Tender talons.
According to iTunes Statistician, I have listened to Ladytron more than any other artist in my library -- and by a considerable margin. This would strike me as odd - I wouldn't necessarily consider Ladytron to be one of my favorite artists - but I noted a similar phenomenon a few years back when I realized that "Flicking Your Switch" was my most listened to song at the time (now since eclipsed by a song I would consider a favorite: "Ambulance" by Blur).
It may just be a matter of coincidence. I first got into Ladytron during the summer of 2005, which is also when I started using iTunes and an iPod nano. In contrast, any time I spent obsessing over Blur in college went unquantified by Winamp and my portable CD player. We've haven't got a file on you, apparently.
Or it may just be that Ladytron is a phenomenal singles band. Instead of putting on 604 in its entirety, I am more likely to jam to "Discotrax" and "Another Breakfast With You" then jump ship when "CSKA Sofia" comes up. Don't get me wrong: all four of Ladytron's albums are great, but each one is marred by filler and/or meandering instrumentals. I would be hard pressed to name a song on the b-side of Light & Magic. Nothing wrong with that: Low Life and Technique are great albums, but I would point anybody interested in listening to New Order towards Substance.
Which I guess makes it reasonable for Ladytron to be releasing a "Best of" at this odd juncture in the band's career. The deluxe edition of the set, in contrast, makes little sense. For a band that is so careful in cultivating its image, Ladytron is astonishingly reckless with the curation of its EPs and singles. An extensive excavation of the band's catalogue offers few rewards amidst a landfill of throwaway b-side instrumentals. Even the remixes seem purely mercenary, which is truly a pity as the source material seems so ripe for cross-genre pollination. So almost all of the 33 songs that pad the deluxe edition are album cuts, which is ridiculous as all four of Ladytron's records only have 57 songs in total. At that point you are better off just ponying up and buying all four albums, filler and all.
As a corrective to the track selection of the official "Best of," which seems targeted to prick the ears of Nine Inch Nails fans still despondent over the news that Reznor had thrown in the towel (how else to explain the complete whitewashing of the 604's early analog sound?), I offer you my own modest sampler of Ladytron tracks. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out.
Tender Talons: A Modest Sampler of Ladytron, 00-10
1. High Rise [Witching Hour]
2. Ghosts [Velocifero]
3. Destroy Everything You Touch [Witching Hour]
4. I'm Not Scared [Velocifero]
5. Ace of Hz [Gravity the Seducer]
6. Evil (Ewan Pearson Radio Edit) [Evil Single]
7. Beauty#2 [Witching Hour]
8. Another Breakfast With You [604]
9. Flicking Your Switch [Light & Magic]
10. He Took Her To A Movie [604]
11. Seventeen [Light & Magic]
12. Discotrax [604]
13. Playgirl [604]
14. Blue Jeans [Light & Magic]
15. Deep Blue [Velocifero]
16. Burning Up [Velocifero]
17. Last One Standing [Witching Hour]
18. Weekend [Witching Hour]
19. Versus [Velocifero]
It may just be a matter of coincidence. I first got into Ladytron during the summer of 2005, which is also when I started using iTunes and an iPod nano. In contrast, any time I spent obsessing over Blur in college went unquantified by Winamp and my portable CD player. We've haven't got a file on you, apparently.
Or it may just be that Ladytron is a phenomenal singles band. Instead of putting on 604 in its entirety, I am more likely to jam to "Discotrax" and "Another Breakfast With You" then jump ship when "CSKA Sofia" comes up. Don't get me wrong: all four of Ladytron's albums are great, but each one is marred by filler and/or meandering instrumentals. I would be hard pressed to name a song on the b-side of Light & Magic. Nothing wrong with that: Low Life and Technique are great albums, but I would point anybody interested in listening to New Order towards Substance.
Which I guess makes it reasonable for Ladytron to be releasing a "Best of" at this odd juncture in the band's career. The deluxe edition of the set, in contrast, makes little sense. For a band that is so careful in cultivating its image, Ladytron is astonishingly reckless with the curation of its EPs and singles. An extensive excavation of the band's catalogue offers few rewards amidst a landfill of throwaway b-side instrumentals. Even the remixes seem purely mercenary, which is truly a pity as the source material seems so ripe for cross-genre pollination. So almost all of the 33 songs that pad the deluxe edition are album cuts, which is ridiculous as all four of Ladytron's records only have 57 songs in total. At that point you are better off just ponying up and buying all four albums, filler and all.
As a corrective to the track selection of the official "Best of," which seems targeted to prick the ears of Nine Inch Nails fans still despondent over the news that Reznor had thrown in the towel (how else to explain the complete whitewashing of the 604's early analog sound?), I offer you my own modest sampler of Ladytron tracks. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out.
Tender Talons: A Modest Sampler of Ladytron, 00-10
1. High Rise [Witching Hour]
2. Ghosts [Velocifero]
3. Destroy Everything You Touch [Witching Hour]
4. I'm Not Scared [Velocifero]
5. Ace of Hz [Gravity the Seducer]
6. Evil (Ewan Pearson Radio Edit) [Evil Single]
7. Beauty#2 [Witching Hour]
8. Another Breakfast With You [604]
9. Flicking Your Switch [Light & Magic]
10. He Took Her To A Movie [604]
11. Seventeen [Light & Magic]
12. Discotrax [604]
13. Playgirl [604]
14. Blue Jeans [Light & Magic]
15. Deep Blue [Velocifero]
16. Burning Up [Velocifero]
17. Last One Standing [Witching Hour]
18. Weekend [Witching Hour]
19. Versus [Velocifero]
posted by d l wright at 4/07/2011 01:59:00 PM
2 Comments:
I keep meaning to check my iTunes to report back, but forgot last night (and probably will tonight too).
Of course, I listen to a lot of music at work. All of the data from my time at the ad agency is long gone. At home, Rachel listens to music (via iPhone or iPod) far more than I do. Don't be surprised if my most listened to songs are by Lady Gaga or Kanye West.
It would be nice if SoundCloud had an HTML5 player, bruv, but I was able to listen through their iPhone app.
The answer, if you were curious, was a Killers song (a Joy Division remake, actually) that I bought for Rachel in February. It had a whopping 90 plays.
Clearly, the data is suspect.
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