Tops of My Pops for 12/24/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Dec. 24, 2006
1. Outkast
2. Coldcut
2. The Flaming Lips
4. Bonobo
4. Syntaks
4. Josh Rouse
7. Home Video
8. TV on the Radio
8. Public Enemy
10. Junior Boys

In the home stretch this week for catching up on 2006 releases...

FYI Dept:

1. Biggest news this week (if you're mrkvm) is that U2 has finally been pushed out of my Overall Top Ten Artists by none other than Spoon. w00t!
   

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/17/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Dec. 17, 2006
1. Bonobo
2. Moloko
3. Sondre Lerche & The Faces Down Quartet
4. J Dilla
4. Dub Tractor
4. Jurassic 5
7. Syntaks
7. Peeping Tom
7. Roots Manuva
7. Mogwai

Continuing my efforts to listen through all my unrated 2006 tracks I'm realizing that Bonobo's latest, Days To Come, is a fine piece of work. His songwriting skills have really matured over the years, to the point where he now makes it all sound effortless. Don't let the smoothness fool you though – there's a magic touch behind it all.

Similarly, Dub Tractor's and Syntaks' releases this year (Hideout and Awakes, respectively) didn't click with me at all on the first few listens but as I've spent more time with each they've really grown on me. I think the lesson here is for me to not let the more subtle releases slip by unexamined.

FYI Dept:

1. Sondre Lerche's Duper Sessions is fun enough, but it's not the joy to hear that Two Way Monologue was.
2. I've tried and I've tried, and I just can't get into J Dilla's Donuts. I know I have shamed mrkvm by saying this.
3. Feedback, the new one from J5, isn't as bad as all that...but we've all come to expect a much higher level of game from these guys.
4. I actually kinda like Peeping Tom, one of this year's Mike Patton releases – I respect both Patton and his high profile guest stars for getting out there and getting weird. I know I have shamed mrkvm by saying this as well.
   

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

DJ Shadow's new video is Nintendo-riffic!

"This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)", DJ Shadow's latest video off The Outsider was visualized by one of his fans as part of a competition. The winner is both cute and hilarious, using an animation style straight off an 8-bit Nintendo.

Watch it here.

Tops of My Pops for 12/10/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Dec. 10, 2006
1. Prince Paul
2. Burial
3. Harold Budd
4. Fat Jon & Styrofoam
5. Massive Attack
5. Harold Budd, Simon Raymonde, Robin Guthrie & Elizabeth Fraser
7. Trüby Trio
8. Kruder & Dorfmeister
9. Shriekback
9. The Stooges

As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to spend some serious time lately listening to unrated music in my library. The end result is my charts are looking more bizarre than usual. In that spirit I worked my way through Prince Paul's Psychoanalysis (What Is It?) and Itstrumental (the latter of which I think is the stronger album), as well as various unrated catalog tracks by Harold Budd, Trüby Trio, K&D, and Shriekback.

Listened to and enjoyed Fat Jon & Styrofoam's collaboration The Same Channel, finally got to hear the b-sides disc of Massive Attack's Collected (the DualDisc wouldn't fit in the drive slot of my PowerBook so I had to get a friend to rip it for me), and had a few minutes of nostalgia with The Stooges' first album. Burial is still sounding awesome.

FYI Dept:

1. The Moon And The Melodies is nearly my favorite Cocteau Twins album, even though it's technically a collaboration with Harold Budd.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/3/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Dec. 3, 2006
1. Outkast
2. Clark
2. Icebreaker International & Manual
4. Speedy J
4. Moloko
6. David Bowie
6. Marvin Gaye
6. Underworld
6. Tears for Fears
6. Sondre Lerche

The big news this week is Clark's fantastic new release, Body Riddle. I remember him from several years back when he still went by his full name, but the music was simply solid IDM -- breaking no new ground. On this one he's freed himself from most of the trappings of IDM altogether and has taken a huge leap forward into a unique new style, almost a strangely organic/electronic sound. Definitely worth seeking out!

FYI Dept:

1. This is the second time Outkast has topped my charts since I started posting them here. I wouldn't read too much into it though, as I'm making a concerted effort to rate my unrated tunes lately.
   
2. Icebreaker International & Manual's Into Forever remains, four years after it's release, one of my favorite ambient albums.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 11/26/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Nov. 26, 2006
1. Burial
2. Doubting Thomas
2. Aceyalone
4. Renegade Soundwave
5. Underworld
6. Imogen Heap
7. Tears for Fears
8. Public Image Ltd.
8. Steely Dan
10. My Bloody Valentine

Burial is a mystery. He's refused to reveal his identity, and has barely even spoken publicly (here's an interview from March 2006 – the only one I could find). To make matters worse, there's at least one death metal band of the same name. But this Burial is electronica (dubstep if you're keeping score) and like some of the very best albums, it's taken me awhile to really get into his self-titled debut and discover how great it is. My buddy mrkvm deserves all the credit for bringing it to my attention and pestering me to listen.

Going to have to miss seeing Imogen Heap live in Denver next week due to a very annoying work conflict, but rumor has it that her live shows are even better than her great DIY solo album, Speak For Yourself.

FYI Dept:

1. The only good thing happening on Tears For Fears' Saturnine Martial & Lunatic album is the spot-on cover of "Ashes To Ashes".
   
2. Steely Dan's The Royal Scam album does not hold up well at all thirty years later.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives