It's Better To Regret Something You Have Done Than Something You Haven't Done

I totally miss this blog and wish I had enough time to post here again regularly. Maybe I'll find some surprise extra hour in the day and start doing so...

In the meantime, you can always find me posting the ephemera of my life on Twitter or Facebook.

Watchtower Genius Meme

So my friend Rich has started a meme: tell iTunes to create a Genius playlist based on Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" and publish the results. Here's mine:

"All Along The Watchtower" - Bob Dylan
"Young Americans" - David Bowie
"Rhiannon (Single Version)" - Fleetwood Mac
"Reelin' In The Years" - Steely Dan
"Saint Simon" - The Shins
"Alison" - Elvis Costello
"Where It's At" - Beck
"In Between Days" - The Cure
"Do You Realize??" - The Flaming Lips
"Wolf Like Me" - TV On The Radio
"Fell On Black Days" - Soundgarden
"7/4 (Shoreline)" - Broken Social Scene
"Changes" - David Bowie
"Life During Wartime" - Talking Heads
"The Chain" - Fleetwood Mac
"Kissing The Lipless" - The Shins
"Lithium" - Nirvana
"Baby Brother" - The White Stripes
"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
"Bigger Than My Body" - John Mayer
"The Only Living Boy In New York" - Simon & Garfunkel
"Dirty Work" - Steely Dan
"My Best Friend's Girl" - The Cars
"Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie
"The Man In Me" - Bob Dylan

Dude, that's just strange. Seems like it just wanted to pull anything old it could find.

Best parts:

• iTunes somehow draws a line between Dylan and TVOTR
  
• The list begins and ends with Dylan tracks
  

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today -- out now!

The first new album by David Byrne & Brian Eno in nearly 30 years is out now:



Get it!

First Pluto, now this

First Pluto, now this
Originally uploaded by jgd3

Best Music of 2007

It's my Top Ten for 2007...finally!

I realize I said this for 2006 too, but last year was a fantastic one for music. So much so that I struggled for a month deciding which albums would make it into my list. Usually each year I try to write up a review of my top albums, but it's February now and I haven't found the time yet. Since I don't see that changing anytime soon, I give up. Here's my list, straight up:

Top Ten Albums for 2007

1. In Rainbows - Radiohead
   
2. Year Zero - Nine Inch Nails
   
3. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
4. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
   
5. The Shepherd's Dog - Iron & Wine
   
6. From Here We Go Sublime - The Field
   
7. And Their Refinement Of The Decline - Stars of the Lid
   
8. Kala - M.I.A.
   
9. Untrue - Burial
   
10. Goodbye - Ulrich Schnauss
    

Honorable Mentions:

• Walls - Apparat
  
• Person Pitch - Panda Bear
  
• Oblivion With Bells – Underworld
  
• Consequence Music – Dextro
  
• Fur And Gold – Bat For Lashes
• I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead – El-P
• In Our Nature - José González
• The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! – Saul Williams
• Language Barrier – Lusine ICL
• We Can Create – Maps
  

Yeah I know that's a lot of runners up, but there were way more than ten great albums this year!

And now as a bonus for all those of you who so patiently , here's the bonus round:

Song of the Year

• "Stars"* - Goodbye - Ulrich Schnauss

Best Live Album of 2007

• Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) - k-os

Best DJ Mix of 2007

• Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007 - The Kleptones

Best Album of 2006 That I Didn’t Discover Until 2007

• Carnavas - Silversun Pickups

Biggest Disappointment of 2007

• Atlantis - k-os
  

Agree? Disagree? Just feel like commenting? Let me know what you think!

('*' = not a DRM-free link)

See also:
Review: "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails (that's right – the only top ten review I managed to get done)
Top Ten Albums of 2006: Recap (+ Bonus Round!)

"Yes We Can"

Okay, no surprise to my regulars that I support Barack Obama for president. But whether you do or not, I encourage you to check out this song and video, "Yes We Can":



This is really moving. I could not have imagined Will.i.am capable of something like this. My hat is off to him, director Jesse Dylan and all the people that pitched in to be a part of it.

If you're in a Super Tuesday state, please get out and support the candidate of your choice -- it's never been more important than it is right now.

Tops of My Pops for 1/13/08

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

Top Artists for the week ending January 13, 2008
1. Massive Attack
2. Burial
3. Maps
4. Amy Winehouse
4. Apparat
4. Ulrich Schnauss
7. M.I.A.
8. Panda Bear
9. Radiohead
10. Nine Inch Nails
10. Meat Beat Manifesto
10. LCD Soundsystem

Quick Hits:

• Finally broke down and checked out Back to Black. After hearing it, I'm convinced Mark Ronson is a genius.
• I'm really having serious issues trying to fit Apparat, Ulrich Schnauss and Panda Bear all into my Top Ten for 2007. Not all of them are going to make it, yet all of them are good enough to have a spot.
  

