kiss (Glide Devine) is a continuation of, and expansion upon, Spacemen 3 themes- heavenly, dreamy deliciousness. Come to think of it, Spectrum's recent War Sucks EP is also impossible to locate! Two tracks from his album Spectrum (1990), released under Sonic Boom and recorded while Spacemen 3 were still loosely together, are available for free download at Last.fm: "Help Me Please" and "Lonely Avenue"

Interview with Me at Smashingpumpkins.com !!

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 22:31:06 +0000

The article Last.fm: A site for music lovers everywhere, also appearing on the front page of the official Smashing Pumpkins site includes some remarks from me on how unsigned artists can benefit from using Last.fm- special thanks to saeed1985 for making this happen!

Connected artists: The Smashing Pumpkins, Zwan, Billy Corgan

A Future in Noise: Hip Happenings!

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:36:06 +0000

Here's an update on what's been going on at A Future in Noise since my last update- special thanks to Inertia_90 and CFilardo for being excellent contributors. :) Click and browse what we've been up to, and make some music discoveries!

- Initialized tag station a future in noise for music mentioned and reviewed at the blog; type it into the radio client, and listen, it's all ready to go, and also feel free to tag music you feel should get a nod at A Future in Noise with the tag!

- Shoegaze - From the Beginning and Beyond: Article HERE
Connected Artists: Brian Eno, Galaxie 500, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Spacemen 3, Suicide, The Velvet Underground

- Bollywood Feature: Article HERE
Connected Artists: Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Ilaiyaraaja

- Sonic Youth - Starter Guide and Serge Gainsbourg - Starter Guide

- Reviews of Coconut recorts - Davy, E. K. Wimmer - What Was Once Veduta Is Now Found, Panda steps in chocolate - Creep Of The Crop, Glen Strachan - 8 Love Rivals, Jakob Battick - Recent Songs, happiest lion - Homemade, Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You, Morrissey - Years of Refusal, Caddywhompus - Caddywhompus EP *Search reviews at AFIN to read 'em!*

- Music Discoveries and Features: The Dailies, Friend John, The Handcuffs, I've Been Franklin, John Murphy Music, Naked Uh, Shyneboxx, Somersault, Ryan Smith, Tran Qual

Cheers all, thanks so much for being a part of and reading A Future in Noise!
~Marilyn Roxie

New Articles at A Future in Noise: Daniel Ouellette, Burnt Fur, Spinto Band

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:19:06 +0000

Here's what's been happening at A Future in Noise!

Review of Daniel Ouellette - Kaiju Carnival EP: Daniel Ouellette is an electronic solo artist from Massachusetts. He released 2003-2008 compilation Monsterland- The Revenge of Daniel last spring via his own label Meanie Jeannie, and the Kaiju Carnival EP (pictured at left) in October on the New Shiner label, co-produced by Scott Harrison (Burnt Fur)...FULL ARTICLE HERE...
Artist connections: Grace Jones, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson

Review of Burnt Fur - Unfurl: Music that sounds like a collision of the best of new wave, post-punk, and electronica, with a dash of modern sensibility- there you have Burnt Fur, a four-piece band from Boston, Massachusetts, comprised of members Scott Harrison (vocals/guitar/bass/drum pads/synth), Patrik Tirda (synth/samples/drum pads), and Ian St. Germain and Jean Kennedy on drum pads/bass....FULL ARTICLE HERE...
Artist connections: New Order, Depeche Mode, The Glove, The Cure

Also, welcome to new contributor Christian Filardo, whose first article, on The Spinto Band, is here!

~Marilyn Roxie

Jadiohead: Jay-X x Radiohead Mash-up Album!

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 03:08:49 +0000

Original post at my blog A Future in Noise is READABLE HERE

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Minty Fresh Beats, a New York hip-hop/dance producer, has recently released Jaydiohead, a digital mash-up album of Jay-Z and Radiohead tracks. I initially checked this out not only because both Jay-Z and Radiohead interest me musically, but also to hear if it might be a formidable opponent to DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album (a mash-up of Jay-Z's The Black Album a cappella, with tracks from the Beatles' White Album). After a few listens, I can say that it definitely is!

