Tarantula (#564)

Hi,

my level of being busy kept me from posting this earlier - sorry. -.-

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Papa Roach : New album alert. Because of a very positive review I was listening to "Who Do You Trust?". The band has a lot of different sounds to offer. I was surprised.
• Friska Viljor : New album alert. Plus concert context. Tbh I expected a bit more. "Broken" may be a good record, but it did not make me want to attend their concert.
• Dendemann : New album alert. I am pretty sure, that I have enough fans among my contacts. So I gave "da nich für!" a chance. I'll admit that some lyrics are good, but overall I'm not fully convinced.
• Red Rum Club : New album alert. I haven't heard anything by this band before, but "Matador" sounds very good - in terms of alternative rock featuring trumpets.
• Deerhunter : New album alert. A friend recommended this band, so I checked out "Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?". Nice indie tunes, but not too exciting for me.

Most played artists:

• Keuning : New album alert. I find it quite amusing how much "Prismism" reminds me of The Killers. Maybe I underestimated his influence in the band's music. Anyway... his new solo stuff seems okay, but not groundbreaking. :P
• James Blake : New album alert. Sorry, but I'm still struggling getting along with this artist's music - and "Assume Form" did not help.
• The toten Crackhuren im Kofferraum : Promotion context. I had the chance to listen to "bitchlifecrisis" early... and it has its moments. Should be fun to see them live with those songs.
• Bring Me The Horizon : New album alert. "amo" has its gems - I guess I will revisit it soon.

Most played tracks:

• Fat White Family - Feet : Wow. Another band, that I haven't heard before. And this song has a very thrilling mix of dark vocals and some nice autotune. Check it out.

News?

█ Dua Lipa is featured on the soundtrack of "Alita: Battle Angel". Her song "Swan Song" sounds not that special to me. But the video manages to put her in the dystopian SciFi world of the film, which will be released in a few weeks.
█ Beck released a song for the critically acclaimed film "Roma" (which is nominated for several Oscars - also for best film). "Tarantula" shines as a beautiful ballad.
█ Lady Gaga is now nominated for an Oscar. And so is Kendrick Lamar's "All The Stars".

New in the German charts:

[01] Mero - Hobby Hobby : I'm beginning to understand why charts officials consider changing the rules. It seems like every week there is some random new hip-hop (/trap) track entering the top ten. OK, so Mero has now two top ten songs at the same time. For a newcomer this is impressive. And though he might have skill, I'm having trouble relating to those lyrics.
[04] Ariana Grande - 7 rings : She might be on top of her game - and maybe more relevant than Taylor Swift these days. But I like her catchy Max Martin tunes more than this trap approach.
[06] Kontra K - Warnung : Hm, I'm not sure about his new content. It seems like the artist wants to appear more edgy. Well, maybe it will work out... 
[07] Azet & Zuna - Wenn die Sonne untergeht : Long time no trap, bra! Explicit lyrics, gangster attitude, jetset lifestyle visuals - and don't forget the limited box pre-order part. Just another case of pleasing a target group, that I can't understand. (Sorry)

Rad Drugz (#563)

Hi,

sorry, it didn't make it earlier this week. :(

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Normandie : Fan times.
• Sharon Van Etten : New album alert. "Remind Me Tomorrow" is a good alternative album, although I find some tracks difficult.
• Roosevelt : Fan times. It was announced that he will play at the Immergut 2018 festival, which would be the nearest concert date for my area.
• Crack Ignaz : Research context. I finally found the time to listen to "Bullies in Pullis II" - however, the wait was not worth it, because this is not my cup of tea.

Most played artists:

• Cub Sport : New album alert. It took me by surprise to find out, that they have a new (self-titled) album. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make out any highlight songs.
• Big Joanie : New (?) album alert. If you like strong alternative tunes, you might try "Sistahs" by this group. "Fall Asleep" would be a recommended track for a start.
• Dagobert : Promotion context. I had the chance to listen to "Welt Ohne Zeit" and I think it's a good German pop album - with mostly mellow songs. My favorite track is "Flashback".
• Kacy Hill : Research context. I've read that Stuart Price was involved in her debut album "Like A Woman". I've never heard of Kacy Hill, so I guess, the 2017 release wasn't quite a big success. And after listening to all the songs I can understand that. :-P  

Most played tracks:

• Missio - Rad Drugz : New single alert. Oh, what a catchy tune!
• Sofi Tukker - Mi Rumba (feat. ZHU) : New single alert. Hm, I guess it takes me a while to be fully convinced. So far I'm not sure, what to think of that song.