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

New Jamie Lidell Album & Tour in 2008

Check out this live rehearsal video from Jamie:



Looks like he's bringing a full live band with him this time. He was awesome last time I saw him live -- and that was just him solo!

See also:
Jamie Lidell – Live Goodness!

Tops of My Pops for 1/6/08

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

Top Artists for the week ending January 6, 2008
1. Radiohead
2. Thom Yorke
3. Dextro
3. Iron & Wine
5. The Church
6. David Bowie
6. Clark
6. Ultramarine
9. Nine Inch Nails
9. The Kleptones
9. Klimek
9. He Said
9. Faithless
9. Spoon

No surprise seeing Radiohead topping the week's listening, given that In Rainbows is so obviously the Album of the Year. More on that when I get my Top Ten together for 2007...

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/30/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending December 30, 2007
1. Radiohead
2. k-os
2. David Bowie
2. Beck
5. The Kleptones
5. Spoon
5. DJ Shadow
8. Justin Timberlake
9. Kate Bush
9. Josh Rouse
9. Sondre Lerche
9. Jurassic 5
9. Foo Fighters

Nothing interesting going on this time around. We had relatives visiting all week, so we were listening to pretty innocuous stuff.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

The Clinton's Halloween Party

Just saw this hilarious SNL clip and had to share:



Go Barack!

Tops of My Pops for 12/23/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending December 23, 2007
1. DJ Z-Trip
1. Beck
3. Radiohead
4. The Kleptones
4. Kiln
6. Beastie Boys
6. Nine Inch Nails
6. k-os
9. The Bees
9. David Bowie
9. Spoon
9. Klimek
9. Josh Rouse

Quick hits:

• Z-Trip's All Pro soundtrack is unfortunately not scratching my turntablist itch the way Shifting Gears did so well.
• Kiln has released a nice album (Dusker) and ep (Vaporbend) that occupy the crossroads where crisp electronics meet noise and ambient.
• Speaking of ambient, my buddy mrkvm turned me on to Klimek's interesting Dedications. Executed by Sebastian Meissner under one of his many aliases, it's not necessarily cohesive as an album but the individual tracks are very nice (and trying guess how the varied individuals influenced the compositions dedicated to them is fun).
  

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/16/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending December 16, 2007
1. Nine Inch Nails
1. Burial
3. Underworld
4. Massive Attack
5. David Bowie
5. John Mayer
7. The Kleptones
7. Zero 7
9. Boards of Canada
9. Jamie Lidell
9. Josh Rouse
9. Coldplay
9. Coil
9. RJD2
9. Radiohead
9. Renegade Soundwave
9. Lamb
9. The Decemberists
9. Seefeel

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/9/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending December 9, 2007
1. The Kleptones
1. Saul Williams
3. David Bowie
4. Amon Tobin
5. Soundgarden
6. Klaxons
7. The Church
8. DJ Shadow
9. Spoon
10. Sigur Rós
10. Radiohead
10. Beck
10. Múm

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 12/2/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending December 2, 2007
1. Nine Inch Nails
2. Radiohead
3. Stars of the Lid
4. Yppah
5. Cocteau Twins
6. Seefeel
7. Underworld
8. k-os
8. Spoon
8. The White Stripes

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 11/25/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending November 25, 2007
1. Burial
2. Beck
3. Radiohead
4. Cocteau Twins
4. Josh Rouse
4. Gang of Four
4. Underworld
8. Massive Attack
8. Renegade Soundwave
8. Boards of Canada
8. Spoon
8. Jurassic 5
8. Autechre
8. Nine Inch Nails

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 11/18/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending November 18, 2007
1. Stars of the Lid
1. Radiohead
3. The Hives
4. Ulrich Schnauss
4. Kiln
4. The Church
7. Killing Joke
8. Lusine ICL
9. El-P
10. Thomas Fehlmann
10. Meat Beat Manifesto
10. Spoon

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 11/11/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending November 11, 2007
1. Iron & Wine
2. David Bowie
3. Lee "Scratch" Perry
4. Tim Hecker
5. Rockers Hi-Fi
6. The Sea and Cake
6. Killing Joke
8. Faith No More
8. The White Stripes
8. Brian Eno
8. DJ Shadow
8. Nine Inch Nails
8. The Field
8. Everything but the Girl

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

The Office Is Closed

For those of you living under a rock, the Writer's Guild of America is striking in order to force the studios and networks to negotiate residual payments for digital media. Sounds complicated or maybe boring, but it's not. And every TV show and movie currently in production in the U.S. is affected. And tragically, that includes The Office. Listen to what the show's actors and writers have to say about it:

Find out more at United Hollywood. Support the Strike!

Tops of My Pops for 11/4/07

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

Top Artists for the week ending November 4, 2007
1. Nine Inch Nails
2. David Bowie
3. DJ Shadow
4. Underworld
4. Amon Tobin
4. Renegade Soundwave
4. Radiohead
8. Autechre
8. Clark
8. Meat Beat Manifesto

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives