Well, I finally succumbed and did one of these playlist-shuffle-quiz-things. Shame on me. At least I won't try to blame it on boredom or throw in some other bad excuses that everyone here seems to do when answering these things. I'm actually not that bored, and not even drunk. I take the full responsibility.


1. How does the world see me?
Gary Moore - Nothing to Lose – Nothing to lose by having me here. I agree.


2. Will I have a happy life?
Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Ain't the One – Damn.


3. What does my friends really think of me?
The Animals - How You've Changed - Have I?


4. Do people secretly lust after me?
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Miss June '75 - Had no idea she even liked me. Great.


5. How can I make myself happy?
Tom Waits - In the Colosseum - No thanks.


6. What should I do with my life?
Turbonegro - I Got Erection - Not exactly what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.


7. Will I ever have children?
Bob Dylan - Po' Boy - I image it would be a very po' boy indeed.


8. What is some good advice for me?
Frank Sinatra - Love and Marriage - Eh... thanks, Frankie.


9. How will I be remembered?
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick - Well, your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick. Damn you.


10. What is my signature dancing song?
Sigur Rós – Sæglópur – Not sure if this is the greatest dance song out there. Then again, I’m not a dancer.


11.What do I think my currently theme song is?
Bob Dylan - 4th Time Around - For what?


12. What does everybody else think my theme song is?
The Jesus and Mary Chain – Something's Wrong – Thanks, everybody else, for pointing that out.


13.What song will be played at my funeral?
The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica - Miss her already. Who's Jessica?


14.What type of men/women do you like?
Sonic Youth – Rats – God... Now that's some fetish.


15. What is my day going to be like?
Grateful Dead - Fire on the Mountain - Day's gonna be a blast.


16. Would be my wedding song?
The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told) - I imagine it would be a depressing wedding.


17. Will be the last words coming from my mouth?
Tom Waits - World Keeps Turning - I hope it will, even if I'm not around anymore.


18. Will be the first thing to say to my unknown love to come?
The Clash - This Is England - Is it? Must've taken a wrong turn somewhere.


19.Will be the song I sing to my lover on the first date?
John Lennon - Mother - Creepy. I swear I'm no Norman Bates. Honestly.


20. Will be the song my lover sing to me?
The Who – I Don't Even Know Myself - Me neither. Great couple there.


21.How will my life end?
Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful - ... of strychnine?


22.Will I be reborn?
Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks - Bad chances then. Unless we're talking New Orleans.


23. Will be my heartbroken song?
Burial – Ghost Hardware – Melancholic enough, I guess.

Stare:

Jeff Beck
Steve Winwood
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Skid Row
The Moody Blues
The Allman Brothers Band
The Milestone Corporation
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Graham Bond Organisation
Humble Pie
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Mocna Muza:

Iced Earth
Manowar
White Zombie
Melvins
Tool
Sepultura
Slayer
P.O.D.
The Vision Bleak
Corrosion of Conformity
Exodus
Forbidden
Slayer
Prong
Anthrax
Helmet

Starsze:

Pearl Jam
Radiohead
Rush
Thin Lizzy


Coś ala The Who:

King Crimson
The Clash
Uriah Heep
Mud


Do Przejżenia:

Joe Satriani
System of a Down
Wolfmother
Disturbed
Godsmack
The Presidents of the United States of America
Avenged Sevenfold
Nine Inch Nails
Killswitch Engage
Annihilator
Anthrax
Nevermore
Venom
Kreator
Helloween
Probot
Napalm Death
Cronos

Blus:

Bo Diddley
B.B. King
Eric Clapton
Buddy Guy
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Champion Jack Dupree
Muddy Waters
John Lee Hooker
Albert King
Freddie King
Howlin' Wolf
Taj Mahal
T-Bone Walker
Big Joe Turner
Lonnie Johnson
Robert Johnson
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Terry

So I am sitting a week or two ago in a Chipotle your typically mass chain burrito joint. Its got the Cali swing on the thing going and its edible.

Now, I have to admit I never ever paid any attention to the music playing in this joint. Its not that I have dismissed what was playing in this place. Uh-huh, nope.

Its just always seemed to be that all together forgettable. So, I am shoving this giant high-end fast food U.S.-style bit of food into my face after working till 7pm or so past supper time at home so I had to go out to eat. At the bottom of my burrito covering up the little lame ass plastic basket you get if you claim you are eating in I notice something.

They have all these really cool bands listed out on the paper underneath my burrito. I mean its very fucking important to show your corporate cool via the wrapper under your giant big as your goddamn head taco de harina from hell.

I look around at the rest of my numbnut comrades stucked and stuffed with fast food stuff. Its hard not to wonder if any goddamn one of them know any of the artists listed around this wrapper.

Sure, they might know Tori Amos or Steve Earle but even the esteemed god poet of Leonard Cohen would they know his name.

They might know their favorite rock god guitarist likes Howlin' Wolf yeah that is a definite maybe. They might recognize Aretha Franklin if they are old or if the younger ones have seen the Blues Brothers. But Etta James is still forgotten by most.

But you know its also about other folks like how many would know who Jim White or Lucinda Williams is? I am not sure if even the young punker in the corner would know who the fuck David Johansen is? Would they even know Wilco? What about Keb' Mo'? I doubt it. Seriously. Cordero? Yeah fucking right.

There are even a pair of artists like Buena Vista Social Club and the Gipsy Kings that sound interesting and I have meant to check out.

But here is the fucking kicker you know. Where the fuck is the radio station diverse and powerful and brave enough to put on a playlist like the above?

Maybe with a little Ry Cooder who was also listed thrown in for good measure. Come on think of it. In the fifties with the big bands raging there were DJs and stations brave enough to kickstart the shit out of say the Rock-n-Roll revolution. Are we going to leave it up to the satellite radio and leave good music to the ones who can afford that and the internet?

Fuck the FCC maybe its time to burn consolidate owned radio stations to the ground and start over.

Over maybe these corporations trying to play off their cool angle name dropping good artists and others trying to shill the CDs with your coffee purchase should push the stale ass radio stations to play some of their artists to show how cool they are and how they can influence culture in a positive way.

Or maybe I should just eat my burritos and shut the fuck up. stfu.

As Tom Waits was the first artist to pass 1000 scrobbles some few weeks ago, I’d say it’s well deserved to dedicate a journal entry entirely to him.

For me it all started with a girl named Alice. I was looking through my parent’s record collection in search for some new impulses to my ever-growing musical taste at the time. I finally reached “W” in their shelf, and saw some albums by this mysterious Tom Waits stacked there. Rain Dogs, Blood Money and Alice, I reckon. Oh, and Real Gone, which had been given to them as a Christmas present by no less than myself. Of course I knew nothing about the guy when I bought it. Just that my old folks were fond of him, and that it was his latest album. I found it quite weird that I couldn’t recollect having ever listened to this man’s music. Almost every other band or artist cherished by my parents, I had at least heard one or two songs of, at various occasions. My curiosity naturally grew strong, and I had to enquire about this Tom-person with my mum. “Well, I think it’s fantastic, but it’s for those especially interested,” I remember her saying. Well, I wanted to try it out.

Turns out I didn’t like it all that much. Interesting perhaps, but nothing exceptional. Except for this one song that was totally stuck in my mind. Yes, Alice. And it all went from there. From this mysterious girl, from skating on the ice, secret kisses bringing madness to the bliss, and all that. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but there was something about the mood in that song which appealed to me. This gritty, dark atmosphere, which still gave room for so much beauty and tenderness. Something about the haunting descriptions, bordering between clichés and poetry, saved by the honesty, credibility, emitted from this guy’s voice. I was suddenly transported back to the 1950’s, to the desolate parts of America, the rain pouring down my face as I stood outside waiting for something indefinite. But only for four-and-a-half minutes.

I had found my starting point, and there was only one way to go. While this single song was the one I would always return to as time passed, I started listening more seriously to the album in its entirety, and obviously found it more and more appealing. So I gave the three other albums I had in my possession another chance as well. While Tom was still no artist I would label my favorite at that time, I thought of it as a delightful side path to what I usually listened to back then.

Then Orphans was released, and my interest in Waits renewed as a result. As I hardly listen to newly released albums in its entirety, I do know that I didn’t have many other alternatives, but for me, Orphans was the clear winner of the race for the title of Best album of 2006. After giving this epic 56 song album some serious playing time, I felt obliged to delve deeper into Tom’s discography, and thus bought a handful of his older albums.

And here he is today, not only the first to reach 1000 plays since I made an account on Last.fm, but both my top artist on this site as of now, and obviously one of my favorite artists of all time.

A fascination towards a man such as Tom Waits is hard to describe, as the diversity in his recordings over the years makes it hard to really define what kind of music he plays, and as a result, hard to define what you actually like about his music.