News?

█ The nominations of the 2019 Brit Awards have been announced... last week already. The most nominations include Dua Lipa, Jess Glynne and Anne-Marie. Performers include George Ezra and Sam Fender. The latter has won the Critic's Choice Award.
█ Speaking of nominations - Lady Gaga is nominated for an Oscar (Best actress and song). And so is Kendrick Lamar's "All The Stars". Nice. :)
█ Ariana Grande seems to be on top of her game these days. Her new video "7 rings" already reached over 40 million views within less than a week. Tbh the song doesn't really convince me. But at least she tries to change her style.

New in the German charts:

[01] Shindy - Dodi : The first new number one track of the year... is hip-hop, of course. And unfortunately the music has the very common message of success and jetset lifestyle. In other words: boring. Even the beat disappoints after a while.
[04] Farid Bang - #niemalsantäuschen : The artist recently dropped "Nurmagomedow EP", which features this horrible track. A stupid trumpet sample plus autotune ... Have fun with it, if you like. But I hardly could stand watching the video.
[08] Fero47 - JAJA : Aaaaaand another one, that praises the jetset lifestyle in his music. Fero47 might have an outstanding voice, but his music just blends in the current trend.

Lost In The Fire (#562)

Hi,

aaaand here we are back with the first delay of the year. Well, sorry, but I'm not sorry... because this all is just for fun, my stats are from Monday and sometimes such a Monday can be a busy day.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Roosevelt : Fan times.
• Carrie Underwood : Fan times.
• Janelle Monáe : Fan times. She released the video for "Screwed", which is one of my personal favorites from her album "Dirty Computer".
• Katy Perry : Fan times.

Most played artists:

• Wooden Peak : Promotion context. The band was in town for a concert and stopped by at the local radio. I just happened to be managing a special radio show regarding that coincident. I also had the chance to talk to their support - Petula. The new album "Yellow Walls" continues their music style and should please fans.
• Madonna : Fan times.
• Normandie : Fan times.  

Most played tracks:

• Slum Sociable - Afterthought : Oh, what a tune. I totally grew on me.
• Wooden Peak - Swarm : That's one of the pre-singles of "Yellow Walls", which I find quite fitting.

News?

█ 2019 has begun and I think I've found one of my first highlights - with the new single by Gesaffelstein featuring The Weeknd. "Lost In The Fire" comes with a simple video, that relies on CGI just a little.
█ Busted released a new video for their upcoming album/era "Half Way There". In comparison to the cover artwork the music video for "Radio" show, that all the member have aged during those two decades. The song seems catchy and radio-friendly, but I would not call it rock.
█ I have no idea who Daniela Alfinito is, but her new album "Du warst jede Träne wert" topps the German album charts.

New in the German charts:

[10] Dean Lewis - Be Alright : He is back in the top ten.

Juice (#561)

Hi,

say hello to a new year in music. I hope to experience some great comebacks, nice concerts and amazing new artists.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• 6ix9ine : Once again I revisited his album "DUMMY BOY" - just to find out, that I'm quite impressed about the final product.
• BTS : Fan times.
• Nick Cave & Warren Ellis : I finally made it and listened to the soundtrack of "Hell or High Water", one of my favorite films of 2016. The mellow instrumental tracks are really nice, but some country track felt disturbing.
• Robyn : I revisited "Honey" and it felt different the second time around.

Most played artists:

• Normandie : Fam times.
• Roosevelt : Fan times.
• Michelle Branch : Research context. I still had her album "Hopeless Romantic" on my list and tbh it wasn't really worth the wait.
• Neneh Cherry : Research context. I'm still figuring out, what to think of her 2018 album "Broken Politics".

Most played tracks:

• Lizzo - Juice : Get your "juices" ready for new pop tunes in 2019. One of the first jams that might be popular in a short time comes from a female artist called Lizzo. The song (and the video) is 80s-infused and catchy.

News?

█ One of the first comebacks of 2019 must be Paul McCartney's new single "Get Enough". He seems to want to sound like Kanye West now, because of the heavy use of autotune. I'm not sure, that he will get much positive feedback for that.
█ Another comeback is from Bring Me The Horizon. They released the CGI filled video for "medicine". Apart from the catchy tune you will probably get hooked on the psychedelic visuals.
█ Cardi B promised a new album in 2019. She revealed that news herself on Instagram.

New in the German charts:

[01] Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho : Oh, here we go again.
[03] LX & Maxwell - HaifischNikez Allstars (feat. Bonez MC, Gzuz & Sa4) : Or is it by 187 Strassenbande? Anyway, it seems like there is no week without a new hip-hop track that gets hyped like crazy. This allstar feature extravaganca doesn't sound that original, if you ask me. But hey, that was 2018.
[09] Robin Schulz - Speechless (feat. Erika Sirola) : Hm, nice electro pop, but it also feels a bit bland. And yes, it also reminds me of Avicii.

My year 2018 in music

Happy New Year, everybody!

For all the stats lovers like me, this is my summary of another 12 months scrobbling.

My scrobbling peak has been in July with 1052 tracks - of all 9246 scrobbles of the year.

Artists

1. BTS (819 plays)
2. Roosevelt (219 plays)
3. PLANET (116 plays)
4. Dua Lipa (113 plays)
5. Sofi Tukker (111 plays)
6. Madonna (102 plays)
7. The Weeknd (98 plays)
8. Kevin Abstract (86 plays)
9. Nicki Minaj / Troye Sivan (85 plays)
10. Work Drugs (81 plays)
11. Normandie (77 plays)

Thoughts:

• I guess it seems pretty obvious, how a K-Pop phenomenon like BTS totally blew me away these last few months. It even gave me a glimpse of a new kind of fandom. (Greetings to you, ARMY.)
• With now two brilliant albums Roosevelt is my first choice, when it comes to lovely pop tunes from Germany. I hope, he will receive all the credit that he wants to get with his music.
• Another "new" band in my playlists comes from Australia. PLANET also made me fall in love with their kind of handmade music plus beautiful vocals.
• Welcome, Dua Lipa - you are in line with women like Madonna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and others from my list of favorite female solo artists.
• Hello, Sofi Tukker, you are now on my radar.
• Sorry, Normandie, your 2nd album "White Flag" is great, but was released quite late in 2018.

Albums

1. BTS - Love Yourself 結 'Answer' (180 plays)
2. BTS - Love Yourself 轉 'Tear' (165 plays)
3. BTS - You Never Walk Alone (134 plays)
4. Roosevelt - Young Romance (131 plays)
5. Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa (Deluxe) (96 plays)
6. BTS - Love Yourself 承 'Her' (95 plays)
7. Kevin Abstract - American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story (86 plays)
8. Roosevelt - Roosevelt (85 plays)
9. Sofi Tukker - Treehouse (81 plays)
10. Confidence Man - Confident Music For Confident People (69 plays)

Thoughts:

• OK, so you see that I was not only interested in BTS's 2018 releases - and some of those albums are more like compilations of previous releases.
• Chapeau to Roosevelt - for having both albums among my top ten.
• I didn't expect Kevin Abstract's 2016 solo album to have been that important to me last year. (Anyway, it is a great album.)
• Shout out to Janelle Monáe for one of the best albums of the year.
• Both debut albums by Sofi Tukker and Confidence Man are quite short and just very fun to listen to. So definitely part of my best of 2018.
• The only album in German among my top 20 would have been "Modus" by KAYEF (at place 18).

Tracks

1. BTS - So What
   / Sofi Tukker - Best Friend (feat. NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno) (36 plays)
2. BTS - DNA (31 plays)
3. Troye Sivan - My My My
   / Coasts - You Could Have Been The One (30 plays)
4. BTS - Euphoria
   / The Attic Sleepers - Leopard (28 plays)
5. BTS - Not Today
   / You Me At Six - 3AM (27 plays)
6. BTS - FAKE LOVE
   / BTS - Best Of Me
   / BTS - MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)
   / Liam Payne & Rita Ora - For You (From "Fifty Shades Freed")
   / Nick Jonas - Find You
   / Seeb & Skip Marley - Cruel World (26 plays)
7. N.O.R.E. - Uno Más (feat. Pharrell Williams, Miguel, Wiz Khalifa & J Alvarez) [Remix] (25 plays)
8. Diplo - Color Blind (feat. Lil Xan)
   / PLANET - Undermine (24 plays)
9. BTS - 피 땀 눈물 Blood Sweat & Tears
   / BTS - Anpanman (23 plays)
10. The Weeknd - Pray For Me
    / KAYEF - Allein
    / BTS - Outro: Wings
    / BTS - Magic Shop (22 plays)
11. Dua Lipa - Be The One
    / PLANET - Save.Sold (21 plays)
12. Migos - Stir Fry (20 plays)