The songs are culled from a variety of albums from both Jay-Z and Radiohead, as shown in the track breakdown below the links. The opener "Wrong Prayer" will have you hooked from the start and (quite possibly) dancing. "99 Anthems" and "Fall In Step" are just two of my picks for favourites, and they serve as great examples of Minty Fresh Beat's fine attention to detail in choosing the tracks to compliment each other best, and often also the most unexpected. It took me a bit to think of what some of the Radiohead songs used were at first, since they are re-interpreted here as if they were made for Jay-Z's rapping to accompany them! The perfect-fit vocals of both Jay-Z and Thom Yorke in "Change Order" and "Optimistic Moment" make for must-hear material. This one is going to be on repeat at my house for awhile...and, hey, now you know just the thing to play at your New Year's festivities!

Jaydiohead - Official Download | Minty Fresh Beats at MySpace Music

Here is a full a breakdown of the tracks:
1. Wrong Prayer - "Pray" (Jay-Z, American Gangster) + "I Might Be Wrong" (Radiohead, Amnesiac)
2. 99 Anthems - "99 Problems" (Jay-Z, The Black Album) + The National Anthem (Radiohead, Kid A)
3. No Karma - "No Hook" (Jay-Z, American Gangster) + "Karma Police" (Radiohead, OK Computer)
4. Lucifer's Jigsaw - "Lucifer" (Jay-Z, The Black Album) + "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" (Radiohead, In Rainbows)
5. Optimistic Moment - "Moment of Clarity" (Jay-Z, The Black Album) + "Optimistic" (Radiohead, Kid A)
6. Dirt Off Your Android - "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" (Jay-Z, The Black Album) + "Paranoid Android" (Radiohead, OK Computer)
7. Dreaming Up - "American Dreamin'" (Jay-Z, American Gangster) + "Up on the Ladder" (Radiohead, In Rainbows [Disc 2])
8. Change Order - "Never Change" (Jay-Z, The Blueprint) + "Gagging Order" (Radiohead, B-side of "Go to Sleep" from Hail to the Thief)
9. Fall In Step - "Fallin'" (Jay-Z, American Gangster) + "15 Step" (Radiohead, In Rainbows)
10. Ignorant Swan - "Ignorant Shit" (Jay-Z, American Gangster) + Black Swan" (Thom Yorke, The Eraser)

Top Album Picks for 2008

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:52:31 +0000

Original post at my blog A Future in Noise is READABLE HERE

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There are still so many more albums from 2008 I have yet to hear, as Ian's post and many of the other end-of-year roundups I've been noticing have made me realize. It was hard just narrowing it down to a top ten!

1. You Are Here - thenewno2 I've raved about Dhani Harrison's group since I first heard them in August. The newest sounding album of the year, by far; this could not have been made any year other than 2008. They have remained fairly under the radar, playing some shows in Los Angeles (and broadcasting them live via Stickam in September) and releasing their album first as an iTunes exclusive, and then on one of those new-fangled, extremely tiny SlotMusic cards. Read more about thenewno2 in my original post.

2. Imperial Wax Solvent - The Fall Ah, the mighty Fall! I have been a fan since, by chance, someone posted an mp3 of "Dead Beat Descendant" on The Killers Network in 2005. After I realized that they had a boatload of albums, I settled on the excellent 2-disc compilation 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong...and ended up obtaining most of the studio albums anyway. So, here we have Imperial Wax Solvent which is not only the best Fall album of the 2000s, but one of the strangest Fall albums. Ever. Seriously, it's a classic.

3. Midnight Boom - The Kills Reaction on this album has been fairly mixed. The production is a lot cleaner, perhaps less "raw" or live sounding than the first two. This album actually happens to be my favourite of theirs so far, and shows that they still have quite a lot of room to grow.