From he started out as the swinging piano man in 1976 with Closing Time he has grown increasingly experimental with every turn, his voice more hoarse, his music less, well, charming. Fewer compromises are perhaps the right words. His later records can definitely be seen as demanding to sit through for those not familiar with his work, while his early work is perhaps a bit more heartwarming, but still with that exceptional Waits-ish mood to it. There’s something about the evolution he has gone through in his career that makes it all so fascinating. He’s an artist refusing to be defined. Every time his musical style seems cemented, he takes yet another weird side road, while still managing to cling to his own recognizable expression. From the traditional piano ballads of Closing Time, to the gritty, but somewhat romanticized nighttime moods of The Heart of Saturday Night. From the hysterical, crude humor and fascinating live-imitating approach of Nighthawks at the Diner, to the experimental turning point in the 80’s with stuff such as Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs. From the soothing, lovely, heartbreaking Alice, to the heavy rock of Hoist That Rag, to the inaccessible talk-experiments and human beat boxing of Real Gone and Orphans.

Still, with all this variety, he does indeed manage to make it all fit his extraordinary style. It’s not difficult to spot a Tom Waits-album, there’s always something about them that makes them scream out “Tom Waits”.

The answer might simply be his instantly recognizable and unique voice, described so hilariously fittingly by a critic as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car”. Like a modern day Howlin' Wolf patched up with some Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band here and there, but always with a dash of Frank Sinatra and stand-up comedy hidden behind the lines. Extraordinary, needless to say.

What I personally find perhaps most interesting with Waits is his “cinematic” approach to everything. There’s something about the descriptions, the situations, the characters in his songs that makes it all so vivid and soulful, much like a scene from a film. Some gritty film noir, or an Americana-style indie film á la Jim Jarmusch, or an epic from the relentless downtown streets of some American metropolis. Or a mixture of all of those.

Oh, and I do of course have to let the drunkard in me speak his mind too. There’s no denying that there’s something about Tom Waits that makes me want to get drunk on whiskey and succumb to excessive cigarette smoking. His albums basically emits an atmosphere of a dusty, gloomy pub. When listening to Waits, being a lonely, heartbroken drunkard stuffed away in the darkest corner of the local waterhole with only a pack of cigarettes for company, somehow seems almost tempting. A depressing thought perhaps, but a bit of melancholy never hurt anyone.

Well, I won’t get around to ranking albums or songs this time. To be honest, I find it way too hard to rank Tom’s output. Because of the magnitude of styles he has embraced over the past 30 years, there’s something for every situation to find in his discography.

What I’d rather do is to simply end this with a congratulation to Tom Waits for being the first to reach 1000 plays, a wish that he will continue to release albums of the same exceptional quality for many years to come, a recommendation to everyone not familiar with this man’s music to give him a chance or two (oh, and go watch Jarmusch's Down By Law while you're at it, to see that he's a great actor as well), and, of course, a big thanks to Tom himself for all the fantastic music he has given us.

I'm amused when, occasionally, Last.fm gives me a shoolmasterly admonishment about bad metadata and tells me to clean up my tags. Usually this happens with tracks they're streaming to me, where they have the ability to clean up the tags while I have read-only access.

But this track, Aries, is the first instance where they've got completely the wrong artist: Last.fm says this track is by Howlin' Wolf. Listen to it: it isn't! From the graphic, it looks as though it's Freddie Hubbard, and that certainly sounds more plausible.

I imagined all this fingerprinting they're doing was going to clean up the metadata -- when's that clean-up going to kick in?

1. How did you get into 29?
Marc Cohn: When my dad went to America in the early 90s he brought back the self-titled album. So I was sort of raised with it.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Queens of the Stone Age: Shit, I don't know. Feel Good Hit of the Summer? Or Song for the Deaf.

3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33?
Elton John: I... I'm not sure. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters is sort of a pretty song, I guess. But probably the final verse of Roy Rogers.

4. What is your favorite album by 49?
Blink-182: I don't actually own any of their albums. I don't even the remember the names of them.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own?
Guns N' Roses: Multiple? Um, maybe 5?

6. What is your favorite song by 50?
Foo Fighters: Everlong, probably.

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad?
Led Zeppelin: Not really.

8. What is your favorite album by 15?
The Beatles: What are they doing so high up? Um, Sgt. Pepper's.

9. What is your favorite song by 5?
Pink Floyd: At the moment, Mother or In the Flesh

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
Motörhead: Not really. Eat the Rich makes me laugh though.

11. What is your favorite album by 40?
Bruce Springsteen: Oooh er. Born in the USA as a cop-out.

12. What is your favorite song by 10?
Johnny Cash: Completely by him? If not, then Ghost Riders In The Sky, if yes, maybe... Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30?
Soundgarden: I don't think I have any.

