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/blogmeridian/journal The Last.fm journal for blogmeridian. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2008/04/04/6nsg8_mali_mondays Fri, 4 Apr 2008 20:04:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2008/04/04/6nsg8_mali_mondays Over at my blog for the past several Mondays, I've posted entries about prominent Malian musicians as a way to indulge my love of that music, to learn more than the little I already know, and to share a little of that music, still not well-known in this country--certainly not in Kansas--with visitors to my blog. The posts contain pictures of the musicians and, when I can find ones of decent quality online, videos of them in performance. It's been fun so far, and my readers seem to have enjoyed exploring this, for them, very unfamiliar corner of world music.

I'll have a few more posts dedicated to individual artists, then move on to reviews of noteworthy albums. Also along the way (read: as I learn enough so that I don't sound completely ignorant), I'll have some posts about the role music and musicians have played in helping unify this culturally-diverse country since winning its independence.

Anyway, consider this an invitation to visit and have a look/listen. You'll be able to find all the "Mali Monday" posts here; what follows are the names of the individual artists I've posted on thus far, Last.fm-linked for your convenience:

Rokia Traore, Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen, Toumani Diabate, Oumou Sangare, Tartit, Issa Bagayogo, Salif Keita, and Mamou Sidibe]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/12/31/6nsbb_best_of_2007 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:47:37 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/12/31/6nsbb_best_of_2007 Mozo78 and smbrannan have flattered me by asking what my top music picks for 2007 are. I can't say that I'm the best person to ask; I listen to a fair amount of new music, but nothing like those gentlemen do; this past year I bought only seven albums that have a 2007 release date; moreover, as you'll see, my list reflects what I've been especially interested in learning more about, the musics of West Africa. But. Six of those seven deserve to be on a list of this sort (the other is a Rough Guide collection); and in any case Mozo78 and smbrannan were kind enough to ask; so, with all those caveats out of the way, here's the list, in alphabetical order:

Bebel Gilberto, Momento. Not as musically adventurous as her stunning debut, Tanto tempo, but still a beautiful example of elegant music-making from Brazil.

Emily Haines, Knives Don't Have Your Back. Simple but not simplistic music, much more intimate than the music Haines makes with Broken Social Scene.

Radiohead, In Rainbows. A bold marketing experiment, more than vindicated by the solid songs on this album. To my ear, it's reminiscent of OK Computer's sound. Not a bad place to be sonically.

Sigur Ros, Hvart/Heim. The Amazon reviews are mixed; even beautiful music can be disappointing if, in the listener's opinion, it's "just" more of the same. Artists should grow, I know, but this album is something of a retrospective, after all. And anyway, personally I'm not at all tired of this band's sound. As far as I'm concerned . . . more, please.

Tinariwen,Aman Iman. For me, 2007 was chiefly about learning more about music from Mali and, by extension, west African musics--the vast majority of my listening to and buying music reflects that journey. I am bowled over by how rich the musical traditions of that region are and how ignorant I remain of them. Tinariwen's music is that of the Touareg people of Saharan northern Mali, but its electric guitars and bass, combined with Touareg percussion, give this music an intensity and drive that will make you want to take it with you on your next road trip.

Vieux Farka Toure,Vieux Farka Toure. Ali Farka Toure's son plays guitar and performs songs in a style strikingly reminiscent of his father here on his debut album, but whereas Ali stayed firmly rooted in his "desert blues" style, Vieux shows a willingness to introduce new sounds into that style, much as Issa Bagayogo does in his best album, Sya. This is a powerful debut that shows the son more than capable of looking his father's music straight in the eye and willing to bring something new to it.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/11/01/6ns3b_calabash_music Thu, 1 Nov 2007 03:54:42 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/11/01/6ns3b_calabash_music Since this summer I have had a (free) account with Calabash Music, and--especially if you're interested in discovering new (or new-to-you) artists from, mostly, the non-Western world. They seem in particular to me to have an inexhaustible variety of African artists.

For a few weeks now, Calabash has been providing new downloads of two new songs per day by both new and more established artists. The free songs remain available all week. These aren't throwaway or short pieces; one I downloaded tonight, "Hoaminao" by Madagascar guitarist Modeste (more information here), is 7:34 and features exquisite, intricate playing reminiscent of music from the coastal regions of West Africa. This is good stuff that most people would be willing to pay for.

I've learned much from Calabash and added some intriguing music to my collection besides. Maybe you'll give them a try as well.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/05/14/6nrzv_i_keep_saying_i_have_eclectic_tastes_._._._ Mon, 14 May 2007 04:05:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2007/05/14/6nrzv_i_keep_saying_i_have_eclectic_tastes_._._._ . . . and now the good people of Last.fm have a quick way to let me find out just how eclectic they are.

