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/shifto112/journal The Last.fm journal for shifto112. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2008/07/23/2302fy_been_a_while Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:41:16 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2008/07/23/2302fy_been_a_while since i've written one of these. not sure whether to delete the old ones, they're all so old now and read awfully to me these days, ah well.

so! new last.fm, i quite like it purely for the reason it's stimulated me to get going checking out some new music again. my more recent charts are starting to look quite tiresome and bland in terms of what's regularly topping them. things have changed a bit lately- i used to be a voracious voyager, an intrepid discoverer of new music all over the place a couple of years ago; college started to get in the way and well, i ended up relying on music i knew really well to get me through the day. that's not to say there weren't some very worthwhile discoveries in this period- hats off to robson, nat, nick and many others, but i definitely started to feel out of the loop a bit, even with the new music coming into the college radio station for review.

my current ideas are to, as much as i can, listen to the 'unplayed' playlist on itunes (a formidable task of something like 7200 songs, a number that never seems to go down due to new additions) - might as well start with the stuff i've already got though eh. also listen to albums all the way through more often- some i've barely even touched.

furthermore i've managed to break my mp3 player, and it's quite ironic to read my old journal entry saying goodbye to my cd player, because that bastard still works years and years on, surviving an amplifier falling on it even. making new cds for that is getting annoying though. i'm also realising that having the computer on all thsi time pretty much solely to listen to music and be on msn is a ridiculous waste of energy/time/LIFE so i might buy my friend's old mp3 player that has a dock-speaker thing- listen to things in my room computerless and scrobbleless but i might actually get on with things that need to be done.

i'm taking a year out now before university (college worked out well) and while the primary aim isn't to spend it discovering new music i hope i'll be able to hear a lot of new things and broaden my taste a bit.

just got back from the latitude festival and it was disappointing how little time i spent on the smaller stages compared to the year before - i simply hadn't heard of enough of the bands, so it instead became a complete gamble to go there when so much else was on. while it's fun to sometimes stumble across these smaller bands on the smaller stages it's equally fun to make active, deliberate efforts to trip over them browsing last.fm or whatever, so that's the new plan :)

so here's to new, more music,
ra]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2006/04/15/1nuv_saturday%27s_gone Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:34:17 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2006/04/15/1nuv_saturday%27s_gone Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Saturday's Gone just came up on random. It's odd how a song could define how I'm feeling so well - usually I try to seek out something to listen to depending on my mood, and up something pops on shuffle.

Well...basically..I haven't done anything today. Got up, finished a piece of art I was working on, went to my guitar lesson, which I should have practiced for... I don't know where the rest of the day has gone.

The song itself is gorgeous. The combination of Lanegan of Screaming Trees and Isobel Campbell formerly of Belle and Sebastian works surprisingly well throughout the album, though Lanegan plays no part in Saturday's Gone. Sparse instrumentation - vibraphone, violins and Isobel's lovely voice, it's perfect to sit here and do nothing to...like the rest of today I suppose.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2006/01/11/1nuu_my_a-z!_but_backwards!_thus_z-a!_(part_1) Wed, 11 Jan 2006 21:27:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2006/01/11/1nuu_my_a-z!_but_backwards!_thus_z-a!_(part_1) I managed to resist doing that itunes survey as a journal..but I've finally given in with this one. It's just too tempting. But I made it a bit more interesting...reverse order...gave reasons why...split it into two parts to compensate the fact that I'm just too indecisive :)

Z - Zero 7 nice for just chilling out after a long day at the school.

Y - Yo La Tengo / Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Summer is the best YLT song I've heard so far…and Maps...mm..

X - XTC We're only making plans...for Nigel

W - Tom Waits / Wilco Tom Waits really is a genius. And Wilco - wow, awesome alt-folk.

V - The Velvet Underground / Laura Veirs Have begun to realise just why VU are so widely renowned. Laura Veirs is a fairly new discovery, the song Fire Snakes is brilliant.

U - Underworld dancey.

T - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Again, recent discovery but they seem very witty and catchy

S - Sigur Ros / Sufjan Stevens / Stars / The Shins / Smashing Pumpkins / The Smiths Sigur Ros I've loved since I first heard them. SP and The Smiths are just class bands, and the other three are relatively recent indie discoveries pour moi.

R - Reel Big Fish / Radiohead / Red Hot Chili Peppers / R.L. Burnside / Red Sparowes / Rachel's / Rilo Kiley Reel Big Fish, heh, ska-punk, just brilliant. Radiohead and RHCP are surely destined for the amount of credit the Beatles get today. The late great bluesman RL Burnside is fairly new to me but highly recommended. Red Sparowes and Rachel’s are both..kinda post-rock but creative with it. And Rilo Kiley is just some perfect guitar pop with great lyrics.

Q - Q and Not U and not Queen. hehe. Well the one Q and not U song I have heard is suitably funky for inclusion here

P - Pearl Jam / Pelican / Pink Floyd / Portishead / The Polyphonic Spree grunge, sludge-metal-instrumental-post-rock, prog, trip-hop, sun-worshipping chamber pop. :)

O - Owen / The Ordinary Boys / The Offspring Owen is a great singer songwriter. Just..love the Ordinary Boys. And the Offspring are one of the first bands I really liked and still listen to today

N - Terra Naomi / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Neutral Milk Hotel Terra is a very new discovery for me, beautiful honest songs, very impressed. I never realised how good Nick Cave was till recently, and as for NMH, ...Holland 1945!


Expect the first half of the alphabet sometime soon.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/12/29/1nut_some_songs_i%27m_going_to_talk_about,_whether_you_like_it_or_not. Thu, 29 Dec 2005 21:44:36 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/12/29/1nut_some_songs_i%27m_going_to_talk_about,_whether_you_like_it_or_not. This is a kind of collection of my few recent weekly track charts. Simply haven't got time to do one a week..so this is a bumper edition for revision-avoidage and your reading pleasure.

1 Flake (Live) 11 - has an utterly delightful solo. So much sliding and bending and wow! However, in my frantic shambolic attempt at playing it myself on guitar, I managed to break one of the strings. Gah.

2 Tracy (10) - So chilled out. Definitely music to fall asleep to. I don't quite understand all the talking in the background...my guess is..it's two members of the band talking on the phone about..a punch-up between two other members..? Well if anyone knows exactly I'd like to know.

= Amber, Ember, Glow (10) Bite-size post rock, hell, it's 2 and a half minutes long! Really melodic and lovely.

4 One Day Remains (8) - The riff on this, phew.. I'm not even gonna ATTEMPT this one on my 5-stringed guitar..

= Woman King (8) - How does something so quiet and acoustic manage to be so funky sounding? Eh? Eh? Some excellent sliding around in this one, and I'm not quite sure what makes up the percussion but I like it.

6 27 (6) - First Biffy song I heard, it just seems perfect to me..the way the second verse comes in with the drums, well, just all of it.

= Prognoz (6) - Perhaps the finest post-rock yet to be discovered by me, the 14 minutes fly by with

= It Ends With a Fall (6) Another new find, like this a lot.

9 Salty Water (5) - _{(my favourite song ever)}

= Older Chests (5) - Lyrically great, love the use of strings. In fact I like that in a lot of songs of late.

= Rockets (5) - I'm now obsessed with Cat Power. I've ordered Moon Pix but it's taking a very long time to arrive...taunting me, grr.

= Glory Box (5) - Better than the original, yes you heard me right.

= Shiver (5) - A nostalgic one this. I love it, the guitar is great.

14 Blackbird (4) - Anyone else watch that Paul McCartney show a while ago? I remember I was pissed off about something, and caught him playing this ..and it just cheered me up entirely. And once restringing had commenced, I managed to learn this one on guitar, and I have to say, it's great fun to play. Took a while but now I've nailed it. :)

= Your Ex-Lover Is Dead (4) - Slowly becoming the electronics coursework anthem of Ken and I, due to the ingenious interchanging of the opening line.. "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set your electronics coursework on fire." It helps being an excellent song too.

= Bad Habit (4) - The best song about self harm I've ever heard...sincere without self-pitying. Ah I love the Dresden Dolls.

