Top of the Charts

One of my favorite websites is Last.fm - you install a small program on your computer and it keeps track of everything you play in iTunes, and you go to the last.fm website to check out your complete listening history in chart form or otherwise. You can do the same of all your friends also on last.fm, then bust on them when it shows 24 plays last week for Christopher Cross' "Sailing".

The only weird thing is my "Top Tracks" section, which for some reason doesn't actually contain my all-time top-played tracks (according to the official iTunes count). Anyway, this is what I've been digging the past couple weeks:

Buck Owens - A country legend (I've been getting into all the country legends over the last few years) who pioneered the "Bakersfield Sound". Also one of the first country acts to incorporate elements of rock n' roll with traditional honky tonk, Owens was more famously remembered by some as a cast member of the popular 70's television show "Hee Haw". Here's Buck doing a guest spot on the Dukes of Hazzard television program:

The Who - In the weeks leading up to their Super Bowl performance, I heard a lot about the Who, one of my all time favorite bands, which was getting me fired up for some of their back catalog. They also had a Who channel on Sirius satellite radio, which I listened to a lot at work. I found their Super Bowl performance to be absolutely dreadful, and I still don't understand why they continue to tour and how they justify charging their fans hundreds of dollars for tickets to a show that is only one half of actual Who members (not to mention the fact that Daltrey can't hit half of the original notes he sang, and Pete barely plays any lead guitar). Still, with so many great songs and albums, it's easy to get lost in a marathon Who listening session. Here's one of their finer pop moments:

Moistboyz - I was listening to this before I went out one night last weekend. This shit will get you fired up. Dean from Ween's side project is a psychedelic-metal fusion that is one of the hardest, rawest bands ever. Criminally overlooked, a mention on this blog will surely propel them to the superstardom they deserve.

The Nerves, "Hanging on the Telephone" - Blondie's cover is the more well-known version, but the original is probably greater for it's pop simplicity. My band is trying to do our own version of this classic, but as you may or may not know, pop songs are more complex and difficult to play than they sound, which is what makes them great.