6 months ago on april 1st I did a 'What Country Are Your Top 100 from?' so here 6 months later I thought I would do an update.

1. England (59)
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
The Cure
New Order
Tears for Fears
Ultravox
George Michael
The Human League
Robbie Williams
David Bowie
Muse
Arcadia
Erasure
Iron Maiden
The Police
Def Leppard
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Pet Shop Boys
The Power Station
Roxy Music
Japan (new)
Yazoo
Thompson Twins
Heaven 17
Eurythmics
Kajagoogoo (new)
Bryan Ferry
Elvis Costello & The Attractions (new)
Morrissey
Placebo
Talk Talk
Wham!
Genesis
Andy Taylor
ABC
The Smiths
Kim Wilde
Bauhaus (new)
Queen
Paul McCartney
Blur
Pink Floyd
Soft Cell
Asia
Prefab Sprout
Suede
Judas Priest
Dave Gahan
Level 42
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Culture Club (new)
The Beatles (new)
Spandau Ballet (new)
Saint Etienne
The Pretenders
Oasis
Joy Division (new)
Martin L. Gore
Phil Collins

NOTE: Still at #1, but up from 54,5 to 59 artists, off the charts are: Take That (#102), Neurotic Outsiders (½ england / ½ usa) (#109), Bloc Party (#114) and Billy Idol (#117)

2. US (20)
Madonna
Garbage
Mötley Crüe
The B-52's
Prince & The Revolution
Alice Cooper
Janet Jackson
Nine Inch Nails
Bon Jovi
Red Hot Chili Peppers
KISS
Prince
The Killers
Eagles
Blondie
Van Halen
Metallica
Belinda Carlisle
Sparks (new)
The Dandy Warhols

NOTE: Still at #2, but down from 21,5 to 20 artists, off the charts are: My Chemical Romance (#104), Neurotic Outsiders (½ england / ½ usa) (#109) and Guns N' Roses (#106)

3. Denmark (8)
Nephew
TV-2
Mew
Private
Shu-Bi-Dua
Moi Caprice
Spleen United
Johnny Deluxe

NOTE: Still at #3 but down from 10 to 8 artists, off the charts are: The Raveonettes (#103) and D-A-D (#110)

4. Scotland (4)
Cocteau Twins
Simple Minds
Franz Ferdinand
Altered Images

NOTE: no change in position or artists

5. Wales (2)
James Dean Bradfield
Manic Street Preachers

NOTE: Up one position on the chart but with no new artists

5. Sweden (2)
ABBA
Europe

NOTE: Down one position on the chart, down from 3 to two artists, off the charts are: Roxette (#105)

7. Ireland (1)
U2

NOTE: no change in position or artists

7. Australia (1)
INXS

NOTE: no change in position or artists

7. Georgia (1)
Katie Melua

NOTE: no change in position or artists

7. Norway (1)
a-ha

NOTE: no change in position or artists

7. Canada (1)
Bryan Adams

NOTE: no change in position or artists

'11': Germany (0)

NOTE: down to zero artists in the charts and therefore out of the top 100, off the charts are: Rammstein (#113)

19,990 Blonde Redhead Spring And By Summer Fall This just rings of the Church to me. atmospheric, soaring guitars and lots of "noise" going on. I've listened to other songs by these guys, but didn't get the same vibe at all. This is spot on, though.

19,989 Scott Simons Umbrella A perfect example of how the song is what matters. I know nothing of Scott Simon except that he used to front some band (Social Distortion possibly? heh?) . . And the rihanna version I don't really know, so. Great cut.

