I was stuck for a blog idea today - and that's not a good sign. I mean, 2007 has just started, and I'm already struggling for creativity... so I decided, for no particular reason in particular (?) to eat some noodles.
And then I returned to thinking for blog ideas.
Then I decided to take the easy way out, and do a Top 10 list that will bore you all out of your minds! Yes! Great idea!
So sit back (if you can stand the prospect of Top 10 lists) and see which bands I've listened to most this year, according to last.fm, a quite excellent music scrobbling site that you really should check out if you haven't already.
It's quite a predictable list if you know me well. And if not, then prepare to learn. Feel free to flame me, call me mainstream, call me a musical idiot, call me a crowd follower, call me an illiterate in the field of all things audio, call me any creative snobby name you care to think of - whatever. But here you go - here's DA LIST, BOYZ! (?)
#10: Gorillaz
I really like this band of cartoon misfits. I really like their creativity. I really like them in the way that no matter how hard you try you just can't categorise them properly. I like generally most of their tracks - I like pretty much everything about them. Hell, I just LIKE THEM, okay?
#9: Foo Fighters
For straightforward, no-**** conventional rocking, look no further than Foo Fighters, headed by the quite quite legendary Dave Grohl and his endless screaming about having enough space and hoping that you've never had the misfortune to see him wound up. Yes, he means business. Either way, they're still a kickass band.
#8: Franz Ferdinand
I honestly didn't expect these guys up here, but when I looked closer at the Top Artists list, there they were. It's weird how almost every song they put out either has an awesome riff or a catchy beat - the instrumentation they use in their own little breed of rock (dance + rock + alternative = danockative) is absolutely superb. Awesome band.
#7: The Verve
I found Urban Hymns this year after three years of absence. It was dusty, and it was covered in cobwebs. Am I glad I rediscovered Urban Hymns? Yes I am.
#6: Feeder
OK, when I mentioned straightforward conventional rocking with the Foos? Feeder are kind of the same thing, just with less of an edge and with much less volume at some parts. They're just an average rock band at heart, but they like to make some very very top-class tunes, and that's why I like them.
#5: Stereophonics
Why is it that nobody I find ever listens to these guys any more? Well, at least not on last.fm. The way I see it, they're still as awesome as they were eight years ago. Maybe people have finally fallen prey to the naysayer music critics who say that the Stereophonics are mediocre. They're all wrong.
#4: Blur
These were one of the turningpoint bands in my music journey. Without Blur, I wouldn't have discovered some/most of the music I listen to nowadays, in the way that I wouldn't have found alternative and rock. They were a stepping stone, if you will. But they are a magnificent band in every sense of the word, they're one of the most influential artists in the world, and they kick the living crap out of every single thing Oasis have ever ever done. Blur are the superior band, and in the crowded Britpop scene, they kept upping the bar and showing them how to make some awesome tunez! And more people listened to the sounds of Liam Gallagher's monotone drone and his cockiness and his feeling that he is on top of the world and whatever. Blur are better. Eeeenough said.
#3: Ash
Well, Ash were the big turningpoint. Without Ash, I wouldn't have started listening to all the bands on this list and the other twenty or thirty that also feature on my top artists list somewhere (honorable mentions to Idlewild, Snow Patrol, Weezer, and The Smashing Pumpkins) and weirdly, I found them through the media that this site is based around - the games. I found Ash from their song 'Clones' that features in Star Wars Republic Commando, which actually turned out to be quite average compared to some of Ash's other material.
#2: Muse
RADIOHEAD COPYCATS! That's what I hear from every ****ing critic on the face of this earth. Well, most of them anyway. Muse may sound a bit like Radiohead in parts, yes. But Muse are a bit more over-the-top, a bit more ridiculously overblown, a bit more kickass, whereas Radiohead are mellower, more experimental, and like to try new things while simultaneously retaining their awesomely tender formula that they put into the majority of their earlier material. Quite a mouthful. Muse rock, end of story, and they're unique. They are a love-hate scene - you either adore them or you hate them. I'm the former, thank you very much,
#1: Radiohead
Yup. I started listening to Radiohead a little bit earlier this year, and I liked it - The Bends namely. Then I befriended nodham, who told me to get everything else Radiohead have ever done. I can't thank him enough. For Radiohead, quite simply, are an outstanding band. They bring something new to the table with every passing album. They bring something interesting to the table with every passing album. They have not made a bad record to date, and I don't think they ever will - even the early demos of their new material sound incredible. They never stop pouring effort into their work.
They may sound a bit like "they try too hard" for some people. That's mainly because their sound is multilayered and complex. But no, I have never thought that they tried too hard. My friend, the people who try too hard are called My Chemical Romance and they sound ridiculous in a derogatory and horrible way. Radiohead use conventional and unconventional instrumentation, time signatures, vocal work, effects, and pretty much everything else, and they just work. They have one of the most creative and outstanding songwriters and vocalists in the world, Thom Yorke. They have open minds. They're just all around nice guys with a huge talent behind them. They're quite simply magic. They helped me get through the worst time of my life. And now this is getting cheesy, so I'll just say that Radiohead are complete utter genii. I cannot WAIT to see what they bring to the table in their next album. (probably something new and interesting.)
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So that's that. Sorry it ended up a bit longwinded - but there's the first blog of 2007 from me up there. Maybe I'll even do a Top 10 most listened albums list tomorrow... nah, just kidding. I wouldn't want your eyes to get sore from reading.
- oh yeah, thanks for the GHII review recommendations. You rock! as the end-of-song message says. :P
- still playing Starcraft. love it.
- i hate the attitudes of those ignorant people who have never heard of a band I was talking about and say that "good bands get noticed. so *insert band here* can't be good, cos we've never heard of them."
- ciao.