Spotirama

The Imperial Williams (a 80 minutes tribute to 80 year-old John Williams)

2012-02-10T22:59:00.002Z

Few days ago, great composer John Williams celebrated his 80th birthday. This is a little tribute to his work, a playlist made with some of his most popular movie themes. It's amazing how many and how universal they are: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jaws, Superman, Schindler's List, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the latest Tintin and many more. These tunes manage to bring you back into a magic and dreamful world: push the play button, close your eyes and you will suddenly find yourself in a soundscape filled with childhood memories: flying bikes, lost arks, tyrannosaurs, lightsabers. 80 minutes for 80 years. Enjoy!

THE IMPERIAL WILLIAMS
(a 80 minutes tribute to 80 years-old John Williams)

1. Main Theme from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2. Flying Theme from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
3. Olympic Fanfare
4. Theme from The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
5. Flight to Neverland from Hook (1991)
6. Main Title from The Poseidon Adventure (1973)
7. Main Theme from Jaws (1975)
8. Main Title from Home Alone (1990)
9. Slave Children's Crusade from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
10. The Imperial March from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
11. Cantina Band from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
12. Main Title from The Reivers (1969)
13. Theme from Jurassic Park (1994)
14. Theme from Schindler's List (1993)
15. Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan (1999)
16. Title Theme and Love Theme from Superman (1979)
17. Harry's Wondrous World from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2003)
18. Wild Signals from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978)
19. Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0822)

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 5, commencing 4/2/2012)

2012-02-08T22:34:00.001Z

Mary Epworth: Hey PJ, I can play bizarre medieval instruments, too!

The Black Keys, Leonard Cohen, We Are Augustines, Jack White, Mary Epworth are the new entries in this week update of the Spotirama playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 29 out of 33 (87,87%)
(new entries in bold)

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
Django Django – Default
Kathleen Edwards – Change The Sheets
Field Music – A New Town
Friends – Friend Crush
Gotye feat. Kimbra – Somebody That I Used To Know
PJ Harvey – On Battleship Hill
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny – Sweet Tooth Bird
James Levy And The Blood Red Rose – Sneak Into My Room
M83 – Reunion
Niki & The Dove – DJ, Ease My Mind
School Of Seven Bells – Lafaye
The Black Keys – Gold On The Ceiling
Leonard Cohen – Going Home
The Drums – Days
First Aid Kit – Emmylou
Goldfrapp – Melancholy Sky
Justice – On'n'On
Kasabian – Goodbye Kiss
Lianne La Havas – Forget
Mark Lanegan Band – The Gravedigger’s Song
~~Quantic & Alice Russell - Looking Around The Corner~~
Lucy Rose – Red Face
Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid
We Are Augustines – Chapel Song
Jack White – Love Interruption
~~Zulu Winter - We Should Be Swimming~~
~~Allo Darlin' - Capricornia~~
alt-J (∆) – Matilda
Mary Epworth – Black Doe
King Creosote – Missionary
~~Lambchop - Gone Tomorrow~~
New Look – Teen Need

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 308 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

RockFirst Top 30 Britpop Albums of the 90s

2012-02-03T23:03:00.000Z

Doctors told me I have to listen to Britpop from the 90s, now and then. It's for my health. So it's good when I find charts like "Les 30 meilleurs albums de Britpop des années 90" by french magazine Rock First. I don't like all of them. But the list includes some of the greatest albums of my university years (Oasis vs. Blur, plus Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Verve, Pulp...). I made the usual two playlists, out of it. Mammoth and lite. Nostalgically enjoy! And point your finger at Trashcan Sinatras, whose A Happy Pocket is the only album missing.

ROCK FIRST TOP 30 BRITPOP ALBUMS OF THE 90S
Source: Rock First / Acclaimed Music.
Albums available on Spotify: 29/30 (96,66%)

~~30. The Trashcan Sinatras - A Happy Pocket~~
29. Echobelly - On
28. Lush - Lovelife
27. Sleeper The It Girl
26. Kula Shaker - K
25. The Bluetones - Expecting To Fly
24. Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley Shoals
23. Cast - All Change
22. Stereophonics - Word Gets Around
21. Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic
20. Saint-Etienne - Tiger Bay
19. Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix
18. Elastica - Elastica
17. Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
16. The Verve - Urban Hymns
15. The Charlatans - The Charlatans
14. The Auteurs - New Wave
13. Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give Up
12. The Boo Radleys - Wake Up!
11. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Felling Sinister
10. Paul Weller - Wild Wood
9. The Divine Comedy - Casanova
8. Radiohead - The Bends
7. Blur - Parklife
6. Supergrass - I Should Coco
5. Oasis - Definitely maybe
4. Pulp - Different Class
3. Suede - Suede
2. Oasis - (What's the story) Morning Glory?
1. Blur - The Great Escape

Listen on Spotify:
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR820)
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR821)

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 4, commencing 28/1/2012)

2012-02-01T22:52:00.000Z

WYSIWYG: Niki & The Dove

Just two songs are not available in this week update of the Spotirama playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. And we have many new entries, again: by The Drums, Kathleen Edwards, Field Music, Justice, Niki and The Dove, Lucy Rose, Sleigh Bells, Alt-J and New Look. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 29 out of 31 (93,54%)
(new entries in bold)

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
Django Django - Default
Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains - Les Plus Beaux
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
PJ Harvey - On Battleship Hill
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny - Sweet Tooth Bird
James Levy & The Blood Red Rose - Sneak Into My Room
M83 - Reunion
Radiohead - The Daily Mail / Staircase
White Denim - Keys
Leonard Cohen - The Darkness
The Drums - Days
Kathleen Edwards - Change The Sheets
Field Music - A New Town
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Friends - Friend Crush
Goldfrapp - Melancholy Sky
Justice - On 'n' On
Kasabian - Goodbye Kiss
Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song
Niki And The Dove - DJ, Ease My Mind
~~Quantic & Alice Russell - Look Around The Corner~~
Lucy Rose - Red Face
School Of Seven Bells - Lafaye
Sleigh Bells - Comeback Kid
~~Allo Darlin' - Capricornia~~
Alt-J - Matilda
Piney Gir - Outta Sight
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Missionary
Lianne La Havas - Forget
New Look - Teen Need

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 304 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 2, commencing 21/1/2012)

2012-01-23T11:13:00.000Z

He's back, hallelujah!

Let's start the week with a new update of the Spotirama playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. Many new entries: from PJ Harvey to Kasabian, from First Aid Kit to Goldfrapp to the Canadian monument of songwriting Leonard Cohen. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 26 out of 30 (86,66%)
(new entries in bold)

Arctic Monkeys – Black Treacle
Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains – Les Plus Beaux
PJ Harvey – On Battleship Hill
Howler – Back of Your Neck
~~James Levy & The Blood Red Rose - Sneak Into My Room~~
M83 – Reunion
The Maccabees – Pelican
Radiohead – The Daily Mail/Staircase
White Denim – Keys
The Big Pink – Hit The Ground (Superman)
Chairlift – Met Before
Leonard Cohen – Darkness
Django Django – Default
First Aid Kit – Emmylou
Friends – Friend Crush
Goldfrapp – Melancholy Sky
Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny – Sweet Tooth Bird
Kasabian – Goodbye Kiss
Mark Lanegan Band – The Gravedigger’s Song
Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M.
~~Rostam - Don't Let It Get You Down~~
School Of Seven Bells – Lafaye
~~Allo Darlin' - Capricornia~~
Piney Gir – Outta Sight
King Creosote – Missionary
Lianne La Havas – Forget
~~Quantic & Alice Russell - Look Around the Corner~~
Maz Totterdell – Counting My Fingers

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 298 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

From ACT's Point of View (a tribute to 20-year-old ACT Music label)

2012-01-13T23:54:00.001Z

Stop your clocks. Turn off your electric guitars. Forget your daily life noise. Press the play button. Open a book and start reading it slowly. Or just take a seat and look out of the window. The nighter, the better. Cognac allowed. This playlist is jazzy. Contemporarily jazzy. Filled with slow piano ballads and silken female voices. It starts with the late Esbjorn Svensson, it goes through a Norah Jones cammeo, some flamenco, a Vietnamese-reinvented Eleanor Rigby and it ends with a nice rendition of The Simpsons' theme. It features a lot of musicians with exotic, non-anglosaxon birth names: Bugge, Nils, Leszek, Rigmor, Paolo, Youn, Solveig, Iiro, Nguyen, Viyaj, Ulf, Viktoria... It's a 20-song happy-20th-birthday to ACT jazz label. I got the idea while reading this article on The Guardian. ACT is based in Germany, it was founded by Siegfried Loch in 1992 and almost incredibly it hasn't an English Wikipedia page, yet. If you sprechen Deutsch, there's the German one. Consider it as a quiet parenthesis in the barbaric yawp of chaos. Enjoy it. Then, start yawping again.

