Yet another installment of "Writing About Music"
Feeling very tired and drained today, lots of homework and little sleep. So I'm going to try something new, an idea I had.
As time goes on, my Last.FM profile grows more and more diverse, and I become happier and happier. After a couple of years of using it now, the top artists are starting to look just about right. The bands that are there tend to be ones that have maintained my interest for a while, though there are certain relative newcomers that I've let rise impressively far through sheer Devotion (this is a pun that nobody will get).
As much as I love music, and as much as I love writing about bands and songs and ideas, I sort of feel something a bit more brief is in need here to talk about all my top-charted bands.
So, my goal: For each of my top 40 bands, I am going to attempt to summarize my love for them in two words. Only two words apiece. They may describe the band's style, or how they make me feel, or they may be the title of a song, a song lyric, or even a band member's name. The point is to see how expressive I can be about bands that people will have varying degrees of familiarity with, as well as to revisit my own musical taste and internally reminisce about how and why I love music.
So, let's begin, after the cut:
1: Carissa's Wierd - Infinite distance.
2: Bob Dylan - Enigmatic genius.
3: Pizzicato Five - Lovingly cool.
4: The Velvet Underground - Rock, roll.
5: Camera Obscura - Love = disappointment.
6: mclusky - Hardcore clever.
7: Daniel Johnston - Hope > pain.
8: aiko - Energy + talent.
9: The Apples in Stereo - Catchy fun.
10: Beach House - Haunted love.
11: Casey Dienel - Brilliant, adorable.
12: The Breeders - Pixies' heart.
13: Jens Lekman - Undeniably pretty.
14: Yo La Tengo - Indie legends.
15: Belle and Sebastian - Feeling Sinister.
16: Pavement - Inscrutable brilliance.
17: advantage Lucy - Pure heart.
18: noodles - "Empty Girl"
19: Blur - Britpop's kings.
20: Pixies - Insanity's screams.
21: Aimee Mann - Immaculate songwriting.
22: Enon - Rock, dance.
23: 800 Cherries - Breathy pop.
24: The Pipettes - "Pull Shapes"
25: Polysics - High voltage.
26: Neko Case - Vocally superior.
27: Scout Niblett - Open-heart.
28: Nico - Deeply sad.
29: Blonde Redhead - Alien-pretty.
30: Yoko Kanno - Cowboy Bebop.
30: Keren Ann - Inevitable solitude.
32: Leonard Cohen - Musical poet.
33: White Hinterland - "howling wind"
33: Lucky Soul - "great unwanted"
35: Number Girl - Brute force.
36: My Little Airport - Fragile sadness.
37: Rocket or Chiritori - Unadulterated love.
37: Taken By Trees - Victoria Bergsman.
39: Carpenters - Beautiful tragedy.
40: El Perro del Mar - "This Loneliness"
PS: Because I keep forgetting to mention it: I has a Twitter.
As time goes on, my Last.FM profile grows more and more diverse, and I become happier and happier. After a couple of years of using it now, the top artists are starting to look just about right. The bands that are there tend to be ones that have maintained my interest for a while, though there are certain relative newcomers that I've let rise impressively far through sheer Devotion (this is a pun that nobody will get).
As much as I love music, and as much as I love writing about bands and songs and ideas, I sort of feel something a bit more brief is in need here to talk about all my top-charted bands.
So, my goal: For each of my top 40 bands, I am going to attempt to summarize my love for them in two words. Only two words apiece. They may describe the band's style, or how they make me feel, or they may be the title of a song, a song lyric, or even a band member's name. The point is to see how expressive I can be about bands that people will have varying degrees of familiarity with, as well as to revisit my own musical taste and internally reminisce about how and why I love music.
So, let's begin, after the cut:
1: Carissa's Wierd - Infinite distance.
2: Bob Dylan - Enigmatic genius.
3: Pizzicato Five - Lovingly cool.
4: The Velvet Underground - Rock, roll.
5: Camera Obscura - Love = disappointment.
6: mclusky - Hardcore clever.
7: Daniel Johnston - Hope > pain.
8: aiko - Energy + talent.
9: The Apples in Stereo - Catchy fun.
10: Beach House - Haunted love.
11: Casey Dienel - Brilliant, adorable.
12: The Breeders - Pixies' heart.
13: Jens Lekman - Undeniably pretty.
14: Yo La Tengo - Indie legends.
15: Belle and Sebastian - Feeling Sinister.
16: Pavement - Inscrutable brilliance.
17: advantage Lucy - Pure heart.
18: noodles - "Empty Girl"
19: Blur - Britpop's kings.
20: Pixies - Insanity's screams.
21: Aimee Mann - Immaculate songwriting.
22: Enon - Rock, dance.
23: 800 Cherries - Breathy pop.
24: The Pipettes - "Pull Shapes"
25: Polysics - High voltage.
26: Neko Case - Vocally superior.
27: Scout Niblett - Open-heart.
28: Nico - Deeply sad.
29: Blonde Redhead - Alien-pretty.
30: Yoko Kanno - Cowboy Bebop.
30: Keren Ann - Inevitable solitude.
32: Leonard Cohen - Musical poet.
33: White Hinterland - "howling wind"
33: Lucky Soul - "great unwanted"
35: Number Girl - Brute force.
36: My Little Airport - Fragile sadness.
37: Rocket or Chiritori - Unadulterated love.
37: Taken By Trees - Victoria Bergsman.
39: Carpenters - Beautiful tragedy.
40: El Perro del Mar - "This Loneliness"
PS: Because I keep forgetting to mention it: I has a Twitter.