日志

IZIA, Wu-Tang Clan, Suprême NTM, Assassin, Nirvana, IAM, Bob Marley & The Wailers, La Spirale, Django Reinhardt, Squarepusher, The Prodigy, Necro, Ill Bill, Cypress Hill, Craig Armstrong, Heather Nova, La Coka Nostra, Scala & Kolacny Brothers, Keny Arkana, Bérurier Noir, Birdy Nam Nam, System of a Down, dead prez, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, Alpha & Omega, House of Pain, Seth Gueko, Aphex Twin, Profecy, DJ Krush, Prefuse 73, R.A. the Rugged Man, Rage Against the Machine, Laurent Garnier, Dead Can Dance, Kool Keith, High Tone, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Erik Truffaz, Portishead, Wax Poetic, Johnny Cash, Foreign Beggars, Lady Sovereign, Sinéad O'Connor, Vitalic, Radikal Dub Kolektiv, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jan Garbarek, Svinkels, Love Spirals Downwards, KRS-One, Dave Clarke, DJ Cam, The Doors, Clint Mansell, Lisa Gerrard, Fat Jon, Les Gourmets, The Beatles, Johannes Heil, KoЯn, Sleater-Kinney, Wax Tailor, B-Real, J Dilla, Filastine, Two Fingers, Asian Dub Foundation, Eminem, Jefferson Airplane, Autumn's Grey Solace, Gym Class Heroes, Shpongle, Herbie Hancock, Radiohead, Rockin' Squat, Mike Patton, Björk, Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Waldeck, Millencolin, Massive Attack, This Ascension, Lordz of Brooklyn, Ensemble Badila, Snoop Dogg, The Problemaddicts, Dub Syndicate, Groundation, Wolf Myer Orchestra, Beth Orton, Oh No, Edward "Kid" Ory, The Offspring, Venetian Snares, Alexander Kowalski, Rageous Gratoons, Noir Désir, Ben Harper, Nas, Ideal J, Verbose, Micropoint, The Black Seeds, Metallica, General Elektriks, Buraka Som Sistema, The Chemical Brothers, Thom Yorke, Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke, Ayọ, EZ3kiel, Amon Tobin, Mano Negra, King of Conspiracy, Bob Marley, Moondog, 25G, Jimi Hendrix, Bauchklang, Moderat, Sigur Rós, DJ Muggs & Planet Asia, Louis Armstrong, Son Doobie, Tryo, Kronos Quartet, Iration Steppas, Looptroop, Mysa, Nine Inch Nails, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Olympic Gramofon, Leftfield, Fairy, Joy Division, 2Pac, Peace Orchestra, Eek-A-Mouse, Snowgoons, Heiko Laux, The Temptations, Le Trio Joubran, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Guru, Flunk, Earl Hines, Erykah Badu, Burning Spear, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Oi Va Voi, 80kidz, Infected Mushroom, Animal Collective, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, NOMAK, Year of No Light, Horace Andy, The Cinematic Orchestra, Red Snapper, Nneka, Leila, NOFX, Lucky Thompson, Cal Tjader, Le Klub des 7, Jeff Buckley, Manu Chao, Wagon Christ, Drummers of the Societe Absolument Guinin, Barney Wilen, Ol' Dirty Bastard, UNKLE, Erik Truffaz & Sly Johnson, The Blue Stars, Underworld, Shurik'N, Arsonists, Madeleine Peyroux, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Nostalgia 77, Terry Callier, Medine, Fingathing, Big Daddy Kane, Macka B, Keith Jarrett Trio, Iration Steppas Meet D. Rootical, De La Soul, Chali 2na, Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters, John Coltrane, DJ Food, Sergent Garcia, Rockamovya, Antonio Vivaldi, Notorious B.I.G., Sidney Bechet et Claude Luter, Tracy Chapman, Angélique Kidjo, EPMD, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, St. Germain, Daft Punk, Fat Freddy's Drop, Fatboy Slim, Johnny Clarke, RJD2, René Thomas, Soul Assassins, Deftones, Kaophonic Tribu, Linkin Park, The Skatalites, Muse, Belleruche, Sunflower Caravan, Les Reines Prochaines, DJ Shadow, Mass Hysteria, múm, Кочани Оркестар, Israel Vibration, Jurassic 5, Gelka, Lionel Hampton, Lost in Hildurness, Hilight Tribe, Shadow Dancer, Elek Bacsik, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Tânia Ârab, Troublemakers, William Orbit, Plastikman, The Specials, CunninLynguists, dead prez & DJ Green Lantern, Mansfield.TYA, Thievery Corporation, Raphael Saadiq, Smooth, Kery James, DJ Muggs vs. GZA/Genius, Love Is Colder Than Death, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, YAS, Chet Baker, Pendulum, Claude Bolling, Hubert Rostaing, Georges Brassens, Refractory, Scarface, Bill Coleman, Funkdoobiest, Telefon Tel Aviv, Lightning Bolt, Morcheeba, DJ Mitsu The Beats, Tricky, Hafdís Huld, Sidsel Endresen & Christian Wallumrød & Helge Sten, Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, Akhenaton, Alif Tree, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Maurice Meunier, TAT, Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald, Stéphane Grappelli, Black Uhuru, Kid Loco, Common, Ellen Allien, Roots Manuva, Joris Voorn, Method Man, Jah'licious, Hux Flux, Toots Thielemans, Blockhead, Rokia Traoré, Max Romeo, Cœur de Pirate, Method Man & Redman, RND, Volta & FX909, Venetian Snares & Speedranch, The Rolling Stones, BHASS Project, Orchestre National de Jazz, Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Michel Legrand, Sayag Jazz Machine, Emilie Simon, Late Night Fruit, Buddy Banks, Pan•American, Booba, DJ Muggs vs. Planet Asia, The Kumba Mela Experiment, Jeff Mills, Ulytau, ZAMAN 8 & Hafez Modir, Ematom, Harmonic 313, Freestylers, The Gladiators, Control Machete, The Bush Chemists, Twista, Orange Street, The Roots, Michael Jackson, Los Hermanos, Dub Incorporation, RZA, The Ananda Shankar Experience and State of Bengal, Da Taz, Thelonious Monk, Limp Bizkit, Mr. Oizo, 雅-miyavi-, Ella Fitzgerald, Sex Pistols, AC/DC, Minty Fresh Beats, Gus Gus, Gideon, Themselves, Parabellum, K2R Riddim, Easy Star All-Stars, Rhythm & Sound, The Toraia Orchestra Of Algiers, Lee "Scratch" Perry & King Tubby, Keziah Jones, Ataraxia, TTC, Immortal Technique, Coldcut, A Tribe Called Quest, Lali Puna, Rhoda Scott & Kenny Clarke, Iron Maiden, Dizzy Gillespie, Pierre Michelot, Umek, Miles Davis, Gang Starr, DJ Muggs, Orbital, OutKast, Anthony Rother, Donald Byrd Quintet, Diego, Igorrr, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, Dream Theater, Anoushka Shankar, Sonny Criss, The Smashing Pumpkins, K's Choice, Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor, The Herbaliser, Blakroc, Lenny Kravitz, Cujo, Cosma, Killarmy, Big Punisher, Jamiroquai, Charles Mingus, Missak, Burial, Bernard Peiffer and his Saint-Germain-des-Prés Orchestra, Albert Nicholas, Édith Piaf, Mix Master Mike, Maceo Parker, Rae & Christian, Steel Pulse, Hocus Pocus, Opeth, Dee Nasty, Tom Waits, DJ Fresh, Manu le Malin, Khoiba, Animaltek, Peter Tosh, Steppenwolf, Alter Ego, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Boards of Canada, Red Hot Chili Peppers9, Bernard Zacharias et ses solistes, Ill Bill & Necro, Sublime, Crystal Distortion, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, GZA/Genius, Salmonella Dub, Harold Nicholas et son Orchestre, Grems, Missy Elliott, Sammy Price & Lucky Thompson, The Herbaliser Band, Ghostface Killah, Cranes, Slaine, Necro & Ill Bill, Lars Klein, Outlines, Saïan Supa Crew, John Dahlbäck, Junior Murvin, Delinquent Habits, Dubians, Arom & Gourmets Beatclub, Afu-Ra, Slide Hampton, Agoria, 2Pac & The Outlawz, Archive, The Alchemist, Somogo, Toots and The Maytals, Philip Glass, Ray Charles, Sia, Marcel et son Orchestre, Trust, Aretha Franklin, Sinsemilia, Public Enemy, Buck Clayton, James Brown, Zenzile & High Tone, The Streets, Adam F, Oscar Peterson, The Abyssinians, Improvisators Dub, Yuksek, Alanis Morissette, Alici, Cake, Up, Bustle and Out, Art Blakey, Scan X, DMX, Etikal Lab, Lady B, Keith Jarrett, David Carretta, Cocteau Twins, Lhasa de Sela, Jacques Brel, Charlie Singleton, Dimitri from Paris, Bonobo, Emmanuel Top, CéU, Kosheen, Jungle Brothers, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Nada Surf, Cercle Rouge, Monolake, Marilyn Manson, Rachid Taha, Alain Goraguer, Dub Pistols, Jimmy Archey, Pat Metheny, Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, Jimmy Riley, Wailing Souls, Taigaz, Air, Triston Palmer, Donald Byrd, Promoe, Ice Cube, Gang Gang Dance, Barbara Morgenstern, Technasia, Dubmood, Josh Wink, Eddy Louiss, Africa Combo & Bugge Wesseltoft.