FROM ACT'S POINT OF VIEW
(A tribute to 20 years of ACT Music)

Esbjörn Svensson Trio – From Gagarin's Point Of View
Bugge Wesseltoft – Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker
Nils Landgren – When All Is Said And Done
John Abercrombie & Arif Mardin – El Vito Cante
Richard Galliano, Paolo Fresu, Jan Lundgren – Que reste-t-il de nos amours?
Rigmor Gustafsson – Empty Hearts
Leszek Mozdzer – Svantetic
Youn Sun Nah – My Favorite Things
Gwilym Simcock – These Are The Good Days
Solveig Slettahjell – Take It With Me
Tonbruket – Balloons
Joel Harrison & Norah Jones – Tennessee Waltz
Iiro Rantala – Tears For Esbjörn
Nguyên Lê – Eleanor Rigby
Magnus Ostrom – Piano Break Song
Vijay Iyer – Human Nature
Ulf Wakenius – Dancing
Lars Danielsson feat. Viktoria Tolstoy – From Above
Wolfgang Haffner, Hubert Nuss, Lars Danielsson – Silent Way
Panzerballett – The Simpsons

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0819)

Coachella 2012 on Spotify

2012-01-11T23:47:00.006Z

Ok, I know that Diplo doesn't agree, but Coachella festival is really a place where I'd like to be next April. And where, most likely, I won't. How many kilometres/miles separate that sunny American desert from this sunny European peninsula? Too many. So I guess I will feed myself with the usual YouTube footage.

Anyway, no pussyweeps. Time for some playlists. Either if you will be in Coachella or if you won't, you can start warming up with this bunch of Spotify tapes, based on the festival line-up. Day-by-day lists, the mammoth and my favourite 69. Enjoy!

COACHELLA 2012 ON SPOTIFY
Artists available on Spotify: 135/139 (97,12%)
(just missing: Internet darlings Azealia Banks and The Weeknd, plus Pure Filth Sound and The Airplane Boys)

Listen on Spotify:
(medium = 3 songs each artist)
(lite = 1 song each artist)

Day 1 - 13/20 April (medium): HTTP, URI. (SR0810)
Day 1 - 13/20 April (lite): HTTP, URI. (SR0811)
Day 2 - 14/21 April (medium): HTTP, URI. (SR0812)
Day 2 - 14/21 April (lite): HTTP, URI. (SR0813)
Day 3 - 15/22 April (medium): HTTP, URI. (SR0814)
Day 3 - 15/22 April (lite): HTTP, URI. (SR0815)
All days (medium): HTTP, URI. (SR0816)
All days (lite): HTTP, URI. (SR0817)
The 69 (my smartphone choices: 69 bands I'd probably go to see): HTTP, URI. (SR0818)

Previously about Coachella:

2010

2011

Acclaimed Music 1968 (Top 20 Songs & Top 20 Albums)

2012-01-10T21:17:00.001Z

1968

Let's write a new chapter of the year-by-year series based on Acclaimed Music aggregated charts. 1968. Here in Europe, the year of youth revolutions (and of the Prague Spring, forty-three years before the Arab Spring). In the US (and in the UK), rock was definitely blossoming. It rules the albums' playlist - Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash at Folsom, Velvet Underground - while soul is the king of singles: I Heard It Through the Grapevine, The Dock of the Bay, Aretha. As you can see below, just The Beatles (and young Frank Zappa) are out of this big Spotify party. Enjoy!

(legenda: the number preceding the artist name is the ranking of that song or album in Acclaimed Music Top 3000 charts)

The Complete Acclaimed History of Music Series

ACCLAIMED MUSIC TOP 20 SONGS OF 1968
Source: Acclaimed Music

1 (8) Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
2 (9) Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
3 (31) The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
~~- (42) The Beatles - Hey Jude~~
4 (46) The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash
5 (113) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along the Watchtower
6 (176) Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
7 (188) Desmond Dekker - Israelites
8 (194) Aretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer
9 (199) The Band - The Weight
10 (204) Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild
11 (220) Dusty Springfield - Son-of-a Preacher Man
12 (225) Sly and the Family Stone - Dance to the Music
13 (229) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
~~-- (303) The Beatles - Revolution~~
14 (347) Sly and the Family Stone - Everyday People
~~-- (348) The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps~~
15 (364) Tammy Wynette - Stand by Your Man
~~-- (403) The Beatles - Happiness Is a Warm Gun~~
16 (428) Van Morrison - Madame George
17 (594) The Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man
18 (610) Tommy James and The Shondells - Crimson and Clover
19 (663) Big Brother and The Holding Company - Piece of My Heart
20 (673) Aretha Franklin - Think

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0803)

ACCLAIMED MUSIC TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 1968
Source: Acclaimed Music

~~- (14) The Beatles - The Beatles ("White Album")~~
1 (15) Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
2 (22) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
3 (30) The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
4 (80) The Band - Music from Big Pink
5 (130) Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
6 (169) Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
7 (174) The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
8 (187) The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
9 (190) The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
~~-- (205) The Mothers of Invention - We're Only in It for the Money~~
10 (242) The Byrds - The Notorious Byrd Brothers
11 (243) Big Brother and The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
12 (316) The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
13 (319) Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends
14 (340) Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
15 (483) Cream - Wheels of Fire
16 (625) Jeff Beck - Truth
17 (711) Dr. John - Gris-Gris
18 (729) The Incredible String Band - The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
19 (768) Laura Nyro - Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
20 (782) Otis Redding - The Dock of the Bay

Listen on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0802)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0801)

The Complete Acclaimed History of Music Series

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 1, commencing 7/1/2012)

2012-01-09T08:02:00.001Z

Friends: "Let's open the 2012!"

Good morning and welcome to the first 2012 update of the Spotirama playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. While the Mammoth 2011 playlist is getting very close to 300 songs (see on the bottom), first 2012 new entries are by Django Django, Friends, François & The Atlas Mountains and Gotye. Almost 90% of tracks available. That's a good start. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 26 out of 29 (89,65%)
(new entries in bold)

Arctic Monkeys – Black Treacle
The Big Pink – Hit The Ground (Superman)
Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
Howler – Back of Your Neck
Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
M83 – Reunion
The Maccabees – Pelican
Radiohead – The Daily Mail
Radiohead – Staircase
Sbtrkt (feat. Sampha) – Hold On
Bombay Bicycle Club – Leave It
Bon Iver – Towers
Chairlift – Met Before
Django Django – Default
Friends – Friend Crush
~~James Levy & The Blood Red Rose - Sneak Into My Room~~
Miike Snow – Devil's Work
Milagres – Here to Stay
Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M.
The Roots – Sleep
~~Rostam - Don't Let It Get You Down~~
Sharon Van Etten – Serpents
Various Cruelties – Great Unknown
White Denim – Keys
Air – Seven Stars
Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains – Les Plus Beaux
Piney Gir – Outta Sight
Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know
~~Nada Surf - Waiting For Something~~

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 288 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

British Invasion! Songs of British Artists #1 in America

2012-01-06T00:23:00.004Z

(Art print by Ron Magnes)

Sometimes Wikipedia is really inspiring. This playlist is based on the List of songs by British artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA Billboard). It goes from 1958 to 2011 and it's an interesting summary of fifty years of British pop music according to American tastes.
You can find:
- the early domination by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (60s)
- the golden era of Elton John (early 70s)
- the disco time of Bee Gees (and Andy Gibb) (late 70s)
- the now that's what I call music era (80s... ready to be rickrolled?)
- the long blackout (since the death of Lady D to the rise of James Blunt: really? no Brit #1 in America from 1997 to 2006?)
- the modern depression (00s)

Of the 35 missing songs from Spotify, 20 are by The Beatles and 11 by George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney in their post-Beatles careers. Anyway, you get some Ringo.

I think this is one of the most poppish playlists I ever made on Spotirama. Especially the segment from the 1980s: The Human League! Culture Club! Duran Duran! Eurythmics! Tears For Fears! Wham! Enjoy! :o)

SONGS BY BRITISH ARTISTS #1 ON THE BILLBOARD HOT100
Source: Wikipedia
Songs available on Spotify: 137/172 (79,65%)
(artists in italics are not Brits; read notes on Wikipedia)

