Best of 2012

Dec. 31st, 2012 07:10 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Most popular artists in my music library in 2012:

  1. Morrissey
  2. The Smiths
  3. The Magnetic Fields
  4. Cocteau Twins
  5. Suede
  6. Madonna
  7. The Cure
  8. Anouar Brahem
  9. Kronos Quartet
  10. Ladytron
  11. Siouxsie and the Banshees
  12. Saint Etienne
  13. Erasure
  14. Belle and Sebastian
  15. Cat Power

Madonna has dropped one position in my charts this year, which can only mean two things: I didn't clean my house as often as 2011 and I didn't listen much to her new album. Usual suspects in the top 5 and across the chart, with some notable newbies: Saint Etienne and Ladytron, who released fantastic pop albums this year, Anouar Brahem, who records lovely classical albums, and Cat Power, because one of our recent guests gave me all her albums as MP3s. Kronos Quartet also have great classical albums which I enjoy listening to during the weekend when I don't feel like hearing another human being's voice.

Most popular tracks in my music library in 2012:

  1. Austra – Lose It
  2. Jermaine Stewart – We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off
  3. Erasure – Star
  4. Japan – Life In Tokyo
  5. One Dove – White Love (Lonesome demo)
  6. Icona Pop – I Love It
  7. Eternal Summers – Safe At Home
  8. Andrew Lawrence-King: The Harp Consort – Concerto for Organ, op. 4, No. 1: Adagio
  9. The Associates – Party Fears Two
  10. The Passions – I'm In Love With A German Film Star
  11. Hall & Oates – Out Of Touch
  12. Cocteau Twins – From the Flagstones
  13. The Smiths – Hand In Glove
  14. Madonna – Open Your Heart
  15. Joy Division – Failures

Somebody hacked into my Last.FM account!  There's no other explanation for Jermaine Stewart being so high in my charts (ahem).  Austra's Lose It, on the other hand, is a perfect pop song and was on repeat for a good chunk of my year. Their whole album is great and I recommend it.  Same goes for Icona Pop's I Love It (the sound of 2012's summer if it'd had any sunshine).  Release an album already, Icona Pop!  One Dove's White Love is on this chart because I fell asleep with my iPod one night and it got played on repeat for 8 hours straight.  It's the same for Andrew Lawrence-King and Eternal Summers, who I have no clue who they are or how they ended up in my iTunes.  The other tracks are 80s pop and Alternative tracks from post-punk period as per usual.

My top tracks and artists for:
2009
2010
2011

All this info is via my account on Last.FM.
  • Current Mood: calm
  • Current Location: Brazil, Minas Gerais
  • Current Music: Curve - Ten Little Girls | Powered by Last.fm
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Best of 2011

Dec. 30th, 2011 11:07 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Most popular artists in my music library in 2011:

  1. The Smiths
  2. Morrissey
  3. The Magnetic Fields
  4. Suede
  5. Madonna
  6. Scritti Politti
  7. Erasure
  8. The Cure
  9. Lady Gaga
  10. Pet Shop Boys
  11. Veronica Falls
  12. Arcade Fire
  13. Belle and Sebastian
  14. Kronos Quartet
  15. Siouxsie and the Banshees
Aren't I predictable?  The same old people in my top fifteen chart again. There are only two newbies - Scritti Politti, who grabbed me by the neck at the start of 2011 with this song, thanks to [livejournal.com profile] millionreasons including it in a mix CD, and Veronica Falls, who I discovered at a Dum Dum Girls gig not too long ago. I've downloaded Scritti Politti's Best Of album and love it - in particular "Absolute" because its music video includes someone I once worked with.  Veronica Falls' eponymous debut is very good and will always make me think of gray, depressing Vauxhall.  Arcade Fire's The Suburbs album was a thing of beauty that took me by surprise and will always remind me of going to Saint Yves with [livejournal.com profile] loveinsuburbia at the start of the year.  Madonna is far higher in the charts this year which can only mean one thing: I cleaned the house more often than 2010.

