Ascending, with comments and predictions!

10. The Ting Tings
I haven't even heard their new single yet, but they've been riding my scrobbles like a rodeo horse since the first time I heard "That's Not My Name". Anxiously waiting for the next album here.

9. Wolfmother
I scrobbled and scrobbled, bought the new album, scrobbled some more, and then Andrew Stockdale got health problems and they cancelled the Werchter gig. Next to Ke$ha getting more scrobbles than anyone else in 2010, it was my biggest musical disappointment of the year. At least Cosmic Egg is excellent.

Tracks of…

Since we're moving to Belgium on the first of May, a bright idea popped up: why not go to Rock Werchter in July? So I spent my last dime on tickets. I won't set my expectations too high, but it's going to be the single biggest music experience of my life so far, bar none except the R.E.M. concert in '08. Unless they decide to show up on Werchter, of course. Which brings me to this post! An impressive number of yummy bands have already been confirmed: Muse, Phoenix, Green Day, Editors, Rammstein, The…

My beautiful fiancé, northern_soul_, named 2009 her Yevgueni year. Unlike her, I had no particular band to guide me through these past twelve months of music magic. But despair not! For I had multiple cheery highlights I'd love to share with you. Here are my top nine music moments of 2009, in no particular order.

Hit it, Shaffer!

1. Getting "Poker Face" stuck in my brain for the one thousandth time
I'm no lover of pop, female lead singers who mostly get by on their looks or gambling, but the fact is that, months after its release, this…

One thing I noticed about intensive Eels listening is that it's hard to cram their entire discography into one week. I'm not even sure if I have all their albums. Editors were easier.

Because of Beautiful Freak always appearing on top in my library, it became the most frequently listened-to album. I feel it's quite representative, as it has the same low-key, droning melodiousness of most Eels albums. When I became hungry for something more upbeat, I could happily switch to Shootenanny!, which today is my favorite Eels album. I'll need some time to absorb the remaining discography, which…

started yesterday. Not long ago, my girlfriend heard I Need Some Sleep on my radio. It was the only song by Eels I'd ever heard, obviously thanks to the Shrek 2 soundtrack. She got interested, and it kind of snowballed from there. She's told me how much she likes Eels, and I feel it's time for me to get reacquainted. To add a new touch to Theme Week, I'm actually going to sum up my experiences come Tuesday.

Very exaitin'…

It's All-Scandinavian week for me. That means Björn Afzelius, Silje Nergaard, Span, Turbonegro, Kim Larsen, Marit Larsen, Kent and Aqua (just kidding on that last one, by the way.)
Umm… Wish me luck.

(this is a new thing I'm trying, where I write about my connection to my all-time top tracks.)

I got into the Dropkick Murphys after their appearance on the soundtrack to The Departed, and this was one of the songs I stumbled across while browsing their music. I had only once before heard Eric Bogle's song, and I can't remember if it was the original or not. I do remember that the lyrics made an impression on me that first time. While listening to the Dropkick Murphys version I also felt the true weight of it, how the music…

I was just listening to a friend's station, which contains a lot of bands from her home country, Belgium. I started playing with the thought of listening to only Norwegian artists for seven days to see how it affected my library/profile/charts. I also want to see if there really is enough good Norwegian music to keep me in a good mood for a whole week.

The experiment will begin tomorrow. So if you start to wonder why my charts suddenly fill up with stuff like Øystein Sunde, Bjelleklang, Crowtown, TNT, Röyksopp, A-ha and Dimmu Borgir…

It's survey time once again.

List this week's top ten artists and tell us which song by them you first heard, which one you first loved, and your currently most popular song by them.

Where the three overlap, I've picked the second-most appropriate track to keep the list diverse.

1. Flight of the Conchords
First heard: The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)
First loved: Jenny
Currently love: Doggie Bounce

2. Toto
First heard: Africa
First loved: Hold the Line
Currently love: Gypsy Train

3. Suzanne Vega
First heard: Luka
First loved: Blood Makes Noise
Currently love: The Queen and…

Gotta repeat my 1-week-1-album routine with Editors, or I won't be able to sing along to anything but Blood the whole time they're warming me up for R.E.M.. This week it's The Back Room, and next week I'll be tuning in to An End Has A Start.

This band's sound has a hostile touch that keeps me from immersing myself the way I wish I could. If you have any tips with regards to the listening of these albums (like where best to listen, which position my legs should be in, etc.) please tell me.