renegadesteve2's top albums (overall) 1. The Smiths - The Very Best of the Smiths (153) 2. Deconstruction - Deconstruction (146) 3. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (134) 4. Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun (128) 5. John Frusciante - Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt (114) 6. Morrissey - Bona Drag (114) 7. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (112) 8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk (111) 9. Hole - Live Through This (110) 10. Joy Division - The Best Of Joy Division (109) 11. Wiley - Treddin' on Thin Ice (108) 12. Primus - Pork Soda (106) 13. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (104) 14. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die (102) 15. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing.... (102) 16. The Smiths - The Smiths (102) 17. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (101) 18. Tool - Ænima (98) 19. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (97) 20. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (97) 21. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (96) 22. Sublime - Sublime (95) 23. The Beatles - Revolver (94) 24. Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising (93) 25. Nas - Illmatic (90) 26. The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray (88) 27. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (88) 28. Pixies - Doolittle (87) 29. Ol' Dirty Bastard - The Definitive Ol' Dirty Bastard Story (87) 30. Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun (86) 31. The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (85) 32. The Breeders - Last Splash (85) 33. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (84) 34. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (84) 35. The Streets - Original Pirate Material (83) 36. Wiley - Race Against Time (83) 37. MF DOOM - Metalfingers Presents: Special Herbs, The Box Set Vol. 0-9 (80) 38. OutKast - Stankonia (79) 39. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted/Kill At Will [EP] (76) 40. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda (76) 41. Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff (75) 42. Pink Floyd - The Wall [Disc 1] (72) 43. Madvillainy - Madvillainy (71) 44. Tricky - Nearly God (69) 45. Lil Wayne - No Ceilings (69) 46. Portishead - Dummy (68) 47. Tori Amos - Boys for Pele (68) 48. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (67) 49. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (67) 50. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (66)

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Armin van BuurenPaul van DykOrbitalArt of TranceTiestoDarren TateSlackerJuno ReactorKraftwerkApoptygma BerzerkNobuo UematsuAbove & BeyondProdigyEat StaticMelotronATBChemical BrothersDaft PunkCrystal MethodLeftfieldMint RoyaleUnderworldRobert MilesLemon JellyAmon TobinFerry CorstenEnigmaAirDeleriumFaithlessFlukeJean Michel JarreJohan GielenJunkie XLMike KoglinMoogwaiQuietmanTerra FermaPobroyksoppUlrich SchnaussWagon ChristPlump DJsAlien FactoryAntiloopBTFatboy SlimRoger SanchezJohn '00' FlemingMoby2 UnlimitedUberzoneUtah SaintsScooterScatman JohnUrban Cookie CollectiveCulture BeatHaddawayN-TranceGigi D'AgostinoDarudeIan Van DahlDuneAce of BaseWhigfield4 StringsArmand van HeldenSafri DuoEric PrydzC + C Music FactoryJam & SpoonRank 1QuicksilverEiffel 65System FBob SinclairDream FrequencyThe ShamenN-JoiUrban ShakedownAwesome 3The House CrewRattyCartoucheZero BDj TiestoMarco VMarkus SchulzBlank & JonesGabriel & DresdenOceanLabCosmic GateSolar StoneGouryellaAndainThe ThrillseekersRonski SpeedAirwaveAirbaseMarcel WoodsSignumMotorcycleMauro PicottoPushPaul OakenfoldRandy KatanaNu NRGCapetownSander van DoornDeep DishSean TyasDaniel KandiMenno de JongLangeBinary FinaryFilo & PeriKai TracidChicaneJan JohnstonBasement JaxxGoldfrappAphex TwinPropellerheadsApollo 440UNKLETimo MaasThe Future Sound of LondonCassiusHybridThe OrbThe KLF

So I decided to reset my charts... again (after about 23,000 scrobbles). Here are my top artists and albums from early January up until late November. It seems I can't go more than 25k scrobbles without resetting... I would probably have over 100,000 scrobbles if I never reset my charts (combined with my scrobbles from my old account).


1. Steve Roach- 504
2. Boards of Canada- 490
3. Agalloch- 377
4. maudlin of the Well- 343
5. Autechre- 324

6. Mayhem- 273
7. Bethlehem- 269
8. The Prodigy- 259
9. Organized Konfusion- 256
9. Tiesto- 256
9. Aphex Twin- 256
12. Stars of the Lid- 233
13. OutKast- 227
14. Enslaved- 202
15. Slowdive- 198
16. Global Communication- 183
17. Stendeck- 181
18. Gorguts- 179
18. Drudkh- 179
20. Sun Kil Moon- 177

21. Bjork- 174
22. Burzum- 168
23. Hypocrisy- 167
24. Emperor- 166
25. Biosphere- 163
26. J-Live- 160
27. Cannibal Ox- 157
28. Harold Budd- 156
29. Warning- 155
30. Have a Nice Life- 152
31. Bathory- 147
31. Isis- 147
33. Robert Rich- 145
34. Deepspace- 143
35. Tool- 142
36. Low-140
37. The Cure- 136
38. Darkthrone- 134
39. Venerean- 127
40. Katatonia- 124
40. Air Liquide- 124
42. Cryptopsy- 122
43. The Future Sound of London- 120
43. The Smashing Pumpkins- 120
45. dälek- 119
46. Wolves in the Throne Room- 117
47. Death- 115
47. Squarepusher- 115
49. diSEMBOWELMENT- 114
50. Red House Painters- 112