4. Sixes & Sevens - Adam Green While not my top favourite of his (mine is Jacket Full of Danger), this album runs more like a mix tape than an ordinary LP. Adam Green is the man.

5. Box of Secrets - Blood Red Shoes I think I may have found their music when I was looking up related artists for The Kills on Last.fm They have not yet reached their full potential, but this album shows a band so promising that I just had to put it in my top ten.

6. In Ear Park - Department of Eagles Did I say thenewno2's You Are Here was the new-est sounding release of the year? There is a contender in Department of Eagles. Something Beatle-esque about this group for sure.

7. Plutonium Blonde - The Legendary Pink Dots
Like the Fall, they have a massive discography, though they are lesser known. And, comparable the Fall's 2008 release Imperial Wax Solvent, this is a contender for "most strangely enjoyable" in their entire catalog. The eerie album art offers a clue to the sounds inside.

8. Just Pretend You're a Pegasus - Panda steps in chocolate Found by pure chance of typing in "chocolate" in Last.fm's tag radio... Read my full review

9. A Burial In Seven Births - Mt. Moon Epic release from a summer-long band... Read my full review

10. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles A lot of people...well, they hate Crystal Castles. They are frequently reduced to being just another "chiptune" group, and are probably known best for their Creative Commons issues and Madonna image-use controversy. I luckily heard their album before uncovering all of the hullabaloo, and I love it. Atari bits and sampling and all.

I, too, will be posting a list of '08's best singles soon; and, I'd love to hear your top ten album + singles picks as well!

Review: National Snack - Apply Machine EP

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:09:46 +0000

Original post at my blog A Future in Noise is READABLE HERE

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Described as "Mungrul Music", National Snack are a three-piece alternative rock/punk band from the UK, comprised of Gemma Storr (vocals, guitar), Joe Carlo (vocals, bass), and Phil Casey (drums). December 8th marks the release of their Apply Machine EP, which they commemorated by playing a gig at Nambucca in London with Hot Head Show and Pearly.

One aspect that immediately struck me about National Snack was their DIY kind of music aesthetic; a fun, unpretentious element too often missing from the present day's music which hearkens back to the fervor of late 70's garage-punk acts. Their songs are catchy and groovable, plus listening to the EP offers a good indication of what an entertaining, energy-packed live show they must put on!

Apply Machine EP offers, indeed, "6 songs to move your head in different directions". The male and female vocal trade-off and synchronizing allow tracks like "Mischief" and "My Head Hurts" to sound dynamic and urgent. "This is Not Enough" is softer and more conversational in tone, picking up the pace at the end with "Frustration / And desire / Only serves to / Light my...fire". "Self Conscious" is a look into the current state of society, "We are the disillusioned / Too well-fed for a revolution". The absolute stand-out tracks here, for me, are "Working for the Devil" and "Rock n Roll", excellent examples of the sort of cheeky tunefulness the National Snack offer in the EP and serve as a very good omen for the future sound of this group.

They might have sonic similarities to present-day groups like The Subways and The Pigeon Detectives, but their influences are undoubtedly eclectic, noted on their MySpace as being "The B-52's, Muse, Frank Zappa and The Muppets" and in their press-kit in regards to their sound: "somewhere between Prince, Fugazi, and The Weather Girls depending on how many singers they take to a gig".

What's more, just as their EP is being released, they have an appeal on their website for those who are interested to buy a tile space on the back of their debut LP and then subsequently be allowed to design that portion, which will not only help out the band produce the album, but allow your design to appear on the finished product...and you get a copy of it! It is this sort of innovative development and musical process that sets National Snack aside from many other groups, and is what makes them absolutely worth checking out.

National Snack - Official Website
National Snack - Official MySpace

Music + Art = Love

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 05:12:44 +0000

Original article posted at A Future in Noise READABLE HERE

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In the present day, what kind of relationship do art and music have with each other? Does each field have the kinship with the other as they have in the past? Let's go back for a moment.

