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 fpunit's Last.fm Journal http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal The Last.fm journal for fpunit. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. On "Red Flags and Long Nights" http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2009/07/06/2ulin0_on_%22red_flags_and_long_nights%22 Mon, 6 Jul 2009 14:07:04 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2009/07/06/2ulin0_on_%22red_flags_and_long_nights%22 I discovered She Wants Revenge through a mailing list, though it had been mentioned by some colleagues before (whose musical taste is questionable enough, making me automatically discard it). I finally got my hands on their debut album, She Wants Revenge, and must say I have not been this hooked for a long while.

For the reader who does not know this author, I am a 33-year-old old school guy who has had his fair share of lipstick, gloss and shades, and I am certainly no newbie to dark themed music. However, after my 20s I got more and more into electronic music (thanks to the likes of Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Bigod 20, Nitzer Ebb and Clock DVA), meaning that I missed a lot of guitar-bass-drums acts which happened during the mid-to-late 1990s. I assumed no one could beat Bauhaus at their own game, and lived happily thereafter assuming I was not missing anything by focusing on my new addiction, darkwave/ethereal/aggrotech/aggressive EBM music. That is, until I listened to She Wants Revenge.

The entire album sounds solid and cohesive, but Red Flags And Long Nights hits me like a direct right jab to the jaw. I shiver to the sinister, monotone vocals and the dry beatbox. It makes me feel once again like the young chap in heavy makeup and long hair that I once was, which is a major thing when you realize I am now a father, have quit the nightlife for some time and have generally left the glamour and glitter to younger fellows who can do it without questioning anything about themselves at all.

Which, it seems, is the whole point of this post -- it's not so much about the music itself, but rather about how good bands can make old brutes like myself relive memories they considered long lost, and how good it feels. Sometimes I feel lost in the whole making-money-for-having-stuff-at-home-I-never-use-because-I-spend-so-much-time-working cycle, and having something so soulful to play on my headphones while I toil away is really what makes it all worthwhile.]]> On my way to 60K last.fm entries http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2008/07/01/21s93g_on_my_way_to_60k_last.fm_entries Tue, 1 Jul 2008 13:58:43 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2008/07/01/21s93g_on_my_way_to_60k_last.fm_entries I never really thought I would reach a play count this high, especially since a lot of the music I hear does not get scrobbled at all. last.fm has really helped me a lot in finding good music, exchanging ideas with a lot of awesome songwriters and particularly in defining my personality in terms of my musical style.

Kudos to last.fm, and let's keep it rolling for another 60K plays.]]> Weird http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/10/19/1357_weird Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:08:46 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/10/19/1357_weird I always claimed to be an electic music listener, but last.fm finally provided me the numbers to back up my claims. The first weird thing I found out is that the band I listened the most, Neuroticfish, accounts for only 446 of my 19,500+ entries -- that means it represents just about 2.3% of all music I heard after joining last.fm. Even weirdier, if I add all entries for my top 10 bands, I get 3,028 entries -- which represents only 15.5% of all logged songs.

Add to that the fact that some of these bands (like #1 position, Neuroticfish) are not really well known (about 5,000+ listeners on last.fm), while others (like #3, Nine Inch Nails) are mainstream acts with a huge following (220,000+ listeners).

What does all that mean? I am not really sure, but does serve to prove my point that being electical is something that can really screw up your last.fm stats. :)]]> Vigilante http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/07/11/1356_vigilante Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:35:58 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/07/11/1356_vigilante It sucks when last.fm decides for whatever reason that a band you really enjoy has a name which collides with something else that has a lot more fans, and your favorite tracks' stats get all mixed with songs from a different artist. Vigilante is one of these bands -- I love the harsh-electro band, but it collides with a *gasp* J-Pop band.

Well, tough luck. At least I don't have to listen to J-Pop.]]> Music of the week http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/07/10/1355_music_of_the_week Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:08:07 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/07/10/1355_music_of_the_week Just came across Uphonic (found through mp3db.ru). Sweet electro beats, minimalistic style and nice (male) vocals. Very nice, indeed.]]> Kosmic Free Music Foundation http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/24/1354_kosmic_free_music_foundation Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:29:24 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/24/1354_kosmic_free_music_foundation It's been a long time since I listened to any music from the demo scene -- my last approach being the Mindcandy DVD from MAZ Sound. A few days ago I completed my move to a new apartment, and my copy of No. 1 Instruments emerged from my pile of long-considered-lost sample CDs. Then it struck me -- what would Maelcum of KFMF, theHacker of KFMF, Vivid of KFMF, B00MER of KFMF and many other old-school Kosmic Free Music Foundation sound like today?