= Miracle Drug (3) - Well this is insanely catchy.

= Hark! the Herald Angels Sing! (3) - Two delightful instrumentals of classic christmas songs.
= Silent Night (3) - Better than hearing that infernal Wizzard song.

= Fire Snakes (3) - Another recent find, it gets better each time I hear it. Nice acoustic to start with, slowly builds up, and I love the addition of strings at the end, gives it an epic, awesome feel to it.

= If You Could Read My Mind (3) - Ah, this. A guilty pleasure of Cook and I. Some great lines in it too..."And you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take".. One for the "Bus to games" playlist, aye Cook?

= Eskimo (3) - Three songs in one! An epic song about eskimos which explodes into some kind of Scandanavian operatic thing! A moody darker one in the middle! And you get the amazing Lisa Hannigan singing Silent Night at the end! :)

= Plans (3) - Bloc Party do the relaxed ones better than all this stuff about Helicopters and Banquets, I just adore the chiming melodic guitars at the end, perfection.

= Hyperballad (3) - Ah! Now i get it! Björk!This is indescribably good. Really takes me away somewhere.. captivating.

= Our Happiest Days Slowly Began to Turn Into Dust (3) - some more superb (im running out of adjectives here) post-rock.

= Sunrise (3) - Another very nice relaxing one.

I may do some kind of end-of-year review if i can find the time, t'has been an awesome year of music for me.

Sorry about this old beans: Jack Johnson Mogwai Saxon Shore Alter Bridge Iron & Wine Biffy Clyro The Evpatoria Report Okkervil River British Sea Power Damien Rice Cat Power John Martyn Coldplay The Beatles Stars The Dresden Dolls A.C. Newman Sufjan Stevens Laura Veirs Gordon Lightfoot Bloc Party Björk Red Sparowes Norah Jones]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/19/1nus_dear_sony_atrac3plus_mp3_cd_walkman_d-ne711,_ Wed, 19 Oct 2005 21:34:56 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/19/1nus_dear_sony_atrac3plus_mp3_cd_walkman_d-ne711,_ I'd just like to thank you for the good times. You've served me damn well for the past 3 years and it's been a pleasure to have you in my company. From the normal CDs to the self-burnt 200 song CDs I'd make you've never let me down, apart from that one day when I dropped you on the floor and stopped working. Sorry. Anyway, I love the little clunking whirring noise you'd make when starting up, your sheer stamina on the go and your little volume protector feature to stop me deafening myself.

BUT

I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm seeing a new model. She's called the Creative Zen Sleek 20GB and is far thinner, smaller, sleeker, shinier and overall more attractive than you. From her powerful blue backlight to her sheer capacity, and not to mention her lovely curves, well, I just couldn't help myself. I hope you'll forgive me. Don't worry, we can still see each other on Saturday mornings when I plug you into my guitar amp and we can have a good time jamming, just like the good ole days. But otherwise, it's goodbye.

Yours sincerely,

Richard.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/16/1nur_top_8_week_7 Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:05:07 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/16/1nur_top_8_week_7 Not much time this week hence just 8 songs, still tired from last week too. However, as compensation, expect some other special kind of journal on Tuesday.

1 British Sea Power - Lately (9) - I can't think of many other songs this long (13:58) that can hold my attention all the way through, and that I actually want to listen to. Epic.

1 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Bring It On (9) - Brilliant, amazing, superlative! *orders Nick Cave album*

3 Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945 (7) - This has one of the best intros in ages. The count in goes "2,1,2,3,4" over some acuostic strumming and then explodes into fuzzy electric guitars. Hehe, wow. And the lyrics are great too, storytelling, something about a girl who got buried alive, I think. damn good, I recommend checking it out.

3 Ludovico Einaudi - Inizio (7) - There's a bit in in this (2:25) that sounds exactly like is the Street Spirit (Fade Out) riff. Heh.

3 Ludovico Einaudi - Melodia Africana III (7) - I always wondered what that music Mr Johnson once played in RE was, and thanks to Sawood I now know. Cheers!