There are a number of known musicians who attended art school; John Lennon (The Beatles), Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno (Roxy Music), Ray Davies (The Kinks), and Pete Townshend (The Who). The genre art rock is difficult to pigeonhole, but is generally rock music which incorporates the avant-garde and experimental, as is often more album-oriented than single-driven, though the line between this genre and progressive rock is at times blurry.

An important band, and one of my favourites, which has often been equated with art and experimental rock are The Velvet Underground, a 60's group proving immensely influential on countless later acts. Though also known for being influenced by literature and film, the band's association with Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable and his art for their debut album in '67, The Velvet Underground and Nico (probably one of the most instantly-recognizable album covers of all-time), allowed for an immediate link between the band and the sort of pop art that they sonically represented.

"Art rock" can encompass progressive bands like Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson, certain glam-associated artists (David Bowie, Roxy Music), and also art punk (Television, Talking Heads). There are a newer batch of artists which have been associated with the term, like TV on the Radio and Franz Ferdinand, who employ similar aesthetics as some of the earlier groups mentioned, often with a post-punky flair. Last.fm's list of artists tagged as art rock is an interesting browse, proving again that genre definitions can indeed be quite subjective.

But what about rock art? Album covers, concert posters, imagery in music videos; they are inextricably connected with our favourite bands and songs, making them all the more iconic and memorable. The fashion associated with particular music scenes often just as strong of a cultural impression as the music itself (gothic, punk, metal, etc.).

And now, we come to 2008. In August, graphic designer Peter Saville declared the album cover as "dead" (article at Gigwise), pointing to the prevalence of digital downloads as the reason for the decline. After all, what would a downloader care about the album art? I do. Album covers can clue you in to what to expect sound-wise and serve as works of art on their own. Even being born in the age of the CD, and subsequently mp3, I have bought albums I enjoy on vinyl primarily to have an expanded form of the art.

A record album cover is slightly larger than 12" x 12" (see image of 1938 first album cover at right). A CD cover is 4.75" x 4.75. Digital album art varies, though usually the size of a normal CD cover or smaller. For many people, the only time they see it is when it appears as a minute square on their digital media player. Many mp3s, ZIP, and RAR files do not have album images attached at all. Album designers and bands themselves may (and arguably already have started to) disregard the medium in the same way that both new and old music videos often go unseen unless a fan decides to trawl YouTube for it. New and vintage concert posters have had a renewed popularity (see massive selection at GigPosters), and fashion's relationship with music is currently a bit confusing and mostly seems to boil down to fruitless arguments over what constitutes a "scenester".

What could be interpreted as an unfortunate waning of significance of art in the music world could also be an opportunity for designers everywhere to put their heads together and do something about it. Inspiration is everywhere, just as always, if not more so because of the infinite springboard for ideas that the digital realm offers. Keep your eyes open and your ears listening. And, feel free to share your memories of, and outlook on, music+art in the comments!

I'll leave you with an artsy video, and 80's classic...:
Blue Monday - New Order

ONE YEAR of Last.fm (11/21/07-11/21/08)!