1962
Acker Bilk – Stranger On The Shore
The Tornados – Telstar
1964
The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand
The Beatles - She Loves You
The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love
The Beatles - Love Me Do
Peter And Gordon – A World Without Love
~~The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night~~
The Animals – The House of the Rising Sun
Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy
~~The Beatles - I Feel Fine~~
1965
Petula Clark – Downtown
~~The Beatles - Eight Days a Week~~
Freddie & The Dreamers – I'm Telling You Now
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders – The Game of Love
Herman's Hermits – Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter
~~The Beatles - Ticket To Ride~~
The Rolling Stones – (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Herman's Hermits – I'm Henry VIII, I Am
The Beatles - Help!
The Beatles - Yesterday
The Rolling Stones – Get Off Of My Cloud
The Dave Clark Band - Over and Over
1966
The Beatles - We Can Work It Out
Petula Clark – My Love
The Rolling Stones – Paint It Black
~~The Beatles - Paperback Writer~~
The Troggs – Wild Thing
Donovan – Sunshine Superman
New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral
1967
The Rolling Stones – Ruby Tuesday
The Beatles - Penny Lane
The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
Lulu – To Sir With Love
The Beatles - Hello, Goodbye
1968
The Beatles - Hey Jude
1969
The Beatles with Billy Preston - Get Back
The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women
The Beatles - Come Together
1970
The Beatles - Let It Be
The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
1971
The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
Bee Gees – How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?
~~Paul and Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey~~
Rod Stewart – Maggie May
1973
Elton John – Crocodile Rock
Paul McCartney and Wings - My Love
George Harrison - Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
The Rolling Stones – Angie
Ringo Starr – Photograph
1974
Ringo Starr – You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful and You're Mine
Elton John – Bennie And The Jets
~~Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run~~
Paper Lace – The Night Chicago Died
Eric Clapton – I Shot The Sheriff
~~John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Thru the Night~~
Biddu & Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
1975
Elton John – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Average White Band – Pick Up The Pieces
Elton John – Philadelphia Freedom
~~Paul McCartney and Wings - Listen To What the Man Said~~
Bee Gees – Jive Talkin'
David Bowie – Fame
Elton John – Island Girl
1976
Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night
~~Wings - Silly Love Songs~~
Elton John & Kiki Dee – Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Bee Gees – You Should Be Dancing
Rod Stewart – Tonight's The Night
1977
Leo Sayer – You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
Manfred Mann's Earth Band – Blinded By The Light
Leo Sayer – When I Need You
Fleetwood Mac – Dreams
Andy Gibb – I Just Want To Be Your Everything
Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love
1978
Bee Gees – Stayin' Alive
Andy Gibb – (Love Is) Thicker Than Water
Bee Gees – Night Fever
Andy Gibb – Shadow Dancing
The Rolling Stones – Miss You
1979
Bee Gees – Too Much Heaven
Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Bee Gees – Tragedy
Bee Gees – Love You Inside Out
M – Pop Muzik
1980
Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall (II)
Paul McCartney and Wings - Coming Up (live at Glasgow)
Queen – Another One Bites The Dust
~~John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over~~
1981
Sheena Easton – Morning Train (Nine To Five)
Air Supply – The One That You Love
1982
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony & Ivory
The Human League – Don't You Want Me
Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes – Up Where We Belong
1983
Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen
David Bowie – Let's Dance
The Police – Every Breath You Take
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney – Say Say Say
1984
Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart
Culture Club – Karma Chameleon
Phill Collins – Against All Odds
Duran Duran – The Reflex
John Waite – Missing You
Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
1985
Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is
George Michael – Careless Whisper
Phil Collins – One More Night
Simple Minds – Don't You (Forget About Me)
Wham! – Everything She Wants
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Phil Collins – Sussudio
Duran Duran – A View To A Kill
Paul Young – Everytime You Go Away
Tears For Fears – Shout
John Parr – St. Elmos Fire (Man In Motion)
Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin – Separate Lives
1986
Dionne Warwick (feat. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder) – That's What Friends Are For
Robert Palmer – Addicted To Love
Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls (7'' Mix)
Simply Red – Holding Back The Years
Genesis – Invisible Touch
~~Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer~~
Steve Winwood – Higher Love
Bananarama – Venus
The Human League – Human
1987
Aretha Franklin & George Michael – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
Cutting Crew – (I Just) Died in Your Arms
Kim Wilde – You Keep Me Hangin' On
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again '87
Billy Idol – Mony Mony (Live)
George Michael – Faith
1988
~~George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You~~
George Michael – Father Figure
Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up
George Michael – One More Try
Rick Astley – Together Forever
Steve Winwood – Roll With It
George Michael – Monkey
Def Leppard – Love Bites
UB40 – Red Red Wine
Phil Collins – A Groovy Kind Of Love
The Escape Club – Wild Wild West
1989
~~Phil Collins - Two Hearts~~
Mike & The Mechanics – The Living Years
Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy
Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing
Simply Red – If You Don't Know Me By Now
Phil Collins – Another Day In Paradise
1990
Maxi Priest – Close To You
George Michael – Praying For Time
1991
EMF – Unbelievable
1992
George Michael & Elton John – Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Right Said Fred – I'm Too Sexy
1993
UB40 – (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You
1994
Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting – All For Love
1995
Seal – Kiss From A Rose
1997
Spice Girls – Wannabe
Elton John – Candle In The Wind 1997
2006
James Blunt – You're Beautiful
2008
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
2009
Jay Sean – Down
2010
Taio Cruz – Break Your Heart
2011
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
LMFAO (feat. Lauren Bennett and GoonRock) – Party Rock Anthem
Adele – Someone Like You
Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) – We Found Love

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR806)

Los Angeles Weekly Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time

2012-01-03T23:41:00.003Z

Everybody knows it, Slash, Axl and Maya included: 2012 is the year of Guns n'Roses reunion. So, let's warm up with a hair metal revival. No, don't you dare thinking it's a skeleton I'm taking out of my musical closet! But yes, at high school I did listen to Appetite For Destruction (and, er, well, sometimes to White Lion and Bon Jovi too...). :o)
Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES WEEKLY TOP 20 HAIR METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Source: Los Angeles Weekly.
Albums available on Spotify: 18/20 (90%)

~~20. Junkyard - Junkyard (1989)~~
19. White Lion - Pride (1987)
18. Dokken - Tooth and Nail (1984)
17. Europe - The Final Countdown (1986)
16. Whitesnake - Whitesnake (1987)
15. Spinal Tap - This Is Spinal Tap Soundtrack (1984)
14. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime (1988)
13. Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry (1984)
12. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
11. Cinderella - Night Songs (1986)
10. Warrant - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1989)
9. Ratt - Out of the Cellar (1984)
8. Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
7. Faster Pussycat - Faster Pussycat (1987)
6. Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In (1986)
5. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil (1983)
4. Skid Row - Skid Row (1989)
3. Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love (1981)
~~2. Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983)~~
1. Guns n'Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Listen on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0804)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0805)

The Beatles Covers Project on Spotify (update)

2012-01-03T00:10:00.001Z

The Beatles Covers Project is a collection of every Beatles songs, album by album, track by track.

Obviously, not the original songs. As you know, The Beatles music is not available on Spotify, yet. But there is an amazing quantity (and quality) of covers. At least one for each song they have ever recorded and published. Yes, even a jazzy version of Revolution 9 and the twenty-three seconds of Her Majesty.

So this is a kind of big tribute to the Fab Four art, built digging in the deep Spotify catalogue, courtesy of Beach Boys and Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, Peter Sellers and Bill Cosby, Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix, U2 and Oasis, Elton John and David Bowie, Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald, Sonic Youth and Belle & Sebastian, and many many more (each artist plays just one song, so there are almost 200 artists involved!).

The list includes many big names, but also more obscure folk singers, tribute bands, jazz pianists, classical orchestras, angry punkers, crazy headbangers and brave electrowizards. Almost always coming from after the Beatles, sometimes coming from before (in their first albums, Beatles actually covered some already existing songs).

This is one of the first huge Spotirama projects. I published the first version in March 2010. Then, I updated it on October 2010. Now, some songs have disappeared from Spotify. So, here it comes a new update. Enjoy!

(PROJECT FULLY UPDATED 03/01/2012: CHANGES IN BOLD)

Please Please Me
(14 tracks, 35 minutes)

Jerry Lee Lewis – I Saw Her Standing There
Peter Lipa – Misery
Max Yasgur's Farm – Anna (Go To Him)
Cookies – Chains
Max Cohen – Boys
The Smithereens – Ask Me Why
Flamin' Groovies – Please Please Me
Estereotypo - Love Me Do
~~Sandie Shaw – Love Me Do~~
Wayne Gratz – P.S. I Love You
The Shirelles – Baby It's You
Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas – Do You Want To Know A Secret?
Chet Atkins – A Taste Of Honey
The Dickies - There's A Place
~~The Gamits – There's A Place~~
The Isley Brothers – Twist And Shout

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0057)

With the Beatles
(14 tracks, 35 minutes)

Ewan Rachel Wood - It Won't Be Long
~~House Of Heroes – It Won't Be Long~~
Two Of Us – All I've Got To Do
Emilie Autumn – All My Loving
Ringo Ska – Don't Bother Me
The Inmates – Little Child
Etta Jones – Till There Was You
The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman
Chuck Berry – Roll Over Beethoven
Stackridge – Hold Me Tight
She & Him – You Really Got A Hold On Me
The Rolling Stones – I Wanna Be Your Man
Ian Cussick – Devil In Her Heart
The Pretenders – Not A Second Time
The Flying Lizards – Money

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0058)

A Hard Day's Night
(13 tracks, 38 minutes)

Peter Sellers – A Hard Day's Night
The Beach Boys – I Should Have Known Better
Nando Lauria – If I Fell
Sun – I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
Terry Callier – And I Love Her
The Punkles – Tell Me Why
Klaus Ignatzek – Can't Buy Me Love
Los Protones – Any Time At All
Joe Cocker – I'll Cry Instead
Dwight Yoakam – Things We Said Today
Heiko Effertz – When I Get Home
Harry Nilsson – You Can't Do That
UB40 – I'll Be Back

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0059)

Beatles For Sale
(14 tracks, 39 minutes)

