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/titchio/journal The Last.fm journal for titchio. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2011/01/13/45n2yo_who_are_important_in_music_right_now%3F Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:49:05 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2011/01/13/45n2yo_who_are_important_in_music_right_now%3F Its all well and good Last.fm having a "top 40 artists this year" list, But how many of you agreed with it? How many of you even listened to half of the things on it? I believe there were only a rare few I could say I've spent much time over in the past year (Arcade Fire, Yeasayer, etc etc).

I'm known to be the musically difficult person in my group of friends, I tend to sway off in some obscure direction and stay there for a long time, very rarely listening to what I'm offered on places like itunes top 100 or NME chart. I believe good music is there to be found, not pushed in your face, You have to discover it for yourself, As in finding a rare gem.

Fortunately, 2010 has been another year of gems for me. Not all necessarily released last year, but discovered during it! Some you may have heard of, Some you may have not.

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"Portugal. The Man"
=============================

P.TM were one of the first bands I came across in 10', and needless to say, they're really something else. A great energy and presence throughout their albums, held together with some of the hookiest tracks I've ever heard. The band have been around for a good 8 years or so, and have a few albums to show for it, All of which present a different treat to the ear. My favourite, The Satanic Satanist is such a great album from start to finish, Its not terribly complicated or deep, But it makes up for this with an entire collection of single friendly math-pop songs that will be stuck in your head for weeks. Opening track People Say sets the pace for the rest of the album with a great beat and an infectious chorus. It needs to be heard to be believed how hooky a single album can be!


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Kassidy
============================

Kassidy are new kids on the block. They are four singers, with four guitars. And they rock.

I first came across Kassidy by pure chance, when they were featured on a bite-size music program, And the rest is history. The foursome from glasgow have made quite a name for themselves in the local music scene, and in 2010 alone have done a massive UK tour and festival appearances in Reading and Leeds, T in The Park and Bestival. And not even an album out yet!

Take Another Ride is one of their centrepiece songs live, and it is incredible. The band manage to harmonise their voices and guitars together to make them sound like a 12 piece superstar set on stage, It is a sight to be seen. Their E.P.'s are currently available on itunes, I really suggest you head there now and pick them up, I promise not an inch of disappointment. With their debut album due for March, 2011 will most likely be a big year for the lads, Keep your eyes and ears open!


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Band of Horses
============================

Its taken me several years to finally listen to these guys properly. I was aware of their existence for quite some time and yet I hadnt made the time to pick any of their albums up. So finally, in 2010 I got their stuff, and needless to say I'm gutted I didnt listen sooner!

BoH are very mellow, with indie rock flowing within them (with a sprinkle of country for good measure!) and they couldnt sound any more heart melting! I remember a couple years back hearing The Funeral on an advert and I liked what I heard, but didnt realise that I wasnt even scraping the surface! Personally, My favourite album of theirs is Cease to Begin, Its phenominal. The opener Is There a Ghost is such a great track to begin the album, Bursting full of energy, I love it so much. Definately worth getting if you havent already!

(Not to forget No One's Gonna Love You *melts*)]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2010/12/10/43gh19_the_best_albums_2010 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:30:31 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2010/12/10/43gh19_the_best_albums_2010 1. Foals - Total Life Forever
2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. Minus the Bear - Omni
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Delphic - Acolyte
8. Kele - The Boxer
9. Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday
10. Broken Bells - Broken Bells]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2010/12/10/43gd07_the_best_albums_2010 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:45:32 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2010/12/10/43gd07_the_best_albums_2010 1. Foals - Total Life Forever
2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. Minus the Bear - Omni
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Delphic - Acolyte
8. Kele - The Boxer
9. Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday
10. Broken Bells - Broken Bells]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/10/25/340kty_bands_i_used_to_like_and_love_who_i_now_hate,_and_vice-versa... Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:14:55 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/10/25/340kty_bands_i_used_to_like_and_love_who_i_now_hate,_and_vice-versa... Ok, everyone knows that taste changes over time, so its only natural that some music you used to like now grinds on your gears. I try to keep positive about bands that I had a liking for in the past, as they did have their importance to me in their time...however, its then questionable why I stopped liking them in the first place... So lets look into that..

