Last.FM brings it on home.
Last.FM is a source of great amusement for me. I’m on there, and if you know my username, which you do not, you could find me and find out what I’m listening to and how often I’m listening to it. I wanted a record of what I listened to, but it’s kind of intruding a little further than I like to be intruded upon online and it can be slightly . . . embarrassing. I mean, I could spend ten minutes explaining exactly why I sometimes enjoy the musical stylings of Puff Daddy to some people, or I could just say “You know what, PAT? I LIKE “It’s All About the Benjamins” and I don’t care who knows it! SO THERE!”
Sometimes, I find myself particularly taken with a song and listen to it, ooooh, I don’t know, ten or twelve or 45 times. I just put it on repeat and sit back and let it wash over me. Once, I listened to Sarah Harmer’s “I Am Aglow” 25 times in a row with a smile on my face because it reminded me of that giddy, free-floating feeling of being in love with somebody and them not knowing it. But I don’t know how I feel about other people always being able to see exactly what I’m obsessed with musically all the time. I mean, intimately see, without any filters or blinds or editing or anything. It’s just out there.
Case in point. Earlier this evening, I was google image searching Britt Daniel. Because I have a crush on him.
And when I clicked on this photo, it took me to a Last.FM page that informed me, and whoever else who google image searches Britt Daniel, that I am a top listener to one of his songs.
This surprised me.
And embarrassed me a little bit. I try not to be embarrassed by anything, especially musical interests. But there it was. I stared at it for a minute. I could feel my cheeks getting pink. My secret was out. Okay, so it isn’t really a secret that if I had half a chance, I’d be on Britt Daniel’s jock so fast. I’d be all over that like a bad rash, but one that was damn gratifying to scratch. But this wasn’t some blog entry with me proclaiming my undying love. This was evidence compiled by some robot that watches how many spins a given song gets on my iTunes or reasonable facsimile of iTunes and without my permission, lists me as some sort of superfan. And, I AM, but jeez!
It caught me unprepared is all. Now that I’ve digested the information, I’m down with it. And I’m ready to share it with you. If you give Britt Daniel’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” half a chance, I think you’ll like it too. Probably not as much as me, but I guarantee it stands up to multiple listens.
The Arena Rock Recording Co. is where you can buy Bridging the Distance: A Portland, OR Covers Compilation. It’s a bunch of awesome songs being performed by a bunch of awesome artists and it benefits those less fortunate than yourself. So buy it.