Floyd Domino – No Reply
Georga - I'm a Loser
Alexander Pier Federici - Baby's in Black
~~John Doe and Virgil Shaw – Baby's In Black~~
Manic Street Preachers – Rock And Roll Music
Programmar – I'll Follow The Sun
The Hollies – Mr Moonlight
Little Richard – Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
Procol Harum – Eight Days A Week
Buddy Holly – Words Of Love
T. Rex – Honey Don't
Yes – Every Little Thing
Rosanne Cash – I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
Lisa Lauren – What You're Doing
Carl Perkins – Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0060)

Help!
(14 tracks, 39 minutes)

The Damned – Help
Restless Heart – The Night Before
Jackson Browne - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (live)
~~The Beau Brummels – You've Got To Hide Your Love Away~~
Barbara Casini Quartet - I Need You
Beatlegras – Another Girl
Five Man Electrical Band – You're Going To Lose That Girl
Alma Cogan – Ticket To Ride
Buck Owens – Act Naturally
Bryan Ferry – It's Only Love
Glycerine – You Like Me Too Much
John Egniz Connection – Tell Me What You See
Ludella Black – I've Just Seen A Face
Elvis Presley – Yesterday
Larry Williams – Dizzy Miss Lizzie

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0061)

Rubber Soul
(14 tracks, 45 minutes)

Bobby McFerrin – Drive My Car
Cornershop – Norwegian Wood
Anne Murray – You Won't See Me
Gershon Kingsley – Nowhere Man
The Klone Orchestra – Think For Yourself
David Sanborn – The Word
Béla Fleck – Michelle
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – What Goes On
Chris De Burgh – Girl
Jenny Reynolds – I'm Looking Through You
Johnny Cash – In My Life
Connie Evingson – Wait
Barbara Dickson - If I Needed Someone
Nancy Sinatra – Run For Your Life

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0062)

Revolver
(14 tracks, 50 minutes)

Beatallica – Sandman
Aretha Franklin – Eleanor Rigby
Lobo – I'm Only Sleeping
Yim Yames – Love You To
Emmylou Harris – Here, There And Everywhere
Nada – Yellow Submarine
The Black Keys – She Said, She Said
Lulu – Good Day Sunshine
David Kitt – And Your Bird Can Sing
Diana Krall - For No One
~~Trio Rococo – For No One~~
The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo – Doctor Robert
Ted Nugent – I Want To Tell You
Earth, Wind & Fire – Got To Get You Into My Life
The Grateful Dead – Tomorrow Never Knows (live)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0063)

Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(13 tracks, 49 minutes)

Bill Cosby – Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Wet Wet Wet – With A Little Help From My Friends
Elton John – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Gomez – Getting Better
Easy Star All-Stars feat. Max Romeo – Fixing A Hole
Al Jarreau – She's Leaving Home (live)
Eddie Izzard – Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
Sonic Youth – Within You Without You
John Denver – When I'm Sixty-Four
Fats Domino – Lovely Rita
Psilicon Flesh – Good Morning, Good Morning
Jimi Hendrix Experience – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Wes Montgomery - A Day In The Life

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0064)

The Beatles (White Album)
(30 tracks, about 90 minutes)

Lemmy Kilmister, John 5, Eric Singer – Back In the USSR
Siouxsie And The Banshees – Dear Prudence
Arif Mardin – Glass Onion
Youssou N'Dour – Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Ian Cussick, Heiko Effertz, Max Cohen – Wild Honey Pie
Dwight Twilley – The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
AM – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The Breeders – Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Brad Mehldau – Martha My Dear
Say Hi To Your Mom – I'm So Tired
Carly Simon – Blackbird
Luis Eduardo Aute – Piggies
Lena Horne, Gabor Szabo, Gary McFarland – Rocky Raccoon
Georgia Satellites – Don't Pass Me By
Lowell Fulson – Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Daniel Johnston – I Will
John Scofield, Medeski, Martin & Wood – Julia
Leiff Garrett – Birthday
Big Gilson – Yer Blues
Then There Were Two – Mother Nature's Son
Kristin Hersh – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
Damills – Sexy Sadie
U2 – Helter Skelter (live)
Tanya Donelly – Long Long Long
Stone Temple Pilots – Revolution
Barbra Streisand – Honey Pie
Ella Fitzgerald – Savoy Truffle
Tom Freund – Cry Baby Cry
Neil Cowley Trio - Revolution 9
~~The Thurston Lava Tube – Revolution 9~~
Capella Istropolitana With Soloists Of The Baroque Chamber Orchestra – Good Night

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0065)

Abbey Road
(12 tracks, 48 minutes)

Michael Jackson – Come Together
Ike & Tina Turner – Something
Ed Harlow – Maxwell's Silver Hammer
George Benson – Oh! Darling
Rockabye Baby! – Octopus's Garden
Noir Désir – I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Belle and Sebastian – Here Comes The Sun (live)
Solveig Slettahjell – Because
Sarah Vaughan – You Never Give Me Your Money
Booker T. & The MG's – Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window/I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Neil Diamond – Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End (live)
The Silver Beetles – Her Majesty

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0066)

Let It Be
(12 tracks, 38 minutes)

Boney M. – Two Of Us
Hemi & The Ruderunners – Dig A Pony
David Bowie – Across The Universe
Ref – I Me Mine
Laibach – Dig It
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Let It Be
Judy Garland – Maggie, Maggie May
Giacomo Bondi & The Apple Pies - I've Got A Feeling
~~Električni Orgazam – I've Got A Feeling~~
Richie Arndt – One After 909
Cher – The Long And Winding Road
Monti Beton – For You Blue
Al Green – Get Back

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0067)

Magical Submarine Strawberry B-Sides
(songs not included in original albums)
(33 tracks, about 2 hours)

Chuck Mead - Old Brown Shoe
The Revolver Road Band – You Know My Name
John Bush, Stef Carpenter, Mike Inez, John Tempesta – Magical Mystery Tour
The Surphonics - Thank You Girl
Secret Machines – Flying
Colin Newman – Blue Jay Way
Jamie Hoover – It's Only A Northern Song
The Kennedy Choir – Penny Lane
The Mamas & The Papas – I Call Your Name
Joaquin Pardinilla & Inaki Fernandez - The Inner Light
~~Les Boreades - The Inner Light~~
The Bingo Kids – All Together Now
Digsy – Paperback Writer
Sandro y Los de Fuego – Te Conseguire (I'll Get You)
Del Shannon – From Me To You
Teenage Fanclub – The Ballad of John and Yoko
Jeff Beck – She's A Woman
Journey – It's All Too Much
Gene – Don't Let Me Down
Blair Casdin – Your Mother Should Know
Aerosmith – I'm Down
(Luismi) Apache – Hello Goodbye
Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, Blasko, Brian Tichy – I Feel Fine
Boreades De Montreal - This Boy
~~The Bolts – This Boy~~
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 – The Fool On The Hill
Satin And Circuits – She Loves You
Todd Rundgren – Rain
Don Henley – Yes It Is (live)
Junior Parker – Lady Madonna
Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Strawberry Fields Forever
Echo And The Bunnymen – All You Need Is Love
Bing Crosby – Hey Jude
Oasis – I Am The Walrus (live)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0068)

The Mammoth (all songs in one playlist)
(197 tracks, more than 10 hours)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0069)

Acclaimed Music 1967 (Top 20 Songs & Top 20 Albums)

2012-01-02T08:37:00.004Z

1967

Let's go back to the past. It's a long time I don't update this year-by-year series, based on Acclaimed Music aggregated charts. 1967: what a year, crowded with musical geniuses. Take a look at the albums list: Velvet Underground & Nico, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Love, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen, Cream, Jefferson Airplaine, The Byrds, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Tim Buckley... along with the usually missing-from-Spotify Pink Floyd and The Beatles... And the songs chart? Respect, Purple Haze, Light My Fire, Brown Eyed Girl, Heroin, Alon Again Or, The Letter... not bad, not bad... Enjoy!

(legenda: the number preceding the artist name is the ranking of that song or album in Acclaimed Music Top 3000 charts)

The Complete Acclaimed History of Music Series

ACCLAIMED MUSIC TOP 20 SONGS OF 1967
Source: Acclaimed Music

1 (5) Aretha Franklin - Respect
~~- (12) The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever~~
~~- (16) The Beatles - A Day in the Life~~
2 (36) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze
3 (49) The Doors - Light My Fire
4 (53) The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
5 (98) Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
6 (127) Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale
7 (169) The Velvet Underground - Heroin
~~- (170) The Beatles - Penny Lane~~
8 (180) The Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting for the Man
9 (215) Love - Alone Again Or
10 (254) Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
11 (278) The Box Tops - The Letter
~~-- (285) Pink Floyd - See Emily Play~~
12 (295) Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
13 (331) The Who - I Can See for Miles
14 (333) Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools
15 (340) Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
~~-- (353) The Beatles - I Am the Walrus~~
16 (407) Sam & Dave - Soul Man
17 (451) Smokey Robinson and The Miracles - The Tears of a Clown
18 (488) Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
19 (520) Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe
20 (565) Jefferson Airplane - Somebody to Love

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0803)

ACCLAIMED MUSIC TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 1967
Source: Acclaimed Music

1 (4) The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
~~- (5) The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band~~
2 (12) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
3 (24) The Doors - The Doors
4 (49) Love - Forever Changes
5 (81) Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
~~- (99) Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn~~
6 (141) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love
7 (162) Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
8 (166) Cream - Disraeli Gears
9 (173) Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
10 (229) The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday
11 (269) The Who - The Who Sell Out
12 (300) The Kinks - Something Else by the Kinks
13 (380) Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
~~-- (413) Moby Grape - Moby Grape~~
~~-- (417) Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding~~
14 (442) Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Safe as Milk
15 (579) The Doors - Strange Days
16 (585) The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons
17 (630) Traffic - Mr. Fantasy
18 (770) Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign
19 (897) Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello
20 (978) The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

Listen on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0802)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0801)

The Complete Acclaimed History of Music Series

Pitchfork Best New Albums of 2011 (final update!!)