Kings of Leon -Probably a band you'd expect to see on this list. I remember the days when I used to listen to nothing but Youth & Young Manhood and aha shake heartbreak. What a fantastic pair of albums! KoL really were one of my favourite bands back in the day as their sound was totally unique to themselves, it had that country/western twang, yet remained rocky and hooky at the same time. They really made a big impression on me.
Then came Because Of The Times. I immediately noticed the change of direction in sound, but it wasnt bad..it just took a bit of getting used to. Some Tracks such as "Charmer", "My Party", "Knocked Up" and "Fans" were good songs, worthy of a listen. But it was a given that it didnt touch their earlier efforts.
Now...well you know what I'm going to say... Kings of Leon now seem to have become another generic chart-pleasing stadium band.. Only by the Night was spectacularly AWFUL. When i first listened to it, I thoroughly enjoyed the first track "Closer", but the rest went from average, to bad, to shameful. Their past roots seem to be severed almost completely. No sound remains similar from their past.

I understand bands want to progress their sound and try new things, but Kings of Leon are the standard definition of Sell-Out. Thank god I opted to see Faith No More at Reading Festival this year instead of them as apparantly they were rude to the crowd and played a horrid set. They've alienated most of their fans and welcomed in a generation of music listeners who decide via chart positions if a song is worth liking or not. Sad.







Muse- OK, before you get the wrong idea, in no way do i hate or even remotely dislike Muse. I think they're one of the best modern British bands ever. Its just my gripes with the worrying direction that they seem to be going in. I actually used to severely dislike Muse a long long while back, dismissing their songs when hearing them (tracks like "Plug In Baby" etc, that you'd see on Kerrang for e.g.), and it wasnt until I purchased Origin Of Symnetry, that I finally understood what the big deal was. Muse have a EPIC scale to them. Bellamy certainly knows how to draw a listener in, and his vocals are near (and scarily) perfect. Tracks such as "New Born", "Hyper Music" and "Citizen Erased" have this magnum opus feel to them, just so EXPLOSIVE and brilliant. It was an extremely addictive album and I found myself listening to it constantly.
I was then a fully fledged Muse fan and enjoyed both Showbiz and Absolution to a huge degree. It was not until Black Holes and Revelations that I first started seeing cracks in their music. Now by all means, BHAR is a great album, and I still occasionally listen to it, but compared to their past albums it was less of a complete piece of work. Tracks like "Exo-Politics", "Map Of The Problematique", "Assassin", "Knights Of Cydonia" were the Muse that I knew and loved, again that Epic feel to the songs, so powerful and face melting. It was songs like "Supermassive Black Hole", "Starlight", and "Invincible" where I felt slight indifference to the album....the tracks were very generic and poppy...not that theres anything wrong with more accessible songs than others, but i feel that they were out of shape for the type of music Muse was used to whipping out.

(To be fair, Im just being overly picky and would have said nothing about BHAR, its just to back up my idea of their present musical direction)

So.... The Resistance

Biggest disappointment of 2009?

You bet'cha.

Whats wrong with the album? I think we would be quicker to mention whats right with it to be honest. Some bands deserve to be a little pretentious, as they've earned it, And to a degree I would say Muse are one of those bands. However, a three part "Symphony"? Steady on now. I listened to the album with an open mind, and with a minor degree of optimism, being a fan an'all. Needless to say it didnt come close to any of my expectations. One minute they sound like a Queen-Prodigy, while they next try to pull off similar fast-track brilliances that you would find on OoS, and name them Muselike such as "MK Ultra". It doesnt work for me.
Theyve had enough time to come out with something that would blow me away, and I know they can because theyve done it before. But with drole goldfrappy beated slow-paced singles like "Uprising" they're clearly going in the wrong direction.