It turns out that their music ages pretty well. I am writing this while listening to Drift, a track from 1996, and it still strikes me just as much as it did when I still believed I could one day make songs like these guys if I messed long enough with Fasttracker, Impulse Tracker and downloaded all kinds of samples from all around the net. It didn't turn out the way I wanted, but hey, I still can listen to Kosmic music. Do yourself a favour and download some of their best stuff from the archives available at the main KFMF site. The scene was already beginning to fade a little, but the magic these guys did with nothing but trackers and carefully handled samples still sounds astounding to this day.]]> Music for the inner self http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/18/1353_music_for_the_inner_self Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:24:01 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/18/1353_music_for_the_inner_self You made me feel needed
You could see my soul
I gave you my loyalty
You choose to make me fall
You know that feeling when a song reaches you in so many different levels that it gives you shivers just to hear the initial chords? You know all the lyrics, you scream at the chorus like you were 16 once again and feel like a dumbass for closing your eyes and allowing it to hit you full impact while at the same time trying not to look like a over-sensitive weird teenager to your fellow coworkers when it plays through your headphones. You feel ashamamed to admit it, but sometimes, especially after a hard day, you put that song on repeat for 10-20 times (and ruin your last.fm stats in the process).
You took me to heaven
You brought me to fall
I took your mortality
For what made me feel whole]]> Top unknown band of 2005 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/17/1352_top_unknown_band_of_2005 Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:56:23 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2006/01/17/1352_top_unknown_band_of_2005 Nebula-H is quite possibly one of the best new bands I came across in 2005. Danceable, aggressive and the oh-so-awesome synth sweeps, distortions, snare rolls and trace-like elements I love so much. There's not much else I would add, except perhaps for more noticeable vocal lines (something like Icon Of Coil or Ayria, but then again I don't know how vocals could stand out inside such intricate synth lines).

I must also mention mind.in.a.box, another awesome act I stumbled upon through last.fm last year. A totally different kind of beast -- quieter, warmer and sometimes almost depressive -- but awesome nonetheless.]]> New school http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2005/10/31/1351_new_school Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:36:52 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2005/10/31/1351_new_school For far too long I have been trapped in the old school mantra, thinking that bands that mix trance, drum'n'bass, nice female vocals and such, could never be called true EBM/industrial/darkwave/(insert your favourite tag here). However, for listeners of what I like to classify as "technological music", where instruments evolve as fast as technology allows (can anyone remember Walter Carlos and his majestic interpretations for "A Clockwork Orange", mostly done on monophonic synthesizers?), isn't it somewhat counterintuitive to think that the way musicians use their machines in order to build the tracks we listen should change along with the gear? Even if you believe that artists should not stagnate, I believe that to be even more true with tech-aware musicians such as the new-school EBM/industrial bands.

So after my initial rant, I have been listening to a lot of XPQ-21, XP8, Glis, Grendel (rather wumpscuttish, I love that sound), Epsilon Minus, Ayria, Melotron (very nice German vocals), Seabound and Virtual Embrace. Couldn't be happier.]]> Electronic music with a soul http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2005/10/13/1350_electronic_music_with_a_soul Thu, 13 Oct 2005 14:48:04 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/fpunit/journal/2005/10/13/1350_electronic_music_with_a_soul It's the never-ending argument -- traditional music listeners and their prejudice against "soul-less, cold, harsh and meaningless electronic music". I've been listening to extremely passionate, furious, soothing and chilling electronic music for so long now I believe synthesizer bleeps and sweeps tell me so much more than a guitar solo. And yet people will always argue that there is no value in instruments with "presets", in music that cannot be played live. Fact is, most people do not care to take the time to learn to like stuff like they did when younger. I will easily listen to an album 4-5 times trying to understand how it fits, but with the amount of music we have access nowadays, I am very sure I am an exception to the 'download it, listen to it, burn it or delete it' generation.

But I digress -- my main point was to list some extremely talented electronic musicians who create that reaches for the inner self. And here they are...



...and despite what Neuroticfish claims on Prostitute, Electronic Body Music is definitely not dead.]]>