Here are the instructions and results:

Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php

My eclectic score is currently

76/100

The 76 related artists for my profile are Alanis Morissette Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder Amadou & Mariam Aretha Franklin B.B. King & Eric Clapton Beck Björk (2) Blind Faith Blondie Bob Dylan (3) Boubacar Traoré Brian Eno Brian Eno & David Byrne Bruce Springsteen Buddy Guy Can Coldplay (2) Cream Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young David Bowie (2) Elvis Presley Emerson, Lake & Palmer (2) Eric Clapton Explosions in the Sky Fela Kuti Fiona Apple Frank Sinatra Frank Zappa (2) Franz Liszt Frédéric Chopin Garbage Genesis (2) Gentle Giant Grateful Dead James Brown Jethro Tull Jimi Hendrix Johann Sebastian Bach Johannes Brahms John Lee Hooker Kate Bush King Crimson Led Zeppelin (2) Marvin Gaye Mogwai Muddy Waters Nick Drake Oasis Pere Ubu Pink Floyd (3) R.E.M. (2) Radiohead (3) Rush Sarah McLachlan Sergei Rachmaninoff Simon & Garfunkel Stevie Wonder Sting Sufjan Stevens The Allman Brothers Band The Arcade Fire (2) The Beatles (5) The Doors The Police The Residents The Rolling Stones (3) The Smashing Pumpkins The Smiths The Velvet Underground The Who Tinariwen Tom Waits (2) Tori Amos U2 (2) Van Morrison (2) Yes

Some observations:
It seems like the Beatles, the 'Stones and Pink Floyd are "similar" to just about anyone from the '60s--including each other. That, of course, is a rather weird thing to say; Last.fm's saying it, though, keeps me from achieving eclectic Nirvana (80). 76 isn't too bad, though.

Ah, well. I suspect that my good friends Fearful Syzygy and Mozo have me beat in the eclecticism department anyway.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/09/22/6nrqu_let_us_now_praise_recommendation_radio Fri, 22 Sep 2006 02:17:58 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/09/22/6nrqu_let_us_now_praise_recommendation_radio I may have already praised it in a previous entry, but what the hey: It is almost always on the mark as far as its recommendations being musically similar to what I listen to are concerned. the "almost" is in there because, as I've also mentioned before, it has yet to recommend a single country, jazz or blues artist, which I also listen to a fair amount. I'm not sure why that is, as its overall catalogue doesn't seem to be nearly as limited as Pandora's is/was, and yet Pandora had jazz artists, as I recall.

One of R.R.'s other distinct strengths is the fact that it seems to have a wide-ranging African music catalogue.

Best of all: It's a rare song on R.R. that I feel compelled to skip past.

Good stuff, all in all.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/27/6nrob_a_friend_joins_the_dark_side Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:57:13 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/27/6nrob_a_friend_joins_the_dark_side My long-time online friend Fearful Syzygy has just asked me to accept a request to be his friend via Last.fm. I'm only too glad to do so, but I have to admit to smiling a bit because it wasn't all that long ago that he and I, via a post on my blog, had less-than-happy things to say about Pandora. But I have to say, though, that I've been very impressed by the range of recommendations Last.fm has: a much wider selection of world music, for example, than Pandora. I've also thought that the selections that have appeared on my Recommendation Radio have been good matches for the rock and alternative things I listen to.

Having said that, the selections for jazz, blues, traditional country, roots, and classical music (all of which I've been listening to as well) have been, um, non-existent. This could be because of this service's users' demographic, which, I suspect, I don't quite fit. Ah well. It's been precisely the genres that I've received suggestions for that I've wanted suggestions for, so that's worked out well--as it has for Wilco and Sufjan Stevens, two of whose CDs I bought a couple of days ago. Drops in their buckets.

So: welcome Mr. Syzygy, and thanks for asking.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/11/6nrkk_i%27m_a_joiner. Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:25:50 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/11/6nrkk_i%27m_a_joiner. While writing a brief artist wiki entry on Issa Bagayogo, I noted in the sidebar the icon for the African Music group, so I thought I'd join it. While there, I saw a thread for Ali Farka Toure's new album, [album]Savane[/album], which I very much like, so I left a little comment there.

So far, I like Last.fm much more than I did Pandora: more music, more of a sense of community. I've placed a link to this place on my blog below the weekly Top-10 artists widget, and I plan a post extolling its virtues later.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/10/6nrc4_first_day_with_last.fm Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:37:48 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/blogmeridian/journal/2006/08/10/6nrc4_first_day_with_last.fm I've had great fun selecting music from my collection to add to iTunes and, by extension, Last.fm. I have a blog widget in place that will show the artists I've listened to the most in the past week. My tastes really ARE all over the map, so it'll be interesting to see what will show up.

From what I can tell, Last.fm has much more selection than Pandora, though it's still heavily oriented toward that thing called the mainstream. But perhaps I'm doing my part to shift it out of its banks in various ways.]]>