I've been listening to Gangway quite a lot today, so I thought it was the right time to post my top 5 favorite songs by (probably) the best Danish band ever:
1. Yellow
2. My Girl and Me
3. The Party is Over
4. Why Do I Miss You
5. World of Difference

Funny (or rather strange) to see that no song from my favorite album The Quiet Boy Ate The Whole Cake made the list!

Anyone out there having Sitting in the Park (Again!) on CD for sale?

My Swiss connection gave me quite a surprise yesterday, when he wrote and asked if I had heard the new song by The River Detectives.
This question pretty much made me jump up and down shouting “WHAT??”, because I thought they had split up many, many years ago (the last album Elvis Has Left The Building was released in 1992). I’ve really liked this band since being introduced to them in the late 90’s and have often wondered why they never became household names, because they did write several fantastic songs (the title track of the 1989 debut Saturday Night Sunday Morning is nothing but fabulous).
Luckily they are still around writing music and on 26 September the new album King of the Ghost Train Ride will be released. So far I’ve only heard the title track, but that does sound very promising indeed. If you want to check out the band yourself Neon Tetra Records offer short samples of 3 of songs from the album.

Not many people are all that familiar with Scottish band Danny Wilson, though the band wrote, what seems to be one of everybody’s favorite songs of the 80’s; Mary’s Prayer (yes – the one from the not-at-all funny There’s Something About Mary).
This, their biggest hit, is obviously included on the 1991 2 disc compilation Sweet Danny Wilson, but unlike what most people might think or expect, Mary wasn’t the only great song they wrote. The wonderful The Second Summer Of Love (it’s the one with the handclaps – maybe you’ve heard it?) was probably the closest they ever got to matching the success of Mary, but songs like Never Gonna Be The Same or I Can't Wait are equally great.
So this compilation (if it’s still available) is well worth a look and it doesn’t exactly hurt that the brilliant live cover version of Knowing Me Knowing You is included as well.

This was the final album by Danny Wilson, but in 1993 lead singer Gary Clark released a pretty good solo album called Ten Short Songs About Love and in 1995 his new band King L released the album Great Day For Gravity, which featured the brilliant single First Man On The Sun. Information on what happened afterwards can be found here.

I heard the excellent The Zookeepers Boy by Mew on the radio this morning. You can watch a (very, very dark) live recording of the song here.
Cannot figure out if this song or Special is the next single (now I know that it will be Special) from the forthcoming album,but apparently The Zookeepers Boy was a last minute addition to the album. Not bad!




Another highly anticipated album (in Denmark) is No Balance Palace by Kashmir. I've just bought the first single (my second download purchase) called The Curse of Being a Girl, which is surprisingly immediate and very catchy. Expectations are growing!

I've just read that both David Bowie and Lou Reed appear on the album. Interesting!

I've just heard the new single by JJ72 called Coming Home (to be released on Monday). As I hoped (and expected, because I think this band is bloody fantastic) it's absolutely brilliant. So far I've heard 5 songs from the forthcoming album (apparently it's going to be called On and is due for release October/November - information found here) and my expectations are aiming for the sky. All of the songs are just great and even if the rest of the album isn't anywhere close to matching the quality of those songs, I firmly believe that it will be very strong candidate for album of the year.

My daughter is just 3 years old, but at as the music freak I am, I am constantly trying to make her listen to (what I think is) “real” music. So last weekend when we drove to visit her grandmother (my mother-in-law) I put Værsgo’ by Kim Larsen on the car stereo. In Denmark this 1973 album is considered a classic and rightly so, because it’s really the perfect combination of catchy tunes and witty lyrics. So I thought there might be a good chance that my daughter would like some of it.
Maybe I was right, because the other day we (my wife and I) heard her singing (parts of) Nanna and this morning she was singing a few words from Det Er I Dag Et Vejr. You’ve probably already guessed that this is one proud dad?

In the September edition of the Danish life-style magazine Euroman there is a huge (long, large, many words....you know what I mean - I hope) article about Mew. So far I have only read parts of it, but it confirms (as some of us have already expected/detected) that the new album Mew and the Glass Handed Kites is a complete change of style and definitely not meant to be a singles album. Instead the album should be looked upon/listened to as a whole.

