I have no words to say, on this slow and useless day

The image that I reposted yesterday was also part of a larger Flickr group "Song Chart", where many more song lyrics have been turned into charts or formulas, one way or the other. It's a great effort. Some of my favorites are this, this and this one (pic below).

Today marks the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the 25th anniversary edition. Now, Thriller, the record itself, is one of the first records I remember listening to (or at least the singles -- But then again, almost every song was a single anyway). Besides the new collaborations, the record also contains the original versions of the songs. Seems like a good way to compare the new with the old.


The Girl Is Mine (2008)
This track features Will.i.Am, from The Black Eyed Peas. Now, I find the Black Eyed Peas mostly annoying, so I'm not sure if this is good news. The new R&B beats are actually quite decent, and in spirit of the original track. All the other things are plain dissapointing. Much, if not almost all of the power of the original song is in the dialogue between Paul (McCartney) and Micheal. The reworked version however, is completely stripped of Paul's contributions, replaced by Will.i.am's vocals which are just off track.

P.Y.T. (2008)
Again Will.i.am on this track, and I can repeat much of the same things of the last track, except that I don't like the beats. But the original is not super either.

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (2008)
This time it's not Will.i.am, but Akon instead. While the AutoTune corrections in this song are a bit too much, I think this version is actually decent. Good beats, and the instrumentation is well done.

Beat It (2008)
I already said that I find the Black Eyed Peas annoying, and this includes Fergie, which is on this track. However, Fergie's singing quite fits this song. Otherwise, the changes to this song are quite minimal, except that the guitar riffs are much more diminished. Which is a big shame.

Billie Jean (2008)
I think this is a very dangerous track to touch, given that it's such a popular track, and that it's still a floorfiller. This remix is done by Kanye West, and this version ain't bad at all. Of all the reworked tracks, this is the one I like best, even if it hasn't got the beats of the original.

Overall, the new versions aren't that noteworthy. The good thing of the record though, is that all original versions are also present. So hopefully (young) people that will buy this record, will buy it for the originals (even if maybe the new versions got them interested in the first place).

And the best thing of this record? Thriller isn't reworked.

I've narrowed down the list of 50 albums to 10, and just like last year, I took one song per album and concatenated them into a single file for your listening pleasure.

You can get if from here. Enjoy!

( Track Listing )

It's the time of the year again, where I reflect on the music I heared in the past twelve months. This year, I didn't hear that much, bust was still able to compile a list of the 50 best albums of 2007, in no particular order. Ehr, no actually in alphabetical order. Somewhat. Watch out for the top 10 at the end of the year :).

1. Tone Damli Aaberge - Sweet Fever
2. Air - Pocket Symphony
3. Stevie Ann - Closer To The Heart
4. Anouk - Who’s Your Momma
5. Aqualung - Memory Man
6. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
7. Tori Amos - American Doll Posse
8. Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music
9. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
10. Margaret Berger - Pretty Sacry Silver Fairy
11. Bjork - Volta
12. Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City
13. James Blunt - All The Lost Souls
14. Kelly Clarkson - My December
15. Coco Rosie? - The Adventures of …
16. Charlie Dee - Love Your Life
17. Eisley - Combinations
18. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Trip The Light Fantastic
19. Feist - The Reminder
20. Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control
21. Justice - Cross
22. Krezip - Plug It In
23. KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic
24. Avril Lavinge - The Best Damn Thing
25. Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life
26. M.I.A. - Kala
27. Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers
28. Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower
29. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
30. Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
31. Missy Higgins - On A Clear Night
32. Abra Moore - On The Way
33. Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks
34. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
35. Po’ Girl - Home To You
36. Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
37. Joss Stone - Introducing
38. Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
39. Siouxsie Sioux - MantaRay
40. Tegan and Sara - The Con
41. Anna Ternheim - Lovers Dream and More Music for Psychotic Lovers
42. The Blow - Poor Aim: Love Songs
43. The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night
44. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
45. The Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist
46. The White Stripes - Icky Thumb
47. Tracey Thorn - Out of the Wood
48. Wir Sind Helden - Soundso
49. Marte Wulff - Safety Pins
50. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is

Heh, it's always good to know you're not the only one with a problem. Just watch it, it's hilarious.



