Journal

1. Coil - The Ape of Naples (528) 2. Coil - ...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms (391) 3. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (268) 4. Converge - Axe To Fall (230) 5. Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker (199) 6. Coil - The New Backwards (191) 7. Coil - Musick to Play in the Dark, Volume 1 (191) 8. Coil - Love's Secret Domain (187) 9. Coil - Live Four (169) 10. Coil - Musick to Play in the Dark, Volume 2 (156) 11. The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die (Ltd. Deluxe Edition) (149) 12. Кровосток - Сквозное (148) 13. Coil - Horse Rotorvator (147) 14. Coil - A Guide for Finishers: A Golden Hair (144) 15. Depeche Mode - Violator (142) 16. Skinny Puppy - Remission (140) 17. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (128) 18. Skinny Puppy - The Greater Wrong of the Right (126) 19. Bauhaus - Crackle (123) 20. Coil - Selvaggina Go Back into the Woods (Coil live - Jesi, Italy June 11th 2004) (121) 21. Joy Division - Substance (121) 22. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (121) 23. :wumpscut: - Fear in Motion (118) 24. Skinny Puppy - Bites (116) 25. Coil - Scatology (116) 26. Skinny Puppy - The Process (113) 27. My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise (107) 28. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (101) 29. Autechre - Tri Repetae (94) 30. трэш-шапито КАЧ - Дай послушать врагу, друзья уже слышали! (90) 31. Otep - Sevas Tra (89) 32. Кровосток - Гантеля (87) 33. Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park (82) 34. Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire (80) 35. Sigh - Gallows Gallery (78) 36. The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land (76) 37. Front 242 - Geography (74) 38. Aphex Twin - Drukqs (74) 39. Joy Division - Closer (73) 40. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (72) 41. Самое Большое Простое Число - Самое Большое Простое Число (72) 42. Skinny Puppy - Back and Forth (70) 43. Laibach - Wat (70) 44. Kraftwerk - The Best of Kraftwerk (69) 45. трэш-шапито КАЧ - Ка$$а (68) 46. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (68) 47. Converge - No Heroes (66) 48. John Zorn - The Crucible (65) 49. Skinny Puppy - Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse (65) 50. Pink Floyd - Works (63)

Hi

Voting is currently taking place to include four new artists in the British Rock Artists League for its fourth season. The British Rock Artists League is a competition between the country's greatest rock artists to see who is the best. It is decided entirely by voters, and works in a round robin format. Plus there is an alternative cup that runs alongside it.

Click here to vote for the four new artists! Looking forward to having you participate!

Artists already in Season 4

The Beatles Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin The Who The Clash Queen Radiohead The Rolling Stones Blur Muse David Bowie Black Sabbath The Cure Oasis Joy Division Iron Maiden Sex Pistols Placebo Coldplay The Verve Franz Ferdinand Arctic Monkeys Deep Purple The Smiths Dire Straits Kaiser Chiefs Motörhead Manic Street Preachers The Stone Roses Bloc Party The Kinks Kasabian The Libertines Porcupine Tree Pulp Travis Editors Genesis Yes Snow Patrol The Police Cream The Jam Stereophonics Klaxons The Kooks Judas Priest Mogwai Jethro Tull Feeder Belle and Sebastian Keane King Crimson T.Rex Biffy Clyro The Sisters of Mercy Oceansize Anathema Marillion My Dying Bride Buzzcocks Suede The Jesus and Mary Chain Elbow Primal Scream The Fratellis Ash Rainbow The Futureheads Bauhaus Slowdive Lostprophets Camel Napalm Death Paradise Lost Carcass

Artists relegated from the league at the end of Season 3

Venom Diamond Head DragonForce Bullet For My Valentine


Artists that have been voted for already

65daysofstatic Al Stewart Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias Alestorm Amplifier Amusement Parks on Fire Architects Art Brut Babyshambles Bal-Sagoth Barclay James Harvest Big Linda Black Grape Blackfield Bôa Bolt Thrower British Sea Power Bush Catatonia Cathedral Chikinki Chumbawamba Cock Sparrer Crass Crippled Black Phoenix Depeche Mode Discharge Doves Echo & The Bunnymen Electric Light Orchestra Electric Wizard Emerson, Lake & Palmer Eric Clapton Evile Fall of Efrafa Foals Forefather Funeral for a Friend Gallows Gary Numan George Harrison Glasvegas Godflesh Gomez Gorillaz Happy Mondays Hawkwind I Am Kloot Ian Brown Idlewild iLiKETRAiNS James Jesu Johnny Foreigner Kitty Hudson KT Tunstall Kula Shaker Late of the Pier Los Campesinos! Lush Madness Magazine Manatees Mansun Maxïmo Park Mothlite Mumford & Sons Nazareth Oi Polloi One Night Only Patrick Wolf Paul Weller Penetration Peter Doherty PJ Harvey Portishead Public Image Ltd. Pure Reason Revolution Queen Adreena Razorlight Reuben Richard Ashcroft Ride Saxon Seth Lakeman Sham 69 Shed Seven Siouxsie and the Banshees Skunk Anansie Skyclad Sons and Daughters Spacemen 3 Spiritualized Status Quo Super Furry Animals Supergrass Supertramp Sweet Syd Barrett Television Personalities Tesseract The Adicts The Adverts The Automatic The Beautiful South The Charlatans The Cooper Temple Clause The Cribs The Damned The Darkness The Draytones The Enemy The Exploited The Eyes Of A Traitor The Home Guard The Horrors The Kills The La's The Little Flames The Mission The Raincoats The Rakes The Rascals The Rifles The Specials The Stranglers The Toy Dolls The Vibrators The View The Wombats The xx The Yardbirds TheTrees Turin Brakes Upcdowncleftcrightcabc+start Uriah Heep White Lies Whitesnake Wire X-Ray Spex Nine Black Alps Wild Beasts

best artisits(2009):

Агата Кристи - 2000
Otto Dix - 663
Roman Rain - 465
Bauhaus - 437
Systemshock - 427
Reverend Bizarre - 421
Gillia - 412
London After Midnight - 406
Diary of Dreams - 402
Dope Stars Inc. - 311
Acid Witch - 237
Розовые очки от ferre - 216
PURPLE FOG SIDE - 215
L'Âme Immortelle - 209
C_File - 207
Лихолесье - 189
Siouxsie and the Banshees - 187
Stillife - 182
П.Т.В.П. - 164
Dvar -155

best songs(2009):


Новый Год - 128
[Wiz]ard Module - From The Outside ([systemshock] digiboobies remix) - 117
В интересах революции - 107
Fucking Wizard - 107
У плохой веры - плохие верующие - 102
Make a Star - 99
VA - 98
Черная луна - 95
Сказочная тайга - 94
Хали Гали Кришна - 89
You're Fake, I'm Real - 78
Liquid Crystal - 70
Наслажденье болью - 68
Зазеркалье - 68
Doom Over the World - 67

claufav's top albums (overall) 1. Muse - The Resistance (174) 2. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (94) 3. The Clash - From Here to Eternity (79) 4. Muse - Absolution (78) 5. Faith No More - King For A Day , Fool For A Lifetime (76) 6. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (73) 7. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (71) 8. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (71) 9. Andrés Calamaro - Made In Argentina (69) 10. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (68) 11. The Cure - Trilogy (61) 12. Los Peores de Chile - Los Peores De Chile (60) 13. Babyshambles - Down in Albion (59) 14. Joy Division - Substance (59) 15. The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out (57) 16. The Horrors - Strange House (57) 17. Radiohead - In Rainbows (56) 18. Oasis - Definitely Maybe (55) 19. The xx - xx (54) 20. The Clash - Sandinista! (52) 21. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (51) 22. The Clash - The Clash (U.S.) (51) 23. MGMT - Time to Pretend (50) 24. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (50) 25. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (49) 26. Mando Diao - Hurricane Bar (48) 27. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (48) 28. The Smiths - Meat Is Murder (47) 29. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (47) 30. The Smiths - The Smiths (47) 31. Oasis - The Complete Singles Box (46) 32. The Libertines - Up the Bracket (45) 33. Interpol - Antics (43) 34. Radiohead - The Bends (43) 35. Ride - Nowhere (42) 36. The Clash - London Calling (42) 37. The Clash - The Essential (41) 38. Muse - Origin Of Symmetry (40) 39. The Libertines - The Libertines (39) 40. The Organ - Grab That Gun (38) 41. The Distillers - The Distillers (38) 42. The Cure - The Cure in Orange (38) 43. Oasis - Familiar to Millions (37) 44. The Killers - Hot Fuss (37) 45. Elastica - Elastica (36) 46. Muse - Radio 1's Live Hightlights from The Den, Teignmouth 05.09.09 (34) 47. Radiohead - OK Computer (34) 48. Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out (33) 49. Héroes del Silencio - Senderos De Traición (32) 50. Manu Chao - Clandestino: Esperando La Ultima Ola... (32)

1996 was a year of clove cigarettes, Poppy Z. Brite, and choking down Chartreuse while burning patchouli and hunting down CDs from the Cleopatra catalog. It was the year I really discovered Goth music. At 16, I was already a big fan of NIN and Marilyn Manson, but the extent of my experience was limited to what I saw on MTV or 100.5 The Fox.

I didn't have a good grasp on what Goth music really was, or it's roots in punk rock until I came across a 4 CD set in Ear X Tacy called The Goth Box.

As with any sub genre of a sub genre - the crap to gold ratio is pretty unbalanced. I must however attribute these CDs to opening my ears up to what Goth music really was, and I discovered a few bands that stuck with me. The following is a short list of Goth bands anyone worth their eyeliner should check out:

Corpus Delicti - Noxious (The Demon's Game)
Switchblade Symphony - Gutter Glitter
Christian Death - Spiritual Cramp
Bauhaus - She's in Parties (extended mix)
Alien Sex Fiend - Hurricane Fighter Plane
Rosetta Stone - Nothing
Skinny Puppy - Assimilate

My 25 Favorite Albums of 2009:

25. Sun O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions // Ambient, noise; Almost simultaneously scary and beautiful at times. ***

24. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust // KOR is no Lost Souls, but it does have some pretty great moments. Even if the album itself is sort of schizophrenic with its flashes of what-the-kids-want-now electronic pop, “Winter Hill,” “Spellbound,” and “Lifelines” are sure to please any fan of well-crafted, layered brit-rock. All in all, it’s nice to see an elegant and bold return to form for them after a couple of boring affairs. ***

23. Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today... // The first thing you notice about Mew upon first listen is how unique they are. (Labeling them properly certainly requires hyphenated words.) This is pretty impressive considering how accessible they are. The other striking thing you notice about them is their keen sense of melody, rhythm, and production. “Introducing Palace Players,” “Repeaterbeater,” “Hawaii,” and “Tricks Of The Trade” would be the standouts for me. The whole album is pretty remarkably paced though. Even if it's not as good as ATGHK. Great “pretentious art rock” band. ***

22. Delorean - Ayrton Senna EP // I love this dance-y electronic pop music that's very much in the vein of Air France, Cut Copy, etc. It is quite addicting and I can't wait to see them in March. "Senna" has one of the best grooves this year and the remix is probably even better. ***

21. Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth // Art-y indie rock in the vein of TV on the Radio or Yeasayer, but more sublime. It's a grower. "You Do You," "Lovesick Teenagers," and "Casual Goodbye." ***

20. Sonic Youth - The Eternal // What really can I say about a band that has quite honestly shaped the way I listen to music? Even though I didn’t care for Rather Ripped, this band has gone through several transformations since the glory days. And they pretty much do what they want at this point, as they have absolutely nothing left to prove. Add “Massage The History” to the list of SY classics. ***

19. Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP // Atlas Sound's Logos was pretty good too, but this is more consistent I think. Short and sweet effort from my neighbor. I love Atlanta! ***

18. 800beloved - Bouquet // Understated (and underappreciated) throwback to 80s indie pop music. Kinda like the XX, but better. "Skeleton Collection" will stop the world and melt with you. ***

17. The Antlers - Hospice // Pitchfork discovery right here. Funeral-esque in feel. Not as majestic or anything although it has its moments. Very depressing, but that won't stop you right? Overall pretty sincere and heartfelt stuff. "Two" is really good, but I still like "Kettering" the best. I got this really eerie sense of dread the first time I heard it. Like I was really in for it. ***

16. Various Artists - 5: Five Years Of Hyperdub // Double-disc dub-step compilation. If you like dubstep and Burial, you'll dig this. If not, you probably won't. Speaking of Burial, he's on it. And "Fostercare" is one of his best songs. Zomby, Darkstar, Ikonika, and King Midas Sound are really good too. ***

