My iTunes favourites

[vaneramos]

Here is a list of musical artists who show at least 10 five-star songs:

1. Rufus Wainwright (31)
   
2. Eurythmics (28)
   
3. Enya (27)
   
4. The Beatles (26)
   
5. Barenaked Ladies (25)
   
6. Kate Bush (24)
   
7. k.d. lang (22)
   
8. Madonna (22)
   
9. Loreena McKennitt (20)
   
10. Annie Lennox (19)
    
11. The Corrs (16)
    
12. Joni Mitchell (16)
    
13. Aimee Mann (15)
    
14. Jane Siberry (15)
    
15. The Beach Boys (13)
    
16. Judy Collins (13)
    
17. Gordon Lightfoot (12)
    
18. Maddy Prior (12)
    
19. Buffy Sainte-Marie (11)
    
20. The Human League (11)
    
21. Jem (11)
    
22. Elton John (10)
    
23. Leonard Cohen (10)
    
24. Pet Shop Boys (10)
    
25. Stan Rogers (10)
    

I'm not all that familiar with Kate Bush and The Corrs. Their songs are recent additions, so the ratings are only first impressions. Still, the list is fairly representative of what I like these days, better than my "Top 25 Most Played".

Comments

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

hey Van happy birthday! hope it's a good one!

Happy Birthday

[perkk.livejournal.com]

Wishing you the best! I like your refinement of the top lists. I think I have some new names in music to lookup.

Re: Happy Birthday

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

A few of the less well-known artists are difficult to find, so let me know if you have any trouble. Enjoy.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank, Bill! It has been a good weekend, sharing things with Marian and Brenna that we enjoy. :-)

[ubermunkey.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday Love!

I hope it is a good one spent however you would best spend it!

Love
Connor

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Handsome Lover, thank you....
I have to drive the girls home today, but we've had the weekend to spend doing things together that we like, and I'm happy.
I received your card, too, and am tickled to anticipate events of the weeks ahead.
Love, Van

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

Just dropping by to wish you a very Happy Birthday, dear heart.

hugs, Shimmer

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon. :-)

[stealthpup.livejournal.com]

Kate Bush is, like, so OLD, man!

Seriously, I like her work, but not on any consistent level -- many of her songs are simply inaccessible to me (ranging on the "artsy-fartsy", for my taste anyway). That said, I simply swoon over her rendition of "Wuthering Heights" (Pat Benatar did a harder version which is just as fantastic), and "A Woman's Work" still has the power to make me cry.

The Corrs are far more poppish. Good, but poppish.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Heheh, I know Kate Bush is old. I had a roommate in university who liked her in the 1980s, and so did my ex-wife. But this is the first time I've sought out and gotten to know her music for my own sake. I guess that artsy quality is one thing that appeals to me. The same could be said of several songwriters on the list. But I like poppish stuff, too. I heard The Corrs' cover of "Ruby Tuesday" a couple weeks ago and thought, "Wow, I want to hear more." So I found their "Best of" album and liked every single song.

[trinapink.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! I don't think I have *any* artists who have 10 songs I've rated with five stars!

Though I have music from everyone on this list except Maddy Prior, The Human League, Pet Shop Boys and Stan Rogers, and most (if not all) of them have at least one five-star rating on my list. I'll have to go looking for these four artists; they're certainly in good company.

I love your posts on music. I'm keeping notes of the songs and artists I want to look up, once I catch up a little from my illness.

This weekend I re-discovered Joni Mitchell. She has some amazing footage on YouTube that I'll probably blog about soon. And I bought two albums and several individual songs of hers: one was replacing a vinyl album, but all the rest was new. FUN!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

If you like Loreena McKennitt, you will like Maddy Prior. Her voice is more like Judy Collins with a brogue. She is an English folk singer. Apparently she is best known as lead singer for Steeleye Span, but I recommend her solo album Ravenchild.

Stan Rogers was one of Canada's greatest folk singers, from Ontario, but his style more reflected the East Coast. Unfortunately he died in a plane crash in the 1980s. I recommend his albums From Fresh Water or Fogarty's Cove.

The Human League is a British synth pop band that had some hits in 1983, my first year at university, e.g. "(Keep feeling) Fascination" and "Don't You Want Me?". They are still touring and recording.

Pet Shop Boys is another English electronic pop group with nearly as long a career, but probably better longevity and wider appeal nowadays. You might have heard their cover of "Always On My Mind", and if you're at all fond of Absolutely Fabulous, you should check out this music video. But the duo is also noted for its intelligent lyrics.

I look forward to hearing more about Joni!

[rfmcdpei.livejournal.com]

We'll have to get you up to speed on Kate, methinks.

[trinapink.livejournal.com]

OH, bummer. The music video has been taken down due to "terms of service violations." And I loved Absolutely Fabulous.

I have posted my Joni entry. Finally! LJ hasn't been working for me, but now it is again, thank goodness. It's here.

Oh, and I watched your video of Maddy Prior. She is, indeed, wonderful. Does she often sing with June Tabor? Most of the stuff on iTunes seems to be duo (though the harmony in "How Shall I Your True Love Know?"--for instance--is fantastic, so I'm not complaining!). I'll have to remember to tell my sister about her too--she will absolutely flip. Thanks for the tip.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I have Aerial and The Whole Story now in my collection, for starters. :-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I don't know June Tabor, so I'm stumped there. progbear left a link to another selection by Steeleye Span:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zzwbYyvWiU