(via Beatmixed)

Fascinating article in the Washington Post, who hired one of the most famous violin players in the world to play for 45 minutes in a Metro Station during peak hour, for spare change, to see if people would notice if he was a really good player.

No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?

(Hat Tip: kottke)

Sometimes a track can just be great because it's downright funny. Such is the case with this weeks mash-up song, where Snoop Dogg's Drop It's Like It's Hot is mashed up with the all familiar Ghostbusters song. Hilarious!

[Download here]

There are a lot of mashups that are just good. There is a smaller selection that is very good. As it happens, Soundhog is re-releasing some of his early stuff, and one of them is such a very good song and thus this week's mashup song. I think this song is something that everyone can hear and then understand the addictiveness of mashups: the constant search for a combination of two songs where you are not merely amused by hearing the two songs combined, but seeing the mashup as an artistic creation in its own right. Enjoy!

[Download here]

(Hat tip: Mashup Town)

Rules: Comment and I'll give you a letter. In your journal, list your 10 favourite songs that begin with that letter.

sol_nuada provided me with the letter v. So, in no particular order:
Heather Nova - Valley of Sound
Bjork - Venus as a Boy
Veruca Salt - Volcano Girls
Kirsten - Vanilla
Hooverphonic - Vinergar & Salt
K's Choice - Virgin State of Mind
Damien Rice - Volcano
Madonna - Vogue
Kemopetrol - View On The Sea
PJ Harvey - Victory

The danger of including a large amount of songs in a single mashup (with the exception of mixes that contain purely of mashup songs of course) is that the resulting song will lose coherence and structure. In some cases it does work, however. Last week's song was already a fine example. DJ Earworm proves that it can also work out when mashing 22 songs together. Happy listening!

[Download here]

Mashup songs are not always up tempo; there is a great number of mashups in a down tempo. This is one I've only recently discovered, and I already like it very much. Of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that it mashes a song which I can listen to very often (It's Howie Day's Collide). Happy listening!

[Download here]

(Hat tip: Mashup Town)

This week's track features AC/DC's All Night Long versus Stonebridge's Freak On. The combination makes for a funky track.

Enjoy!

[Download here]

See? that wasn't so hard. Time for the remaining answers!

#13 was Pussy Cat Dolls - Hot Stuff
#17 was Olive - You're Not Alone
#20 was Snow Patrol - Run

I should also tell that I've picked up playing volleyball again about a month ago, after 9 months of no playing. So far it's going great and I have lots of fun there.

I also had a problem with one of the brakes on my bikes (Ie. the break wouldn't function properly causing the brakes not to release the grip on my tires -- which makes for though biking), but I got that fixed today.

That's all folks!

Ok, I'll do a new lyrics meme. For those who were put off by the difficulty of the last one, this one should be easier :).

Step 1: Get your playlist together, put it on random, and play.
Step 2: Write down the first line from the first 20 songs that play or close to it.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song the lines come from.
Step 4: Cross out the songs when someone guesses correctly.

1. Drop that rhythm and you unwind, keep that feeling and you step in time (efasemdarmaour)
2. I follow the Moskwa down to Gorky Park (lavenslayer)
3. This is the right time, once in a lifetime (starling_girl)
4. I have a smile, stretched from ear to ear (zolphia and alypat)
5. Aint got no home, ain't got no shoes (ankie)
6. Hearts are worn in these dark ages (alypat)
7. I'm sorry for the times that I made you scream (lavenslayer)
8. You must understand, that the touch of your hand, makes my pulse react (ilona)
9. Don't know much about history, don't know much biology (starling_girl)
10.They Call Me The Wild Rose (ilona)
11.I heard you on the wireless back in fifty two (kees_s)
12.Happy Nation, Living in A Happy Nation (kees_s)
13.Well I tried, but I won't give in
14.It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees. (apneist)
15.Hey you, don't watch that, watch this (ilona)
16.I may not always love you, but along as there are start above you (visculamia)
17.You're not alone, open your mind, surely there's time to be with me
18.If I should stay, I would be only be in your way (visculamia, kees_s)
19.A godess on a mountain top (sol_nuada)
20.I'll sing it one last time for you, then we really have to go

Ok, more writing about mashups from now on. This week's mashup track features Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice against Blackstreet's No Diggity. Well done, I especially like that that the songs are not directly put "on top" of each other, but there is a slight shift in the way the breaks in Weapon of Choice fall mostly in the middle of the verses of No Diggity. Enjoy!

[Download here]

So, this is the final list:

1. Maria Mena – Apparently Unaffected
   
   Maria’s new album is this year’s best (in my opinion of course). Maria’s got a great voice and a nkacn for writing good songs. Some of the songs are more up-tempo, while the others are more quiet. But this album is best listened in whole.
2. The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
   
   This is the first album that The Pipettes released, and what an album it is! They travelled back in time, when Phil Spektor had a great influence on the pop-song of that time, travelled back and managed to modernize that sound. The album is filled with glorious pop songs that are harmonious and incredibly catchy.
3. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
   
   Great new album by this Scottish band, which I only discovered this year. The best song on this album is ‘Chasing Cars’ of course, but the other songs on the album are very decent as well. And to top it off, they made a great collaboration with Martha Wainwright on one of the songs.
4. Lily Allen – Alright, Still
   
   Rebellious, Witty and to some probably irritating, but not to me. Combine sarcastic lyrics with some funky hip-hop beats and creative use and samples and you end up with this very ikeable album. Good music for the summer, somehow.
5. Marit Larsen – Under The Surface
   
   Marion Raven and Marit Larsen formed the norwegian pop band M2M a few years ago. They had somewhat of a hit, but went their own way after that. Marion Raven released her solo album last year, and Marit Larsen released her album this year. Her style is best described as pop — with a healthy dosis of folk and country influences. This leads to an album of catchy and enjoyable songs which also go under the surface.
6. Anna Ternheim - Seperation Road
   
   I wasn’t very much aware of her new album until a few weeks ago (I grabbed a ‘live’ version, and though it was just that — live stuff, nothing more) but in the short period that I have this album, it convinced me. I like Anna’s style very much, and this album is a great follow-up to her previous work.
7. Emilie Simon - Vegetal
   
   Emilie Simon’s new album is very intruiging, and perhaps best classified under electro-pop. About half of the songs are french, and the other half is english. But more importantly, these songs are very diverse and very well produced.
8. The Hush Sound – Like Vines
   
   The Hush Sound is a band I discovered through last.fm. One thing I really like about this record is that they switch lead vocals between songs.
9. Bic Runga – Birds
   
   Bic Runga’s third album is an album which goes just a little deeper than her previous albums. I liked her previous albums very much, and it’s good to see that she is just able to keep up making good music.
10. The Wreckers - Stand Still, Look Pretty
    
    Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp formed this band in 2005, and it took a long time for their album to be released. Normally, I’m not a fan of country at all, but thankfully this album is a sweet mix of country and pop.

If you want to listen to a selection of songs from these albums, check here.

I have already decided on the best 10 albums this year, but before I spill it all, I took a song from each album and put them together for you to enjoy. I won't spill the names yet, the only advice I'm giving you is to just listen and enjoy :)

Download here (MP3, 30Mb, 32:04)

Maria Mena poses :)
Originally uploaded by Breyten Ernsting.