19,988 + 19,987 Jason Harrod Looming + Siobhan Please know that these songs are from one of my top five albums ever. I would never want to put this on Jason, but like Derek Webb, I would let Jason Harrod speak for me. His head is in the right place and his songs sound like what mine do only so much better. Much much better. His songs are really what I have always tried to create. He created them, though, not me. Thus I respect and love his gift of melody and, well, tunage. I met Jason Harrod at a concert in Indianapolis a year or so ago and still feel like I made a fool of myself. To be sure, I've never met a musician who I've felt I could actually be good friends with. -- In fact, I've never felt that way about any successful musician ever. Except for, of course, Jason Harrod and Derek Webb. So to meet the guy and then sort of semi-fawn over him and kind of long to share a moment with him is downright embarassing since he doesn't know me from Adam. Sorry Jason. But you're songs have reached me.

19,986 Snow PatrolChasing Cars Just a great track that gets a lot of play around the house. My kids know Snow Patrol better than I do. "Hey Papa, isn't this Snow Patrol?" comes out the voice of my 8 year old girl. She recognizes it from Spiderman 2. Well, good, I'll let you listen to this.

19,985 The Innocence Mission Revolving Man Another great voice, this one the best this side of Heaven. Karen Peris singing over Dminor is absolutely gorgeous and bespeaks the nature of my heart to feel solace and comfort in the darker timbres. I love how Karen speaks boldly yet in no arrogance. She almost makes me want to be Catholic. This band is a great find! I hope others find her voice.

19,984 The Buck Pets Pearls "I'm not looking for an el dorado/ I just want this red haired girl." I noticed the other day that my library accounts for 11% of all buck pets plays at last.fm. Oh, my! I can't help thinking these guys deserve more! oh well.

19,983 Gnarls Barkley Crazy There is nothing wrong with this song. Just lots of fun. Danger Mouse strikes again!

19,982 ORANGE RANGE Shanghai Honey I have no idea -- none whatsoever -- if these guys are popular in Japan or not. They must be, right? And surely they are singing some pretty lurid stuff, huh? This is a great song! And, yet again, this is another J-drama song, this song often heard in "Orange Days."

19,981 My son Joshua is quoting Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. "Good Morning Starshine, the earth says Hello!" Indeed, lovely boy, Indeed.

19,980 Band of Horses Islands on the Coast These guys don't even know what they're singing about, I am pretty sure. I kind of wish the lyrics were the point, ya know? It'd be nice to delve a little bit deeper. For the time being, though, I'll hum along and enjoy the ride.

19,979 Prefab SproutAppetite I'm gonna say something here that may be detrimental to ever possibly converting people to Paddy McAloon's beautiful vision of life. The majority of his fans are apparently male (see this link)
Paddy, would you mind sending me your discs that haven't seen the light of day, like the one chock full of Gospel-ly Christian songs and the one about Michael Jackson?

19,978 Band of Horses Detlef Schrempf Come on guys, what are you thinking???? How can you name such a desperately bittersweet song "Detlef Schrempf?" You would do better to name the song, "HOOOOOO-HOOOO-OOOOW-OOOW" While the band may disagree, I find the lyrics a weakness. The song certainly captures a mood, but the whole album really suffers from weak lyrics. I love this album, too. I don't want to criticize it, but the lyrics keep this album from being a classic.

19,977 dc TalkDive The drums maybe don't pass the test of time, but I love and loathe that you have to take a dive. Yes, the great leap of faith. And yes, this is why I am afraid of the truth. Kevin Max has the best voice this side of Graceland. I think we need another dc talk album.

19,976 The ChurchMetropolis taken from El Momento Descuidado. Not my favorite church song by a long shot, but a great "reinterpretation." Steve, I guess you should be proud that your songs are well liked even if that is only by a limited few.

19,975 Sneaker Pimps 6 Underground (Nellee Hooper edit) Working in a photo studio had its benefits, namely playing your own music to get models in a mood. This always set a good mood in the studio. I also will take this song to the grave for the honest to god lyrics, "I'm opening to falling from grace." "I am ready to break," the buck pets sang with a similar sentiment.