With this information in mind it seems rather pointless that a single has been released (pretty much like quoting out of context), though Apocalypso definitely has stirred up the pot, started discussions (is the song good or bad, have they lost it blah, blah, blah) and (in some cases) helped building up expectations.

Euroman also reviews the album and calls it “one of the best Danish albums ever” and hands out 6 stars out of 6.

19 September still seems to be very, very far away!

Just read in a chat forum that people are willing to pay quite a lot for the two first Mew albums; A Triumph For Man and Half The World Is Watching Me. Fair enough if they are fans though it's pretty clear that they didn't become that until the release of Frengers. So be it, but I hate those who try to "squeeze the lemon" and make the most of the situation. I cannot recall how much I paid for HTWIWM (probably 150 DKK), but I would never offer it to anyone for 1,300 DKK. That's ridiculous and pretty damn close to robbery.
OK - I needed to get that off my chest - but for your own good - don't get me started ranting about the ticket sharks!

5 new albums added to my CD-Collection:

I bought Road To Rouen by Supergrass because it was recommended to me by my Swiss connection. And I’m very thankful that he did. I’ve never bothered listening to Supergrass before, which very well could be a huge mistake, because the new album is very, very good. 9 great songs (the very best are the brilliant opener Tales of Endurance (Part 4, 5 & 6) and first single St. Petersburg) and there is really not a weak moment on the album. The only complaint is that it only runs 35 minutes and even though quantity never equals quality you can't help wishing that they would have included a few more songs.

So far I’ve read 3 reviews of the new Grand Avenue album and none of them are all too excited about She (rating it 3 or 4 stars out of 6). The primary reason for the lukewarm reception is that the band has abandoned its musical style and instead is trying to sound like every other rock band (inspiration sources are clearly U2, Coldplay and a little bit of Kent). As we all know critics don’t approve when artists make moves like that in their quest for fame and fortune, so I’ve been reading those reviews with the “spam filter” on.
However after listening to the album myself a few times I really cannot disagree with the critics. Every song sounds very professional and could easily be performed in a stadium in front of 50,000 people, but sadly some of the immediate charm of the first album has gone missing.
Several songs like On Your Side and Give It To Me are indeed very good (unlike some critics I don’t think that they have forgotten how to write great songs at all), but there are just too many bands out there sounding like this, which probably (once again) will prevent them from getting the international breakthrough.

The Lucksmiths: Warmer Corners (Thank you Chris)
Any album containing the utterly brilliant The chapter in your life entitled San Francisco has to be great. OK – maybe it’s not that great, but it’s still very good, which is more than I could ask for.
This band is one of the major revelations of the year and they are very high on my list of bands I'd like to see live someday!



The Lucksmiths: Happy Secret (Thank you Chris)
A nice little compilation of songs by this Australian band consisting of 10 songs recorded in 1998. According to the information I've found the songs on the album are a mix of singles, b-sides and "left-overs". Quite impressive to be able to throw away or hide any songs like these. What a great band this is!



Hard-Fi: Stars Of CCTV (Thank you Chris)
Several good songs on this one (Hard To Beat of course, Cash Machine etc.), but there really isn't much new under the sun here - is there? Seems to be my favorite topic these days complaining about the lack of innovative new bands. Sorry - can't help it!

Sunday I'm flying to France for a couple of days (playing golf). We ended up playing golf Monday in San Remo (Italy) and had a nice day on the beach in Menton (France) Tuesday - fantastic trip :-)

So the next update will take place on Wednesday or Thursday next week!

Michael has posted a list of some (several) of his favorite songs. The list is not yet complete, but there is plenty to explore.

I'm busy searching for some of the songs and will post a short comment to the one I manage to find.

Breeders - Cannonball
Knew it already - Love it!!!

BT - Never Gonna Come Back Down
After a few seconds I was thinking "oh no", because this is not my type of music at all. But once it finishes you realize that you've just been making dance moves with your feet while listening. Great dance song!