Exogenesis?...Symphony?...Part....III? *sigh*]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/10/15/334tne_best_gigs_i%27ve_ever_been_to Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:04:16 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/10/15/334tne_best_gigs_i%27ve_ever_been_to 1. Pearl Jam w/ Gomez - MEN Arena
2. Blur w/ Foals, Crystal Castles, Golden Silvers - Hyde Park
3. Smashing Pumpkins w/ The Twilight Sad - Glasgow Academy
4. Radiohead -Reading Festival
5. Pixies w/ Sons and Daughters - Glasgow SECC]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/09/30/31rxsm_bands_im_totally_into_at_the_moment... Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:50:23 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/09/30/31rxsm_bands_im_totally_into_at_the_moment... Ok, lots of good stuff ive discovered over the past while, Some great, some amazingly great and some mind-numbingly masterful. Here's some artists I reccomend to ALL of you :

The Twilight Sad
The Antlers
Pull Tiger Tail
iLiKETRAINS
Passion Pit
Baddies

All these bands bar iLiKETRAiNS have an album out this year plus other material. I hope you take my advice and check these out, as its some of the finest stuff I've ever heard (Twilight Sad's new album is my Album Of The Year so far (Forget the Night Ahead))]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/08/04/2wy923_top_20_rhcp_songs... Tue, 4 Aug 2009 05:12:54 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/08/04/2wy923_top_20_rhcp_songs... 20. Dosed
19. This Velvet Glove
18. One Big Mob
17. True Men Dont Kill Coyotes
16. Stadium Arcadium
15. Easily
14. Minor Thing
13. Fight Like A Brave
12. Johnny Kick A Hole In The Sky
11. Shallow Be Thy Game
10. Venice Queen
09. Bunker Hill
08. Porcelain
07. Taste The Pain
06. Transcending
05. Knock Me Down
04. Sir Psycho Sexy
03. QuixoticElixir
02. Warped
01. I Could Have Lied]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/07/28/2wdu7v_my_top_10_songs_of_all_time Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:40:49 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/07/28/2wdu7v_my_top_10_songs_of_all_time 1. "Comforting Sounds"- Mew
2. "Cold Days From The Bird House" - Twilight Sad
3. "Mayonaise" - Smashing Pumpkins
4. "Black" - Pearl Jam
5. "Emotion Sickness" - Silverchair
6. " Rooster"- Alice In Chains
7. "Behold! The Nightmare" - Smashing Pumpkins
8. "I Could Have Lied" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. "Hoppipolla" -Sigur Ros
10. "Warped" - Red Hot Chili Peppers]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/07/25/2w57jw_top_72_mew_songs!! Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:19:27 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/07/25/2w57jw_top_72_mew_songs!! Mew- TOP 72 Songs

Number 1 Being best OBVIOUSLY.