15. Fleeting Joys - Occult Radiance // Shoegaze by-the-numbers. And my favorite kind of shoegaze as well. Not the droning brit-pop of yesteryear kind (The Sleepover Disaster). Or the scuzzy Sunset Strip BRMC/JAMC kind (Gliss). But rather takes its playbook from the genre's early 90's canon. It's basically this year's best attempt at recreating MBV's Loveless. Doesn't succeed, of course, but it sure is pleasant. Even great at times. Especially on "You Are The Darkness." They really need to tour. ***

14. O+S - O+S // Orenda from Azure Ray. Would probably rate this higher, but I've only been listening for a month. Very much in the vein of Cat Power, et al. Straightforward, heart-on-sleeve female singer-songwriter kinda stuff. Very well-produced. I dig it. "New Life" is as elegant as they come. ***1/2

13. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar // Sprawling ambient/ dream pop album. Better and more coherent than their solid debut. With its vast scope and indirect approach to song structure, it really tries to eschew the concept of zeroing in on a single track. But I pinpointed the ones with some of the best moments. "Close Chorus" and "Passionate Introverts." But you really owe it to yourself to experience this spacious album in its entirety. Headphones recommended. ***1/2

12. Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind // Best post-rock band in existence? i'm probably rating this so high because i saw them live and was completely floored. If you dig this kind of loud-quiet-loud instrumental stuff at all, I'd check them out. "The Battle To Heaven" is a titan of a song. ***1/2

11. Love of Diagrams - Nowhere Forever // Noise-rock/indie rock. Got dropped by their label. A very good thing because it made them release a great album. The self-titled EP showed potential, but didn't contain anything special. Well, now they are. Think Dirty-er Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, etc. Grows on you with repeated listens. ***1/2

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! // You've all probably heard this, but "Zero" is one of the songs of the year. By the way, none of them are subpar. ***1/2

09. The Horrors - Primary Colours // Joy Division, Pornography-era Cure, accessible Bauhaus, etc. post-punk throwback band. This time, album delivers. Unlike, say, The Killers and other pop bands like that, Horrors dare to use feedback and other atonal qualities to give their songs more character and definition. A band that I thought/hoped would really get huge this year and usher in a "New Ice Age," but didn't. Oh well. ***1/2

08. Metric - Fantasies // I listened to this more this year than probably any other '09 album. First 6 songs are impeccable. The "Waves" b-side wasn't included. If it was, this album would be top 5 material easy. The last 4 songs are spotty and don't really measure up to the first 6 IMO, but what can ya do? I'm sure you've all heard this. ***1/2

07. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion // You've all heard this. I'm not big on Animal Collective, but I really did enjoy the even-numbered songs on this album. "Bluish" is amazing. "My Girls" is too. The odd-numbered ones got old after an initial fascination back in January. [On a side note: they really fell back out of favor with me after their latest EP though. I don't want to hear songs about smoking weed and watching construction workers pissing.] ***1/2

06. Fever Ray - Fever Ray // Hey it's what's-her-face from The Knife. No, but seriously. I like this more than I like The Knife's albums to be honest. It's much more intimate. "When I Grow Up" and "Keep The Streets Empty For Me." ***1/2

05. White Lies - To Lose My Life // Post-punk, new wave, brit-rock band in the vein of The Sound, Interpol, Editors, etc. The first three songs on this album are spectacular. Utilizes one of my favorite guitar sounds of all-time. ***1/2

04. Yagya - Rigning // Perhaps the best ambient artist currently recording music? Eno and Aphex Twin 's best ambient work had this evocation of modern environments: airports, hospital waiting rooms, other modern facilities. Yagya is all about nature. Rigning isn't groundbreaking like his 2002 Rhythm Of Snow album, but anywhere's a good starting point with him. ***1/2

03. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart // Shoegaze/Twee-pop. In fact, the ultimate splicing of these two genres. I'm sure you've heard it, but if not, it is a must-hear. If this band dared to crank their amps up sometimes (such as at the end of "Stay Alive"), they'd be out of this world. Anyway, this album is really addicting. Every song above average and memorable. ***1/2