Circle Jerks - When The Shit Hits The Fan
Sorry - no - don't like this at all. Think I should listen to that BT song one more time!

Dinosaur Jr - Just Like Heaven
Cover version of one of the best songs by The Cure. Alternative and noisy, but somehow quite enchanting!

Frente! - Bizarre Love Triangle
Another cover version. This is a cover of the New Order song. And what a version it is - utterly, utterly beautiful!

Ladytron - He Took Her For A Movie
Questionmark. Cannot decide if I like this one or not! I will have to return to this some other time...

Missing Persons - Walking In L.A.
Another questionmark. The "walking in L.A.Aaaaaay" part is quite annoying. The rest is pretty good!

Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun
A band I should have checked out a long time ago. This sounds very promising!

Primus - John The Fisherman
Never heard of them, but kinda like it. Will check out a few more songs by them.

Front 242 - Headhunter
Know them by name, but never listened to them. Much, much better than I expected (feared)!

Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds
And the same can be said about this song by Orb. A whole lot better than I thought it would be, though I doubt that I would "survive" an entire album of this stuff! Correction - I've listened to it a few more times and I really like this song!

Thus ends Episode 1 of "Checking out the favorite songs of Michael". Stayed tuned for Episode 2 :-)

I think that Bloc Party is one of the most overrated bands of the year, but I've just heard the new single Two More Years and to my big surprise (I seem to be getting lots of those surprises this year) it's very, very good!

Went to the library (again) yesterday and this is what I found:

I am Kloot: Gods and Monsters
First listen and I think I like Natural History better. But there is not doubt that this is a very good band, so I will definitely check it out a few more times!





Patti Smith: Horses







Tindersticks: Tindersticks (II)
First impression - rather boring. More listens are definitely required!






Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral
I've listened to parts of this album and to be honest, I really don't know what to think. Will have to return to this album at some point - maybe when I grow up some day?





Supergrass: Supergrass
I'm really surprised how good this album is. Packed with great songs like Moving, What Went Wrong (In Your Head) and Pumping On Your Stereo just to mention a few. I'm beginning to wonder why I've never bothered listening to them before. Quite a blunder!




The The: Soul Mining







Hopefully someday I will find the time to add a few comments, but right now this is very pending!!!!!

My Swiss connection is very determined to convince me that the new album called Road To Rouen by Supergrass is really great and very well worth buying. Therefore I’ve been “under siege” today and received quite a few songs by rmail and it seems like his tactic is working just fine, because I’m seriously thinking of buying it.

Oh what the……I’ll write an email and order it from my local CD pusher.

I'm not a virgin anymore............today it happened for the very first time............I paid for a download!
I heard the song Heroin Unltd by new Danish band Spleen United on the radio the other day and after realizing that the album isn't due to be released for nearly a month (12 September), I decided that it was time for my debut!
I don't know how to define their music (Gaffa calls it synth-rock), but this is dark and very, very appealing!

With the release date of their second album just around the corner (22 August), I thought the time was right to give the self-titled debut album by Danish band Grand Avenue a few spins. There was quite a lot of focus on the band prior to the release of the album, because many figured that Grand Avenue could be the "next-big-thing". Especially because the first single What's On Your Mind is one of the best debut singles ever by a Danish band. However - as it turned out - the rest of the album wasn't of the same caliber (this doesn't at all mean that the album is bad, because it's not - if you try listening to Is It Pretty or Average you'll agree) and the focus disappeared, which meant that they didn't receive the same attention as bands like Saybia, Mew, Carpark North etc. But in my opinion listening to the album is an hour very well spent and if the follow-up is just as good, there should be plenty to be looking forward to!

I picked up the following 9 CDs at the library Thursday last week (I love that reservation system!):

Natural History by I am Kloot is a pleasant surprise. I'm not at all familiar with the band, but since I remember the name being mentioned somewhere I decided to give the album a chance. Don't regret that at all, because it's a great album with a nice acoustic feel.