Thoughts:

• Any song needed to be scrobbled more than 20 times to reach my top ten - instead of just 8 times like in 2017. That mean, I tended to listen to songs more often in 2018.
• I'm happy about a song like "So What" to reach the top, because it is a truly great release of 2018.
• Troye Sivan's "My My My" pretty much kicked of my year 2018 in music... and it's still a jam to me. :)
• "3AM" by You Me At Six also is one of my personal favorites of 2018.
• And once more - the only German song here is by KAYEF.

So that's it - my year 2018 in music.

Honey (#560)

Hi,

Just before 2018 is ending I made it through some albums on my list.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Alan Walker : New album alert. "Different World" features many many guests. but only very few songs are good, if you ask me.
• Kayef : Playlist research context. "Allein" is still a nice song.
• You Me At Six : Playlist research context.
• Gryffin : New release alert. "Gravity, Pt. 1" is a nice EP.
• Blossoms : Fan times.

Most played artists:

• Troye Sivan : Fan times. I'm already hyped for the concert next year.
• Tom Odell : New album alert. "Jubilee Road" has a few nice songs on it.
• Robyn : New album alert. "Honey" sounds different from what I expected. But I think I will revisit it soon.
• SZA : New album alert. "comethru" is not really my cup ot tea.    

Most played tracks:

[nothing to highlight here]

News?

█ Jimin of BTS put a solo track on Soundcloud, that he co-wrote with RM. I don't really like it. BTS also celebrated V's birthday and had another great show performance.

New in the German charts:

[01] Capital Bra - Benzema : According to a friend this makes his 8th number one track this year. Impressive.
[05] Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas : One of those classics for the season.
[06] Azet & Zuna - Lelele : Hm, another autotune-infused trap project. Let's see, how big they will become.
[07] Melanie Thornton - Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming) : Another classic for the season.
[09] Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone : Tbh I dou't know this one.
[10] John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) : Nice classic, although I'd prefer the Sarah McLachlan version.

Fire On Fire (#559)

Hi,

for some this Monday is Christmas Eve, for me it feels like almost any other Monday.. except I had to be sure to have all groceries by noon. Anyway...

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Normandie : Fan times. 
• Jorma Taccone (and others) : A friend recommended me the new EP "A Very Spidey Christmas" and it delivers a bit fun.
• Nicki Minaj : Fan times.
• Roosevelt : Fan times.
• Carrie Underwood : Fan times.

Most played artists:

• BTS : Fan times. I revisited "Love Yourself: Tear" to check, if the awards are justified. :P (And I also plan to unbox my copy of "Answer" tonight.)
• Janelle Monáe : Fan times.
• Rita Ora : New album alert. "Phoenix" starts off surprisingly good, but the second half seems to contain the weaker songs. :-/

Most played tracks:

[nothing to highlight here]

News?

█ Lindemann released a new video called "Mathematik". The crazy clip features a guest part by Haftbefehl, which also comes off odd.
█ "Watership Down" is a story about rabbits, that has been adapted to animation films and series. This year there is a new adaptation with a popular voice cast. And Sam Smith provides the soundtrack song "Fire On Fire", which sounds as dramatic as you would expect. 
█ Old men rule the German album charts these days: Udo Lindenberg's new album "MTV Unplugged 2 - Live aus dem Hotel Atlantic" went straight to the top. And Herbert Grönemeyer made to number 2.

New in the German charts:

[06] Kontra K - Farben : Well, tbh I like his kind of music. Another well produced track.
[08] Nimo & Capo - Zoey : Another Bonez MC ripoff? Well, just add some superficiality and explicit lyrics. Seems like there is some kind of need for that stuff.