51. Thomas Köner-107
52. Jesu- 106
52. Atheist- 106
54. Nine Inch Nails- 105
55. Above & Beyond- 104
56. Ulrich Schnauss- 101
57. Devin Townsend- 100
58. Tenhi- 97
58. CunninLynguists- 97
60. Edge of Sanity- 96
61. Eluvium- 94
61. Jóhann Jóhannsson- 94
61. Tiamat- 94
61. Amorphis- 94
61. Lykathea Aflame- 94
61. The Orb- 94
67. Walknut- 93
68. Opeth- 92
68. DJ Shadow- 92
68. Pestilence- 92
68. Negură Bunget- 92
72. Jeru the Damaja- 91
72. Nas- 91
72. Shining- 91
72. Aesop Rock- 91
76. In the Woods...- 90
77. Harold Budd/Brian Eno- 88
78. Smif-N-Wessun- 86
79. Natural Snow Buildings- 81
80. Arcticology- 80
80. Proem- 80
82. Deep Puddle Dynamics- 79
83. Jedi Mind Tricks- 76
83. Ulver- 76
85. Neurosis- 75
86. Dereleech- 74
86. Lifelover- 74
86. Boris- 74
89. Morbid Angel- 73
90. In Flames- 71
90. Radiohead- 71
92. Antonio Vivaldi- 70
93. M83- 69
93. Carbon Based Lifeforms- 69
95. The Flaming Lips- 68
95. Depeche Mode- 68
95. Satyricon- 68
98. Weakling- 66
98. Wu-Tang Clan- 66
100. The Marcia Blaine School for Girls- 65
101. Genelec & Memphis Reigns- 64
102. Fen- 63
102. Blut aus Nord- 63
104. Dolorian 62
104. Elliot Smith- 62
104. Nadja- 62

Albums
1. Boards of Canada- Geogaddi- 283
2. The Prodigy- Music for the Jilted Generation- 251
3. Bethlehem- Sardonischer Untergang Im Zeichen Irrelioser- 249
4. Agalloch- The Mantle- 246
5. Steve Roach- Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces- 243
6. Organized Konfusion- Stress: The Extinction Agenda- 240
7. maudlin of the Well- Leaving Your Body Map- 227
8. Slowdive- Souvlaki- 192
9. Global Communication- 76:14- 166
10. Stendeck- Faces- 162

11. Stars of the Lid- The Tired Sounds of...- 159
12. Sun Kil Moon- April- 157
12. Cannibal Ox- The Cold Vein- 157
14. Warning- Watching From a Distance- 149
15. Bjork- Vespertine- 139
16. Mayhem- De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas- 136
17. OutKast- ATLiens- 120
18. Gorguts- The Erosion of Sanity- 118
19. diSEMBOWELMENT- Transcendence Into the Peripheral- 111
19. Mayhem- Wolf's Lair Abyss- 111
19. Autechre- Amber- 111
22. The Future Sound of London- Lifeforms Disk 1- 109
23. Steve Roach- Dreamtime Return- 107
24. Biosphere- Substrata- 103
25. Harold Budd- The White Arcades- 101

26. Red House Painters- Red House Painters [Rollercoaster]- 100
27. J-Live- The Best Part- 97
27. Tool- Lateralus- 97
29. Air Liquide- The Increased Difficulty of Concentration- 96
30. Ulrich Schnauss- Far Away Trains Passing By- 95
30. Low- I Could Live in Hope- 95
32. Lykathea Aflame- Elvenefris- 94
32. Eluvium- Copia- 94
34. Walknut- Graveforests And Their Shadows- 93
34. dälek- Absence- 93
36. Tiamat- Wildhoney- 92
36. DJ Shadow- Endtroducing...- 92
38. Hypocrisy- The Final Chapter- 91
38. Boards of Canada- Music Has the Right to Children- 91
40. Emperor- Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk- 89
40. Jeru the Damaja- The Sun Rises in the East- 89
42. Enslaved- Below the Lights- 88
42. Nas- Illmatic- 88
44. Tiesto- Magik, Vol. 7: Live in Los Angeles- 87
45. Bathory- Under the Sign of the Black Mark- 84
46. maudlin of the Well- Bath- 83
47. Negură Bunget- Om- 82
48. In the Woods...- HEart of the Ages- 81
49. Deep Puddle Dynamics- The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel- 79
49. Aphex Twin- Drukqs Disk 1- 79

51. Atheist- Unquestionable Presence- 77
51. Deepspace- World Ocean Atlas- 77
51. Smif-N-Wessun- Dah Shinin'- 77
54. Jedi Mind Tricks- Violent By Design- 76
55. Tenhi- Kauan- 75
56. Johann Johannsson- Fordlandia- 74
57. Have a Nice Life- Deathconsciousness- 73
57. Agalloch- Ashes Against the Grain- 73
59. CunninLynguists- Strange Journey Volume One- 70
60. Death- Human- 68
60. Natural Snow Buildings- The Dance of the Moon and the Sun- 68
62. Pestilence- Testimony of the Ancients- 67
63. Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)- 66
63. Weakling- Dead as Dreams- 66
65. Amorphis- Tales From the Thousand Lakes- 65
65. Thomas Koner- Nuuk- 65
65. M83- Saturdays=Youth- 65
65. Drudkh- Autumn Aurora- 64
69. Genelec & Memphis Reigns – Scorpion Circles- 64
69. Devin Townsend- Ocean Machine- 64
71. Fen- The Malediction Fields- 63
71. The Orb- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld Disk 1- 63
73. Have a Nice Life- Voids- 62
74. Burzum- Filosofem- 61
75. Drudkh- Forgotten Legends- 60
75. Arcticology- Eternal Now- 60
75. J-Live- All Of The Above- 60
79. Cryptopsy- Blasphemy Made Flesh- 59
79. The Marcia Blaine School for Girls – Halfway Into The Woods- 59
81. Sodom- Persecution Mania- 58
82. GZA/Genius- Liquid Swords- 57
82. The Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere- Polar Sequences- 57
82. Isis- Wavering Radiant- 57
82. Lifelover- Konkurs- 57
86. Stars of the Lid- Avec Laudenum- 56
87. Proem- Socially Inept- 55
87. Burzum- Det Som Engang Var- 55
87. OutKast- Aquemini- 55
87. Edge of Sanity- Purgatory Afterglow- 55
87. Elliot Smith- Either/Or- 55
93. Isis- Oceanic- 54
93. Jesu- Jesu- 54
95. The Cure- Pornography- 53
95. ColdWorld- Melancholie- 53
95. Terrorizer- World Downfall- 53
98. Enslaved- Blodhemn- 52
98. Massive Attack- Mezzanine- 52
98. Aphex Twin- 52
101. October Tide- Rain Without End- 51
101. Carbon Based Lifeforms- Hydroponic Garden- 51
103. Depeche Mode- Black Celebration- 51
103. Wolves in the Throne Room- 51
103. Robert Rich- Calling Down the Sky- 51
103. Darkthrone- A Blaze in the Northern Sky- 51

My TOP 30 albums. No further explainations needed. Comments in German.

gedankenhaufen's top albums (overall)
1.
Aphex Twin - Drukqs (111)

Seit ein paar Monaten höre ich Aphex Twin nicht mehr, was eigentlich eher nichtssagende Gründe hat: Ich kenne jedes seiner Lieder auswendig etc.
2.
The Conet Project - The Conet Project (106)

