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The plan was to make a couple of mixes for my 12 yr old niece. As I tried to compiIe the first CD, I soon discovered that there was much to share with her which she might not not hear elsewhere. And so, a couple of mixes has become the A-Z series. I will get her a cd of 20 or so songs on an 80 minute CD every two or three weeks. Here is what I've got down for A:

01. Angie Mattson - In Violet
02. A Camp - Frequent Flyer
03. Acid House Kings - This Heart is a Stone
04. Adele - Right as Rain
05. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Grizzly Bear
06. Amber Rubarth - Good Mystery
07. Amy Millan - Skinny Boy
08. An Horse - Company
09. Andrew Bird - Darkmatter
10. Angus & Julia Stone - Hollywood
11. Angus & Julia Stone - Just A Boy (EP Version)
12. Anja Garbarek - Can I Keep Him
13. Anna Nalick - Breathe (2 AM)
14. Anna Ternheim - Girl Laying Down
15. Architecture in Helsinki - That Beep
16. Aṣa - Jailer
17. Asobi Seksu - Transparence
18. Au Revoir Simone - Through the Backyards
19. The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight
20. Anomie Belle - american view
21. April Smith and The Great Picture Show - Wow and Flutter

I wanted to fit A Fine Frenzy on there, but alas...

last.fm historical data to see top 500

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1. Johann Sebastian Bach (632 scrobbles)
2. Metric (579 scrobbles)
3. Bat for Lashes (515 scrobbles)
4. Rilo Kiley (512 scrobbles)
5. Beangrowers (505 scrobbles)
6. The Cranberries (421 scrobbles)
7. The Beatles (382 scrobbles)
8. The Triffids (372 scrobbles)
9. Weeping Tile (366 scrobbles)
10. Camera Obscura (351 scrobbles)
11. Yann Tiersen (330 scrobbles)
12. The Waifs (329 scrobbles)
13. Angus & Julia Stone (324 scrobbles)
14. The Decemberists (321 scrobbles)
14. Peggy Lee (321 scrobbles)
16. Death Cab for Cutie (311 scrobbles)
17. Holiday (309 scrobbles)
18. INXS (308 scrobbles)
19. Polly Scattergood (302 scrobbles)
20. The Lucksmiths (297 scrobbles)

5 US, 5 UK, 5 Australia, 2 Canada, 1 France, 1 Germany, 1 Malta

9 of the 20 are no longer producing new music. I think this makes me old.

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I posted the other day on my top five albums of 2009. Below is my top ten albums by track scrobbles according to Last.fm. All of my choices show up in this list, albeit in a different order.

1. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
2. Weeping Tile – Cold Snap
3. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
4. Everything but the Girl – Amplified Heart
5. Milla – The Divine Comedy
6. Polly Scattergood – Polly Scattergood
7. Metric – Fantasies
8. Beangrowers – Not In A Million Lovers
9. Company of Thieves – Ordinary Riches
10. Guitares Cinématiques – Penguins On Mars

Only Company of Thieves appears as a 2009 album not on my top five list. It was close. It rates high here on the strength of about five tracks, Past The Sleep in particular, that I played muchly.

Beangrowers' Not in a Million Lovers is a 2008 top ten list entry also; nice staying power. It will be a long time favourite along side Milla's and Weeping Tile's showings.

Everything but the Girl's Amplified Heart I only learned of three months ago. Sure, I had known of Missing, but had not scrobbled one track from the album until about 100 days ago. I obviously love it.

I normally go crazy over making lists and getting it right. This year, I will simply tell you what five albums I played the most, enjoyed the most, will be enjoying for years to come like old friends.

Those albums that instantly come to mind easily fill the top five; after that, a top ten or 15 is doable but becomes more and more difficult with each addition and soon wants to become a top 20, 40, etc... So, screw it *chuckle*

If there is call, l will add the simple list of 60+ albums I enjoyed and are worthy of checking out, those that were the nominees, so to speak.

5. Guitares Cinématiques - Penguins On Mars

Amazon | iTunes | Official Site
This ambient gem is smooth, jazzy, relaxing, trippy, and sweet. Independent brilliance.

4. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

Amazon | iTunes | Official Site
I first heard this live on the NPR broadcast of the debut performance at SXSW. Live (many free recordings) or studio, it is an immersive journey of musical storytelling.

3. Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood

Amazon | iTunes | Official Site
I had heard Nitrogen Pink a few times over the last couple years, each time intrigued. Finally, her full album was released and I was blown away. I dig the emotion.

2. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Amazon | iTunes | Official Site
I only discovered Natasha in 2008, via Fur and Gold, a year after most people. Yet, She became one of my top three scrobbled artists on that album alone. This year's sublime Two Suns helped make her number one.

1. Metric - Fantasies

Amazon | iTunes | Official Site
I had thought Bat For Lashes was going to take the top spot in this list. That was before Emily, Jimmy, and company released Fantasies in April. I expected to like it. I have loved all their prior work, group and solo, and had even pre-ordered the deluxe set direct from the band's official site (go indie!). I had not expected to adore nearly every song so much. I could fill a quarter of my top 40 singles list with songs from this album.

I thought it would be interesting to review what I keep listening to this year from last. I used the Historical Charts tool to check out the year's albums by plays and then scrolled down and looked for those that were on last year's year end list.

