Last.fm reveals top 40 artists of 2009 (part 1/3)

Last.fm created a list presenting top 40 of hottest new music based on users’ scrobbles. It is revealed in parts, here are positions 40-21 with a number of tracks scrobbled by me this year (so far):

40. Little Boots (146)
39. Florence + The Machine (45)
38. Kasabian (0)
37. Regina Spektor (6)
36. The Fray (not in my library)
37. Metric (not in my library)
34. The XX (not in my library)
33. Eminem (not in my library)
32. Fever Ray (58)
31. Depeche Mode (11)
30. U2 (not in my library)
29. Guns N’ Roses (not in my library)
28. Nickelback (not in my library)
27. The All-American Rejects (not in my library)
26. Bat For Lashes (99)
25. Passion Pit (not in my library)
24. Röyksopp (145)
23. A Day To Remember (not in my library)
22. Arctic Monkeys (not in my library)
21. Grizzly Bear (not in my library – I’ve listened to them on iPod, though!)

I find this ranking really reasonable and I can’t wait for the next part that will be out on Wednesday. I wonder where will be artists such as Imogen Heap, Lily Allen, Basement Jaxx. I’m sure that Lady Gaga will be really high, but on the other hand she’s released The Fame in 2008, so maybe they don’t take her under consireadtion…

If you have a minute, please share your number of scrobbled tracks – it’s all available for you when you will flick through the full article on Last.fm while being logged in.

RÖYKSOPP

Were you ever wanted?

Recently I discovered Japanese bonus track for Röyksopp’s Junior. ‘Were you ever wanted?’ is actually one the best tracks from the album and I can’t understand why they decided to give this as a bonus and poor ‘Happy Up Here’  as a leading single… Japanese people get so many good tracks, there is always super fancy edition of every album there…

Lykke Li sounds great on this cold raw tune, doesn’t she?

Grammy nominations

Is anyone excited about 52nd Grammy Awards? Personally, I don’t find them that interesting, but I know they are a big deal in music industry. Just in case you’re not that willing to go through all nominees from 109 categories of Grammy Awards, I will let you know about the most exciting ones in a second.

Lights go down

Just a little poor excuse for not writing for such a long time: studying! I enjoy it, though. The Video Production module especially! I still have loads to do as I’m working with my group on press conference that will take place in a week and a half, so I’m here just to post a couple of new music videos you may enjoy. I have quite a few drafts of nice posts (at least I find them interesting), but I can’t find time to finish them… Hopefully, I will find some time just after I’m done with this conference. No worries, this blog is here to stay!

Basement Jaxx
My turn

Have Jaxxes ever made a poor music video? If they did, I must have missed it – let me know about it, please. I absolutely love this one, it’s so cosy! Simple, colourful, and engrossing. And funny – maybe not in a way that you burst with laughter, but I’m sure you’ll smile a bit (at least inside) while watching it.

Keep an eye on Tomek Ducki who directed that music video, he’s a really talented guy. His videos on his vimeo profile are worth looking at, just give it a shot – click here (I highly recommend ‘Life Line – Életvonal’ – a short movie with touching story and great visuals).

Finally, the song. Brilliant. That’s why I love Basement Jaxx: there is something special about each and every of their songs. No exception here. Irresistably catchy melody, killer beat, and most importantly – soul. Perfection.

Lily Allen
Who’d have known

Lily and Greg Kurstin created an amazing album this year, here’s just another single to prove that. Good concept for a music video; I really liked it, even though not much was happening in there.
I  hope Lily wasn’t serious about quitting the music industry! Who’d be voice of our generation then?

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And just to combine the artists above, here’s another perfect song by Basement Jaxx that features Lily Allen on  backing vocals (just listen carefully and you can hear her):

Ish Value

There are artists that over the years lose distinction between shaping their original sound and being repetitive, like Röyksopp, and there are artists that copy their own ideas shamelessly all over again and get away with that, like Timbaland.

Timbo is gonna release Shock Value 2 in a month and the lead single was just released. ‘Morning After Dark’ features Timaland himself and some oh-so-boring new artist SoShy from Timbaland’s label.

Timbo says the song is

“very interesting. The song, I can’t describe it, it’s so different. It’s not different for me, but I can tell you this — it fits everything going on with the vampire theme.“

I say it sounds not different at all; it sounds exactly like everything else he has done over last few years. Come on, it’s ish! Really ishy ish I shall say.

The worst thing is that once the album comes out, Timbo is going to be everywhere again. People, wake up! He’s so four years ago! Just to make things clear: I really appreciate his old work with Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and more recently – Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. I just can’t stand how he’s stuck on repeat and people are still so excited about him. And maybe I’m wrong but I’ve got a feeling the whole album is gonna be just as I’ve-heard-it-all-before as this single.

Blah.

Find three differences

Read more for the answers.

Short history of a dress on that cover

Scroll to 2:17 in the clip below:

For more amazing fashion shows visit Victor & Rolf official website – I discovered them thanks to Róisín and I’m absolutely impressed! Fashion has never made me feel this way. When you visit their website just go upstairs…

Róisín returns and so do I

Róisín Murphy performing at Victor & Rolf spring/summer 2010 show

Hello everyone! I wanted to return for the new season with some big news and now it’s the time. Róisín Murphy performed a couple of new songs at Victor & Rolf spring/summer 2010 show and they are killers! Instantly, I got so excited about the new album that I could hardly fall asleep that night. Seriously! I’ve got some clips from the show and two another songs from her set at Burlectric, and there is a sleek download for you too, so keep on reading.

By the way, a few days ago – on 5th October to be precise – this blog turned 1 year old! Now let’s celebrate it by listening to Róisín’s new stuff…

Just a lil’ lovin’ early in the morning

This song by Outlines made my day. Actually, I should put it the other way: my today’s morning is described in this song’s lyrics, so it made me think about the song and as a result I ended up listening to it on repeat. And since it’s a really nice tune, here I am sharing these good vibes with you.

Listen to ‘Ellipse’ now!

The time has come! Imogen Heap doesn’t know the limits of generosity and she lets us listen to her new album Ellipse in full a week before the release date! Just click on the picture to get to the player and enjoy divine sounds she has created and her breathtaking vocals.

I’ve listened to the album I guess four times so far and I’ve fallen in love with it instantly! The fact that I have already found the album personal before I actually heard it might have an influence on that, but I can’t help it that I feel like if I’ve been involved in the process of making the album by watching Immi’s vBlogs and following her tweets for two years…

I’m going to wait with reviewing the album until I get my very own deluxe edition of Ellipse, but I can say it’s a masterpiece right now.