Nummernsender und Shortwave Oddities auf vier CDs. Keine Musik, aber auch kein Krach. Eher seltsame Klänge, die man findet und die man liebt.
3.
Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album (66)

4.
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do (44)

5.
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works II (31)

Das ist immer noch das Meisterwerk des Ambient. 1994 als Doppel-CD mit 24 unbenannten Liedern veröffentlicht, hat es mir nachts schon so viele Alpträume bereitet, dass ich es nie mehr missen will. Schade, dass die besten Tracks des Albums (Stone in Focus und Hankie) nur auf Vinyl veröffentlicht wurden.
6.
Broadcast and The Focus Group - Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age (29)

Großartige Collage aus Avantgarde-Rock, Elektro und zig milliarden Samples. Und darüber eine schwebende Stimme, die über seltsame Dinge singt. Toll.
7.
Set Fire to Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder (28)

Set Fire To Flames, haben in ihrer Geschichte zwei Alben veröffentlicht. Dieses Debütalbum, 2001, hat es in sich. Straßenklänge, vorbeifahrende Krankenwagen, Drones und Krach und dazwischen herzerweichender Post-Rock. Himmlisch, seltsam, manchmal unheimlich. Auf jeden Fall nicht greifbar.
8.
Die Goldenen Zitronen - Die Entstehung Der Nacht (28)

Wer sagt, dass deutsche Musik schlecht sein soll? Die Zitronen aus Hamburg liefern seit ca. 1992 großartige Musik mit feinen, politisch-abstrakten Texten und Beobachtungen. Kann man nur lieben eigentlich.
9.
Einstürzende Neubauten - Ende Neu (25)

Auch deutsch, auch großartig. Die Neubauten haben's 1996 mal wieder voll drauf ankommen lassen. Mit krachendem, lautem Gebrüll ("Was ist ist") und leisen, wunderschönen Liedern ("Stella Maris", "The Garden"). Bilinguale Platten können funktionieren.
10.
PeterLicht - Lieder vom Ende des Kapitalismus (24)

Na, dann werden wa eben siegen! PeterLicht singt vom getöteten Kapitalismus, von Wettkämpfen im Entspannen und sonstigen Seltsamheiten. Wer sich schneller entspannt, ist besser als jemand, der sich nicht so schnell entspannt, welcher aber immer noch besser ist, als jemand, der überhaupt nicht entspannt ist und -verdientermaßen, verdientermaßen- unentspannt ist.
11.
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (24)

Nachts im Radio bei 1live Fiehe gehört, und zwar einen Tag, bevor es ins Ferienlager in Italien ging. Dabei immer dieses Album rauf und runter. Alternative Folk geht sehr gut mit Sommer, Sonne und Strand zusammen. Eid ma clak shaw.
12.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven! (22)

Die Offenbarung. Die Liebe meines Lebens. Nur nicht auf Platz 1, weil das Album nur aus vier Titeln besteht, welche aber allesamt länger als 20 Minuten sind. Samples, Drones und Klänge, und durchgängig der beste Post-Rock, der je geschrieben wurde und wohl je geschrieben wird. Es kommt keine Band an Godspeed ran. Keine.
13.
The Books - Lost and Safe (20)

Super Band, super Album. Leider lässt sich ihre Musik kaum beschreiben. Folktronica? Sampled Music? Aleatoric? Keine Ahnung.
14.
Broadcast - Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (19)

15.
A Silver Mt. Zion - Horses in the Sky (19)

Sideproject von Gy!BE, mindestens genauso schön und zeigt, dass Efrim Menuck auch singen kann. Zynische, politische Lieder. Zum Weinen schöne Kanons. Glockenspiel, oh, Glockenspiel, how I missed thee.
16.
Terre Thaemlitz - Soil (18)

1996 war es, als Terre Thaemlitz, Gender-Aktivist und Glitch-Hedonist, mit diesem Album den politischen Ambient erschuf. Unheimliche Klangstrukturen wölben sich ins Gedächtnis, mit subtil verwobenen Aufnahmen über häusliche Gewalt, Globalisierung und Medialisierung des eigentlich Banalen. Große Kunst, große Freude. Thaemlitz verlegte später auf Mille Plateux, dem "Lieblingslabel aller damaligen, strukturalistischen, Glitch-Hedonisten" (spex).
17.
Fennesz - Hotel Paral.lel (18)

So viel Krach, so viel Wiederholung, so viel obskure Schönheit. Wenn das Computer-Geknarze anfängt, setze ich mich mit Popcorn vor den Bildschirm und beobachte die Winamp-Visualisierungen, die angesichts dieser Klänge verständlicherweise kapitulieren müssen. Auch, wenn Lieder wie "aus" wunderschön sind.
18.
PeterLicht - Vierzehn Lieder (18)

Die Schwerkraft ist überbewertet, man braucht sie doch gar nicht, wie man ja wohl im Weltraum sieht. Und die Sonne kocht auch nur mit Wasser. Die soll sich nicht so aufspielen, die gelbe Sau! Und der Himalaya, der alte Arsch, da kann ich mich auch drüber aufregen. Oder der Kölner Dom, da kann ich mich auch drüber aufregen. So'n Hals habe ich über den! So'n Hals!
19.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In The Light (17)

Ein gruselig aussehender Mann schnappt sich seine Gitarre, sein Notizbuch und macht ein wunderschönes Folk-Album mit wenig Abwechslung. Die würde der Musik aber auch nicht gut tun.
20.
Aphex Twin - On Ep (16)

21.
Mouse on Mars - Idiology (16)

Orchester, Krach, Elektronisches. Mouse On Mars verbindet Klassik-Elektro und Experimentelles zu einer seltsamen Melange. Informatikbefehle und Erdbeereis.
22.
Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (16)

Anschalten, träumen, fürchten, Ehrfurcht. BoC bleiben die Altmeister. Das ist ok so.
23.
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Vrioon (15)

Skizzen für skelettiertes Klavier. Mit heißer Nadel zersetzt Alva Noto die wunderschönen Piano-Sequenzen, fügt und klittet sie neu zusammen. Alles klingt neutral, sachlich, leer und wunderschön künstlich. Ein Album für die Nacht.
24.
Mouse on Mars - Niun Niggung (14)

25.
Daniel Johnston - Hi, How Are You (13)

1983 schnappt sich der bei McDonalds arbeitende Daniel Johnston ein schlechtes Aufnahmegerät, seine verstimmte Gitarre und macht in seiner Kellerwohnung unglaublich authentische Lieder, die ohne jedes Mastering vom 4-Band-Rekorder auf Tape gebrannt werden. Johnston verbreitet sie, indem er die Tapes in die Mc-Donalds-Bestellungen hinzutut. 1992 trägt Kurt Cobain ein Daniel-Johnston-T-Shirt mit dem Hi,how are you-Cover bei den VMA's und Johnston, welcher psychisch labil und manisch-depressiv ist, wird weltberühmt. Johnston lebt immer noch bei seinen Eltern und wird bei jedem seiner seltenen Konzerte von seinem Bruder dazu motiviert, wirklich auf die Bühne zu gehen. Kurze, intime Lieder voller rauer Schönheit, aufgenommen mit einem kaputten Kassettenrekorder.
26.
Die Goldenen Zitronen - Lenin (13)

27.
The Books - Thought for Food (12)

28.
Aphex Twin - Classics (12)

29.
A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms... (47:06) (12)

Wer bei "13 Angels standing Guard 'round your bed" nicht fast weinen muss, hat kein Herz. Kammermusik für Post-Rocker. Tribut-Album für Efrim Menuck's Hund Wanda, der 2000 bei einer Gy!BE-Tour an Krebs starb.
30.
Set Fire to Flames - Telegraphs In Negative/Mouths Trapped In Static [cd1] (12)

