if i die before my time bury me upside down. (Day 8 a little late)

it is time for the annual Stu's year in music post! also my apologies for not posting anything yesterday, i was busy christmas shopping, expect another christmas crafting related post later today.

Fun. ^

2012 music survey;

What song sums up 2011 for you?

Fun. - Some Nights

What albums did you listen to over and over?

• Fun.: Some Nights
• Taylor Swift: Red
• Josh RItter: Golden Age of Radio
• Josh Ritter: The Animal Years
• Spring Awakening Soundtrack
• The Book of Mormon Soundtrack
• Markus Krunegård: Mänsklig Värme
• Walk The Moon: Walk The Moon
• Olavi Uusivirta: Elvin Istuu Oikealla
• First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar
• Imagine Dragons: Continued Silence EP

Markus Krunegård ^

What was the best gig you went to?

this was probably the best gig year of my life! it started with Cat Power, whom i've loved for years and was so happy to finally see her. then i was Michael Bublé with my best friend and we have both been hoping and wishing for him to do a gig here for years. during the summer i saw Pulp! also one of those bands i've been waiting to see for years, well over a decade for this one, and it was amazing. they played at a music festival where i also saw Flogging Molly wich was amazing and Olavi Uusivirta was really good too. both of them i've seen before so it' wasn't that amazing but still pretty cool. i also stumbled upon cheap tickets for Lady Gaga's concert so we went to see her with a group of friends. that was alright, but not mindblowing. (funny thing, the first time i did this survey i said i hated her....) then later this year i saw Fun. and their opening act Walk The Moon, probably one of the best gigs ever. really, the best gig year ever!

What songs did you have on repeat?

• Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
• Fun. - Carry On
• First Aid Kit - Emmylou
• Olavi Uusivirta - Nuoruus
• Josh Ritter - Harrisburg
• Patrick Wolf - Born To Die (Lana Del Rey cover)
• Spring Awakening Cast - Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind
• The Book of Mormon Cast: Hello!
• Cider Sky - Where To Now
• Darren Criss - Teenage Dream (acoustic Glee version)
• Walk The Moon - Iscariot
• Imagine Dragons - It's Time
• Relient K - (If You Want It)
• Of Monsters and Men - King and Lionheart
• Piste Piste - Elän Sut Uudestaan
• Meghan Tonjes - The Fault is in Our Stars (Lastufka Remix)

Meghan Tonjes ^

What was your best musical discovery this year?

Josh Ritter is probably my best musical find in years! other great finds this year were Walk The Moon, Imagine Dragons, Shovels & Rope, Daughter, Passenger.

What 5 musicians/bands did you listen to the most?
last.fm says; Taylor Swift, Josh Ritter, Fun., Glee Cast and First Aid Kit.

What was the best CD you bought?
Fun.'s Some Nights, Taylor Swift's Red, Josh Ritter's Golden Age of Radio and Markus Krunegård's Mänsklig Värme.

 
Did you buy any music DVDs this year?

no i didn't.

Daughter ^

What are the best lyrics you heard this year?

i'm completely in love with Josh Ritter's lyrics, all of them, but i have to say that the opening line of Kathleen is the one i fell in love with first;

all the other girls here are stars, you are the Northern Lights.
they try to shine in through your curtains, you're too close and too bright.
they try and they try but everything that they do,
is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you.

also Fun. has some great lyrics too, like this line from Carry On;

Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we're miles away
So we'll come
We will find our way home

Did you stop liking any musicians/bands?
not that i can remember.

Did you learn an instrument this year? If so, did you play any gigs?

no, tho i did get this urge to buy Ukulele and learn to play that. i haven't tho, maybe next year.

Josh Ritter ^

What band did you hate this year?

Pitbull, everything he dies sounds exactly the same to me.

Did you have a musical guilty pleasure this year?
well, the same old Justin Bieber i had last year. i tried to get into One Direction but i just don't care for them that much...

What was the worst song of the year?

there probably was one like super annoying song but i can't remember any. Gangnam Style is one of them but to be honest i think i've only heard it once or twice.

What was the coolest music video you saw this year?

Fun. - Carry On, it made me want to go and have night out with the guys from the band, it's such a fun and cool video.

Did you watch Idol/the arias/grammys/mtv awards?

no i didn't.

Blur ^

What was the worst musical comeback of the past year?

i'm not sure, didn't even see the Spice Girls performing at the Olympics so i can't say if that was good or bad.

What was the best musical comeback of the year?

Blur! well, they already sort of did a comeback in 2009, but now they released a new song and they had gigs and there will be more gigs next year! also Pulp had a comeback like year before but cause i only saw them this year i'm counting it!

Who were your favourite female vocalists?
Taylor Swift, Cat Power, Lea Michele (Spring Awakening & Glee), Johanna & Klara Söderberg (First Aid Kit).

Who were your favourite male vocalists?
Josh Ritter, Darren Criss, Nate Ruess (Fun.), Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon), Markus Krunegård, Bob Dylan (always).

What radio station did you listen to most?
i listened to Spotify's country station, but that's not really radio. i wanted to find a good radio station to listen to but i never did.

What was the biggest band you saw this year?
Michael Bublé and Pulp were probably the biggest ones.

Pulp ^

If you have one, how often did you listen your iPod/mp3 player this year?
i listen to music from my phone and i do that almost every night i go to bed and also when traveling with a bus or a train or anything i don't have to drive myself.

What was your favourite soundtrack to a film this year?
The Hunger Games soundtrack.

What was your favourite music themed film you saw this year?

well, i watched Katy Perry: Part of Me few weeks ago and even tho i'm not Katy Perry fan it was quite moving and fun.

What was the best local band you heard/saw this year?
well i consider anything from Finland local and that has to be Olavi Uusivirta.

Did you meet any famous musicians?
well Walk The Moon guys came to hang out with the audience before and after their gig but the place was crowded with teenage fangirls so i didn't talked to them, so no, i didn't. Cat Power gave me her setlist tho and smiled, does that count?

Did you put up any music posters around your room/house?

no.

Totalled, how much do you think you spent on music this year (cds, merch, tickets, etc)?
i spent around 300€ on tickets, 50€ on merch, 100€ on cds so about 450€.

What type of music did you find yourself listening to most this year?
folk, country, pop.

Best song to be happy to you listened to this year?
Fun.'s Some Nights.

Best song to be sad to you listened to this year?
Patrick Wolf's cover of Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.

Patrick Wolf ^

Band/singer with the best style this year?
Nate Ruess from Fun. at the gig he was wearing jeans and an oversized blue sweater, so comfy and adorable.

What shows are you looking forward to in the new year?
well i'm hoping to go see Patrick Wolf's acoustic gig, also i'm waiting for Blur to announce more gigs, so maybe i finally get to see them.

Did you buy any band merchandise this year?
i bought Fun. and Flogging Molly shirts, i don't remember if i bought anything else.

Did you pirate any music this year?
....maybe.

Did you miss out on going to any really good concerts this year?
Markus Krunegård, i just didn't have the time.

What was the last gig you went to?
Fun. & Walk The Moon.

Taylor Swift ^

How many songs are on your computer/itunes?
i don't know cause i mostly just use Spotify.

What are you listening to now?
First Aid Kit - Dance To Another Tune