14. What is your favorite song by 38?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: Probably Bob.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
J.J. Cale: Not specifically. Last Will and Testament, maybe, if that counts.

16. How many times have you seen 25 live?
Black Sabbath: Never.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23?
Mark Knopfler: I'm not really sure. The first one I remember that was solely done by him would be Je Suis Desole. Maybe Romeo and Juliet?

18. What is your favorite album by 11?
Mad Caddies: Rock the Plank.

19. Who is a favorite member of 1?
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Yeah, Nick.

20. Have you ever seen 14 live?
Radiohead: Never.

21. What is a good memory involving 27?
Beasts of Bourbon: Putting Little Animals on with a beer and watching the cricket. For serious.

22. What is your favorite song by 16?
Nirvana: Uhhh... Pennyroyal Tea? Is that one of theirs?

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47?
Tex Perkins and the Dark Horses: Either I Know You Know I Know or Fine Mess.

24. What is your favorite album by 18?
The Seatbelts: Probably just OST 1.

25. What is your favorite song by 21?
Wu-Tang Clan: Toss-up between Protect Ya Neck and C.R.E.A.M.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26?
Muse: Darkshines. I think from Kat.

27. What is your favorite album by 3?
Bob Dylan: I dunno, really. Probably because I'm so easily influenced by new things, Time Out of Mind.

28. What is your favorite song by 2?
The Doors: Uh, L.A. Woman, probably. Or Roadhouse Blues.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32?
Easy Star All*Stars: I'm going to have to guess their dub of Money?

30. What is your favorite song by 8?
Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms or Romeo and Juliet.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live?
Pearl Jam: Never. Was going to last year, but exams got in the way.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
Robbie Williams: Hot Fudge always gets a smile.

33. What is your favorite album by 12?
Anti-Flag: Mobilize or Die For The Government.

34. What is the worst song by 45?
Goo Goo Dolls: I don't know enough of them. I'm pretty sick of them all around, actually. Uh... Acoustic #3?

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34?
The White Stripes: Has to be Seven Nation Army.

36. What is your favorite album by 48?
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris: The only one they've done together.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live?
Metallica: Never.

38. What is your favorite song by 36?
J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton: Last Will and Testament, as above.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28?
Gorillaz: Clint Eastwood.

40. What is your favorite album by 7?
The Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie etc. I know.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy?
Flogging Molly: Specifically happy... not really. Most of Alive Behind The Green Door gets me upbeat though.

42. What is your favorite album by 41?
Matchbox Twenty: I don't even remember any of them... more than you think you are sounds right.

43. What is your favorite song by 24?
Howlin' Wolf: Back Door Man, probably.

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46?
Pulp Fiction: ...that I never got around to fixing up the artist attributes? I don't know.

45. What is your favorite song by 35?
Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses: All Over the World Tonight. Or Another Rain Song. ...or Fine Mess.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
Dropkick Murphys: It only just twigged that 'happy' is such an odd emotion for music. No.

47. What is your favorite album by 4?
Neil Young: Uh, Prairie Wind, for the same reason as Bob Dylan.

48. Who is a favorite member of 37?
Ghost Dog: Well, that's technically RZA/Wu-Tang Clan. So I guess RZA?

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43?
Arctic Monkeys: I don't remember. Did they have a huge breakthrough hit single? Probably that one.

50. How many albums do you own by 20?
Cypress Hill: 2. Or 1. I don't remember.

Yeah, I gave up on track/album tags early on. Too much effort.

1927 - Born on this day, Junior Parker, US blues singer/songwriter. He worked with B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf. Parker died on November 18th 1971.

1942 - Born on this day, Mike Pender, The Searchers.

1944 - Born on this day, Jance Garfat, bass, Dr. Hook.

1954 - Born on this day, Chris Hughes, Adam and the Ants.

1963 - The Beatles played the last show on a UK tour supporting Helen Shapiro at The Gaumont Cinema, Hanley, Stoke.

1966 - Born on this day, Tone-Lōc, (Antony Smith), US rapper.

1966 - Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles.

1967 - A twice-nightly tour kicked off in the UK at The ABC in Romford Essex featuring, The Small Faces, Jeff Beck, Roy Orbison and Paul And Barry Ryan.

1969 - Led Zeppelin recorded their first BBC Radio 1 'Top Gear' session during the afternoon at the Playhouse Theatre in London, England.

1973 - Winners at this years Grammy Awards included, Roberta Flack who won Song of the year and Record of the year with 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' and Harry Nilsson won Best pop vocal performance for 'Without You.'