!!! is probably one of the greatest/coolest band names I've ever seen. Sadly you cannot say that the music on Louden Up Now is the greatest I've ever heard. Maybe I'd like if it was 2 o'clock in the night and I was at some club completely drunk with a desire for dancing (and listening to intelligent lyrics like Shit Scheisse Merde). Then maybe - otherwise no!




These days I'm not a fan of compilations, best of's etc. albums, but when you want to get a quick introduction to an unknown band they still very much serve a purpose. I've been aware of the existence of Spiritualized for years, but until now I've never bothered listening to them. So The Complete Works, Volume 1 album seemed to be an obvious place to start. Their music is not an immediate winner, because at times it gets very monotonous (several songs are 7-8 minutes long, just going on and on). And listening to various mixes of the same song three times in a row can be a little overwhelming (if you're positive) or downright boring (if you're not so positive)! But there are moments of pure beauty on the album, which immediately make you want to use the repeat function. So there is no doubt in my mind that this is music with great potential and it's a sure bet that I'm going to further explore this album as well as other releases.

I believe I've written before that I'm no fan of The Rolling Stones! But for every song I hear by the band it becomes more and more obvious to me why they are considered a legendary rock band. The album Let It Bleed does nothing to change this. Whether it's grand opener Gimme Shelter, tongue-in-cheek Country Honk, the pulsing title track or the epic finale You Can't Always Get Want You Want, there is no doubt in my mind (after just one listen) that this is a truly amazing album! Am I a Stones fan now? Not yet, but I'm definitely on my way!


The German Bonus Tracks edition of Odessey & Oracle contains an amazing 28 songs, but that is not one too many. It's packed with absolutely fantastic songs that make it very hard to understand why The Zombies aren't mentioned in the same breathe as The Beach Boys or other far more famous bands from the late 60's. Too many great songs to list (though I think Time of the Season and I'll Call You Mine are standout tracks), but I sure recommend that you try to listen to this awesome album!


My ongoing project of visiting the library picking up albums I should know (but don't) is getting more and more interesting. Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention is the type of album I'd never (NEVER!) listen to. It is filled with overlong renditions of traditional folk songs, which normally would make me stay miles and miles away. But just 5 songs into the album I’m kinda thrilled to have learned about it, because this is really interesting and very beautiful!



Johnny Cash is another artist I wouldn't normally listen to. If you browse through my CD-collection you won't find that many country albums, but I've read a lot of positive about these recordings (At Folsom Prison And San Quentin), so I thought it would be well worth my time and effort to give this album a shot!
It will take a while before country becomes my favorite genre, but this isn't even close to being as bad as I feared it would be. Actually it's quite entertaining and the fact that he performs in front of the prisoners makes it rather fascinating as well!

I'm really trying my very best getting into Nick Drake, but so far I think it is a bit difficult. Pink Moon is short (less than 29 minutes), sounds pretty and fragile, but this kind of music looses a lot when being played on a computer. So to be able to judge it properly, I guess I will have to listen to it with my headphones on, whenever I can find a moment to spare.




Exile on Main Street is just another great album by The Rolling Stones. Cannot really think of anything else to say. It probably won't last long before I declare myself a fan!






Guess it's time to visit the library again?

1 new album added to my CD-Collection:

Editors won't win any prizes for being the most innovative band of the year, because their debut album The Back Room sounds a lot like stuff we have heard plenty of the past few years (e.g. The Bravery, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers).
That said the album does include several surprisingly great songs (Munich and Fall are just a few), which make it so much easier to close the eyes to the lack of originality and instead turn listening to the album into quite a pleasure.

Everyone else seems to be doing it........so why can't I?

This is not the cover of the latest Kraftwerk Album, but instead it's (sort of) a picture of me and my father or???

I know this isn't very music related, but what the......

The most played song in the car the past few days has been Stand Inside Your Love by The Smashing Pumpkins.

These are my 5 favorite songs by The Pumpkins:
1. Thirty-Three
2. Stand Inside Your Love
3. Tonight, Tonight
4. Ava Adore
5. Today/Disarm

Have you visited Torr today?

If not, I think you should and while you're there, you definitely "must" download the 2 songs (Oceans and Intelligent People) by Rob Dickinson.