Just one more month to go after this, then my ludicrous monthly assignments can finally calm down... I don't mind listening to all of this music, but writing, linking and tagging all of this stuff can be very tiresome. Still, November's been a good month thus far, but before I get started... X Factor, despite not having any really good contestants this year (Stacey is adorable but not strictly an international star, same going for Olly and Joe, Lloyd shouldn't have been in the finals in the first place really and Danyl is quite clearly so unlikeably loathsome with his big voice as to make me try to scratch my eyeballs out), is still as galvanisingly awesome as ever, what with everyone FINALLY coming around to appreciating how lovely and astute Dannii Minogue is compared to the others; Christmas is nearly here, which means I'll have to unearth both versions of Black Christmas for yuletide merriment (and on top of that both versions of the remake, featuring two different death scenes for Michelle 'I Nearly Ruined Buffy' Trachtenberg); and my talent show performance is nearly here!!! Will post a P.S. comment below to let anyone who cares know how it all went, rest assured I don't have a chance in Hell, but should still be fun... Wish me luck!

And with that, on with the show...

JLS by JLS
Given her amazing success after last year’s shenanigans, we can all be in agreement that Cheryl Cole was the winner of The X Factor last year, eclipsing Alexandra Burke's debut both in terms of unit shifts and the quality of the tracks themselves (it still bemuses me, to be honest). And to be honest, given the continued media frenzy surrounding the supposed runners-up of last year's competition, it seems that poor Alexandra has been relegated to third place, which is a shame (still ahead of Eggnog Prick and Die In Her Knickers though... it's not much but still!). Song-wise, JLS have the weaker album; it’s positively awash with the same amount of cynical button-pushing as Burke's and it offers up a handful of decent guilty pleasures (One Shot will probably be their next single for sure); but there is not enough of a distinct personality present to warrant this band’s following and exposure compared to Burke, who at least tries to make the songs given her own. Admittedly, they’re still very cute though!

Echo by Leona Lewis
And the Reality TV juggernaut continues, this time with the UK's first such worldwide crossover star (as lovely as Will Young may be, he’s still yet to attain worldwide platinum sales and Grammy nominations, isn’t he?) delivering an album which, by its title alone, dispiritingly suggests more of the same kind of material found on her major debut. And whilst the familiar formulas of power ballads with major key changes and trendy beats is still present and correct throughout (lead single Happy, though more warbly, is but a lesser sequel to her smash Bleeding Love, and Oasis cover Stop Crying Your Heart Out isn’t remotely as genius as her version of Snow Patrol's Run), Miss Lewis sells it with enough vocal authority to out-caterwaul every other R&B-pop diva to emerge in the charts right now, breathing life into songs that register as less-than-fluff from girls bestowed with lesser pipes (particularly the uplifting I Got You and Brave).

DJ Stupac Presents... Super Lupe Bros. 1st Coin & 15th Credit Edition by DJ Stupac and Lupe Fiasco
(P.S. Sorry, but cannot find a legit site anywhere, so a pic file will have to do on the link to assure its existence...!)
This mixtape certainly receives the prize for Best Artwork Of The Year so far from me, my fondness for all Super Mario adventures pretty much hardwiring that sentiment to my brain. But of course, this is just a promotional appetiser for Mr Fiasco’s upcoming Lasers album, collating a few new cuts (particularly his latest collaboration with Matthew Santos, Shining Down) with older wares and remixes, such as Pharrell's quite lovely re-do of Paris, Tokyo featuring special guests Q-Tip and Sarah Green. As mixtapes go though, DJ Stupac doesn’t really interpolate as well as some of his peers (nothing is really remixed here, rather compiled), and I’m personally a little disappointed that he didn’t carry on the Super Mario motif all of the way through, seeing as those games feature some of the most highly-regarded scores in video game history. But as a precursor to Lupe’s upcoming opus, it whets the appetite wantonly.

Sainthood by Tegan and Sara
Ten years after their full-length debut release, identical twin sister duo Tegan and Sara Quin are still plying their trade of pop-flavoured indie rock, this year seeing the release of their sixth effort despite taking time out to collaborate with other artists. Sounding a lot like how Gwen Stefani could have sounded if she was content to write good pop songs rather than collaborate with production-line hitmakers, both girls are in fine voice here as well as sharing disarming chemistry, particularly on lead single Hell and the longing surge of The Ocean. It’s light, lithe, pretty, knocks shades out of other over-produced pop-rock girl bands permeating the airwaves these days (hear The Veronicas, or not) and proof once again that these girls are far more interesting than the pigeonholes ascribed to them.

In And Out Of Control by The Raveonettes
More timeless pop-punk-rock from The Raveonettes with their fourth full length album, following through on their New Wave homages with some spiky-yet-lovely soft rock that takes as many cues from ‘60s girl group pop as they do from New Wave icons, the spirit of Debbie Harry looming especially large amidst the sweet harmonies of Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed). It happens to steer on just the right side of honorary homage to not appear overly cynical or soulless in its mimicry for most of the time, the fuzzy guitars and Sharin Fo’s hazily demure vocals summoning enough proving to disarming to resist on the likes of lead single Last Dance and especially on closer Wine. To make modern-day misery sound this lovely and gossamer light takes as much gravitas as it does panache, and this likeable duo do more than enough to keep their fans happy; it’s not going to blaze the trails of pop-rock, but its still a fine pop album in its own right.

5 : Five Years Of Hyperdub by Various Artists
In celebration of its emergence as the hip genre of choice for the end of the decade, bolstered by the likes of The Spaceape and Burial who feature prominently on this compilation, London-based label Hyperdub has seen fit to give to the world a double-disc set that collates some of the finer contributors to the world of dubstep, disc one featuring more recent work from Kode9, Martyn and Samiyam whilst disc two includes past work entrenched in the 16-bit sounds that summoned such a cult following in the first place. Comprehensive isn’t the word to describe this set, and there’s plenty to enjoy, though admittedly the first disc edges out the second for listenability, if only because the wealth of sounds being explored by these artists now seems to promise something a lot more epic and amazing than the humble-yet-enjoyable offerings found on disc two, despite some great tracks from The Bug featuring Warrior Queen and Kode9 collaborations with The Spaceape.

Strict Joy by The Swell Season
Musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's path to breakout success is one of the most heartwarming of the decade; a well-received debut album of ornate folk music followed by a small independent film that happened to break big in America and reward the songwriters with their very own Academy Awards for for their rather lovely piece, Falling Slowly. Being the first album out of the gate for the pair since that win, Strict Joy is one that feels positively alive with hushed wonder, of filling up with irrepressible happiness and feeling as if you’re about to burst, only to rein it in at the last second (which is possibly down to Hansard and Irglova’s actually becoming a couple shortly after the film Once’s release after years of knowing one another and making music together). Though Hansard is a damn fine singer (evidenced here best on Feeling The Pull), it’s the Irglová-helmed songs that strike the chords most resonantly, highlights of hers including Fantasy Man and I Have Loved You Wrong.

