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 alanhogan's Last.fm Journal http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal The Last.fm journal for alanhogan. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. iScrobbler queued tracks http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/26/21jdr4_iscrobbler_queued_tracks Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:04:02 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/26/21jdr4_iscrobbler_queued_tracks Why do I have 160 queued tracks in iScrobbler that aren't posting to my last.fm account? Mousing over its orange icon says "Your computer appears to be online." Well, yeah, it is online, now scrobble, dammit.

What can I do?

Does restarting iScrobbler lose the queue or are they saved to disk somewhere?]]> Coldplay and Arcade Fire? http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/17/211jwy_coldplay_and_arcade_fire%3F Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:41:15 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/17/211jwy_coldplay_and_arcade_fire%3F While listening to Coldplay's new album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, I was struck by how similar the beat of Lovers in Japan was to that of The Arcade Fire's Neighborhood #3 (Power Out).

However, kernseife says this reminds him more of Rebellion (Lies) than Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). All three are long (5min+) songs.

Thoughts?]]> Even if we knew which way to head ... still we probably wouldn't go http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/15/20waon_even_if_we_knew_which_way_to_head_..._still_we_probably_wouldn%27t_go Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:47:18 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/15/20waon_even_if_we_knew_which_way_to_head_..._still_we_probably_wouldn%27t_go I love this line from Modest Mouse's Fire It Up:
Even if we knew which way to head ... still we probably wouldn't go
The song is about a road trip, but that line is, I think, a deeper reflection of the human condition.]]> Nude remix! http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/08/20iz17_nude_remix! Sun, 8 Jun 2008 02:43:19 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/08/20iz17_nude_remix! I have a lot to say about this oddly touching remix to Radiohead’s Nude and how touching it is. But not so much you can’t read it in two or three minutes. I'm linking to my site so I can embed the video from Vimeo.]]> New Band I Like: HEAVENS http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/08/20iw1a_new_band_i_like:_heavens Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:45:45 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/06/08/20iw1a_new_band_i_like:_heavens Enjoying Patent Pending by Heavens. They are kind of like Interpol, The Strokes, or Franz Ferdinand. If you really imagine, they might sound like Joy Division, The Killers, or Arctic Monkeys.

Get the album from Amazon]]> New Music Coming out in June http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/05/31/205g3e_new_music_coming_out_in_june Sat, 31 May 2008 22:00:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/05/31/205g3e_new_music_coming_out_in_june Three albums which will be released shortly which I'm interested in:

Edit: Added Amazon links for your convenience.
Edit 2: D'oh, somehow I put Low Millions when I meant The Wallflowers. (That would be Adam Cohen.)]]> iPod (shuffle) scrobbling: impossible? http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/04/07/atfce_ipod_(shuffle)_scrobbling:_impossible%3F Mon, 7 Apr 2008 02:23:49 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/04/07/atfce_ipod_(shuffle)_scrobbling:_impossible%3F I have a second-generation (small) iPod shuffle. I sync it with iTunes, natch. But whether I scrobble tracks with iScrobbler or the official Last.fm client for OS X, no syncing seems to occur. iScrobbler is fond of telling me "0 tracks submitted" when I sync my Shuffle. In fact, I recently got a weird error that I'd triggered spam protection by submitting a song dated earlier than my last submission, which is bizarre because I'm certainly not spamming last.fm anyone in any manner.

So some questions—


  • Does iPod Shuffle scrobbling work for anyone else?

  • What's up with that stupid spam thing?

  • If someone successfully scrobbles plays from an iPod, how would yo (he/she) know they have been submitted (via the website)?
]]> The Best Bands You May Not Have Heard Of http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/03/03/atf9e_the_best_bands_you_may_not_have_heard_of Mon, 3 Mar 2008 03:13:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2008/03/03/atf9e_the_best_bands_you_may_not_have_heard_of I can't pretend to know all the great bands you never heard of, but these are some of my favorite less-popular bands.

Low Millions (Adam Cohen's band; soulful pop/rock ballads)
The Informers (90s rock from Indiana, USA; impossible to find)
The Faint (synthpop/dance)
Little Birdy (Austrialian female-led pop)
Kaizers Orchestra (Norwegian rock)
Under The Influence of Giants (unabashed pop/dance-rock in falsetto)
Razorlight (alternative rock)
Melody Club (dance)

The following you may have heard of, but aren't extremely popular, so I'll go ahead and point them out:

Franz Ferdinand
OK Go
Rilo Kiley
Fountains Of Wayne, in particular Traffic and Weather
Spoon
Kaiser Chiefs
Justice (French electronica à la Daft Punk]]> Matchbox Twenty's new album is OUT NOW =) http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2007/10/02/atf5u_matchbox_twenty%27s_new_album_is_out_now_=) Tue, 2 Oct 2007 04:28:46 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2007/10/02/atf5u_matchbox_twenty%27s_new_album_is_out_now_=) I pre-ordered the Matchbox Twenty album Exile On Mainstream and just now downloaded it on iTunes! I'll probably be posting reviews soon, but the initial impression is this: Good stuff, but has a boatload more cymbal usage than previous MB20 stuff. The single, How Far We've Come, sort of feels like Fall Out Boy but it's not bad. Most other new music on the CD sounds nothing like Fall Out Boy at all.

It's good so far :)

My favorite song by far is Can't Let You Go which features old-school-Matchbox-Twenty style heartfelt vocals courtesy of, naturally, Rob Thomas. The same reason we love Argue and especially The Difference, Last Beautiful Girl and the rest – the skillfully emotive songwriting and singing – it's here, folks, it's definitely in "Can't Let You Go."

The second track, I'll Believe You When, pleasantly surprised me with a baseline vaguely reminiscent of The Strokes! It's definitely a keeper too!]]> Low Millions http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2007/10/02/atf2p_low_millions Tue, 2 Oct 2007 01:06:12 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/alanhogan/journal/2007/10/02/atf2p_low_millions One of the bands I enjoy very much - with an all-hit, no-miss album called Ex Girlfriends - is Low Millions. They're so great. The ballads are just wonderful, so heartfelt and real.

Anyway, when I was talking them up today, someone asked what they sounded like. "Alternative, I guess?" was my reply. "Rock, maybe?" So I'm wondering how everyone else would categorize them. Who do they sound like? I guess a little bit like Matchbox Twenty, maybe a bit like The Wallflowers or Fastball. Mat Kearney perhaps, but with more mature lyrics (not that I'm implying Mat's are childish; they aren't). I could even see Low Millions being described as "more mellow Maroon 5."I think Mat Kearney is the best option out of that list, but I'm not sure. What do you think?]]>