2011-12-31T16:44:00.001Z

With a bunch of latest new entries (Atlas Sound, Oneohtrix Point Never, Drake, Kate Bush) and the long-awaited add of Julianna Barwick's The Magic Place (now available on Spotify), this is the final update of the playlists based on Pitchfork Best New Albums.

Some stats:

- The % of albums available on Spotify is very good: 91,48% (in 2010, it was 83,63%)
- 47 albums have been included by Pitchfork in its Best New Albums section in 2011. In 2010, they were 55
- The Lite playlists below (3 tracks each album) features 129 songs. The Mammoth (full albums) features 477 songs.
- The most recent album (Sepalcure, not available on Spotify) has been reviewed November 22. No more highly reviewed albums in the last 40 days of the year. In the same period, in 2010, Pitchfork picked two Best New Albums (by OFF! and Robyn).
- Medium review vote: 8.55 (in 2010, slightly higher: 8.57)
- Higher review vote: Bon Iver, Bon Iver, 9.5 (in 2010: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West, 10.0)
- 11 Best New Albums are NOT featured in Pitchfork Best 50 Albums of 2011 chart: by Smith Westerns, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Antlers, WU LYF, Washed Out, Trash Talk, A$ap Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., Cass McCombs, John Maus and Wolves in the Throne Room. Anyway, last four are mentioned in the Honorable Mentions section; amongst the albums in the eoy Top 50, there are 14 albums that are instead not featured in Best New Albums reviews (by Wild Flag, Kendrick Lamar, Colin Stetson, SBTRKT, Liturgy, Sandro Perri, Frank Ocean, Katy B, TY Segall, Beyoncé, Bill Callahan, The Caretaker, Danny Brown, Clams Casino).
- Finally, how long shall we wait before the first Best New Album of 2012? If we follow the year-by-year progression, it should happen around January 25. In 2009, Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion was reviewed January 5. In 2010, Vampire Weekend's Contra, January 11. In 2011, Smith Westerns' Dye It Blonde has been reviewed January 18. But, frankly, we'll see...

Enjoy!

PITCHFORK BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2011
Source: Pitchfork Best New Albums
Albums available on Spotify: 43 out of 47 (91,48%)

(links lead to Pitchfork reviews, Pitchfork-like votes are Pitchfork votes, new entries/additions are in bold)

Dye It Blonde (Smith Westerns, 8.4)
Kaputt (Destroyer, 8.8)
Zonoscope (Cut Copy, 8.6)
James Blake (James Blake, 9.0)
Let England Shake (PJ Harvey, 8.8)
Space Is Only Noise (Nicolas Jaar, 8.4)
Ravedeath, 1972 (Tim Hecker, 8.6)
The Magic Place (Julianna Barwick, 8.5)
Underneath the Pine (Toro Y Moi, 8.4)
Wounded Rhymes (Lykke Li, 8.3)
Smoke Ring For My Halo (Kurt Vile, 8.4)
~~House of Balloons (The Weeknd, 8.5)~~
Belong (The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, 8.2)
Tomboy (Panda Bear, 8.5)
w h o k i l l (tUnE-yArDs, 8.8)
~~Return of 4Eva (Big K.R.I.T., 8.2)~~
Wit's End (Cass McCombs, 8.4)
The Book of David (Dj Quik, 8.4)
Helplessness Blues (Fleet Foxes, 8.8)
Eye Contact (Gang Gang Dance, 8.5)
Past Life Martyred Saints (EMA, 8.5)
Burst Apart (The Antlers, 8.2)
Cults (Cults, 8.5)
David Comes To Life (Fucked Up, 8.6)
Bon Iver (Bon Iver, 9.5)
Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (WU LYF, 8.4)
Black Up (Shabazz Palaces, 8.8)
New Brigade (Iceage, 8.4)
Electronic Dream (AraabMuzik, 8.2)
We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (John Maus, 8.4)
Within and Without (Washed Out, 8.3)
Watch the Throne (Jay-Z / Kanye West, 8.5)
Slave Ambient (The War on Drugs, 8.3)
Looping State of Mind (The Field, 8.5)
Father, Son, Holy Ghost (Girls, 9.3)
Strange Mercy (St. Vincent, 9.0)
Celestial Lineage (Wolves in the Throne Room, 8.6)
The Year of Hibernation (Youth Lagoon, 8.4)
Awake (Trash Talk, 8.2)
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (M83, 9.1)
Days (Real Estate, 8.7)
Parallax (Atlas Sound, 8.7)
~~LIVELOVEA$AP (A$ap Rocky, 8.2)~~
Replica (Oneohtrix Point Never, 8.8)
Take Care (Drake, 8.6)
50 Words For Snow (Kate Bush, 8.5)
~~Sepalcure (Sepalcure, 8.4)~~

Listen to it on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0576)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0577)

Previously about Pitchfork:
Best 50 Songs of 2011
Top 50 Albums of 2011
Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s
Top 100 Albums of the 1980s
The Pitchfork 500
(and more)

BBC6 Music Playlist (last 2011 update!!)

2011-12-31T14:41:00.000Z

A hearty happy new year from Spotirama & Piney Gir!

That's the last 2011 update for this playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. A rich one, with eight new entries and 86% of tracks available on Spotify (though I'm not sure songs by Lana Del Rey, The Maccabees, Chairlift and Various Cruelties are really available). The Mammoth playlist of the year has reached 284 songs and will stay open until all the 2011 songs will drop out of the main playlist (it means that at the end we'll have a more-than-300 songs summary of 2011). Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 25 out of 29 (86,20%)
(new entries in bold)

The Big Pink – Hit The Ground (Superman)
Bon Iver – Towers
Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
Howler – Back of Your Neck
Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
M83 – Reunion
The Maccabees – Pelican
Radiohead – The Daily Mail
Radiohead – Staircase
Sbtrkt – Hold On (feat. Sampha)
Arctic Monkeys – Black Treacle
~~Rostam Batmanglij - Don't Let It Get You Down~~
The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
The Black Lips – Raw Meat
Bombay Bicycle Club – Leave It
Chairlift – Met Before
Field Music – (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – If I Had A Gun...
Milagres – Here to Stay
Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M.
The Roots – Sleep
Sharon Van Etten – Serpents
Various Cruelties – Great Unknown
White Denim – Keys
~~Air - Seven Stars~~
Piney Gir – Outta Sight
Miike Snow – Devil's Work
Nada Surf - Waiting For Something
The 2 Bears - Work

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the first eleven months of BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 284 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

RIP 2011 (a NYTimes/Stereogum tribute to artists/bands who played their last waltz)

2011-12-30T11:04:00.000Z

Last year, I made two Spotify playlists based on New York Times and Stereogum videotributes to artists who died and bands who disbanded in 2010. This year they did it again. So did I. Even if I'm not so sure Sonic Youth have officially been declared over. Mournfully enjoy!

NEW YORK TIMES - THE MUSIC THEY MADE
A sound collage of musicians who died in 2011.
Source: New York Times (video)
Songs available on Spotify: 25/26 (96,15%) (I featured all the songs picked by New York Times; the missing one is Penny Lane by The Beatles, with trumpet solo played by David Mason: I replaced it with a Bach Brandenburg Concerto with Mason on trumpet)

Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice (RIP John Barry, composer)
Walker Brothers – Make It Easy On Yourself (John Walker, singer)
Broadcast – Come On Let's Go (Trish Keenan, singer-songwriter)
Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Weezer – Hash Pipe (Mikey Welsh, bassist)
Japan – Visions of China (Mick Karn, bassist)
Andrea True Connection – More, More, More
The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman (Gladys Horton, singer)
Bruce Springsteen – Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Clarence Clemons, sax player)
Bert Jansch – Angie
Howlin' Wolf – Spoonful (Hubert Sumlin, guitarist)
Marvin Gaye – Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Nick Ashford, songwriter)
Amy Winehouse – Tears Dry On Their Own
Dobie Gray – Drift Away
Phoebe Snow – Poetry Mam (live)
America – Ventura Highway (Dan Peek, singer/guitarist)
Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate (Nate Dogg, singer/rapper)
Heavy D & The Boyz – We Got Our Own Thang
The Coasters – Yakety Yak (Carl Gardner, singer)
Bush Tetras – Too Many Creeps (Laura Kennedy, bassist)
Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock (Jerry Leiber, songwriter)
The Louvin Brothers – Kentucky (Charlie Louvin, guitarist/singer)
Stealers Wheel – Stuck In The Middle With You (Gerry Rafferty, singer/songwriter)
Cesaria Evora – Petit Pays
Todd Rundgren – Hello It's Me (Moogy Klingman, keyboardist/songwriter)
English Chamber Orchestra – J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F, BWV 1047 - 1. (Allegro) (David Mason, trumpet player)