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:37:17 +0000

Today is my one-year anniversary of being a Last.fm user!!! I was interested in using it back in 2005, but, alas, I did not have high speed then, and I put off getting an account until I did so (which was not until November of 2007), and in just one year of utilizing this fine site, I...
+ scrobbled 23,000+ tracks by 1,400+ artists; first track was Gang of Four - Not Great Men, I believe from choosing tag radio for The Fall or Television. I decided to put my songs on shuffle and see which one came up for the midnight posting and the track was was...Can - Halleluhwah
+ added 73 friends (4 that I had known personally beforehand, and many of which I have gotten to explore their music taste and general coolness through Shoutbox communication)
+ uploaded my instrumental music in March and continued to add more tracks throughout the months (Marilyn Roxie), including a protest song against the Last.fm layout change in July
+ started a group (Rimmel), gained leadership of a few pre-existing ones: (basically, i just wanted my own group., Adam Green, John Peel, FreeMusic, Shaman King), and joined a bunch of others.
+ discovered a myriad of glorious bands due to a result of recommendations from other users and friends who are on Last.fm (THANK YOU ALL! ! !), searching through artist connections in groups, member charts, tag radio, and automated recommendations, including: Air, American Death Ray, Boards of Canada, Blood Red Shoes, The Chameleons, Crystal Castles, Dark Day, Delia Derbyshire, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Fad Gadget, The Feelies, Gang of Four, Glass Candy, Gong, The Gun Club, Ben Kweller, Ladytron, The Legendary Pink Dots, Low, Liquid Liquid, Maximum Joy, Mew, Minus the Bear, M.I.A., Mission of Burma, Pink Industry, Ratatat, Santogold, Scary Mansion, Raymond Scott, Sia, Sigur Ros, The Soft Boys, Suicide, Wire, Zero 7
+ many of friends on Last.fm have their music uploaded to the site; very good stuff!!: Cheap Mondays, Maggot Brain, Mt. Moon, John Murphy Music, Panda steps in chocolate, Streetxlite, Surukei, Richard Sydney, Tran Qual, Voidfullness
+ customized my profile with some of the normal trappings, such as a quilt of most-listened to albums, sociomap, OMI pie chart (currently non-functioning, alas), Who's Amung Us counter, most recent acquisitions + music map widget from Rate Your Music: http://rateyourmusic.com/~MarilynRoxie

Last.fm really prompted me to explore other areas of the internet for music recommendations, radio, and networking online. I also...
+ started a music blog, A Future in Noise, which I plan to utilize and promote more next year, as well as collaborate with those interested
+ got going on Robert Dimery's "1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", starting at around 15-20% around April, now at 54% completion. Even though I may have heard of some of these before, I first really listened to and enjoyed their music as a result of trying to complete this list (I got the book, at last, a few days ago): Big Black, Nick Drake, Faust, Serge Gainsbourg, Buddy Holly, Killing Joke, Magazine, The Magnetic Fields, John Martyn, The Monks, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Ananda Shankar, The Slits, The Sonics, Tangerine Dream, The Teardrop Explodes, Tom Waits
+ signed up at MeeMix, Rate Your Music, got a MySpace Music profile, Livejournal, etc. and found these bands as a result of one or more of those sites, or from one of these reasons: watching a late-night tv show, an mp3 blog, or from a non-Last.fm person: Archie Bronson Outfit, Nicole Atkins, John Cale, Coconut Records[/artist, Leonard Cohen, Coil, Essential Logic, Flying Color, Ladytron, Mark Lanegan, Luxuria, Midnight Movies, thenewno2, Nurse With Wound, The Residents, Talk Talk, Wolfsheim, YMCK

A few of things I didn't know, prior to signing up on Last.fm (other than the bands, etc.):
+ what minimal synth was
+heck, what "scrobbling" referred to, for that matter
+ how much thousands of others and myself would cringe about a website's layout change

Many other important music-related events for me happened during this first year of being on Last.fm. I finally figured out how to use most of the functions on my Korg Triton LE Workstation, got a digital 8-track, and begrudgingly nailed down music theory / sheet music-reading concepts by taking a course on it, which turned out to not be as bad as I thought (though I still have to work through the The Who and The Doors sheet music books I got). I went to see Adam Green w/ Tim Fite in concert, lamented the break-up of Dirty Pretty Things, and saw thenewno2 live over Stickam's webcam feature, even chatting with the band beforehand with a bunch of other fans!

I'm currently working through National Novel Writing Month, trying to catch up on books I haven't read and Japanese kanji, experimenting with photography, still playing video games now and again (only just recently did I pick up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess!); I'll be plugging along with making my music, and hopefully will be teaching a History of Popular Music: pre-1950's - 2000s class at my former school next semester! :) Despite what people may have observed from current trends, this year has seemed to have a plethora of releases and singles from bands that I already liked, and some new artists releasing brilliant debut albums. I'm definitely curious about what 2009 will bring! Thanks Last.fm, friends, and artists for making this site a worthwhile place for music and community.

~Marilyn Roxie