02. National Skyline - Bliss & Death // Art rock/shoegaze. NatSky's first new album in 8 years. Jeff Garber was in the emo-turned-heavy-post-punk band Hum during the mid-90s. This band was formed because he wanted to record a really long song. That song didn't happen and they made some incredible art rock recording instead that sounded like they could have been answers to OK Computer or Priest = Aura. This album is less experimental than their earlier stuff, but still very well-produced and lush. Lots of good songs with interesting twists and turns. "Glimmer," "Revenge," and "Kingdom." The guitar textures of Dempsey (also from The Joy Circuit) are lovely and often evoke late 80s and early 90s indie bands. Great for headphones. ***1/2

01. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns // The only 4-star album for me this year. And it's a good one. Kind of like Saturdays = Youth last year, but everything is sultry; sweet; and sophisticated in that very feminine way. I knew this girl had talent with Fur and Gold in 2006, but now she's truly released something spectacular. Album does seem to kinda taper off toward the middle-end, but it really doesn't. It only seems to because "Pearl's Dream" is so damn good. And not even a song as good as "Good Love" (which would be the standout on most albums) can follow it. "Daniel" is appearing in many top 10 song lists this year - and I don't disagree. But "Pearl's Dream" is still better. Hell, "Glass" and "Sleep Alone" would probably make my Top 20. This album is just phenomenal and I love Natasha Khan very much right now. ****

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Other albums I heard this year with star ratings and key songs:

AC Newman - Get Guilty [***]
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast [***]
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP [*1/2]
Asobi Seksu - Hush [**] "Familiar Light"
Atlas Sound - Logos [***] "Walkabout" and "Quick Canal"
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue [**]
The Black Lips - 200 Million Miles (WORST album of the year)
Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP [**1/2]
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career [***] "French Navy"
The Church - Untitled #23 [***]
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains [*1/2]
The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love (2nd worst)
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca [**]
dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion [**1/2]
Editors - In This Light And On This Evening [**]
Engineers - Three Fact Fader [**1/2]
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport [***] "Surf Solar"
Girls - Album [*1/2] "Hellhole Ratrace"
Gliss - Devotion Implosion [***]
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest [***] "Two Weeks" and "Ready, Able"
Headlights - Wildlife [***]
JJ - jj n 2 [**]
Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper [***]
Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers [***] "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time"
Memory Tapes - Seek Magic [***] "Bicycle"
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone [**]
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms [*1/2]
Passion Pit - Manners [**]
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix [***] "1901"
Real Estate - Real Estate [*1/2]
Scarlet Youth - Breaking The Patterns EP [***]
Screen Vinyl Image - Interceptors [***]
A Shoreline Dream - Recollections Of Memory [***]
Silversun Pickups - Swoon [***] "Panic Switch"
The Sleepover Disaster - Hover [**1/2]
St. Vincent - Actor [***]
Dark Was The Night [***] "Tightrope" and "Lenin"
Volcano Choir - Unmap [***]
Wavves - Wavves (3rd worst)
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers [***] "The Fun Powder Plot"
William Basinski - 92982 [***]
The xx - The xx [**]
YACHT - Mystery Lights [***] "Psychic City"
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs [**1/2] "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven"

Playlist:
Depeche Mode - If You Want
Diary of Dreams - She
The Cr¸xshadows - Sophia (Here I Am Club Mix)
The Echoing Green - The Story of Our Lives (Echo Image Remix)

Joy Electric - We Are Rock (The Echoing Green remix)
Bjork - Sensuality (techno remix)
New Order - Crystal
Ladytron - Ghosts (Single Edit)
Freeland - We Want Your Soul
Sparks - Thank God It's Not Christmas
The Cramps - Two Headed Sex Change
The Human League - Being Boiled (Fast version)
Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
Tobias Bernstrup - Images of Love

Gossip - Heavy Cross
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (Tommie Sunshine Remix)
Chromeo - My Girl Is Calling Me (A Liar)
Evil Nine - They Live!
White Rose Movement - Girls In The Back (Hugo Nicolson Bad Birthday Remix)
Mesh - The Bitter End
The Dresden Dolls - Shores of California
Apoptygma Berzerk - Non-Stop Violence (Fused)
IAMX - Kiss and Swallow
Inertia - Hot Hot Hot!!!

Bauhaus - She's in Parties
Xymox - Obsession