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0800)

STEREOGUM IN MEMORIAM 2011
Bands we lost in 2011
Source:

Bands available on Spotify: 34/34 (bingo!) (songs chosen by my dark questionable sense of humour)

Stricken City – Some Say
Out Of Sight – Hey! (Walk Away)
The White Stripes – Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
Oceansize – Music For A Nurse
LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
Faithless – Insomnia
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – So Long Good Night
The Bluetones – Sleazy Bed Track
t.A.T.u. – All The Things She Said
The Music – Take The Long Road And Walk It
The Holloways – Two Left Feet
You Say Party – Star Trail
The Stills – Everything I Build
You, Me & Everyone We Know – Shock and Awe
The Radiators – Wild And Free
Rx Bandits – My Lonesome Only Friend
The Answering Machine – It's Over! It's Over! It's Over
The Uglysuit – On We Go
Ludicra – The Only Cure, The Only Remedy
Alexisonfire – "Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama"
Ponytail – AwayWay
R.E.M. – The Great Beyond
Anal Cunt – Stayin Alive (Oi Version)
Dananananaykroyd – Black Wax
Maruta – In Perpetual Narcolepsy
Rilo Kiley – Breakin' Up
The Middle East – The Darkest Side
Thursday – Understanding In a Car Crash
The Streets – Dry Your Eyes
The Academy Is... – Down And Out
Double Dagger – I Was So Bored I Wanted To Hang Myself On The Dancefloor
Westlife – I Wanna Grow Old With You
Gay For Johnny Depp – Hey F*cked Up! (Punk Rock Can't Exist In Countries With Good Social Services)
Sonic Youth – 100%

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0799)

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 52, commencing 24/12/2011)

2011-12-27T22:35:00.003Z

The Air Side of the Moon (avec Méliès, without Spotify)

This is a bad week for the playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music: 25% of songs are not available on Spotify, one of the worst results of the whole year. No Lana Del Rey. Pas Air. Nada Nada Surf. But it's a good week, too. Because in the playlist you can find one of the best latest songs by Radiohead, not included in The King of Limbs album: Staircase. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 23 out of 31 (74,19%)
(new entries in bold)

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
Bon Iver – Towers
DJ Shadow (feat. Little Dragon) – Scale It Back
Field Music – (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing
Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
Howler – Back of Your Neck
~~Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again~~
~~The Maccabees - Pelican~~
Radiohead – The Daily Mail/Staircase
Sbtrkt – Hold On (feat. Sampha)
Arctic Monkeys – Black Treacle
The Big Pink – Hit The Ground (Superman) [Radio Edit]
The Black Lips – Raw Meat
Bombay Bicycle Club – Leave It
~~Lana Del Rey - Born To Die~~
Foster The People – Call It What You Want
Friendly Fires – Blue Cassette
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – If I Had A Gun...
Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M.
Real Estate – Municipality
The Roots – Sleep
Frank Turner – Wessex Boy
Sharon Van Etten – Serpents
~~Various Cruelties - Great Unknown~~
White Denim – Keys
~~Air - Seven Stars~~
~~Rostam Batmanglij~~
Death In Vegas – Medication
Milagres – Here to Stay
~~Nada Surf - Waiting For Something~~
~~The 2 Bears - Work~~

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the first eleven months of BBC6 2011 Music Playlist! 278 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

The Spotirama Essentials 2011 (aggregated Top 50 Songs)

2011-12-22T18:42:00.001Z

2011

D'you wanna know which are the best 50 songs of 2011, without choosing just one critic's, website's or magazine's chart? D'you wanna have all these songs in one Spotify playlist? Try this aggregated chart, based on all the 2011 Top 50 Songs lists I've published so far. The rule is simple: I assign 50 points to #1 song, 49 points to #2, 48 points to #3 and so on. I will keep this playlist updated, with the new ones coming. So... enjoy!

P.S. No countdown order, this time. It's from #1 to #50.

TRIVIA:
Artists with two songs:
Bon Iver, Adele, Jay Z & Kanye West, Cults
Songs most present in critics' lists:
Lana Del Rey's Videogames, Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks (7 lists)
M83's Midnight City, Tyler the Creator's Yonkers, James Blake's The Wilhelm Scream (6 lists)
Bon Iver's Holocene, tUnE-yArDs' Bizness, Adele's Rolling in the Deep, Little Dragon's Ritual Union (5 lists)
#1 Songs:
M83's Midnight City (3 times)
Lana Del Rey's Videogames (2 times)
Adele's Rolling in the Deep, The Rapture's How Deep Is Your Love, Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues, Dum Dum Girls' Coming Down (1 time)

THE SPOTIRAMA ESSENTIAL 2011
(aggregated Top 50 songs, based on EOY critics' lists)
Sources: lists by Intro, Les Inrockuptibles, NME, Paste, Pitchfork, PopMatters, Rolling Stone, Spinner, Treble
Songs available on Spotify: 47/50 (94%)

1. M83 – Midnight City
2. Lana Del Rey – Video Games
3. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks
4. Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers
5. Bon Iver – Holocene
6. Tune-Yards – Bizness
7. Real Estate – It's Real
8. Radiohead – Lotus Flower
9. Adele – Rolling In The Deep
10. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream
11. St. Vincent – Cruel
12. Metronomy – The Look
13. Fucked Up – Queen Of Hearts
14. Jay Z & Kanye West – Otis
15. The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love?
16. EMA – California
17. Destroyer – Kaputt
18. Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out
19. Girls – Vomit
20. Frank Ocean – Novacane
21. Little Dragon – Ritual Union
22. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass
23. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
24. Smith Westerns – Weekend
25. PJ Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder
26. Jay Z & Kanye West – Ni**as In Paris
27. Beyoncé – Countdown
28. The Horrors – Still Life
29. Austra – Beat And The Pulse
30. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
31. Cults – Go Outside
32. Cut Copy – Need You Now
~~33. Azealia Banks - 212~~
34. WU LYF – Dirt
35. Battles – Ice Cream (Featuring Matias Aguayo)
36. The Weeknd – The Morning
37. Adele – Rumour Has It
38. Wye Oak – Holy Holy
39. Cass McCombs – County Line
40. Bon Iver – Calgary
41. The Strokes – Under Cover Of Darkness
42. Beirut – Santa Fe
43. My Morning Jacket – Circuital
44. Drake – Marvins Room
45. Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend
46. Sbtrkt – Wildfire (feat. Little Dragon)
47. The Antlers – I Don't Want Love
48. Cults – Abducted
49. The Black Lips – Modern Art
50. Kurt Vile – Jesus Fever

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0798)

Best 50 Albums of 2011 - Spotirama Essentials

The Spotirama Essentials 2011 (aggregated Top 50 Albums)

2011-12-22T16:36:00.001Z

2011

This is an aggregated chart based on all the 2011 Top 50 Albums lists I've published so far. The rule is simple: I assign 50 points to #1 album, 49 points to #2, 48 points to #3 and so on. I will keep this playlist updated, with the new ones coming and I'm doing something similar with songs. So... enjoy!

P.S. No countdown order, this time. It's from #1 to #50.

TRIVIA:
Albums featured in all critics' lists so far: none
Albums in all lists but one: Bon Iver (Bon Iver)
Albums in all lists but two: Smoke Ring For Halo (Kurt Vile)
Albums in all lists but three: Let England Shake (PJ Harvey), Helplessness Blues (Fleet Foxes)
#1 Albums: four times (PJ Harvey), two times (Adele, Bon Iver), one time (Girls, Destroyer, Florence + The Machine, Fucked Up, The Black Keys, The Antlers, Mastodon)

THE SPOTIRAMA ESSENTIAL 2011
(aggregated Top 50 albums, based on EOY critics' lists)
Sources: lists by Amazon.com, The Guardian, Intro, Kerrang!, Les Inrockuptibles, Mojo, NME, Paste, Pitchfork, Q, Rolling Stone, Spin, Stereogum, The Fly, Uncut
Albums available on Spotify: 47/50 (94%)

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (=)
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (=)
3. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For Halo (=)
4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (+1)
5. James Blake - James Blake (+6)
6. Metronomy - The English Riviera (+3)
7. Radiohead - The King of Limbs (-3)
8. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost (-2)
9. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L (+1)
10. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (-3)
11. The Horrors - Skying (-3)
12. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (+4)
13. Wild Beasts - Smother (=)
14. Destroyer - Kaputt (+6)
15. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know (=)
~~16. The Weeknd - The House of Ballons (+18)~~
17. Drake - Take Care (+21)
18. Yuck - Yuck (-6)
~~19. Tom Waits - Bad As Me (+14)~~
20. Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (+5)
21. Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne (+3)
22. Adele - 21 (-8) (just four songs available)
23. Feist - Metals (+3)
24. White Denim - D (+3)
25. EMA - Past-Life Martyred Saints (+6)
26. Real Estate - Days (+6)
27. Lykked Li - Wounded Rhymes (-4)
28. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient (+2)
29. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials (-12)
30. Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi (-9)
31. Wild Flag - Wild Flag (-12)
32. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead (-13)
33. Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit (ne)
34. Wilco - The Whole Love (-12)
35. SBTRKT - SBTRKT (ne)
36. Beyoncé - 4 (ne)
37. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life (+7)
38. Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest (+2)
39. My Morning Jacket - Circuital (-11)
40. Washed Out - Within and Without (-11)
41. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow (+4)
~~42. The Black Keys - El Camino (+8)~~
43. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (+5)
~~44. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra (ne)~~
45. Beirut - The Rip Tide (-4)
46. Gang Gand Dance - Eye Contact (ne)
47. Katy B - On A Mission (ne)
48. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes (ne)
49. Cults - Cults (ne)
50. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix (-15)

Out of the Top 50, with this update: Josh T. Pearson, Arctic Monkeys, Paul Simon, Battles, Little Dragon, The Antlers, Lady Gaga, Bjork - Biophilia

Listen to it on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0779)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0780)

Spinner Best 50 Songs of 2011

2011-12-22T13:54:00.002Z

SPINNER BEST 50 SONGS OF 2011
Source: Spinner (the official Top60 Spotify playlist)
Songs available on Spotify: 46/50 (92%)

50. Pujol - Mayday
49. Givers - Up Up Up
48. Kreayshawn - Gucci Gucci
47. Neon Indian - Polish Girl
46. Steve Earle - Waitin on the Sky
45. Foo Fighters - Rope
44. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi (feat. Jack White) - Two Against One
43. Lindstrøm - De Javu
42. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Keep Me Waiting
41. Lana Del Rey - Video Games
40. Cut Copy - Need You Now
39. Lykke Li - Sadness Is a Blessing
38. SBTRKT (feat. Drake & Little Dragon) - Wildfire (Remix)
37. The Raveonettes - Forget That Youre Young
36. Tyler the Creator - Yonkers
35. The Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow
34. Braids - Lemonade
33. Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs a Ladder
32. Handsome Furs - Cheap Music
31. PAPA - I Am the Lion King
30. TV on the Radio - Will Do
29. The Strokes - Taken for a Fool
28. Smith Westerns - Weekend
27. Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise
26. Frank Ocean - Novacane
25. Zola Jesus - Skin
24. Feist - How Come You Never Go There
23. Death Cab for Cutie - You Are a Tourist
~~22. Tom Waits - New Years Eve~~
21. Cage the Elephant - Shake Me Down
20. Drake - Marvins Room
19. Black Lips - Modern Art
18. Tennis - Marathon
~~17. The Weeknd - High for This~~
16. Florence and the Machine - Shake It Out
15. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
14. Real Estate - Its Real
13. St. Vincent - Cruel
12. We Are Augustines - Juarez
11. Cults - Oh My God
~~10. JJ - Still~~
9. Austra - Beat and the Pulse
8. Bon Iver - Holocene
7. Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
6. EMA - California
5. Kanye West/Jay-Z - New Day
4. Charles Bradley - Heartaches and Pain
~~3. Adele - Rumour Has It~~
2. Fucked Up - Queen of Hearts
1. Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0797)

END OF YEAR 2011 PLAYLISTS

Best 50 Albums:
Amazon.com
The Guardian
Intro
Kerrang!
Les Inrockuptibles
Mojo
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin
Stereogum
The Fly
Uncut

Best 50 Songs:
Intro
Les Inrockuptibles
NME
NPR (100 songs)
Paste
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Spinner
Treble

Les Inrockuptibles Best 50 Albums of 2011

2011-12-22T09:47:00.002Z

Still not available on Spotify, Black Keys' El Camino is #1 2011 album for french magazine Les Inrockuptibles. Just another album is missing from the playlist: Tom Waits' Bad As Me.

LES INROCKUPTIBLES BEST 50 ALBUMS OF 2011
Source: Acclaimed Music Forum / Les Inrocks
Songs available on Spotify: 48/50 (96%)

50. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
49. Miossec - Chanson Ordinaires
48. Mansfield.TYA - Nyx
47. Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days
46. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
45. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
44. Hanni El Khatib - Will the Guns Come Out
43. Orelsan - Le Chant des Sirènes
42. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
41. Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
40. Zola Jesus - Conatus
39. The Do - Both Ways Open Jaws
38. The Horrors - Skying
37. The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
36. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
35. Salem - King Night
34. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
33. Miles Kane - Colour of the Trap
32. Drake - Take Care
31. Beirut - The Rip Tide
30. The Rapture - In The Grace of Your Love
29. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
28. Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On
27. Feist - Metals
26. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
25. The Drums - Portamento
24. Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
23. Yelle - Safari Disco Club
22. Anthony Joseph & the Spasm Band - Rubber Orchestra
~~21. Tom Waits - Bad as Me~~
20. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
19. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
18. Dirty Beaches - Badlands
17. Tinariwen - Tassili
16. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes
15. James Blake - James Blake
14. Other Lives - Tamer Animals
13. Baxter Dury - Happy Soup
12 Cults - Cults
11. Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
10. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
9. The Shoes - Crack My Bones
8. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
7. Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love
6. Daniel Darc - La Taille de mon âme
5. Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
4. François & the Atlas Mountains - E volo love
3. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
2. Metronomy - The English Riviera
~~1. Black Keys - El Camino~~

Listen on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0795)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0796)

END OF YEAR 2011 PLAYLISTS

Best 50 Albums:
Amazon.com
The Guardian
Intro
Kerrang!
Les Inrockuptibles
Mojo
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin
Stereogum
The Fly
Uncut

Best 50 Songs:
Intro
Les Inrockuptibles
NME
NPR (100 songs)
Paste
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Treble

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 51, commencing 17/12/2011)

2011-12-20T23:33:00.001Z

They just told Ruff it's Christmas again

Let's take a break from the EOY lists roundup, with the usual weekly update of the playlist based on BBC6 selections of airplayed best new music. New entries by Florence + the Machine, The Big Pink, Howler, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Roots, Milagres and the (atheist) Christmas side of Gruff Rhys. Enjoy!

BBC 6 MUSIC PLAYLIST
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 26 out of 31 (83,87%)
(new entries in bold)

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
Bon Iver – Towers
DJ Shadow feat. Little Dragon – Scale It Back
Field Music – (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing
Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
Foster The People – Call It What You Want
Friendly Fires – Blue Cassette
~~Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again~~
~~The Maccabees - Pelican~~
Frank Turner – Wessex Boy
The Big Pink - Hit the Ground (Superman)
The Black Lips – Raw Meat
Bombay Bicycle Club – Leave It
Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler – Home For The Holidays
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – If I Had A Gun...
Girls – My Ma
Howler - Back of Your Neck
Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M.
The Rapture – Sail Away
Real Estate – Municipality
Gruff Rhys - Post Apocalypse Christmas
The Roots – Sleep
Sbtrkt (feat. Sampha) – Hold On
Sharon Van Etten – Serpents
~~Various Cruelties - Great Unknown~~
Death In Vegas – Medication
Baxter Dury – Isabel
Milagres - Here To Stay
~~Nada Surf - Waiting For Something~~
She & Him – Christmas Day
~~The 2 Bears - Work~~

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

BONUS PLAYLIST!!!
BBC6 MUSIC PLAYLIST 2011 - THE MAMMOTH
(a playlist collecting all the songs of the first nine months of BBC6 Music Playlist! 272 tracks!!)
Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0528)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

Les Inrockuptibles Best 50 Songs of 2011

2011-12-19T13:01:00.002Z

As usual, I do like the musical tastes of french magazine Les Inrockuptibles.

