music that I love

There's a lot of music that I love. I do mean love.

As I grow older I find that I like more music than ever.

In my young years I fucking hated jazz. I hated it. Then I realised a lot of shit that I listened to was or could be jazz.

For example, try listening to Primal Scream's 'If They Move Kill 'Em', as remixed by Kevin Shields (who's the main person behind My Bloody Valentine).

Holy shit! Is that indie rock? No fucking way! etc.

As I'm writing these words in the year 2025, I listen to a lot of weird stuff.

Gun to my head, I'd say I'll listen to anything that doesn't bore me or just works.

What music works?

This is a difficult question. Simultaneously, it's easy to answer.

Frank Zappa once asked if humour belongs in music.

He was an intelligent person who, as far as I'm aware, often didn't open his mouth unless he had some kind of intelligent or sharp thought behind it. He made a lot of fun music; he also made a lot of complicated neo-classical compositions that, at times, required virtuoso musicians.

Zappa's question was, of course, rhetorical. He didn't expect an answer because anything, kind of, goes. Zappa was a fierce advocate for free speech. Just check out his fight against PMRC^[1], where he walked the walk.

In other words: if music works, it works. Like Steve Reich said^[2]:

Good music is good music!

Back to square one

I don't want to make things difficult. A jam is a fucking jam, right? Right on.

What works in headphones might not work when played in an office environment, and vice versa. What worked in the year 1970 might not work in 2030. What works for teenagers might not work for old people. Fuck me if I know.

These days Spotify have shat all over the music business^[3]. There's artificial intelligence that's used to make things even worse for musicians and their livelihood.

I mention that just to point out the biggest threat to musicians is happening right now. I'm definitely not saying things were better in the past - I don't believe in that stuff. The only thing that was better in the past was that musicians and people who truly loved music could make a decent living off music, which is all they ever deserve.

I'm getting on a soap box here but I don't give a fuck: this is my little box to stand on. Tough luck, Daniel Ek. ;-)

Let's imagine a world where musicians, songwriters, etc. can live decently.

There's not enough great music

Haha: I'm joking.

If no more music were recorded I'd still have enough music to last me the rest of my life.

Consider artists like Kraftwerk, Sly and The Family Stone, Public Enemy, Can, Abruptum, Okkervil River, Lightning Bolt, Wendy Carlos, DJ K, Dijon, Kendrick Lamar...

They all made music that lasts forever. Music that feels different nearly every time it hits. Music that follows us through our lives, when we're happy, when we're sad, at work, when we're dancing with a cat. Hell, fucking 'Baby Shark' is a jam sometimes.

Today, when everyone has access to laptops and shit, it just gets easier. You don't need a big-ass studio to record. Use your mobile phone and a trash can to make music. If it works, it works. Please make music.

my most listened-to music

According to last.fm, these are the artists I've listened to the greatest number of times during the 2000s:

1 – Morrissey
2 – Okkervil River
3 – Super Furry Animals
4 – The Smiths
5 – The Libertines
6 – Suede
7 – David Bowie
8 – Rage Against the Machine
9 – Einstürzende Neubauten
10 – The Magnetic Fields
11 – Primal Scream
12 – Glenn Gould
13 – Manic Street Preachers
14 – Holy Fuck
15 – The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
16 – …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
17 – Beastie Boys
18 – Silver Jews
19 – Ash
20 – Franz Ferdinand
21 – SebastiAn
22 – Refused
23 – Alvvays
24 – The Chemical Brothers
25 – Radiohead
26 – The Jesus and Mary Chain
27 – Elliott Smith
28 – The Go! Team
29 – The Beatles
30 – Depeche Mode
31 – The New Pornographers
32 – Babyshambles
33 – Justice
34 – Soulwax
35 – Johnny Marr
36 – Blur
37 – Dirty Pretty Things
38 – Vitalic
39 – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
40 – Voxtrot
41 – Arcade Fire
42 – Blanck Mass
43 – Slayer
44 – Nirvana
45 – Cliff Martinez
46 – Broder Daniel
47 – Pixies
48 – Purple Mountains
49 – New Order
50 – The Stone Roses

Do note that does not mean I've listened to these artists for the longest time. Einstürzende Neubauten do make longer songs than Morrissey, but if we'd list for how long I'd listened to artists, Neubauten might be on top.

Not that it fucking matters.

Still, some artists I've listened to a lot in the past and not much now. For example, Morrissey's decline is massive since I found out he's a fucking idiot. Thing is, he's an idiot with great songs. So I listen to music that I've got downloaded so that he doesn't get my streaming cents. The same goes for other fucking idiots, like Burzum, who made brilliant music in the past and who now is a fucking nazi murderer who deserves a punch in the gut.

Other musicians keep on keeping on! I mean, Johnny Marr, Alvvays... Et cetera! And the new music?

I listen a LOT to DJ K. Bruxaria... I mean, just listen to his latest album, please.