6 Ludovico Einaudi - I Giorni (6) - It's just really amazing piano music, soo beautiful, perfect for doing Geography to at midnight. Sometimes a bit too sweet but...for now, wow.

7 Blur - Battery in Your Leg (4) - Simple, yet beautiful. Oh come on Coxon, rejoin Blur. Please. I'll give you a rubberband ball...

7 Sleater-Kinney - Entertain (4) - They rock like girls...do.

Ka-done!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/08/1nuq_top_10_week_5_and(!)_6 Sat, 8 Oct 2005 22:25:35 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/10/08/1nuq_top_10_week_5_and(!)_6 Time for a weekly chart catch-up.

Sep 18-25

1 Bad Weekend 5 - I think this was suitable because the weekend concerned was fairly bad, if I recall. Nice little riff.

2 In Between Lines 4 - This would be in my top 5 songs on my overall track chart if I hadn't tagged it incorrectly the first time. I mean, what does "In Bet" mean? Really beautiful instrumental though.

2 Little Yellow Spider 4 - Folky acoustic song with very amusing lyrics about little yellow spiders, psychedelic dancing crabs and sexy pigs from the bearded Devendra Banhart.

2 The Black Crow 4 - Dark, broody...damn good.

2 Sugar Kane 4 - This is some of the finest 6 minutes of indie guitar playing I have ever heard.

2 Drinkin' 4 - I love that little riff tee-hee. Fewer horns now but still same old RBF..

2 Magic Hours 4 - Wow.

2 Grandfather's Nursery 4 - I can't find this anywhere on any Pulp album! Grr.. Probably their most beautiful song, builds up to a wonderful climax "And here comes the rain.."

2 Hope There's Someone 4 - First and only song I've heard by him, it was certainly strange the first time but after a while the beauty of it dawned on me.

2 Dust in the Sunlight 4 - I still can't believe this is a B-side....

Whoa, first time the "Top 10 this week" was actually 10 songs.....


Sep 25-Oct 2


1 Entertain 9 - Came across these girls recently...this absolutely rocks. With a capital "ock". Some seriously good guitars in this...*is sexist and cannot believe that they're girls* And not to mention the ferocious drumming, catchy backing vocals.. etc..

2 Art Is Hard 6 - OK it's emo. But not your average MCR rubbish either. I kinda get fed up of defending some of the emo that I listen to, some is actually very, very good. But no, stupid emokids and MTV etc have to ruin it for the rest of us decent music fans by giving it a bad name. Not to mention some of the classic emo stuff like Cap'n Jazz which I recently discovered…etc…/rambling rant. This one’s more focused on the instrumental side of the song – some dramatic strings and horns, good stuff.

2 No Fear of Falling 6 – Be-a-u-tiful. Another little acoustic classic, quiet, lovely…also the lyrics are encouraging, almost giving a moral to the song… “Do not stumble through the night, have no fear of falling.” Awesome. Yet to find a bad I Am Kloot song…*tempts fate*

4 Punchdrunk 5 – Hehe. This guy, is, apparently, one of the worlds greatest banjo players, and I might be inclined to agree. Features some high-speed plucking with other instruments eg violin coming in as well. It always brings a smile to my face, it seems to have a very happy amusing sound.

5 Song For A Blue Guitar 4 – Sad little song, really nice though. Love the male/female vocals and overall acousticness.

6 Delicate 3 – Talking of male/female vocals and overall acousticness!…Ok I don’t think the female singer is in this one. Anyway, I’ve had this for ages on some compilation, never listened to it for some odd reason. I really must buy O at some point.

6 under a wave 3 – Apparently I’m the only person to have listened to Sound City Riot Act on last fm. I swear I’ve heard of them a few times before, but some ad by them on C4 teletext led me to remember them (I think) and to check out some of their songs on their website (the lengths I go to for new music, eh?) This is my favourite one, post rock kinda sound. I guess that means I qualify for the journal andrewbiles wrote somewhere, about being the only person to have listened to an artist on last fm…can’t find it now. Anyway, if you’re somehow reading this, Andrew, I’m that guy who sent you a congratulatory message on UG ages ago regarding the tablature of BSP – Remember Me. You probably don’t remember…

6 Memory Lane 3 – Still gorgeous and melodic.

6 Same Size Feet 3 – Ah, Word Gets Around. Classic album. The Phonics used to have an uncanny knack of being able to write songs that build up to brilliant rockin’ climaxes of wall of sound guitars…see: Plastic California, and..er..this. Lyrically ace as well.

6 Traffic 3 – Lyrically even ace-r. “We all face the same way, but still it takes all day…” I mean, he’s writing a song about a fecking traffic jam, amazing stuff.

6 One Of These Things First 3 – Supposedly a 60s Elliott Smith, research into him so far has been going well. Hasn’t let me down with this one, a good ‘un.

6 Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You) 3 – I think this was probably in some advert. Nice piano.

6 A Wooden Horse 3 – The calm after the storm colossal hurricane of Lately. Lovely.

6 Sunday Morning 3 – Mmmm…

6 Since I've Been Loving You (live) 3 – Probably one of the best live versions of a song I’ve heard. Far better than the original, Plant and Page on top form here.

Phew. That was tough. I think I’ll try and do ‘em one a week from now on…

Art Brut The Album Leaf Devendra Banhart Songs:Ohia Sonic Youth Reel Big Fish Explosions in the Sky Pulp Antony and the Johnsons Editors Sleater-Kinney Cursive I Am Kloot Bela Fleck Red House Painters Damien Rice Sound City Riot Act Elliott Smith Stereophonics Nick Drake Aqualung British Sea Power The Velvet Underground Led Zeppelin Sorry for the simply huge list of artist connections…]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/23/1nup_top_10_week_4 Fri, 23 Sep 2005 20:09:54 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/23/1nup_top_10_week_4 Right. This was the week I was in Belgium and France on the History Trip so less music but yeah still not a bad list this week.

1 Untitled 7 6 - The first song I have heard from ( ), and darker than anything on Agaetis Byrjun, but still amazing.

2 Anthems for a
Seventeen Year-Old Girl 4 - This is a very odd song, not what I was expecting at all...strangely mesmerising, very different to the other song of theirs I have...i like the strangely sung words though, "Park that car/Drop that phone/Sleep on the floor/Dream about me.."

2 Dust in the Sunlight 4 - Still the only proper song I've heard by them but it blew my away. I looked up their album on amazon expecting it to be on it, but turns out it's a B-side to the Bullets single. Another greatest B side contender then. Unless the A side is better.

2 Comforting Sounds 4 - Builds to a beautiful crescendo, wow.

5 Beard 3 - Hehe. I found this song recently, and it was a short song I made using samples in some demo program AGES ago. No idea why I called it beard, it must be my immaturity at the time. Even though I say it myself it is incredibly funky and flows together really well, nice bass and drums and guitar.

5 Short Skirt Long Jacket 3 - The lyrics and the way they are sung are very amusing. Coupled with a nice funky riff and you've got yourself a place in the weekly charts. "I want a girl with a short skirt and a loooong jacket.." Its also great when the shouty echoing manly sounding chorus comes in. "GETS UP EARLY!" "STAYS UP LATE!" Good times.

5 This Is Yesterday 3 - One of the less intense songs on The Holy Bible and it's a melancholy, lovely song.

5 Rocks 3 - CHOON!!! "Get your rocks off, get your rocks off honey.."

5 Magic Hours 3 - I was sitting, I think, in a hotel room in France, no wait, lying down, when I realised just how brilliant this song is. What impresses me also is that they make all this beautiful noise just using the standard instruments of guitars, bass and drums, unlike most other post rock bands. My favourite point is probably the massive, i mean massive drum fill at about 7:00 exactly. Ka-wow.

5 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) 3 - It's impossible to choose the best track from Funeral, they're all good. But this may just take about the damn biscuit.