1973 - Slade's 'Come On Feel The Noize', entered the UK at No.1, making Slade the first act to achieve this since The Beatles.

1977 - The first night of an UK tour with Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, cherry vanilla and The Police kicked off at the Roxy Club, London. Iggy Pop supported by The Vibrators appeared at Huddersfield Poly.

1979 - Bee Gees went to No. 1 on the US album chat with 'Spirits Having Flown', the brothers' second US No.1 album.

1983 - Eurythmics kicked off a 10-date UK tour at The Hacienda, Manchester.

1984 - German group Nena were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with '99 Red Balloons.'

1985 - Michael Jackson visited Madame Tussauds Waxworks in London to unveil his waxwork look-alike.

1986 - Metallica released their highly influential album, Master of Puppets, considered by many in the metal community to be the best metal album of all time.

1990 - During a world tour Paul McCartney played the first of 6 sold-out nights at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. The final night was broadcast live to venues in 10 other Japanese cities; Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka, Sapporp, Sendai and Takamatsu.

1994 - The Smashing Pumpkins were banned from appearing on BBC TV's 'Top Of The Pops', due to the content of the song "Disarm"'s lyrics. The single was this weeks highest new entry.

1999 - US music professor Peter Jeffrey went to court to sue The Smashing Pumpkins, their promoters and a company who make ear plugs after claiming his hearing was damaged at a concert in Connecticut.

1999 - Oasis agreed to pay their former drummer Tony McCarroll a one-off sum of £550,000 ($935,000) after he sued the Manchester band for millions in unpaid royalties. McCarroll had been sacked from the band in 1995.

2000 - Tom Jones won the Best male artist at this year's Brit Awards. Other winners included Travis for Best band and Best album 'The Man Who.' Best single went to Robbie Williams for 'She's The One', Five won Best pop act, TLC won Best International group, Beck won Best International Male, Macy Gray won Best newcomer and Outstanding Contribution went to Spice Girls.

2000 - Former Bay City Rollers, Derek Longmuir was released on bail on charges of downloading child pornographic images from the internet and keeping indecent videos in his home.

2003 - Ray Jackson who found fame with Lindisfarne took out legal action against Rod Stewart over his 1970s hit song ‘Maggie May.’ Jackson claimed he came up with the worldwide hit's classic mandolin melody and claimed he may have lost at least £1m because he was not credited for the track's distinctive "hook." Jackson was paid just £15 for the recording session by Stewart in 1971.

2004 - Elton John announced he was planning to marry his long-term partner David Furnish if new UK laws allowed it. A Civil Partnership bill was being passed through Parliament which would give gay couples greater rights.

It's tempting sometimes to replace my overall charts on my profile page with one of the rolling charts, and high up in my overall charts are artists who I have barely listened to since early in my last.fm 'career', e.g. Stereo Total and Ladytron (though I still like them).

But I generally prefer to see the overall charts, as I like the idea of accumulated statistics. And seeing the progress of different artists as they make a dent in my established charts.

So instead I thought it would be interesting to set out some of top charts side-by-side, and see the differences in my listening habits over time (well interesting for me, at least ;) ). Plus, since rolling charts constantly change, this is a way of having a static record of my charts over a period of time.

Overall Charts (Artists)

1 France Gall
2 Françoise Hardy
3 Serge Gainsbourg
4 Chantal Goya
5 April March
6 Billie Davis
7 Belle and Sebastian
8 Stereo Total
9 Broadcast
10 Sylvie Vartan


Rolling Year Charts (Artists)

1 Billie Davis
2 France Gall
3 Françoise Hardy
4 Sylvie Vartan
5 April March
6 Serge Gainsbourg
7 Linda Ronstadt
8 Lucky Soul
9 Lush
10 The Shangri-Las

Rolling 6 Month Charts (Artists)

1 Linda Ronstadt
2 Billie Davis
3 France Gall
4 Lucky Soul
5 Timi Yuro
6 Loretta Lynn
7 Serge Gainsbourg
8 Broadcast
9 Bat For Lashes
10 Sylvie Vartan

Rolling 3 Month Charts (Artists)

1 Lucky Soul
2 France Gall
3 Linda Ronstadt
4 ? and the Mysterians
5 Howlin' Wolf
6 Nick Lowe
7 Suzanne Doucet
8 The Rolling Stones
8 Jens Lekman
10 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Top song:

Overall: Anna Karina & Serge Gainsbourg - Ne Dis Rien

Year: Billie Davis - Tell Him

6 Months: Lucky Soul – Struck Dumb

3 Months: Lucky Soul – Struck Dumb