So I saw Maria Mena perform live at Paradiso today. It was absolutely wonderful. The live version of the songs were much rockier that I expected them to be. Definitely enjoyed it :)

Yeah, it's that time of the year again. Unlike last year, I could barely make a top 100 list at all. A large portion of the albums I got new this year were from previous years. Anyway, here it is:

1. Air - Latenighttales
2. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
3. Beth Orton – Comfort of Strangers
4. Ben Harper - Both Sides Of The Gun
5. Bianca Ryan - Bianca Ryan
6. Bic Runga – Birds
7. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
8. Britta Persson - Top Quality Bones and a Little Terrorist
9. Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out Of This Country
10. Cat Power - The Greatest
11. Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics
12. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae
13. Damien Rice - 9
14. Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere
15. DJ Shadow - The Outsider
16. Emilie Simon - Vegetal
17. Emily Haines - Knifes Don’t Have Your Back
18. Eskobar - Eskobar
19. Evanescence – The Open Door
20. Faithless - To All New Arrivals
21. Feist – Let It Die
22. Fergie - The Dutchess
23. Flyleaf - Flyleaf
24. Freestylers - Adventures in Freestyle
25. Gnarls barkley - St. Elsewhere
26. Goldfrapp - We Are Glitter
27. Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
28. Holly Brook - Like Blood Like Honey
29. Ilse De Lange? – The Great Escape
30. Jack Johnson - Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George
31. James Dean Bradfield - The Western
32. James Morrison - Undiscovered
33. Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
34. Jewel - Goodbye Alice In Wonderland
35. Joanna Newsom - Ys
36. John Mayer - Continuum
37. Jo Jo? - The High Road
38. Juliette and the Licks - You’re Speaking My Language
39. Juliet Lawson - Boo
40. Junkie XL - Today
41. Kemopetrol – Teleport
42. Keane - Under The Iron Sea
43. KT Tunstall - Acoustic Extravaganza
44. Lily Allen – Alright Still
45. Linkin Park - Project Revolution
46. Lou Rhodes - Beloved One
47. Madeleine Peyroux - Half The Perfect World
48. Maria Mena – Apparently Unaffected
49. Marit Larsen – Under The Surface
50. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers, Vol. 1
51. Mirah - Joyride Remixes
52. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
53. Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head
54. Nelly Furtado – Loose
55. Nerina Pallot - Fires
56. Nouvelle Vague - Bande a Part
57. Paul Oakenfold - A Lively Mind
58. Peaches - Impeach My Bush
59. Pharrell - In My Mind
60. Phoenix - It’s Never Been Like That
61. Pink - I’m Not Dead
62. Placebo - Meds
63. Pussycat Dolls – PCD
64. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
65. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope
66. Rhett Miller - The Believer
67. Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World
68. Röyksopp - Röyksopp’s Night Out EP
69. Sandi Thom - Smile…It Confuses People
70. Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong
71. Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah
72. Shania Twain – Send It… With Love
73. Smoosh - Free To Stay
74. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
75. Stacie Orrico - Beautiful Awakening
76. Sylver - Crossroads
77. Tenacious D - The Pick Of Destiny
78. Thea Gilmore - Harpo’s Ghost
79. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
80. The Crystal Method – Tweekend
81. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
82. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
83. The Fray - How To Save A Life
84. The Hush Sound – Like Vines
85. The Killers - Sam’s Town
86. The Knife - Silent Shout
87. The Kooks - Inside in, Inside out
88. The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
89. The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
90. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
91. The Roots - Game Theory
92. The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An easy Living
93. The Wreckers - Stand Still, Look Pretty
94. Tily and the Wall - Wild Like Children
95. Tina Dico - In The Red
96. Tool – 10,000 Days
97. Vitalic - OK Cowboy
98. Weird Al - Straigh Outta Lynwood
99. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
100. Zero 7 - The Garden

With December coming nearer and nearer I've started to look back on the music albums that were released this year, much like two years ago and last year. I'm busy compiling a list of albums that I have and that were released this year. Not a lot, but it'll grow in the coming week. I published a list of 100 albums last year, and worked from that list toward the final 10. I intend to do it this year as well.

I also dug up the top 10 lists of album I made in 1999 and in 2000. Well, what can I say? This music obsession goes back a long time :).