And I also recommend that you download Rotten Love and On The Dance Floor by Levy.

Library

I'm definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, because I've just recently discovered (realized is probably a more accurate word) that our local library (surprise, surprise) has a webpage, so you can make your CD reservations online!

So last week I browsed through (parts of) their collection and made reservations of the following 5 CDs that I've wanted to listen to for a long time:

Martin Hall: Presence
Tool: Lateralus
Belle & Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister
Live: Throwing Copper
Lemon Jelly: '64-'95

Yesterday I picked them up at the library (took 1 minute - I will definitely use this reservation system a whole lot more in the future) and will add a few comments to each album when I've listened to them!

If you search long enough you will find a vinyl copy of Presence somewhere in the attic above my apartment. Since I don't listen to vinyl's anymore these days I haven't heard any of the songs from the album for more than 5 years, but nonetheless I immediately started singing along as soon as I put the CD on. That reminded me of how much I used to listen to it and how much I love(d) it. I now have the album on the computer, but I hope I will be able to find the CD in a Second-Hand store somewhere, because according to Martin Hall's webpage it has been deleted. So if anyone out there has a copy of the CD and is willing to part with - please drop me a line!

Throwing Copper is just one of those albums I should have listened to a long, long time ago. It's a great album containing quite a few brilliant songs like Lightning Crashes, Selling The Drama and All Over You. Mark this one down as another album added to my wish list!

I only have one comment for the Lateralus album - WOW! Light-years away from the music I would normally listen to, but I was blown away. Dark, Noisy, Intense, Haunting and Demanding!

I've tried to listen to Lemon Jelly and I'm not really sure what I expected. I guess it must have been something else than this, because this kind of music really doesn't work for me....

The Boy With The Arab Strap was the only album I knew by Belle & Sebastian before getting my hands on the highly rated If You're Feeling Sinister. I really like The Boy...., so my expections for Sinister was quite high, because widely it seems be considered the best of their albums. However after a couple of listens I'm definitely not ready to rate Sinister any higher than The Boy...., because I cannot help being a bit disappointed. The band sounds very much like I thought they would, but overall I expected the songs to be a bit better than on The Boy...., which I don't think is the case right now. More listens could of course change this!

The One I Love

A copy of the new single by David Gray - The One I Love, was in my mailbox this morning (for the second time today - thank you Chris!).

The song is absolutely fantastic and was immediately added to my Current Favorites list! Crossing the fingers and hoping that the rest of the album will be just as great!

1 new album added to my CD-Collection (Thank you Chris!):

Shack: H.M.S. Fable

This is indeed a very good album and I'm very fortunate that my attention has been drawn towards this band. I’m very surprised to learn that it was released in 1999. Some music never seems to reach a broader audience even though it is so much better than 90% of the stuff people buy these days.

Tue West - Meldingen Kommer

1 new album added to my CD-Collection:

Tue West: Meldingen Kommer

The second album by Danish singer/songwriter Tue West is released today. It will be very interesting to see if he can follow-up the (surprise) success of his debut.

First take: I listened to 7 songs from the album while driving to work this morning and couldn't help feeling very disappointed, because none of the songs really caught my attention. However (If I remember correctly) it took quite some time before I started to like his debut album, so it's still far too early to rate the album.
Comments are put on hold, because it is really difficult to find anything positive to say about the album right now!
More later........

Quiet evening - kid and wife are asleep. A Fish Called Wife is the best the TV has to offer, so listening to some music seems to be a very obvious choice for some evening entertainment.

I've put my WMP on random, so let's see what will pop up (comments will follow on the first 10 songs)!

First song - Pet Shop Boys: Suburbia. It's hard to believe that this one is nearly 20 years old. Really makes me feel very, very old - but I (still) like it!

Second song to pop up is Girl Anachronism by The Dresden Dolls. I hoped that some other songs by this band would be as great as The Jeep Song, but so far I've been pretty disappointed. Maybe this Music Hall thing isn't my cup of tead after all?

I've stressed before that I'm no fan of Depeche Mode, but Never Let Me Down Again is brilliant song. Great third song of the evening!

Oasis - Champagne Supernova from the great Morning Glory album. Very difficult to complain about this one. Still great after all those years!

And no complaints about the fifth song either, because it's Du Är Ånga by my favorite band Kent! One of the best tracks from the recent album Du & Jag Döden.

When you download a lot of music it happens pretty often that you forget about some of the songs and never listen to them. One of those songs is Reward by Julian Cope/The Teardrop Explodes. Surprisingly good!

Already at the seventh song! It's Swallowed By The Cracks by David & David. A really great song from their 1986 album Boomtown. Check them out!

I must admit that I like Third Eye Blind and The Background is a rather dark and sad tune from the debut album. Doesn't exactly cheer you up - but I like it nonetheless!

Song nine is Time Of Our Lives by David Usher. Used to listen to this quite a lot a few years back, but it's been a while since the last time. Those guitars still sound pretty great - don't they?

And the final one:

Surrender by Swing Out Sister. Another song that makes me feel that my teenage years took place centuries ago. Loved it back then and I still do!

It wasn't the first time this happened, but the very first song on the radio this morning was Have A Nice Day by Stereophonics.

So my daughter and I took a couple of quick dance steps on the kitchen floor and it sure felt like it was going to be a nice one (and so far it has been!)

Torr

If you're a music freak, I highly recommend that you (at least) once a day surf by Torr to see if he has posted anything interesting (chances are pretty good that he has!).

Among the good stuff today (posted yesterday) are the links to a couple of new songs by Sigur Ros.

What seem to be a long time ago (at least it feels like that) someone posted a suggestion that I should list the Top 5 Drinking songs. That's a pretty cool idea though I (still) can't think of 5 songs to include in such a list. Instead I was inspired and started to post other Top 5's. I'm seriously considering posting the lists in a separate blogger (because the number of lists is constantly growing), but for the time being I will continue posting it like this.

Obviously none of the Top 5's are definitive and they will consequently be changed if another song qualify. I will allow multiple entries by an artist, but they same song will only appear once, which sometimes makes this quite a puzzle, because some songs qualify for more than just one list (see my comments).

The 15 TOP 5 lists so far are:

Driving Songs:
1. Feeder: Buck Rogers
2. The Stone Roses: I Wanna Be Adored (the entire album is perfect for this)
3. The Smiths: How Soon Is Now (also sparked my interest in music)
4. Incubus: Drive
5. Kent: 747

Broken Heart Songs:
1. Black: The Sweetest Smile
2. The Cure: Pictures Of You
3. U2: Unchained Melody (cover version)
4. Jeff Buckley: Last Goodbye
5. Chris Isaak: Things Go Wrong

Songs Before Going To Bed:
1. Radiohead: Street Spirit (Fade out)
2. Genesis: Carpet Crawlers
3. Mew: Comforting Sounds (longer than 8 minutes)
4. Angie Aparo: Wonderland
5. Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence

Songs More Than 8 Minutes Long:
1. Led Zeppelin: Kashmir
2. Television: Marquee Moon
3. David Gray: Say Hello Wave Goodbye (cover version)
4. Kraftwerk: Autobahn (from The Mix album)
5. Propaganda: Dr. Mabuse (album version)

Cover Versions:
1. Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah
2. Danny Wilson: Knowing Me, Knowing You
3. Jimi Hendrix: All Along the Watchtower
4. The White Stripes: Jolene
5. Manic Street Preachers: Suicide is Painless {Theme from M*A*S*H}

Best Intro:
1. AC/DC: Hells Bells
2. The Verve: Bitter Sweet Symphony
3. Metallica: Enter Sandman
4. Killing Joke: Love Like Blood
5. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

Songs By (Almost) Unknown Artists: (or songs that should have been big)
1. The River Detectives: Saturday Night Sunday Morning
2. Cause & Effect: The Echoing Green
3. Geneva: Tranquillizer
4. Aaron McMullan: Song Bout If I Reach Her
5. Then Jerico: The Motive (Living Without You)

Morning Songs: (or songs that you will be humming the rest of the day)
1. Stereophonics: Have a Nice Day
2. The Lightning Seeds: Lucky You
3. Doves: Pounding
4. Keane: Everybody's Changing
5. Dodgy: Good Enough

Songs By Danish Artists (Sung in English):
1. Mew: Mica
2. Kashmir feat. Randi Laubek: The Ghost of No One
3. Gangway: Yellow
4. The Raveonettes: Love In a Trashcan
5. Saybia: Brilliant Sky

Songs By Danish Artists (Sung in Danish):
1. Kim Larsen: Joanna
2. Love Shop: En Nat Bliver Det Sommer
3. TV-2: Bag Duggede Ruder
4. Lars H.U.G.: Elsker Dig For Evigt
5. Gasolin': Længes Hjem

Songs With The Name Of A City In The Title:
1. David Gray: Babylon
2. Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas
3. Frank Sinatra: New York, New York
4. The Lucksmiths: The chapter in your life entitled San Francisco
5. Ultravox: Vienna

Dancing Songs:
1. George Michael: Fast Love
2. New Order: True Faith
3. Madonna: Ray of Light
4. Fat Boy Slim: Right Here, Right Now
5. Kasabian: Processed Beats

Songs Older Than Me (0 - 1968 I was born in the beginning of 1969):
1. Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Stone (1965)
2.The Beatles: Eleanor Rigby (1966) (Songs With The Name Of A Girl In The Songtitle)
3.The Beach Boys: Sloop John B (1966)
4.The Rolling Stones: She's a Rainbow (1967)
5.The Zombies: Time of the Season (1968)

Worst Songs Ever:
1. Michael Jackson: Earth Song
2. Aerosmith: I Don't Wanna Miss a thing
3. Celine Dion: My Heart Will Go On
4. Lionel Richie: Hello
5. Nelly Furtado: Turn Of The Light (I'm Like a Bird is equally bad)

Worst Cover Versions:
1. t.A.T.u.: How Soon Is Now
2. No Doubt: It's My Life
3. Sixpence None The Richer: There She Goes
4. Mariah Carey: Without You
5. Whitney Houston: I Will Always Love You

*Top 5's Under construction*

Drinking Songs:
Anyone with a guitar in a bar: Whiskey in the Jar
Bon Jovi: Keep the Faith
Rye Whiskey by Tex Ritter has been suggested. Thank you dickvandyke :-)

Hang-Over Songs: *NEW*
Lit: My Own Worst Enemy

Best Song By Swedish Artist (Sung In Swedish): *NEW*
Mauro Scocco: Sarah
Freda: I En Annan Del Av Världen
Kent: Istället För Ljud

Instrumental Tracks:
New Order: Elegia
Air: La Femme d'Argent
Manic Street Preachers: If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next (David Holmes Mix)

Songs That Sparked My Interest In Music:
David Bowie: Let's Dance
The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man (cover version)
Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit (best intro)

Songs With The Name Of A Girl In The Title: (far too many to choose from)
Adam Green: Jessica
OMD: Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) (Songs With The Name Of A City In The Songtitle)
Interpol: Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
The Rolling Stones: Ruby Tuesday
Nasa: Paula
John Cougar: Jack and Diana
Dire Straits: Romeo and Juliet

Songs With The Name Of A Month In The Title:
Counting Crows: A Long December
The Jesus and Mary Chain: April Skies
JJ72: October Swimmer
Guns N' Roses: November Rain

B-Sides:
Angie Aparo: Alone
Kent: Utan Dina Andetag
Oasis: Half The World Away
Keane: Snowed Under

Being In Love Songs:
The Lightning Seeds: Sense
The Jesus and Mary Chain: About You
Ash: Shining Light

Angry Woman Songs:
Suggested by Michael; Thank you :-) Not sure that I'll ever be able to think of 5 songs, but will give it a try!
A couple of suggestions have been posted (thanks again :-)), but since I don't know any of those songs I will have to check them out first!

Top 5???
Any suggestions??

I definitely will have to read High Fidelity a few more times to get some inspiration!