Glee: Season One - The Music, Volume 1 by Various Artists
Debuting during the final week of this year’s American Idol competition, Glee is the brainchild of Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy, charting the ongoing trials and travails of a high school glee club (like a choir, but singing more contemporary pop songs), and plays like High School Musical for anyone over 12-years-old, but with actual pop standards rather than especially-written, sound-alike drivel. So, we have winsome, precocious high schoolers letting rip on hits by Rihanna, The Supremes, Jill Scott, Kanye West, Queen and Neil Diamond, to name a few. Some are a touch derivative and add nothing new (particularly Amber Riley's take on Jazmine Sullivan's Bust Your Windows), but it’s fabulously produced and when it hits (like on take-no-prisoners cheese-fest Don’t Stop Believin’ or the Broadway Diva-Off between Kristin Chenoweth and Lea Michele on Cabaret’s Maybe This Time), it’s the stuff of drama queen dreams. You have been warned; it will be HUGE...

Whip It - Music From The Motion Picture by Various Artists
Pinned as a possible teen hit in the vein of Juno (featuring star Ellen Page on Oscar nominated form), Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It stalled at the American box office in spite of its good-natured goof-ballsiness and boasting one of the cooler ensemble casts of the year (as well as Page and Barrymore, you had Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, Saturday Night Live alumni Kristen Wiig, the ever-watchable Juliette Lewis, even Har Mar Superstar himself!) Charting one high school girl’s self-discovery as a jammer for her local Roller Derby team, the soundtrack released to coincide with the movie could have been a little edgier; though there’s some lovely stuff from Jens Lenkman, Dolly Parton (the classic Jolene, natch!) and Gotye in particular, slow schmoozing from the normally-raucous Superstar and The Ettes dull the mood a little too much.

Phrazes For The Young by Julian Casablancas
It takes someone of questionably high self-esteem and swaggering intent (or perhaps oblivious homage) to invite comparisons to the legendary Oscar Wilde with their debut solo effort after spending a good decade at the undeniably hip end of the international indie pop spectrum. But, with Phrazes, this is what Casablancas has done; that he’s pretty much gotten away with it won’t surprise his fans as much as the music within, however, his being content to concoct a diverting pop record with various wide-reaching influences that would belie his rockier credentials if he hadn’t spent the past couple of years collaborating with seemingly out-of-leftfield cohorts (Santigold and Pharrell, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse). Highlights include lead single 11th Dimension, which is just shy of being a pop-rock stunner, its strident synths striking through the soundscape with unabashed joy, and finale Tourist, which enmeshes Eastern and Western influences brilliantly.

Only Revolutions by Biffy Clyro
Claiming by the band to have been informed by frontman Simon Neil’s recent marriage as well as Mark Danielewski’s novel of the same name, Only Revolutions sees the Scotch three-piece rockers as ebullient as ever, following the breakthrough success of their third album Puzzle in 2007 and Neil’s side-project with Sucioperro’s JP Reid, Marmaduke Duke. The result is a slightly off-kilter rock album full of warm vibes and joyous rabble, played by a band brimming with confidence and more than up for a good time; lead single Mountains is still as enjoyably over-the-top as it was on first listen during the summer months, whilst quieter moments such as God & Satan are proof enough that they are capable of straight-faced sincerity despite their goofball interview techniques. It may not provide as dramatic a sucker punch as efforts from The Horrors and Muse earlier this year, but Biffy’s is still a fine rock album for ‘09.

Them Crooked Vultures by Them Crooked Vultures
Rock supergroups intimidate me somewhat, especially those without a lack of artistic concept, such is the case for this latest venture featuring Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, seemingly thrown together just to see what rock and roll majesty is brought forth. And I suppose if the results were as reliably full throttle as what these three musicians have wrought on this debut; unquantifiably epic, heartfelt, nonsensical and featuring some of the most exemplary rock instrumental moments of the year. True, it crunches the pedal into the ground a little too often, though there is some versatility in the late going from the one-two of Interlude With Ludes (which grinds drunkenly away on a looped sample as Homme delivers a woozy monologue) and the slow-burn frenzy of Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction by IAMX
Now happily ensconced in Berlin, wherein he claims he can work outside of the music industry much better, Sneaker Pimps founder Chris Corner delivers his third full-length album, self-described as a tour through “Disney World, with lipstick, cynicism and wit”. Of course, many can level that all things Disney are pretty much cynical by design (and the amount of makeup caked upon those pre-teen princesses suggests no shortage of lipstick whatsoever!), but that shouldn’t deter from the dark delights followed through by Corner on this disc. Going it alone without cohort Sue Denim on vocal duties (though receiving welcome help from Imogen Heap on standout track My Secret Friend (Feat. Imogen Heap)), Corner heads in a more relatively commercial direction this time; the influences of Depeche Mode are inescapable (as with pretty much any electro-rock album released these days), but give Corner his due in being able to sweep you into his industrial miserabilism so effectively anyway (hear An I For An I).

Turning The Mind by Maps
Riding high off of garlands from those fickle music critics and a Mercury Prize nomination for his debut album We Can Create, Northampton native James Chapman continues on his electro-pop pledge with this fine sophomore album, which embraces elements of rock, house, trance and pop to create a nebulous whitewash of at-times inspired electro symphonies. Described by Chapman himself as being of a darker hue that his previous effort (which comes to the fore most ominously on the opening title track and Papercuts), it eventually gives way to an understanding Zen-like attitude to existence, cheerily exemplified by penultimate number Die Happy, Die Smiling. For those who are a little dismayed by how perky and bright most of the electropop this year has been, this one is most certainly for you.

Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson
If ever there was a pop singer for whom the term “under the radar” applied, none could be better suited to the phrase than modest little Ingrid, an American pop-folk songstress who’s quietly sold nearly half a million records (on her own label too), enjoys sold-out shows all over the world, takes in professional songwriting assignments (the latest being for a certain X Factor judge) and whose work has featured on nearly as many soundtracks as Moby's Play album. Now, with this fourth album charting respectably in the Top 20 in the US, it would appear Michaelson’s finally ready to breakthrough properly; she’s certainly not hampered by a lack of bustlingly enjoyable ditties, sounding more like Aimee Mann's protégé rather than Taylor Swift's moody older sibling. Be it on the childlike singalong of the title track, the multi-layered vocals on The Chain or the adorable entirety of Once Was Love, it’s hard to not be taken in by her charms.

Greatest Hits by Foo Fighters
There are normally hoots of derision from the press regarding a Greatest Hits compilation for rock acts whose fanbases provide some of the most fervent examples, but it’s always worth noting when the respective musicmakers themselves join in on calling out such a cynical moneymaking exercise. Dave Grohl and company are the latest band to make such a fuss, this single-CD playlist timed for just before the Christmas rush and without the consent from a single band member. The dispiritedness is more than valid; Grohl is quoted as saying that the band would have sooner waited for the band to retire and then release a retrospective, something more indicative and expansive of the band’s back catalogue rather than an hour-long CD with half of their singles. The only reason it’s high on my list though is the fact that all of the songs here are worth their weight in rock gold, and there’s no arguing about that!

Beast Rest Forth Mouth by Bear In Heaven
It’s not hard to hear why this four-piece rock collective from Brooklyn scored a recent Best New Music plaudit from Pitchfork for their sophomore album, for the most part straddling the line perfectly between radio-friendly indie pop and reverent electronic homage. Coming across as a slightly more downtrodden cousin to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's debut earlier this year, it keeps the sonic indulgences to a minimum and never outstays its welcome (running time is a trim forty minutes for ten songs). One could accuse it of never really announcing its presence and going for the rockier jugular compared to other electro-flavoured indie releases this year (one case in point being The Big Pink's A Brief History of Love), but that shouldn’t detract from what is at times the most thoughtfully calibrated pop release of the year, making up for a lack in passion, perhaps, with plenty of intelligence.