3 PM:
[BBC News Headlines]
The Beach Boys / I Should Have Known Better; Tell Me Why / Beach Boys' Party! (Capitol 65)
The Pete Best Band / Step Outside / Haymans Green (Lightyear Entertainment 08) [released September 16/appearing at Dan Electros Guitar Bar Friday, October 11]
The Rutles / Questionnaire / Archaeology (Virgin 96)
The Solipsistics / Ruin My Day / Selected and uncollected recordings (Frigidisk 08)
Jimmie Dale Gilmore / Where Is Love Now / Braver Newer World (Elektra 96)
Duffy / Warwick Avenue / Rockferry (Mercury 08)
Bridge Music: Ratatat / Shiller / LP3 (XL/Beggars Group 08)

3:30 PM:
The Pretenders / Boots of Chinese Plastic / Break Up the Concrete (Shangri-La 08) [released October 7]
T. Rex / Solid Gold Easy Action / 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection (Hip-O 72/02)
Eddie Cochran / Somethin' Else / Somethin' Else: The Fine Lookin' Hits of Eddie Cochran (Razor & Tie 59/98)
flowers to hide / 503 / Down the Stairs [EP] (self-release 08)
Electric Six / Electric Demons in Love / Fire (XL/Beggars Group 03)
Retribution Gospel Choir / What She Turned Into / Retribution Gospel Choir (Caldo Verde 08)
Neutral Milk Hotel / Holland, 1945 / In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge 98)
Voxhaul Broadcast / Rotten Apples / Rotten Apples (Retone 08)
Colin Hay / Me and My Imaginary Friend / Are You Lookin' at Me? (Lazy Eye/Compass 07) [appearing at Dosey Doe Coffee House, The Woodlands, this Sunday]
Bridge Music: Ratatat / Falcon Jab / LP3 (XL/Beggars Group 08)

4 O'CLOCK 80s BLOCK:
Gang of Four / Call Me Up / Songs of the Free (Warner Bros. 82) [request]
Prefab Sprout / Don't Sing / Swoon (Kitchenware/Epic 84)
The B-52's / Housework / Bouncing Off the Satellites (Warner Bros. 86)
Wang Chung / Even If You Dream / Points on the Curve (Geffen 83)
Micro Chip League / Communicate / New York [12" Single] (Oak Lawn 87)
[4:20 DRUG WAR NEWS with DEAN BECKER]
China Crisis/ Arizona Sky [Full Length Mix] / Collection (Caroline 86/97)
Bridge Music: Ratatat / Shempi / LP3 (XL/Beggars Group 08)

4:30 PM:
springtide / Crucial / Just Before April (self-release 08) [physical CD now available]
Film School / Lectric / Hideout (Beggars Banquet 07)
Lush / Downer / Gala (4AD 90)
Tearwave / Ripped Apart / Different Shade of Beauty (Projekt 08)
Slowdive / Miranda / Pygmalion (Castle UK 95)
Soundpool / So Much for That / Dichotomies + Dreamland (Aloft 08)
Exit Music: Ratatat / Black Heroes / LP3 (XL/Beggars Group 08)

I listened to a lot of music in high school in the 80's -- R.E.M., They Might Be Giants, The Icicle Works, Prefab Sprout, XTC, The Pogues, The Housemartins, The Colourfield, The Smiths, Men Without Hats, Ultravox... There was a guy in my crowd who would spend all his time at record stores picking out albums based on the track names and then he'd make cassettes for the rest of us (the early days of music sharing!). He found a lot of great stuff that way. And he probably listened to a lot of crap that the rest of us never heard.

Once I graduated and lost my source I wasn't really into music for about, oh, 20 years (rock music, that is -- I did develop an undying love of Broadway musicals during my 20's :D). And then, of course, I stumbled across Last.fm and could discover music for myself with no financial risk. Nice, that.

Over the last year at Last.fm I've noticed a few distinct phases I've gone through.

There was my starting-out phase, where I listened to all the big-name bands I'd heard of out in the world, like Muse, Linkin Park, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, and Travis.