72. How Things Turn Out To Be
71. Where Have All The Geysers Gone
70. Succubus
69. Owl
68. Life Is Not Distant
67. Pink Monster
66. Bones (Song For Albert)
65. Misplaced
64. Drown
63. Watch This Space
62. Quietly
61. Superfriends
60. City Voices
59. Killer
58. Start
57. Like Paper Cuts
56. Half The World Is Watching Me
55. Nothing Is Red
54. Safe As Houses
53. Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years
52. I Should Have Been A Tsin-Tsi (For You)
51. No Shadow Kick
50. Animals Of Many Kinds
49. Forever And Ever
48. King Christian
47. Tricks
46. Swimmers Chant
45. Why Are You Looking Grave?
44. Hawaii Dream
43. Small Ambulance
42. Fox Cub
41. Coffee Break
40. Sometimes Life Isnt Easy
39. Beautiful Balloon
38. Louise Louisa
37. Saliva
36. Snowflake
35. Chinaberry Tree
34. New Terrain
33. Then I Run
32. Symmetry
31. Repeaterbeater
30. Mica
29. Like Chaser
28. Beach
27. Wheels Over Me
26. Saviours Of Jazz Ballet (Fear Me, December)
25. Snow Brigade
24. Reprise
23. The Seething Rain Weeps For You
22. 156
21. Vaccine
20. Apocalypso
19. A Dark Design
18. Silas The Magic Car
17. Panda
16. Hawaii
15. She Came Home For Christmas
14. An Envoy To The Open Fields
13. Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed
12. Circuitry Of The Wolf
11. The Zookeeper's Boy
10. Cartoons And Macrame Wounds
9. That Time On The Ledge
8. Am I Wry? No
7. Wherever
6. She Spider
5. Introducing Palace Players
4. Behind The Drapes
3. White Lips Kissed
2. Web
1. Comforting Sounds


I mean EVERYONE knew number 1 without looking, but I hope my other choices raised a few eyebrows :P]]> http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/06/15/2srz34_bands_ive_seen_live!_and_rated! Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:23:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/titchio/journal/2009/06/15/2srz34_bands_ive_seen_live!_and_rated! -Blur- 10
-Foals- 7
-Crystal Castles- 5
-Golden Silvers- 5
-Hypnotic Brass Ensemble- 8

-Smashing Pumpkins- 10
-Twilight Sad- 7

-Radiohead- 10
-Bat For Lashes- 2

-Muse- 10
-My Chemical Romance- 2

-Red Hot Chili Peppers- 9
-Ash- 7
-N.E.R.D.- 7

-The Music- 9
-The Chemists- 6

-White Stripes- 8
-The Bees- 5
-Air- 7
-Queens Of The Stone Age- 8

-Bloc Party- 9
-Foals- 7
-The Cribs- 8

-Biffy Clyro- 8
-The Invisibles- 4

-Red Hot Chili Peppers- 7
-Reverend And The Makers- 3
-Biffy Clyro- 7

Leeds Festival
-Pigeon Detectives- 6
-Mindless Self Indulgence- 5
-Adam Green- 6
-Cajun Dance Party- 7
-Lightspeed Champion- 8
-Hadouken!- 8
-The Music- 9
-Pendulum- 9
-Tenacious D- 7
-Metallica- 9
-Serj Tankian- 5
-Biffy Clyro- 7
-Jack Penate- 8
-MGMT- 6
-Queens Of The Stone Age- 7
-Rage Against The Machine- 10
-Dirty Pretty Things- 3
-Foals- 8
-We Are Scientists- 7
-Editors- 7
-The Raconteurs- 7
-Bloc Party- 8
-The Killers- 9

-Franz Ferdinand- 9
-Ladytron- 5

-Smashing Pumpkins- 9
-Twin Atlantic- 6

-Editors- 9
-Mobius Band- 7

-Mindless Self Indulgence- 6
-Bring Me The Horizon- 1

-Sum 41- 8
-Four Square- 6
-Engerica- 8

-The Cribs- 8
-Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong- 4
-The Ting Tings- 2
-Does It Offend You, Yeah?- 9

-Does It Offend You, Yeah?- 9
-George Pringle- 3
-Cut Off Your Hands- 7

-Hadouken!- 8
-Shut Your Eyes Or You'll Burst Into Flames- 7
-The Whip- 7

-Lightspeed Champion- 8
-Semifinalists- 6

-Futureheads- 8
-Grammatics- 7

-Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly- 6
-Emmy The Great- 5
-The Excerts- 7

-30 Seconds To Mars- 4
-We Are The Physics- 8

-Velvet Revolver- 7
-The Datsuns- 7

-Good Charlotte- 7
-Rooney- 6

-Boy Kill Boy- 7
-The Fuzz- 3]]>