5 Unfinished Sympathy 3 - I'm beginning to like Dissolved Girl but the singing on this is perfect.

5 Section 9 3 - Still ridiculously happy and uplifting. Bless that sun-loving cult known as The Polyphonic Spree.

5 Emily 3 - Always will be my favourite Feeder song.

Well that's it for now. Charts wouldn't display until Thursday this week, hopefiully won't happen again next time. Anyway hats off to the audioscrobbler/last fm guys, they do an amazing job with thius excellent site.



Artist links to get blog more exposure.... Sigur Ros Editors Mew Cake Shifto Manic Street Preachers Primal Scream The Polyphonic Spree The Arcade Fire Massive Attack Explosions in the Sky Feeder]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/17/1nuo_top_10_week_3 Sat, 17 Sep 2005 22:19:59 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/17/1nuo_top_10_week_3 Note the immediate decrease in quality of track chart due to being back at school-ness. However, it's not too bad. Some good un's this week.

1 Midnight In A Perfect World 9 - The best trip-hop song ever. Its like...listening to...what midnight would sound like if you were in a perfect world. /bad description

2 Portions For Foxes 7 - This really is what pop music should sound like. Brilliant guitars, great vocalist, lovely lyrics, hot girl..I could carry on.

3 Emily 5 - The best of the "B-sides that were better than the A-side" In this case, the B-side to Just A Day. It's one of my favourite songs ever, has such personal relevance to me, it also helps being a brilliant song. Great bassline, quiet lovely melodic verses and great lyrics and the chorus is an almighty grungy crash of noise. Ka-stounding.

3 Science vs Romance 5 - Another pop masterpiece. It's one of those occasions however when I play a song a lot and then can't remember exactly what it's like.

5 Proof 4 - Oh this is good. I absolutely love this...lovely melodic acoustic intro....when the drums kick in its great...and the "lalalala" ending...acoustic bliss.

5 Memory Lane 4 - From acoustic bliss to acoustic bliss. Soo melodic and fingerpick-y. I joined an Elliott Smith fangroup this week on last fm. True story.

5 I Was a Kaleidoscope 4 - The line about teeth chattering rhythms that were grouped in twos or threes like a morse code message from you to me still gets me every time hehe. Not to mention the guitars, quite electric for Death Cab (I think.) /non-expert opinions.

5 Moving 4 - Finally discovered what song this was recently and it's great. You will have heard the chorus somewhere before, it's great. The contrast between the sweeping verses and the pounding yet tuneful chorus is ace.

5 This Is Yesterday 4 - One of the quieter more beautiful moments from The Holy Bible. Really good stuff. Again, the recurring theme of good indie guitar continues...

5 Colours 4 - An early folky classic, or so I have discovered. Simple lyrics, ace fingerpicking and probably one of the happiest songs I've ever heard.

5 My Little Empire 4 - From damn happy to damn sad. I like the lyrics in this, simple yet effective. And again, darn good guitar riffing, this time, a brilliant bluesy lick with great tone to it /guitar knowledge. "fucked with being fucked/tired of being tired/bored of being bored/happy being sad." etc. They look piss-poor on paper but in the context of the song, wow.

5 Still Flat 4 - Last song this week, a new one, no idea who they are, again, I have amazon to thank for the free legal download. But I do like (the guitar) and the horns in it.

So, in conclusion, a more back-to-basics week. Less post-rock due to the fact I'm back at school. The music that demands your attention due to its sheer beauty and soul-encapsulating-ness will have to be put on hold for a while. :( Anyway, I got back from the 3 day school history trip to France so next week's charts may be less good. I was surprised and pleased at the amount of comments on last week's entry, thanks guys, especially the random people I've never heard of before. I don't expect most of my friends to have heard any of the songs up there probably ... I guess the artist and song links I put in these things really work for attracting visitors...

Anyway goodnight I'm off to bed.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/09/1nun_top_10_week_2 Fri, 9 Sep 2005 21:05:31 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/shifto112/journal/2005/09/09/1nun_top_10_week_2 This week I've decided not to continue with doing the top 10 artists as most of the time it will be the same artists, but instead looking at the top 10 songs of the week in a bit more depth, which will allow for much more variety each week and something more interesting to say. /boring bit. Worth noting as there are lots of =8th it's probably more than 10. Oh well.