Most popular tracks in my music library in 2011:

  1. Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
  2. Beth Ditto – Open Heart Surgery
  3. Propaganda – Duel
  4. Veronica Falls – Beachy Head
  5. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
  6. Lady Gaga – Born This Way
  7. Lady Gaga – Judas
  8. The Smiths – Hand in Glove
  9. Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids
  10. a-ha – Take On Me
  11. Scritti Politti – Perfect Way
  12. Veronica Falls – Found Love in a Graveyard
  13. Frank (just Frank) – Cœur Hanté
  14. Scritti Politti – Hypnotize (Short Version)
  15. Scritti Politti – Absolute
Yes, I'm still very much stuck in the 80s. Beth Ditto did a brilliant performance at Lovebox this summer, though, and I just had to get her EP that features "Open Heart Surgery" - such a great track.  Come back soon to London, Beth!  I don't care what the haterz say about Lady Gaga - I thought Born This Way was a great, fun album. I also downloaded Japan's "Gentlemen Take Polaroids"  from 1980 this year, which has been remastered and is a perfect chilly New Romantic album I can't stop listening to.  Frank (just Frank) are french and armed with guitars that simulate early New Order and The Cure.  Love them.

My top tracks and artists for:
2009
2010
  • Current Mood: nostalgic
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Low - Do You Know How to Waltz? | Powered by Last.fm
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2010 Snapshot

Jan. 3rd, 2011 09:48 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Top 15 searches that landed on my journal in 2010:


  1. gay police
  2. james mcavoy
  3. handsome gay
  4. gerard butler
  5. paul terry
  6. bodice ripper
  7. "i found someone new" hunx
  8. police gay
  9. david o'hara
  10. drink and dance
  11. "gerard butler"
  12. dance and drink
  13. polisi gay
  14. gay handsome
  15. gay police officers


Best searches that landed on my journal in 2010:


  1. chavs in canada
  2. "beauty is a dark cloud when you're alone"
  3. "one night of sin is what i'm paying for"
  4. "twinks in drag " wined dinned and sexed videos
  5. anne strangeways foot creams
  6. britney ass out
  7. chatting up various kooks and screws
  8. did patti smith drink?
  9. drink and screw package
  10. excuse letter for gym freeze
  11. gothic toilet
  12. gramas and garndpas like to screw
  13. i'm bored. please send drugs
  14. moms over 30 reading mills & boon books
  15. need names of people that live in bell gardens californa
  16. open your ass to global warming
  17. peter andre porn
  18. scottish men want fat
  19. suzy and william friends plumstead london
  20. texas death row computer access
  21. the world is up shit creek.
  22. trannies on rollerskates soho london
  23. what happened to ljdrama
  24. what hooks people into cults?
  25. what wags drink
  26. where can i find screws in brick lane
  27. whitstable meth lab


There were a total of 702 search terms that landed on my journal, starting from April in 2010 when I installed Google Analytics.

Looking forward to what 2011 has to offer. ;-)
  • Current Mood: good
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Duran Duran - Girls On Film | Powered by Last.fm
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Music of the Year

Dec. 31st, 2010 12:10 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Most popular artists in my music library in 2010:


  1. Ralph Kirshbaum
  2. Enigma
  3. The Magnetic Fields
  4. Kelis
  5. Morrissey
  6. The Smiths
  7. M83
  8. Dead Can Dance
  9. Siouxsie and the Banshees
  10. Madonna
  11. Northern Portrait
  12. Suede
  13. Camera Obscura
  14. The Cure
  15. Cocteau Twins


I predicted last year that M83 would be high on this list in 2010 and I wasn't wrong. Amidst the usual suspects (Morrissey, Suede, The Cure, Madonna's early stuff) there is also some brief nostalgia for the Cocteau Twins and the 90s (Enigma). Was briefly interested in Northern Portrait during the summer but that quickly went away. What I really listened to a lot was Ralph Kirshbaum's "Bach's Suits for Cellos" - great music to chill out to.

Most popular tracks in my music library in 2010:


  1. Girls Aloud – The Show
  2. Lady Gaga – Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)
  3. 'Til Tuesday – Voices Carry
  4. Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth
  5. Marina & the Diamonds – Hollywood
  6. Kelis – Acapella
  7. Kim Wilde – Kids In America
  8. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Perfect Skin
  9. Fiction Factory – (Feels Like) Heaven
  10. Kelis – Emancipate
  11. George Michael – Outside
  12. Propaganda – Duel
  13. Girls Aloud – Biology
  14. Róisín Murphy – Overpowered
  15. George Michael – Fastlove - Part 1


Spotify has really affected my listening habits this year. I couldn't stop playing my Poppy! playlist (Girls Aloud, George Michael, Lady Gaga) as well as my 80s one ('Til Tuesday, Belinda Carlisle, Propaganda). Kelis' "Flesh Tone" album was a great way to enter the summer but it was soon displaced by an interest on Lloyd Cole and, consequently, Camera Obscura.

What will I be into in 2011? Probably Hercules and Love Affair's new album. And whatever Camera Obscura release next. I'm also really digging the new Belle and Sebastian.

Any music you can recommend or are looking forward to?
  • Current Mood: mellow
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Geraldo Vandré - Pra Nao Dizer Que Nao Falei Das Flores | Powered by Last.fm
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Golden Lights, Displaying Your Name

Nov. 12th, 2010 05:06 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Let's just pretend tomorrow is not the beginning of Elton John weekend for the X Factor (despite Katie's delicious upcoming performance of "The Bitch Is Back"). Let's pretend it's The Smiths weekend instead! 

Here's what each contestant will sing:

Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive


A boy in the bush is worth two in the hand
I think I can help you get through your exam


Sing me to sleep
Sing me to sleep
And then leave me alone
Don't try to wake me in the morning
'Cause I will be gone

And so I checked all the registered historical facts
And I was shocked into shame to discover
How I'm the 18th pale descendant of some old queen or other


And when you want to Live
How do you start?
Where do you go?
Who do you need to know?

My life down I shall lie
Should restless spirits try
To play tricks on your sacred mind

Tried living in the real world
Instead of a shell
But before I began ...
I was bored before I even began


If it's not love then it's the bomb that will bring us together
You shut your mouth, how can you say I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved...
Just like everybody else does...
  • Current Mood: silly
  • Current Location: Kensington High Street, London
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Tchu tchu tchu tchu... ahh ahh ahh ahh

Aug. 13th, 2010 11:10 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)

Less than an hour to go before this Friday 13th is over. Happy Friday 13th!

Here's an article on Morrissey's 13 favourite albums.

I've created a spotify playlist (Morrissey 13) for all thirteen albums[1], so you can enjoy them tomorrow morning as you sip your coffee, read the paper and stare at the rain.

[1] I cheated a little on the Jobriath - had to use the only one Spotify had because the other is not available. But it doesn't make much difference - all of Jobriath's stuff kinda sounds the same.
  • Current Mood: calm
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Jobriath - Ooh La La | Powered by Last.fm
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While He Is Away...

Aug. 5th, 2010 12:07 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
I could watch shows he doesn't like (Glee, Spartacus, True Blood, Big Brother)
I could watch shows he doesn't understand (brasilian soap operas A Favorita, Passione)
I could listen to music full blast he doesn't like (Madonna, Lady Gaga, Girls Aloud)
I could strike a pose in the living room and hang around the kitchen in my underwear, acting like a lady
I could read books
I could make plans with friends to go out dancing and/or drinking
I could invite friends over for John Hughes marathons and sleep overs
I could go to the gym everyday
I could sleep in the middle of the bed
I could imagine that this is what single life is like
I could fill the cupboards with junk food and the fridge with beer
I could go through his stuff
I could chat with him daily on Skype


I could do most of these things if he was here anyway.
  • Current Mood: contemplative
  • Current Location: Holborn, London
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Fantastical Top

May. 18th, 2010 11:35 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
The New Internet Top 100 Science Fiction And Fantasy List. Here are the top 10:

A Game of Thrones
1. A Game Of Thrones by George R R Martin

The Lord of the Rings
2. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Ender's Game
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Mirror Dance
4. Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold

Dune
5. Dune by Frank Herbert

A Fire Upon The Deep
6. A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge

Hyperion
7. Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
8. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

The Stars My Destination
9. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

A Clash of Kings
10. A Clash Of Kings by George R. R. Martin

[Poll #1565915]

I've read three of them, all before I was 18 years old. The one that stayed the most with me was Dune and the least was Hyperion. My memories of The Lord of the Rings are a little jumbled, thanks to the movie trilogy. I always preferred The Hobbit though - read it twice.

Since reading George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream, I've been meaning to check out his fantasy series even thought it's not finished yet and fans are almost agreed that it might never be concluded. If we assume the Twilight and Harry Potter books are fantasy too, shouldn't they be at the top of this list?

I leave in an hour and a half for the airport. My travel will last about 26 hours if there are no delays.
  • Current Mood: geeky
  • Current Location: Córgo, Brasil
  • Current Music: Tori Amos - Father Lucifer | Powered by Last.fm
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2009's Top of the Pops

Dec. 30th, 2009 08:54 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Most listened artists in my music library in 2009:

  1. Morrissey
  2. Madonna
  3. Erasure
  4. The Cure
  5. The Raveonettes
  6. Kronos Quartet
  7. Suede
  8. Cut Copy
  9. The Smiths
  10. Pet Shop Boys
  11. David Bowie
  12. The Magnetic Fields
  13. Siouxsie and the Banshees
  14. Girls Aloud
  15. The Mighty Lemon Drops
I honestly don't know why Madonna is so high up. I went through a period of obsessing over "Express Yourself" but, apart from that, I only use her when I'm cleaning the house. I must have cleaned a lot in 2009. Must get her off the list in 2010 and move Girls Aloud considerably higher. Cut Copy were a genuine discovery in 2009 (or was it 2008?) - I loved getting into their two albums and I'm looking forward to seeing them live when they are next in London. I also went through a lot of Mighty Lemon Drops in the spring but can't see them reappearing in my charts by the end of 2010.  My new obsession is M83 and they have a good chance of troubling these charts in 2010.

Most listened tracks in my music library in 2009:

  1. Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
  2. Simple Minds – Don't You (Forget About Me)
  3. Peter Godwin – Images Of Heaven
  4. Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen
  5. White Lies – Death
  6. Apostle of Hustle – Baby, You're In Luck
  7. a-ha – Take On Me
  8. The Housemartins – Build
  9. Sugababes – Freak Like Me
  10. Information Society – Repetition
  11. Madonna – Express Yourself
  12. Rachael Yamagata – Even So
  13. Hole – Doll Parts
  14. The Stranglers – Skin Deep
  15. Jane's Addiction – Jane Says
Who the hell is Rachael Yamagata and what's she doing on my most listened tracks list?! I can only assume Last FM is to blame during those times I let it run loose while in the office on my own (or with music-friendly co-workers). Same goes for the Apostle of Hustle track, though I don't mind it so much. Elsewhere, you can see how deeply stuck in the 80s I am, though Hole's "Doll Parts" gives me a brief foot in the 90s as I try to breach the last couple of years with more contemporary pop like Sugababes and White Lies.  I'll do my best in 2010 to listen to new music.  But I ain't making any promises.
  • Current Mood: giddy
  • Current Location: Music End, London
  • Current Music: M83 - Skin Of The Night | Powered by Last.fm
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Happy Dungeon Daddy Day

Jun. 21st, 2009 11:25 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Some branches of Tesco and W H Smith have featured The Crimes of Josef Fritzl: Uncovering the Truth as an ideal gift for Father's Day. One W H Smith store displayed the title as one of its "Top 50 Books for Dad" (buy one, get one half-price), declaring on a nearby display: "Fathers are heroes". A Tesco store in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, alarmed shoppers with its suggestion that the book would be a suitable symbol of father-offspring love (The Independent.)

In the spirit of these chain bookstores, here are some more ideas of gifts to give your loved ones on those special days:


Mother's Day: Finding Shannon: The Inside Story by Richard Edwards


International Children's Day: When Kids Kill: Unthinkable Crimes of Lost Innocence by Jonathan Paul


International Women's Day: Hot Chicks with Douchebags by Jay Louis


End Racism Day: Identity. Magazine of the British National Party # 100 by John Bean


Christmas Day: Luciferian Witchcraft by Michael Ford


Valentine's Day: Beyond Belief: The Moors Murderers: The Story of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley by Emlyn Williams


Pope Benedict XVI's birthday: Gay Men and Anal Eroticism: Tops, Bottoms and Versatiles by Steven G. Underwood


Gay Pride Day: The Pursuit of the Good Life by Ted Haggard


World Vegetarian Day: Meat: How to Choose, Cook and Eat it by Adrian Richardson


International Day of Peace: The Leadership Genius of George W.Bush: 10 Commonsense Lessons from the Commander in Chief by Carolyn B. Thompson and Jim Ware

Did I miss out any day?
  • Current Mood: silly
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Generation 80s Retro Radio
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Random iTunes

Feb. 12th, 2009 07:17 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. Choose ten songs; for each song with lyrics, choose a Livejournal friend that matches it.
3. Write down the song name, artist and relevant lyrics section.
4. Tag friends to do the same thing in their journals.

1. Morrissey - Michael's Bones
[livejournal.com profile] naturalbornkaos's snowman
Your gentle hands are frozen/And your unkissed lips are blue/Your thinning clothes are hopeless/And no one was mad about you

2. Girls Aloud - Wild Horses
[livejournal.com profile] androktone
This place, the crazy town, too much time for girls to feel strange, yeah/Take back your lazy punks, there'll never be enough no oh baby

3. Arcade Fire - My Body Is a Cage
[livejournal.com profile] beeorkendurkey
You're standing next to me/My mind holds the key/Set my spirit free/Set my spirit free/Set my body free

4. Patty Griffin - Getting Ready
[livejournal.com profile] zaubin
I know all the magic's gone/Wish I had a magic wand/I would put a spell on you/You would see it as I do

5. Joy Division - Komakino
[livejournal.com profile] saint_narcissus
This is the hour when the mysteries emerge/A strangeness so hard to reflect/A moment so moving, goes straight to your heart/The vision has never been met.

6. Buena Vista Social Club - El Cuarto de Tula
[livejournal.com profile] desayuno_ingles
¡Que llamen a Ibrahim Ferrer, que busquen a los bomberos!/Que yo creo que Tula lo que quiere es que le apaguen el fuego.

7. Blur - Entertain Me
[livejournal.com profile] bluehelen
A car/A house/Both in a street/The boredom of a sober week/The weekend's here/Hip-hip-hooray/To make the blues/Just go away

8. Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel
[livejournal.com profile] denalyia
My little girl/Drive anywhere/Do what you want/I don't care/Tonight/I'm in the hands of fate/I hand myself/Over on a plate/Now

9. Soft Cell - Memorabilia
[livejournal.com profile] rosamicula
Everywhere I go you know I'd like you all to know/That I'm the one for having fun, just send the bad times on the run/To move around to the softest sound, ecstatic dancing all around

10. Nico - All That Is My Own
[livejournal.com profile] jellyfish93
He who knows may pass on/The word unknown/And meet me on the desertshore/Meet me on the desertshore

This meme is a slight variation on the one Trixie and Erin tagged me with. You are all invited to do it if you feel like it.
  • Current Mood: awake
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: Legiao Urbana - A Danca
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One Shilling Bargain

Jan. 30th, 2009 09:45 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Current favourite songs:

5. Lily Allen - The Fear

4. Alkaline Trio - Don't Say You Won't

3. Black Box Recorder - The Facts of Life (Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey mix)

2. Belanova - Baila Mi Corazon

1. Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown - No Air
  • Current Mood: relaxed
  • Current Location: Mile End - London
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My OCD Year - 2008

Dec. 31st, 2008 01:32 pm
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Are Friends Electric?

Nov. 11th, 2008 05:29 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
I've created feeds for the MP3 blogs featured in last Saturday's Guardian:

[livejournal.com profile] 17secondsblog
[livejournal.com profile] ghostelectric
[livejournal.com profile] halfheartdude
[livejournal.com profile] popcultureddd
[livejournal.com profile] todieblog
[livejournal.com profile] vinylvillain

Enjoy!
  • Current Mood: accomplished
  • Current Location: Hackney, London
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Unanswered Questions

Sep. 14th, 2008 07:35 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
( Twenty Seven Livejournal Friends )
  • Current Mood: peckish
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: random shoegazer music
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Current Favourite Six Songs

Jul. 15th, 2008 09:41 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods
Electro indie goodness, made by boys barely out of their teens. From the few tracks I've heard, they touch on A-ha, early Gary Numan and Visage, which is all-right for me. Makes me think of Flash Gordon; makes me want to dance. [livejournal.com profile] suzi, I could see you liking them if you don't know them already.

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire
Gay disco for straight boys. Or straight-acting gay disco for gay-acting straight boys? Or just a whole load of New Order nostalgia diffused through Australian keyboards? Another call to the dancefloor.

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
I'd have never paid attention to this band if there hadn't been a complaint in [livejournal.com profile] i_love_craig's journal. Now, with every listen, the song grows on me. It's a really great track for the gym, but I can also see potential for jumping around to it while drunk on cheap beer. Also, substituting the lyrics for these ones is hella fun:
They call him Rattler
They call him Chris
They call him Love Muffin
They call him C.J.
That's not his name. That's not his name. That's not his name


Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion
Is this song about The Lord of the Rings? I recommend the makers of the upcoming Hobbit include it in their soundtrack and use it when Bilbo steals Gollum's "precious". Gimme the ring. Gimme the ring...

The Adenoids - Speeding Jesus
La la la punk. I was washing the dishes last night when The Bee Gees' "Night Fever" came on. I saw myself in a roller disco, skating around the rink with the singer. And the guitarist is hella hot.

N-Trance - Set You Free
I lost the chance to go clubbing recently. I hate not having money, having to spend the weekend indoors. This song reminds me of taking E for the first time and Hong Kong's clubland. It also makes me think of this incredibly hunky janitor at the National Theatre, who in some parallel universe ran away with me to Ibiza. He had a track similar to this one on his mobile phone, and he wore one of those winter coats (popular in the eighties) with fake fur on its insides.
  • Current Mood: okay
  • Current Location: London Fields, London
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High Five

Jul. 3rd, 2008 01:51 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List 5 songs you like that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

[livejournal.com profile] sarcaustick's choice was 'F', so in no particular order:

  • The Cure - Friday I'm in Love
    Some people consider this single to be one of The Cure's weakest ones, but I still like it and never get bored of hearing it. The album 'Wish', where it comes from, reminds me of being 18 in Hong Kong, falling in love with my best friend (who adored The Cure), wearing baggy T-shirts with Robert Smith's face (I still have one of them, which I use as a pyjama top), having long hair and just generally being a clueless teenager.
  • Belly - Feed the Tree
    I immediately fell in love with this song when I first heard it on Hong Kong's MTV channel. This is another track that reminds me of being in high school, sunny afternoons when we'd go to Repulse Bay Beach or Stanley Market after class, listening to my walkman on the bus ride home, watching the merchant ships circling Hong Kong island from my bedroom window. Belly were everything I wanted from America that didn't involve grunge. The song still sounds great today.
  • Gene - For the Dead
    Gene were one of my favourite bands from the Britpop period. They ticked all the Morrissey-influence boxes, but they were mellower, less bitter than Le Moz. I wrote some dodgy poetry for a high school creative class based on one of their songs. I showed it to my girlfriend and her best friend and they claimed I was a great poet. Now I know they were just humoring me. When I moved to Montreal to attend university, they played a gig that was virtually empty. We sat at a table right by the stage and it felt as if the band were playing just for us. The drummer stared at me the whole night and gave me the creeps.
  • Visage - Fade to Grey
    During my first year of university, I became friends with a group of Canadians who weren't too keen on Britpop. They preferred the B-52's, The Violent Femmes, Beastie Boys, and other music that had never floated past my orbit before. One weekend night, we discovered a club called Lezards, on Rue Saint-Denis, that played only new wave and old-style punk. The clientele were mostly older folk in 80s fashion, strung out on drugs, or queer alternative kids. It was heaven. I lost interest on Britpop and fell head-over-heels in love with the bleepy side of the 80s.
  • The Sugababes - Freak Like Me
    During my first years in London, I listened to the radio a lot. I didn't know many people, and because Kevin worked at a comic book shop during the weekends, I'd sit in our kitchen logged into Livejournal, wasting my time on LJdrama.org until he came home from work. I remember hearing this song for the first time on Xfm and being completely blown away by its pop knowingness and perfection.
  • Current Mood: clogged
  • Current Location: Waterloo, London
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Too Many Books... Not Enough Time

Jun. 16th, 2008 04:19 pm
dotinthesky: (Default)
Below is a list of every single country, city state, principality and territory. I've gone through the list and bolded every one of them from which I've read a book (either fiction or non-fiction). The one exception is Mexico, from where I've only read a few short stories by Octavio Paz; I figured that was good enough for this exercise.

( Been around the world and I, I, I, I can't find my baby )

I'm slightly ashamed of how Westerncentric I am. Can you suggest a book or an author from one of the countries, territories or city states I haven't read anything from yet?
  • Current Mood: disappointed
  • Current Location: Waterloo, London
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My Name is Norman Bates, I'm Just a Normal Guy

May. 7th, 2008 07:22 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Dreaming of Ten Songs for Feeling Gloomy this Saturday:
10. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
9. Company B - Fascinated
8. Sioxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust
7. A-ha - The Sun Always Shines on TV
6. Soft Cell - Sex Carp
5. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
4. Pet Shop Boys - So HARD
3. Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon
2. Information Society - What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)
1. The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way

Walking through Mile End Park yesterday evening, I saw an old man sitting by himself on the grass. He must have been in his 80s. It dawned on me that maybe that man was me, that I had travelled back into the past and was now observing my younger self. It made me think what reasons I'd have for doing that. Sit quietly by myself in a park and wait for my younger self to walk by.
  • Current Mood: tired
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: All Flashback Alternatives
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To B or Not to B?

Feb. 19th, 2008 09:14 am
dotinthesky: (Default)
Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list 10 things you love that begin with that letter. Afterward, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.

 [livejournal.com profile] jellyfish93  gave me letter B:

1. Butts - Silvester Stallone's mom can tell a person's future just by looking at them.  Michelangelo's David has a nice one.
2. Burek -  Also known as spinacopitta.  My favourite dish.  It's made with feta cheese, spinach, onions, garlic, yogurt, filo pastry, eggs and olive oil.
3. Brasil - Where I was raised, and where I have to return every year before I begin to miss it too much.
4. Beaches - The most beautiful ones can be found in Brasil.  Nothing compares to lying on white sand, the sun in the sky, the ocean's waves at your feet.
5. Boys - Boys, boys, boys are looking for a good time. Boys, boys, boys, get ready for my love.
6. Books - Self-explanatory
7. Baths - [livejournal.com profile] bathtubz
8. Blogs - My little addiction.
9. Black - The perfect colour for an outfit; the perfect mood, sometimes.
10. Bees - Apparently they are dying all over the world. Once they are gone, the human population will follow suit.  I hope we can save the cute little bastards before it's too late.
  • Current Mood: dorky
  • Current Location: Mile End, London
  • Current Music: B-52s (ha!) - Planet Clare
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