Then I guess maybe I went through a little *ahem* emo phase, the less said about that the better.

And there was my British-bands-whose-names-start-with-"the" phase. The Coral, The Rifles, Maxïmo Park, The Courteneers, The Rakes, The Cribs, The Zutons, Dirty Pretty Things, The Kooks, Little Man Tate, Arctic Monkeys, The Enemy, The Sunshine Underground... (okay, not all of them start with "the")

I also had an indie/folk-rock-bands-with-watery-names phase, which included Okkervil River, Shearwater, Great Lake Swimmers, and Midlake. Some bands in this phase with drier names were Crooked Fingers, Fleet Foxes, Flowers From The Man Who Shot Your Cousin, and Band of Horses.

Right now I seem to be in a guys-who-use-their-own-names phase. Um, also known as singer-songwriters. Josh Rouse, Denison Witmer, Ali Whitton, Terry Springford, Fionn Regan, Patrick Park, and Josh Ritter are current favorites.

There's been a bit of Scandinavian music (The Perishers, Kings of Convenience, The Whitest Boy Alive, Seabear), and after listening to bisa's library for a bit, I think I may have a Dutch phase next, starting with Johan and Solo. :)

Of course these phases are not consecutive and discrete; most of them are still going on, I just focus more on one thing than another at any given time. Further recommendations in any of these areas would be most welcome. What am I missing out on?

It's from Anthony Liekens' site:http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/recommend.php?user=Zoonie&type=overall

My recommendations are

Alfred Brendel Aztec Camera Badly Drawn Boy Ben Kweller British Sea Power Cake David Bowie Echo & the Bunnymen Eels Elastica Elbow Elvis Costello Elvis Costello & The Attractions Felt Franz Schubert Frédéric Chopin Gang of Four Gene Georg Friedrich Händel Igor Stravinsky Manic Street Preachers Mansun Martha Argerich Maurizio Pollini Modest Mouse Morrissey Prefab Sprout Primal Scream Public Image Ltd. Pulp Richard Hawley Rufus Wainwright Saint Etienne Scott Walker Suede Super Furry Animals Sviatoslav Richter Talk Talk Talking Heads Teenage Fanclub The Bens The Charlatans The Coral The Fall The La's The Lightning Seeds The Verve Tindersticks Vladimir Horowitz Wire

Largely for my own personal reference, I've decided to keep monthly snapshots of my top 100 artists at the end of every month. So here's how things look at the end of July 2008:

1 Nightwish 711
2 XTC 474
3 David Bowie 455
4 The Cure 429
5 Tom Waits 420
6 The Fall 406
7 New Order 404
8 The Associates 396
9 Depeche Mode 370
10 Within Temptation 359
11Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 330
12 Björk 320
13 Pet Shop Boys 316
14 Siouxsie and the Banshees 303
15 Echo & the Bunnymen 287
16 Cocteau Twins 284
17 Elvis Costello & The Attractions 277
18 Joy Division 276
19 Throwing Muses 273
20 Prince 262
21 Pulp 259
22 Blur 256
22 R.E.M. 256
24 Kate Bush 242
25 The Divine Comedy 235
26 The Smiths 230
27 The Beatles 229
28 Super Furry Animals 228
29 Wire 222
30 American Music Club 221
31 Bob Dylan 217
32 Saint Etienne 213
32 Madness 213
34 Yello 212
35 The Clash 207
36 The Go-Betweens 203
37 Soft Cell 202
38 Radiohead 201
38 Richard Thompson 201
38 Leaves' Eyes 201
41 The Auteurs 200
42 Elvis Costello 195
42 Marc Almond 195
44 Eels 190
45 The Human League 185
46 Cabaret Voltaire 184
47 Suede 183
47 Tarja 183
49 Half Man Half Biscuit 181
50 The Comsat Angels 178
50 Andy Partridge 178
50 Talking Heads 178
50 All About Eve 178
54 Air 175
55 Tindersticks 173
55 After Forever 173
55 Bauhaus 173
58 Barry Adamson 169
59 U2 167
60 Leonard Cohen 164
61 ABC 161
62 Garbage 160
63 Elis 158
64 Lacuna Coil 157
64 Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 157
64 The Sisters of Mercy 157
67 Ladytron 156
68 PJ Harvey 154
69 Magazine 153
69 Aphex Twin 153
71 The Jesus and Mary Chain 152
71 Low 152
73 Badly Drawn Boy 151
74 Ultravox 149
75 Belle and Sebastian 148
76 Prefab Sprout 146
77 The Clean 145
77 Massive Attack 145
79 Buzzcocks 142
80 The Flaming Lips 140
80 Gorky's Zygotic Mynci 140
82 Roxy Music 139
83 Morrissey 138
83 The Stranglers 138
85 The Walkabouts 137
85 John Foxx 137
87 Arctic Monkeys 136
87 ABBA 136
89 Scott Walker 134
90 The Rolling Stones 132
90 The The 132
90 Simple Minds 132
93 Art of Noise 129
94 Scritti Politti 128
94 Basement Jaxx 128
96 Neil Young 127
97 Aretha Franklin 126
97 Ramones 126
99 Kristin Hersh 125
99 Kraftwerk 125

Some statistical analysis - this month, artists by country of origin

United Kingdom - 65
USA - 16
Australia - 2
Canada - 2
Finland - 2
Germany - 2
Irish Republic - 2
Netherlands - 2
France - 1
Iceland - 1
Italy - 1
Liechtenstein - 1
New Zealand - 1
Sweden - 1
Switzerland - 1

EXTRAPERLO, nuevo grupo en Mushroom Pillow.

Desde Barcelona, Aleix, Cacho, Borja y Alba funcionan como grupo desde 2004, pero han encauzado su estilo a partir del cambio del batería por una caja de ritmos hace tan sólo un año. Con ello han conseguido un sonido más positivo y menos afectado, a lo que colaboró definitivamente su afición tanto a grupos pop de los 80 (Orange Juice, Prefab Sprout, The Pale Fountains, Aztec Camera etc.) como a muchos discos africanos de los 70 y otros tantos tropicales, latinos y mediterráneos. Les encantaría tocar en concierto con Remigi Palmero revisando el Provisions.

"El hecho de plantear nuestras canciones con caja de ritmos, de forma más electrónica, ha convertido la composición final de los temas en un camino bastante meditado y matemático, nos parece interesante que en las canciones luzcan los arreglos y que los sonidos te transporten a sitios diferentes. Lo nuestro es pop pero se nutre de un montón de influencias que nos gusta que estén presentes aunque sea con un simple arreglo que nos evoque a ellas."

Su bagaje en directo remite a casi todas las salas de barcelona, solos o en compañía de grupos como El Guincho, Veracruz, Le Pianc, Manos de Topo, Sr Chinarro, Delorean, Silver Jews, Beef, Ellos, etc. Han Participado en el Primavera Sound 2008.

Comenzarán a grabar su primer disco este verano.

hajsg's 16 top albums
1. Scritti Politti - Cupid And Psyche '85 (50) 2. The Style Council - The Style Council Collection (48) 3. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Bang ! (45) 4. M.I.A./Diplo - Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1 (43) 5. Thompson Twins - Into the Gap (41) 6. Squeeze - Greatest Hits (40) 7. Chaka Khan - Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan (38) 8. Spandau Ballet - Gold: The Best of Spandau Ballet (38) 9. Spandau Ballet - True (38) 10. The Human League - Dare (37) 11. Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen (37) 12. Bryan Adams - So Far So Good (36) 13. David Bowie - Best of Bowie (36) 14. Madness - Divine Madness (34) 15. Scritti Politti - Songs To Remember (33) 16. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (30)
top albums script

thanx maszok!

this album chart list was updated 30-Jun-08