Hospice by The Antlers
Boasting a production history so hideously melodramatic it inspires a certain kind of awe (progenitor Peter Silberman locked himself away from family and friends in Brooklyn for two years to write a musical narrative wherein a man says goodbye to his loved one whilst she succumbs to bone cancer), it would be easy to dismiss The Antlers’ debut album as the kind of pretentious claptrap the alt-art rock world is famous for. However, Silberman’s work isn’t so easy to wipe clean from the memory, summoning up comparisons of Jason Pierce's similarly-themed Songs in A&E from last year as well as Atlas Sound's debut that create a sound that is mournful, angry, delicate, forgiving and ultimately very moving, especially when the lullaby qualities of Bear segueing into the kind of feelgood raucousness that makes the tragedy all the more horrible. An assured, startling debut, but Lord knows where they could possibly go from here!

Don't Stop by Annie
Its release postponed for over a year because of now-infamous differences with Island Records as a result of the more-shocking-than-assumed performance of would-be lead single I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me, this Norwegian popstrel’s sophomore effort arrives a little late to the party after the successes of Little Boots, La Roux and Pixie Lott. Which in the end, is more than a shame, because Annie’s album is arguably the better out of the four (yes, even Boots’ album!), benefiting from production wares from established hitmakers Xenomania (including another source of some controversy, the Girls Aloud-featuring My Love Is Better), Paul Epworth and old friend Richard X, Songs Remind Me of You in particular reminding listeners just how well these two work together. For sophisticated Europop, it’ll be hard not to find anything better this year; shiny, danceable, classy and delicious.

Lovetune for Vacuum by Soap&Skin
I’m a little late to the party with adorning 19-year-old Anja Plaschg with plaudits like “debut album of the year” and such, but hey, I’m glad I took the time to listen to her striking premier work at all, never mind seven months after its release. Influences from the likes of Xiu Xiu, Björk and Aphex Twin in particular find plenty of room on her debut, which is a mix of layered vocals (at times anguished, at times sultry, never less than swoonsome) and frankly gorgeous piano work spliced with surging electronic beats and bass synths that never ceases to impress among the thirteen tracks on offer here. “Prodigious” is a word often tossed around when writing about breakthrough artists, but the assured hand with which she composes and produces these works (standout moments being the instrumental Turbine Womb and the mounting industrial glitch of DDMMYYYY) promises an interesting future ahead of her.

And that is why Lovetune For Vacuum is my Album Of The Month For November...

Now, don't worry, the review next will be quite a bit shorter, but that is in a vain effort to make up for the usual end-of-year malarkey involving Top 100 charts and all that gubbins...

Watch this space, December should be journal-tastic!!

In the meantime, keep listening... x

Moderat is the two gents behind Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) plus the guy behind Apparat (Sascha Ring). These three fellows all produce electronic music in Berlin, so either collaborations or dis tracks are pretty much mandatory.

The first four tracks lull you into a false security that the whole album will feature glitchy Burial-like beats, but this is not so.

The first track, A New Error, starts off with a simple loop of a broken major chord that reminds me of Aphex Twin then the dub kicks in and gives this track a unique kick. It's a rather bold blending of different styles, that somehow works very well and sets the bar pretty high for the rest of the album.

The next track, Rusty Nails, sounds very typical of a Modeselektor track (or Burial, practically the same sound nowadays). This track features the Thom Yorke/Chris Martin-esk vocal stylings of Mr. Apparat himself. This track typifies everything I love in a Modeselektor remix, that delicate blend of upbeat and melancholy. It's like a rainy Saturday morning, there's some sort of comfort in the dreariness.

Seamonkey reminds me of Amon Tobin.

Slow Match features lightening fast vocals of Caribbean rapper Paul St. Hilaire, which works surprisingly well with the glibeant (ambitch?) beat.

The next two tracks, 3 Minutes Of and Nasty Silence, slow things down with low-key ambiance that reminds me of Tim Hecker with a bit of techno thrown in.

I love Sick With It for some inexplicable reason, but it does not sound like it belongs on this album at all. Being placed in the middle of the album makes it stand out even more. I don't know why I like this song so much. I usually detest Reggae-rap style of singing, and the beat is rather clunky, like an old car sputtering along. I'll be damned if I don't nod my head to it though.

The next two tracks, Porc#1 and Porc#2, are bouncy post-rock mixes that blend nicely into each other, except for the tail-end of Porc#2 which turns into some dub-like creature.

Les Grandes Marches is probably the weakest track on the album. It sounds like the instrumental version of a T.A.T.U song. It could be worse, of course. The freshness of the other tracks make this song seem worse than it actually is. Maybe it will grow on me with time.

Berlin is a nice little palate cleanser.

Nr. 22 is another song that uses a simple beat, I believe it's a remix of Days Go By. Yet, I'd say it's the second weakest track. Again, it just seems lackluster compared to some of the other tracks on the album.

Out Of Sight is very similar to Rusty Nails. It features the familiar skipping/glitch beat and vocals by Apparat. Between the two, I can't decide which track I like more.

The album comes to a close with BeatsWaySick. The beat really makes this track, and it's a good thing because I find the rapping to be pretty awful here. It's similar to sick with it, but less clunky and more duby. I do love the Boards of Canada-esk sample in the chorus.

I love this album so very much, but the tracks do not flow very well. Half the tracks are smooth ambient with a glitch chaser. The other half are either dub or ambient with light techno.
Delicate ambient tracks are sandwiched between remixes that probably should have been b-sides. I suppose that this might have been the sound that the artists were going for. Yet, it seems as though this album is a collection of singles instead of parts of whole. However, I suppose that the crime of having a boring, cohesive album is a greater offense than having a dynamic, disjointed album.

Here's a Pitchfork review of Moderat.

Биография

Orbital - английская группа электронной музыки, созданная братьями Полом и Филом Хартнолл (Paul & Phil Hartnoll) в 1987 году, образовалась в городке Sevenoaks в графстве Kent. Группа распалась в 2004 году, но, почти за 20 лет своего существования, успела произвести настоящий фурор в электронной музыке. Стилистика коллектива была достаточно разнообразной, и в их творчестве можно было услышать элементы присущие таким музыкальным направлениям как idm, ambient, breakbeat и невероятно красивым techno и house мелодиям.

Orbital – один из тех довольно немногочисленных электронных коллективов, что сумели «оторваться от танцпола» и преодолеть приоритет хит-синглов, став (хотя и не сразу) группой альбомной и концертной – прерогатива, до сих пор остающаяся за рокерами. Команда выпустила серию сильных альбомов, сказав свое веское слово в таком направлении «электроники», как эмбиент-техно. Группа Orbital – это два брата: Фил Хартнолл (Phil Hartnoll, род. 9.01.1964) и Пол Хартнолл (Paul Hartnoll, 19.05.1968).

Родились и выросли в Кенте, воспитывались на пост-панке и «новой волне» рубежа 70-80-х. Они начали записываться вместе в 1987 году, имея под рукой лишь четырехдорожечный магнитофон, синтезатор и драм-машину. В 1989 их первая вещь «Chime» вышла на лейбле Jazzy M, а на следующий год с ребятами подписал контракт лейбл FFRR, окрестив их союз Orbital в честь скоростной кольцевой лондонской трассы. В марте 1990 сингл достиг №17 в британских чартах и братьев пригласили в ТВ-шоу «Top of the Pops». Первый LP, одноименный названию группы, вышел в сентябре 1991 и, по законам того времени, был как бы собран из отдельных «кубиков» - техно-композиций. В 1992 году в чартах засветились два ЕР – «Mutations» (ремиксовая работа, выполненная совместно с другими музыкантами, Moby в том числе) и «Radiccio».

Второй полнометражный альбом (1992) тоже не имел названия, но получил определение «коричневый» по цвету обложки альбома. Этому альбому суждено было произвести настоящий переворот в электронной музыке. Теплое, интеллигентное техно было явно тронуто печатью воздействия эмбиента, с одной стороны, и математически-точного электро a la Kraftwerk, с другой. Блестяще «оркестрованная» работа заставляла вслушиваться в перипетии музыкальной драматургии, но, вместе с тем, оставляла все шансы желающим просто потанцевать. Фил и Пол отправились в первое американское турне (с Moby и Aphex Twin), сделав с этой поры концертные выступления главным аспектом своего музицирования и доказав американцам, что для полного «улета» на рейве совершенно необязательно принимать наркотики.

Концерты Orbital сопровождались впечатляющим лайт-шоу (заствалявшими вспомнить Jean Michel Jarre) и импровизацией. В 1994 году группа выступила на Вудстоке и на фестивале в Гластонбёри. В августе того же 1994 года увидел свет их первый «поименованный» LP - «Snivilization», работа очень зрелая, разнообразная, ознаменованная великолепными смешением стилей. В ней братья не постеснялись затронуть социально-политические проблемы, в частности, так называемый Criminal Justice Bill, дававший полиции право разгонять рэйвы при подозрении на употреблении наркотиков.

И вновь группа активно гастролировала, появляясь все больше в «нормальных» концертных залах (включая Royal Albert Hall), нежели на танцполах. Новый альбом «In Sides» вышел в 1996 и опять получился злободневно-концептуальным: на сей раз Orbital поднимали проблемы экологии и разрушения естественных ресурсов. Этот великолепный альбом вновь получил восторженные рецензии не только от экспертов по электронной музыке, но и от рок-критиков. Свои заслуги братья Хартнеллы подтвердили диском «In the middle of nowhere» – альбомом поистине космическим, необычайно красочным, развертывающим перед слушательским взором широчайшую звуковую панораму. Несмотря на то, что признаки техно в нем, как и прежде, сохранялись, Orbital творили музыку прежде всего для слушания, интеллигентную, фантазийную, захватывающую. Танцевально-ориентированный «Altogether» вышел в 2001 году.

Прощальный альбом «Orbital» получился очень ностальгическим и получил название Blue Album, он вышел летом 2004 года и с тех пор братья гастролируют по отдельности.

Но на этом история не заканчивается, в 2009 году братья Hartnoll
объявили о своём возвращении, для начала выпустив 2-й сборник лучьшего и неизданого Orbital 20

Дискография


1989 - Orbital - Chime & Deeper (Vinyl 12 - ZONE 001)
1990 - Orbital - Chime(CDM - FCD 135, 886 977-2)
1990 - Orbital - Omen (CDM - FCD 145, 869 157-2)
1991 - Orbital - Orbital (EU Green Album - 8282482)
1991 - Orbital - Orbital (US Green Album - 162 351 001-2)
1991 - Orbital - Satan III Ep (CDM - FCD 149, 869 279.2)
1992 - Orbital - Mutations (CDM - FCD 181)
1992 - Orbital - Radiccio I (CDM - LIECD 1, 869869.2)
1992 - Orbital - Radiccio II (CDM - 869 899-2)
1993 - Orbital - Lush 3 (CDM - LIECD7, 857237.2)
1993 - Orbital - Orbital 2 (Brown Album - TRUCD2, 828 386.2)
1993 - Orbital - Peel Sessions (CDM - LIECD 12)
1993 - Orbital - Radiccio (Japan EP - POCD-1103)
1994 - Orbital - Are We Here (CDM - LIECD15)
1994 - Orbital - Diversions (Canada EP - 422 828 521-2)
1994 - Orbital - Snivilisation (TRUCD5, 828 536.2)
1995 - Orbital &Therapy - Belfast & Wasted (The Best Of Volume EP - VOLCD1)
1996 - Orbital - In Sides (US 3 x CD Ltd 96 + Bonus CD 97 - 697-124 087-2, 697 124 129-2)
1996 - Orbital - Live Leeds (Live 1996-04-12 - NRK)
1996 - Orbital - Satan Live (CDM One - LIECD 37, 850 806.2)
1996 - Orbital - Satan Live (CDM Three - LIECD 37, 850 808.2)
1996 - Orbital - Satan Live (CDM Two - LICDP 37, 850 810.2)
1996 - Orbital - The Box (CDM Pete's Edit 2 - Orbit 1)
1996 - Orbital - The Box (EU CDM - INTCD 30, 850 578-2)
1996 - Orbital - The Box (UK EP - LICDP 30, 850 587.2)
1997 - Orbital & Michael Kamen - Event Horizon (OST - 422-828 939-2)
1997 - Orbital - Chimes For A New Year (Live 31.12.1996)
1997 - Orbital - The Saint (CDM - 162-531 102-2)
1997 - Orbital Feat Kirk Hammett - Satan (CDM - 422 850 990-2)
1999 - Orbital - Nothing leftCD1 (CDM - FCD 365, 3984 28944-2)
1999 - Orbital - Nothing left CD2 (CDM - FCDP 365, 3984 28945-2)
1999 - Orbital - Style CD1 (CDM - FCD 358, 570 407-2)
1999 - Orbital - Style CD2 (CDM - FCDP 358, 570 409-2)
1999 - Orbital - The Middle of Nowhere (EU FFRR - 3984-27194-2)
2000 - Orbital & Angelo Badalamenti - Beached (CDM - FCD377, 8573 82065 2)
2000 - Orbital & David Gray - Please Forgive Me (Promo CDM - RDJ 60436-2)
2001 - Orbital - Funny Break CD1 (CDM One is Enough - FCD 395, 8573 87715 2)
2001 - Orbital - Funny Break CD2 (CDM One is Enough - FCDP 395, 8573 87716 2)
2001 - Orbital - Illuminate (2xVinyl 12 - FXX 405)
2001 - Orbital - The Altogether (2xCD - FFRR 40678 2)
2002 - Orbital - B-Sides (FFR 756 783 486-2)
2002 - Orbital - Back to Mine (BACKCD10)
2002 - Orbital - Doctor The Best of Orbital (PolyGram CD)
2002 - Orbital - Rest EP (CDM - FCD 407, 0927 472492)
2002 - Orbital - The Bedroom Sessions (MM 030)
2002 - Orbital - Work 1989-2002 (Japan CD - WPCR-11223)
2003 - Orbital - Octane Original Soundtrack Score (OST - 593 785 2)
2004 - Orbital - Blue Album (orbitalCD001)
2004 - Orbital - One Perfect Sunrise CDM1 (OrbitalCD003)
2004 - Orbital - One Perfect Sunrise CDM2 (OrbitalCD03X)
2005 - Orbital - Halcyon (5101-10414-2)
2007 - Long Range - Madness and Me (LRR001)
2007 - Orbital - Live At Glastonbury 1994 - 2004 (2xCD ltd - ATO0041)
2007 - Paul Hartnoll - The Ideal Condition (ACP001)
2009 - Orbital - Orbital 20 (2xCD 2564 68909 3)