LES INROCKUPTIBLES BEST 50 SONGS OF 2011
Source: Acclaimed Music Forum / Les Inrocks (note: it's not sure songs from #31 to #50 are actually ranked)
Songs available on Spotify: 46/50 (92%)

50. Iron & Wine - Tree by the River
49. Cat's Eyes - I'm Not Stupid
48. Planningtorock - Doorway
47. Lykke Li - Youth Knows No Pain
46. Arctic Monkeys - She's Thunderstorms
45. John Maus - Hey Moon
~~44. Portugal. The Man - So America~~
43. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
42. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
41. Feist - How Come You Never Go There
40. Elbow - Lippy Kids
39. Orelsan - Suicide Social
38. Beyonce - Run the World (Girls)
37. Juveniles - We Are Young
36. Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
~~35. Breton - Governing Ice~~
34. Zulu Winter - Let's Move Back to Front
33. College (feat. Electric Youth) - A Real Hero
32. Black Lips - Modern Art
31. Africa Hitech - Our Luv
30. Cyril Mokaïesh - Communiste
29. François & the Atlas Mountains - Les Plus Beaux
28. Hanni El Khatib - Dead Wrong
27. Cass McCombs - County Line
26. Woodkid - Iron
25. Yuksek - On a Train
24. Zomby - Natalia's Song
23. Baxter Dury - Claire
22. Other Lives - For 12
21. Das Racist - Michael Jackson
20. Theophilus London - Wine and Chocolates
19. Girls - Vomit
18. Drake - Take Care
17. Blood Orange - Sutphin Boulevard
~~16. The Weeknd - House of Balloons~~
15. Cults - Go Outside
14. Yelle - Safari Disco Club
13. Chairlift - Amanaemonesia
12. Beirut - Santa Fe
~~11. Massive Attack & Burial - Four Walls~~
10. SBTRKT - Wildfire
9. The Kills - Satellite
8. WU LYF - Dirt
7. The Rapture - How Deep is Your Love?
6. Miles Kane - Closer
5. Kanye West & Jay-Z - Otis
4. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
3. Metronomy - The Look
2. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
1. Lana Del Rey - Video Games

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0794)

END OF YEAR 2011 PLAYLISTS

Best 50 Albums:
Amazon.com
The Guardian
Intro
Kerrang!
Mojo
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin
Stereogum
The Fly
Uncut

Best 50 Songs:
Intro
Les Inrockuptibles
NME
NPR (100 songs)
Paste
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Treble

NPR Best 100 Songs of 2011

2011-12-18T16:06:00.002Z

This NPR chart has two problems. First, it's not ranked. It's alphabetical. So I couldn't chop it as a Top50, I painfully breaking my 2011 end-of-year playlist habit. Second, many songs - almost twenty - are missing from Spotify. And many are available only in restricted markets. But there is a big value in it. It doesn't feature only rock music (or alternative/electronica/folk/hip hop): it's wider, including other genres, like world, contemporary or classical. That means - along with the usual M83, tUnE-yArDs or Bon Iver - some very different choices from the other playlists I published so far. One example? A crazy little thing called Lungulungu by Fokn Bois and Jumo Daddy taken from the album The Fokn Dunaquest in Budapest. Cool, isn't it? Enjoy!

NPR BEST 100 SONGS OF 2011
Source: NPR
Songs available on Spotify: 81/100 (81%)

~~10/10 Ensemble - Fiji~~
Adele - Someone Like You
~~Alabama Shakes - Hold On~~
Anthony Hamilton - Mad
~~Azealia Banks - 212~~
Battles - Ice Cream (feat. Matias Aguayo)
Beyonce - Countdown
~~Big Freedia - Azz Everywhere~~
~~Bill McHenry - La Fuerza~~
Bingo Players - Cry (Just A Little) (Olav Basoski Remix)
Bjork - Virus
~~Blawan - Getting Me Down~~
Bon Iver - Calgary
Cass McCombs - County Line
Caveman - Old Friend
Chris Brown - Look At Me Now (feat. Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne)
Chris Thile & Michael Daves - Sleep With One Eye Open
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Same Mistake
Cults - Abducted
~~Danny Brown - Scrap Or Die~~
Darkest Era - An Ancient Fire Burns
Das Racist - Michael Jackson
David Wax Museum - Born With A Broken Heart
The Decemberists - Down By The Water
Delicate Steve - Butterfly
Deniz Kurtel - The L Word
Drake - Take Care (feat. Rihanna)
E-40 - Beastin'
Eleanor Friedberger - My Mistakes
EMA - The Grey Ship
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Fokn Bois and Jumo Daddy - Lungulungu
Frank Ocean - Swim Good
Garland Jeffreys - Coney Island Winter
Gary Clark, Jr. - Bright Lights
~~Geko Jones - Pa'la Escuela Nene (feat. Maria Mulata)~~
Gem Club - Twins
Gillian Welch - Hard Times
Grouplove - Tongue-Tied
~~G-Side - Atmosphere (feat. PH)~~
~~Hammers of Misfortune - The Grain~~
I Wayne - Change Them Ways
Jacques Greene - Another Girl
James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
James Farm - Polliwog
Jay-Z & Kanye West - That's My Bitch
~~JD Allen Trio - Mr. Steepy~~
~~Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello Concerto in G minor~~
JEFF The Brotherhood - Bummer
Jill Scott - All Cried Out (feat. Doug E. Fresh)
Jonsi - Gathering Stories
The Joy Formidable - Whirring
~~Joyce DiDonato - D'amour l'ardente flame~~
Kate Bush - Misty
Katy B - Katy On A Mission
~~Kay Ara - Me Dough (feat. Lil Shaker and Yaa Pono)~~
~~Kes The Band - Wotless~~
Lady Gaga - Yoü & I
~~Lagartijeando - El Alto De La Paz~~
Laura Marling - The Beast
~~Lil B - I Seen That Light~~
Lil Wayne - 6 Foot 7 Foot (feat. Cory Gunz)
Lisa Hannigan - Home
Los Tigres - Jefe de Jefes
Low - Try To Sleep
Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers
M83 - Midnight City
Martina McBride - I'm Gonna Love You Through It
Midnite - Mongst I & I
Milagres - Halfway
Miranda Lambert - Mama's Broken Heart
The Mountain Goats - Estate Sale Sign
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Natacha Atlas - Batkallim (Bombay Dub Remix)
Nick Lowe - House For Sale
Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
Nicolas Jaar - Keep Me There
Now Ensemble - Change
Panda Bear - You Can Count On Me
Paul Simon - Rewrite
Pedro Soler & Gaspar Claus - Insomnio Mineral (Rondena)
~~Purity Ring - Ungirthed~~
Randy Montana - Burn These Matches
Raphael Saadiq - Heart Attack
Real Estate - It's Real
Rihanna - We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)
SBTRKT - Wildfire (feat. Yukimi Nagano)
Seun Kuti - Rise
Simone Dinnerstein - Ich ruf zu dir
Smith Westerns - Weekend
St. Vincent - Cruel
Telebossa - Eu Sonhei Que Tu Estavas Tao Linda
Tinariwen - Tenere Taqqim Tossam
tUnE-yArDs - Bizness
Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers
~~The Weeknd - The Morning~~
Wilco - Art Of Almost
Wild Flag - Romance
Wye Oak - Civilian
Yuck - Rubber

Listen on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0793)

END OF YEAR 2011 PLAYLISTS

Best 50 Albums:
Amazon.com
The Guardian
Intro
Kerrang!
Mojo
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin
Stereogum
The Fly
Uncut

Best 50 Songs:
Intro
NME
NPR (100 songs)
Paste
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Treble

Kerrang! Best 50 Albums of 2011

2011-12-17T08:38:00.002Z

Bored with fashion hipsters and sad folk singers? Saturday morning Spotirama goes metal, with the 2011 Top 50 from venerable magazine Kerrang! (based on the official one, that is actually a Top101). It's a very different playlist: just nine albums (by Cerebral Ballzy, Wolves in the Throne Room, Fucked Up, Cage the Elephant, Frank Turner, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Machine Head & Mastodon) appeared in the year lists I published so far. And Spotify goes metal, too: 96% of albums available... enjoy!

KERRANG! BEST 50 ALBUMS OF 2011
Source: Acclaimed Music / Kerrang!
Albums available on Spotify: 48/50 (96%)

50. Heights - Dead Ends
49. Bury Your Dead - Mosh N' Roll
48. Deaf Havana - Fools and Worthless Liars
~~47. Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients~~
46. The Swellers - Good For Me
45. Social Distortion - Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes
44. The Computers - This Is The Computers
43. Hell - Human Remains
42. Japanese Voyeurs - Yolk
41. The Answer - Revival
40. Rival Schools - Pedals
39. Blink-182 - Neighborhoods
38. Tellison - The Wages of Fear
37. Hyro Da Hero - Birth, School, Work, Death
36. Cerebral Ballzy -Cerebral Ballzy
35. Exit Ten - Give Me Infinity
34. Evile - Five Serpents' Teeth
33. J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
32. Evanescence - Evanescence
31. Touche Amore - Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me
30. Puscifer - Conditions of My Parole
29. City and Colour - Little Hell
28. Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
27. Arcane Roots - Left Fire
26. Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
25. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
24. D.R.U.G.S. - D.R.U.G.S.
23. La Dispute - Wildlife
~~22. Trap Them - Darker Handcraft~~
21. Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday
20. Twin Atlantic - Free
19. New Found Glory - Radiosurgery
18. Defeater - Empty Days and Sleepless Nights
17. Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
16. Thrice - Major/Minor
15. The King Blues - Punk & Poetry
14. Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx II
13. Korn - The Path of Totality
12. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
11. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
10. Will Haven - Voir Dire
9. The James Cleaver Quintet - That Was Then, This Is Now
8. The Horrible Crowes - Elsie
7. The Wonder Years - Suburbia: I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
6. You Me At Six - Sinners Never Sleep
5. Rise Against - Endgame
4. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
3. Machine Head - Unto The Locust
2. letlive - Fake History
1. Mastodon - The Hunter

Listen on Spotify:
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0791)
mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0792)

END OF YEAR 2011 PLAYLISTS

Best 50 Albums:
Amazon.com
The Guardian
Intro
Kerrang!
Mojo
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin
Stereogum
The Fly
Uncut

Best 50 Songs:
Intro
NME
Paste
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Treble