1. Beangrowers - Not In A Million Lovers
   
2. She & Him - Volume One
   
3. Adele - 19
   
4. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
   
5. Claire Guerreso - As Is
   
6. Bim - Bim
   
7. The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks
   
8. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
   
9. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
   
10. Crocodile - The Great Depression

Fun.
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I tweaked this, combining the output from both the artist and albums versions so each would have a picture associated with it. Some of the data this comes up with can be slight off if you are currently scrobbling. It is also different than other tools which use the same API calls which has me wondering why that would be.

♫

This post will deal only with the 2nd Quarter of 2009, aka, the months of April, May, and June.
The following are the chart data as recorded by Last.fm (skip past them for my thoughts).
*asterisk denotes a 2009 release, the trailing number is number of plays

3 month artists
1. Beangrowers 240
*2. Bat for Lashes 217
*3. Metric 204
*4. The Decemberists 191
5. Johann Sebastian Bach 176
*6. Camera Obscura 161
*7. Polly Scattergood 139
8. Enya 123
9. Patsy Cline 121
10. Yann Tiersen 118

3 month albums
*1. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 127
*2. Metric - Fantasies 109
*3. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns 100
*4. Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood 93
5. Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Master Takes And Singles 83
6. Weeping Tile - Cold Snap 79
7. Beangrowers - Not In A Million Lovers 74
*8. Guitares Cinématiques - Penguins On Mars 73
*9. The Rest - Everyone All At Once 70
*10. Company of Thieves - Ordinary Riches 66

3 month tracks
*1. Metric - Blindness 15
*2. Polly Scattergood - I Hate The way 14
*3. The Pauses - Go North 13
*4. The Rest - Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings) 13
*5. Metric - Help I'm Alive 13
*6. The Rayographs - Gold Light 12
7. Rilo Kiley - Pictures of Success 12
*8. The Pauses - The Migration 12
*9. Polly Scattergood - Nitrogen Pink 12
10. Blue October - Congratulations (feat. Imogen Heap) 12
*11. Metric - Collect Call 11
*12. Metric - Gimme Sympathy 11
*13. The BPA - Seattle (with Emmy The Great) 11
*14. Munchausen By Proxy - Sweet Ballad 11
*15. Metric - Sick Muse 11
*16. Butterfly Boucher - Gun For A Tongue 11
*17. Polly Scattergood - Bunny Club 11
18. Jane Siberry - It Can't Rain All the Time 11
*19. Bat for Lashes - Glass 10
*20. Metric - Twilight Galaxy 10
*21. Polly Scattergood - I Am Strong 10
*22. Metric - Front Row 10
*23. Metric - Gold Guns Girls 10
*24. Röyksopp - Were You Ever Wanted (feat. Lykke Li) 10
*25. Polly Scattergood - Other Too Endless 10
26. Counting Crows - Anna Begins 10
27. The Triffids - Stolen Property 10
*28. Patrick Watson - Big bird in a small cage 10
*29. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career 10

Thoughts:
- The first thing that pops out is Beangrowers. They had a 2008 release, Not In A Million Lovers, which is still getting spins enough to show in the top ten (staying power) and they are top artist overall on the strength of my now having their complete library in freshly ripped from CD FLAC.
- The new albums from The Decemberists, Metric, Bat for Lashes, and Polly Scattergood are bunched pretty tightly at the top in all charts and obviously my favs of the quarter.
- Of those four, only Bat for Lashes' Two Suns was in the Q1 lists (staying power).
- Camera Obscura is getting plays and showing in the artist list, but their new one is not getting enough to chart, but for one track.
- The Rest's Everyone All At Once is still getting steady plays, enough to show in both quarters.
- Guitares Cinématiques' Penguins On Mars is the only (somewhat) instrumental album in the above sampling. It does have vocals on a few tracks and some spoken word.
- The Pauses really need to release some more and more official material. Ditto for The Rayographs.
- No EPs are dominated this quarter, against my norm.
- Seems I still really dig female vocals about 2:1

Special Mentions:
- 志方あきこ (Akiko Shikata) - Harmonia
I don't understand a word, but that doesn't matter. Besides the fact she melds 3 or more languages, Akiko uses her voice as an instrument as much as anything. Neo-Classical, Medieval, New Age, World, Alternative, JPop, Art Rock. Label it how you will; it makes my soul smile.

- Alamaailman Vasarat - Huuro Kolkko
The instrumental version of "I don't know what these titles mean, but it doesn't matter". This has more of an edge and at the same is less intrusive (meaning you can listen to this with full attention or as background tunage).

- All India Radio - A Low High
The best straight instrumental release out for the year thus far, just edging out Chris Joss below, and like many of these mentions, could end up in the final list quite easily. Mellow, soothing, a nice trip.

- Chris Joss - Sticks
Chris Joss seems to write soundtracks to early 70s movies that never existed. And I hope he continues to. Recorded during the sessions that produced last year's teraphonic overdubs, this is another solid release with not one weak track. Play that funky music, French boy.

- Gokul Salvadi
More world fusion. More excellent tunage, but released all separately as mostly single track singles, so more difficult to track. (Note: I had previously written he didn't like the term world fusion. I was mistaken and apologize for that, Gokul)

dotSpice/Alchemic Journey/eXSpace
All projects of Juan and Woodoo Prod again instrumental work, again a fusion of styles, again just wonderful stuff.

That is the last three months. The year so far post, aka, the Q1+Q2, 1 Jan through 30 June, half year best of, post is yet to follow (some time this week, hopefully).