A little over a month ago I posted this little ditty and the face of my blog changed just a little bit. On the left hand side of your screen you can see the "Who I've Been Listening To Lately" heading. I installed last.fm and the way I listened to music on my computer changed. Well not so much the physical act, but my habits changed. After this site created my profile for all to see I realized that I had to stop listening to so much bad music. That's right, I was in a bit of a bad dance music funk at the time and figured that if other people can see who I've been listening to than I had best carry on with a more discriminating taste. After this I went back into an Indie-ish music fix as you can see by the abundance of Sufjan Stevens, TV on the Radio and The Postal Service that I have been listening to.
I decided to make this post in order to give everyone a better insight into my odd and eclectic musical taste, I decided that I would list the Top 25 songs I have listened to since I got this computer back in September according to my iTunes play count. Before I ever got last.fm I was hoping that this could be a regular feature here on Get Glenergized but then I got last.fm and I got lazy as a result. Perhaps it is the new found energy (or should I say, Glenergy?) from the New Year, or maybe I'm just really bored. Either way, here goes the Top 25 songs that I have been listening to over the past 5 or so months.
25. Nine Inch Nails vs. The Beatles -- "Come Closer Together". Not the highest ranked mashup on this list, but definitely my favourite one. I love both of these songs separately, but I think that they are perhaps even greater together. The mix of the two choruses into "I want to fuck you, right now" makes me laugh every time.
24. Jose Gonzalez -- "Heartbeats". I simply love the guitar in this song. Sure it is simple, but it really gets the point across. While I do love this song, it is not my favourite version of this song, nor is it the most listened to. Stay tuned for that one.
23. The Arcade Fire -- "Intervention". The follow up single to one of my favourite albums ever (more on that one to follow). The Arcade Fire are one of those very rare bands that you can listen to over and over again and still find something new to enjoy every single time. This song is no exception, and it has got me VERY excited for Neon Bible.
22. Madonna -- "Hung Up". Alright, guilty pleasure time. I open myself to all of your judgments and mocking for posting this. But I really like this song. Madonna is one of the most influential musicians, oh ever, and this song proved to me that she is more than capable of reinventing herself for the twenty-first century. Plus, I like dancing around my bedroom to this one.
21. Kanye West -- "Gold Digger". Alright as you can see we are veering away from pretentious Indie Music and onto much more poppy stuff. I love Kanye West, I think that he is so incredibly cool. In fact when I was teaching a lesson on the Fraser River Gold Rush to a group of Grade 8s I referenced this song by saying "I ain't sayin' he's a gold digga, but he ain't dealin' with no broke river". It made me laugh, what can I say?
20. Jason Mraz -- "I'm Yours". Soooooooo, I'm a wee bit of a hopeless romantic. Not sure if that surprised any of you out there in blogosphere. This just seems like such a perfect song to dance romantically in the kitchen with that special someone to. Sorry if that made any of you vomit. I'll stop.
19. Eagles of Death Metal -- "Flames Go Higher". The first of three Eagles of Death Metal songs to make it on this impressive list. Not sure what to say here other than it is a really super awesome. Eagles of Death Metal do a wonderful job of combining catchy lyrics with rocking power guitar. What more can you ask for? Oh if you recognize this little diddy then it is probably because you saw "Thank you for Smoking" (and if you haven't, then what the heck are you waiting for???).
18. The Arctic Monkeys -- "I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor". I had the pleasure of living in Britain when these guys first took off. I was so incredibly happy to hear their hits making the rounds on this side of the pond. I am a huge fan of catchy rock that you can dance to and these guys fit the bill perfectly. Sure they sound (and look) rather dirty and unkempt, but it's all part of the English midlands sound and scene.
17. Eminem featuring Nate Dogg -- "Shake That Ass". Despite all of his obvious detractions I have long been a fan of Eminem. He is capable of some truly amazing and insightful lyrics. This song however, is a terrible example of that. What the song lacks in depth it makes up for with a great beat and more importantly, some good natured immature humour.
16. Outkast -- "Morris Brown". While the album Idlewild was a terrible let down, this song was great none the less. Like most Outkast songs it will always be compared to "Hey ya", which will make it inevitably fall short. If you are able to drop those comparisons, then you will surely be able to enjoy this one.
15. Fall Out Boy -- "Dance, Dance". Another guilty pleasure of mine. This song is a great one to well, dance to. You dance to this song when you are home alone too, admit it.
14. Death Cab for Cutie -- "Someday You Will Be Loved". This song breaks my heart a bit every time I hear it. Listen with caution
13. Metric -- "Dead Disco". Here we go, some more Canadian Indie Music. Metric are so good, and I think that I may end up marrying Emily Haines when I grow up. I sort of missed Metric's rise due to being in a different continent and not having regular Internet access. I am rather jealous that a number of my friends got a chance to see them in concert in the fall on their East Coast tour.
12. Eagles of Death Metal -- "Miss Alissa". I talked about these guys for "Flames go Higher", but this song is even cooler. Catchier beats, faster guitar riffs, dirtier lyrics, what more can you want?
11. TV on the Radio -- "Ambulance". This is exactly why I love TV on the Radio. They are so multi-faceted. Some of their songs are great to rock to, but this one is sung a capella and is very mellow. I don't think that I can do the lyrics and an ounce of justice, so here is my favourite part.
"oh i will be your ambulance if you will be my accident
i will be your screech and crash if you will be my crutch and cast
and i will be your one more time if you will be my one last chance
so sweet dream fall with me
fall fast fall free fall with me"
10. Sufjan Stevens -- "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!". When I hear this song it is no surprise that Sufjan Stevens is dominating the list on your left right now. I can't believe it took me this long to get into this guy. If you haven't heard him yet then get to a CD Store and grab any one of his albums. You will not be disappointed.
9. Death Cab for Cutie -- "I Will Follow You Into the Dark". Another sad song by Death Cab. This one does not so much break my heart as it makes me a wee bit lonely that there is nobody who would follow me into death. Listen to the song and it won't sound so weird.
8. Feist -- "When I Was a Young Girl". If things don't work out between Emily Haines and I, then I think that Leslie Feist will do wonders for a future wife. She has such an amazing voice and has a wonderful way with words.
7. Jay-Z vs. Linkin Park -- "Encore vs. Numb". Alright so it is not quite as cool as The Gray Album but Collision Course is still pretty awesome. While I am not a fan of Linkin Park, this song does it for me. "Encore" is one of those songs that sounds oddly better in Mash-ups than it does by itself.
6. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists -- "The Golden Finch and the Red Oak". I could listen to this song all day and be totally at peace with myself. Try it sometime.
5. Bloc Party -- "Banquet". I simply love Silent Alarm. This song is definitely no exception to that rule. I almost included this song in Music to Break Up To just because I listened to it so much dealing with my own personal break-up. It was a little tough to make some lyrical connections with. Just trust me, it's well worth a listen or 36.
4. Eagles of Death Metal -- "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)". The last time these guys will be on this list, I swear. This is easily my favourite song of theirs. Perhaps I find it autobiographical or something. Anyway, here is the video for this one, I really have to get me a guitar like that guy has...
3. The Arcade Fire -- "Rebellion (Lies)". This may just be my favourite song ever. I don't think that there is a shade on my mood spectrum that I can't find some way to enjoy this song. I can dance to it, do homework to it, think about life to it, it really does not matter. This was the song that really got me hooked on The Arcade Fire, and I am really quite thankful for it.
2. Stars -- "Your Ex-Lover is Dead". For whatever reason I was not a huge fan of Stars when I first heard them. But here I am now a little older and perhaps wiser and I can't get enough of them. This song really got to me with the following lines standing out in particular.
You were what I wanted, I gave what I gave
I'm not sorry I met you
I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sorry there's nothing to save
And now, the moment you have clearly all been waiting for...The song that I have been listening to the most since September
1. The Knife -- "Heartbeats". You forgot that I alluded to this song way back at #24 didn't you? Well this is the original, and definitely superior version of this song. I first heard it after checking out Travis' blog and seeing the video that he had posted. At first I wasn't a huge fan, but I simply could not get this song out of my head and had to keep listening to it until it got out. But then it came back and would never let me go. I'll keep with my tradition of stealing from Travis by posting this video as well. If you don't like this song at first give it another listen to in a few days. Trust me, it will grow on you.
So that concludes this epic marathon post. I have a few more ideas of things to blog about over the next few days. I have missed wireless Internet streaming through my brain and giving me cancer as I type. God bless technology.
Until next time,
G
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3 comments:
See, I listen to music at least three different ways (iPod, iTunes, CDs), so keeping track of them on iTunes along isn't the best way of tracking my listening habits. In fact, most of my top played songs date from 2004-05, when I used iTunes exclusively during my last year at Acadia. It's notable, then, that all 10 tracks from Arcade Fire's "Funeral" are in my top 25, and four of the top 5.
You should check out the Knife's latest album "Silent Shout" (as you might have seen, #4 on my top albums list this year). It's definately darker than most of "Deep Cuts," but really, really great stuff.
I meant "alone," not "along." Damn, I hate typos.
who are the eagles of death metal? i see they've got jack black and dave grohl in their video, as well as josh homme on drums.... impressive.
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