1 Atmosphere 6 - As the name suggests, amazingly atmospheric and...indescribable..

1 The Dead Flag Blues 6 - Wow. Considering it's 16 minutes long that's quite impressively high. Another post-rock-ish band, but the sound is almost scary and apocalyptic, however the last few minutes are blissfully melodic.

1 Salty Water 6 - Still lovely. Another quite atmospheric song, and strangely for BSP it's mainly just acoustic guitar and vocals. I must buy the Remember Me EP at some point. Currently it's a damn expensive import of all the Remember Me B-sides.

4 Viðar vel til loftarasa 5 - The most brilliant build up to a song ever, ka-stounding piano, building to the most amazing..'orgasm of sound' and it's just a massive crescendo and the violins all go out of tune but it's lovely and amazing and wow /rambling.

4 Remember Me as a Time of Day 5 - I think this is just one it seems to play on random a lot...heh..but still amazing. Can't personally describe it now as I can't remember it...exactly..

4 First Day of My Life 5 - A great songwriter and lyricist, but his voice is just a bit too pathetic and whingey in too large a dose. However this is for the brilliant line "I'd rather be working for a paycheque/Than waiting to win the lottery..."

4 Tongue Tied 5 - Until I find a better one, this is the best instrumental track. Ever. IMO of course...

8 I Was a Kaleidoscope 4 - Similar to Bright Eyes above, I kind of don't like the vocals but the song, and lyrics, are great. It has a lovely riff and some memorable lines, eg. "I put on my overcoat and walked into winter - my teeth chattered rhythms...and they were grouped in twos or threes, like a morse code message was sent...from me to me." Brings a smile to the face of little old me.

8 27 4 - Downloaded free from Amazon.com I'll have you know. Excellent stuff, great guitar, again, a bit screamy vocals but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Love the intro drums and the way the guitar comes in.

8 Look Into the Air 4 - Amazing instrumentalisation, but the lack of vocals makes it hard for me to remember any exact details of this one. But I'll make the assumption that it's damn good.

8 Section 9 4 - Still on a high after their V performance hehe. One of the most uplifting songs ever. Must..buy..album with live DVD...

8 In Bet 4 - This is the second best instrumental track. Ever. Really, really lovely. Explosions In The Sky might be high up in this if I could remember the exact songs...

8 Faster 4 Snarling vocals, amazing lyrics, brilliant chugging guitars. 4 minutes of unstoppable pure anger. Got The Holy Bible this week, it's amazing. You young un's can write them off as that drab indie band if you like, well never have I heard such an intense, scary and powerful record as this.

8 Let's Get Lost 4 - Words cannot say how much I love that amazing melodic little guitar bit in there at some point in this song. On a par with Memory Lane in terms of simply beautiful fingerpicking and sweet melodic..ness. Wow. And free with my Q magazine..

8 Agaetis Byrjun 4 - This one probably has the best guitar bit at the start of it, and develops with lovely melodic..ness..and the ole Hopelandic singing. Not so much a crescendo this time but beautiful throughout. Why are other Sigur Ros cds so damn expensive at HMV?! Grr..

8 Cheat 4 - Time for something a bit different, some more great lyrics. "don't use the rules, they're not for you, they're for the fools, and you're a fool if you don't know that, so use the rules, you stupid fool!" And then the guitar solo kicks in. It gets me every time, heh.

8 Chicken Pig (True Adventures instrumental demo) 4 - Final song this week, the truly beautiful instrumental version of True Adventures. Actually this is the best instrumental song ever...

Well while I'm deciding the order of the best instrumentals, hope you enjoyed that. All really great songs there, I'm rather proud the way this week's chart has turned out /boasting. So, really, I don't think you could go wrong with any of those. Instrumental songs, you say..?....

PS. I thought of another: Ovary Stripe Another really good un. Their best song, because it doesn't have that annoying cocky singer on it...

G'night.

shift-edit: as inspired by Russell I've decided to move this to the KEGS FM overall journal type thing too. It'd be interesting if a few of you felt like doing the same thing, but don't worry if you can't be bothered.]]>