Most played songs (at home)
March 05 - July 05:

1. Coldplay: Speed Of Sound
2. Badly Drawn Boy: You Were Right
3. Teenage Fanclub: Neil Jung
4. Coldplay: Talk
5. Tegan and Sara: Living Room
6. El Presidente: Without You
7. Cherryfalls: My Drug
8. Aaron McMullan: Song Bout If I Reach You
9. The The: This Is The Day
10. Richard Hawley: Run For Me
11. Brendan Benson: Cold Hands (Warm Heart)
12. Led Zeppelin: Kashmir
13. Cocteau Twins: Heaven Or Las Vegas
14. Depeche Mode: Precious
15. Fans Of Kate: A Brief Guide To Coward Rock (Demo)

(information collected from WMP)

Hidden track

Could someone please introduce me to the person who came up with the Hidden Track idea?

I hate it (it's stupid, pointless, waste of time and space etc.), so I would really like to kick him in the.........as a thank you!

Revolver

I have decided that I will listen to Revolver by The Beatles 3 times in a row - starting now.

No matter where you turn (read) this album always seems to be ranked as one of the 3 best of all time - and I would really, really like to understand why, because so far I haven't been impressed. So I guess I must be missing something!

I ended up listening to it 4 times this morning. The album does contain some really great songs (Eleanor Rigby and And Your Bird Can Sing), but also quite a few not so good (I refuse using the term bad) ones like Good Day Sunshine and Doctor Robert. At times I actually thought it was a bit boring, though it immediately became more interesting whenever a song written by George Harrison was performed.

A masterpiece? Well so far I'm not convinced.

Most played artists for July 2005 (at home/work)

1. JJ72 (89 plays)
1. Diefenbach (89)
3. Brendan Benson (72)
4. Depeche Mode (67)
5. Sufjan Stevens (58)
6. Teenage Fanclub (45)
7. The Style Council (29)
8. Doves (27)
9. Chris Isaak (26)
10. El Presidente (25)
11. The Stone Roses (24)
12. Interpol (19)
12. Iron & Wine (19)
12. The Rolling Stones (19)
12. The Magic Numbers (19)

I've played 1283 songs by 229 artists, which is 41.4 songs/day or approx 3.5 albums/day. If I do not include the 2 weeks holiday (where I didn't submit any songs), I have listened to 75.5 songs/day or more than 6 albums/day.

(information collected from Audioscrobbler and Last.FM)

Evil test :-)

Not really music related - but quite funny!

I am 19% evil. Take the test :: koolplace.com

GOT THEM! - Tickets for the Coldplay concert :-)

Comments on the U2 concert yesterday?

I think I'll (generously) give it 4 out of 6 stars. It was a pretty OK concert, but I subtract a couple of stars, because the weather was bad (not their fault), the sound wasn't very good (maybe not their fault, but still irritating) and they didn't play Bad (definitely their fault). Finally I do get a bit tired of Bono constantly wanting to teach us how to coexist etc. when it happens numerous times during a 2 hour concert.

The older songs (Where the Streets…, All I Want Is You etc.) are (and probably always will be) the definite highlights of their concerts, though in fact the very best part of the show was when they entered the stage to the sound of Wake Up by The Arcade Fire.

Most played songs (at work)
December 04 - July 05:

1. Interpol: Take You On A Cruise
2. New Order: Krafty
3. Kent: 400 slag
4. Depeche Mode: Precious
5. The Lucksmiths: The Chapter In Your Life Entitled San Francisco
6. Fans Of Kate: Tape 23
7. OMD: Of All The Things We're Made
8. Iron & Wine: Upward Over The Mountain
9. Fans Of Kate: Brief Guide To Coward Rock (Demo)
10. Carpark North: Best Day
11. Mew: Apocalypso
12. The Dresden Dolls: The Jeep Song
13. Moi Caprice: My Girl You Blush
14. The Smiths: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
15. Hard-Fi: Hard To Beat

Bullets (Play count is rising fast):
JJ72: She's Gone
Death Cab For Cutie: Soul Meets Body
El Presidente: Without You
Brendan Benson - Cold Hands (Warm Heart)

(information collected from WMP)