Thursday, December 15th 2005

What’s special about today? I’ll pick two things from a potential multitude. It’s 11 minutes past 2 - four hours ago I began a job interview. I was less nervous than usual because I wasn’t sure whether I was suited for the post or not. After giving a presentation and concluding the interview - which I think (whoever knows these things??) - went well, I find myself on tenterhooks (strange phrase, here’s the derivation). After learning more and meeting the panel, I really want the job! The chairman informed me that I’ll know by Christmas - that’s potentially an awfully long time! I would love this job. Fingers crossed.

Second thing? Only special for trainspotters, this one. It’s exactly a year since I signed up with Last.FM - or Audioscrobbler as it was then called. I appear to have listened to 17560 tracks in that time, though it’s probably a lot more than that, given kitchen/iPod/car/etc listening. I’ve listened to something approaching twice as much Kraftwerk as any other artist. My top three are all Germans: Kraftwerk, Rhythm & Sound and Bach, but Sufjan Stevens, Jon Hassell and King Tubby are all stealing up and - along with the newly rediscovered Kate Bush - will undoubtedly vie with the current top 3 sooner or later. Dan, if you’re reading this, I wholeheartedly understand why you didn’t sign up for a Last.FM account! Here’s the screenshot of the page for, er, posterity.

I feel I need to list some other things about today, so let’s mention the lovely pale blue sky and gorgeous winter sunlight, the visit to see whether Steve was at the Swedenborg Society (no, but had an enjoyable chat with his brother) and the first time to listen to Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love in many a moon. It still, perhaps more than ever, has a special power to move me (see the final item on my list of musical epiphanies).

Now I’m going to go and pace up and down to try to work off some of this nervous tension… then go out to buy a Christmas tree.

work

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You’re currently reading “Thursday, December 15th 2005,” an entry on A Personal Miscellany

Published:: 15.12.05 / 2pm

Category:: music, personal

About

I’ve been writing this blog for quite a lot longer than three years and now I’m finally getting round to writing something in the About page. But what to write? Oh well, if you check the category listings you’ll see what I cover. It’s a ragtag assortment of bits and bobs, anything that catches my fancy really. Unsurprisingly, much of that is music. I much appreciate comments, but whether you feel like making them or not, I hope you find something of interest.

Feel free to get in touch at enquiries + the at sign + eleventhvolume + full stop + com

My other activities can be found at www.eleventhvolume.com

londonmilk 15.12.05 / 7pm

First, I hope you get the job, as you sound rather excited about it. I hate interviews, because as you say, you never know whether you’ve done well or not. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Last.fm! Now, I have become completely and utterly obsessed with it in the last few weeks somehow. I constantly have it on showing me what I’ve just been listening to (just in case I would forget) and I sadly get excited about seeing what I’ve been listening to most during the previous week. I know this is terribly sad… “trainspotter” was a good term for it, I think in my case, I’d refer to this as “anorakism”. Nevermind, I’m seeking help.

I somehow managed to sign up to Audioscrobler back in March 2004, but didn’t use it or have any plugin installed for well over a year, so the 8,500 tracks recorded here don’t actually give an accurate idea of what I listen to, and this doesn’t record what I play away from computers… still, I’ve got iScrobbler installed on my personal laptop, on my Mac desktop and on my work PC…

11V 15.12.05 / 9pm

Thank you! Crossed fingers make typing tough, but I’m getting better at it. Regarding Last.FM, it’s good to hear someone else is as barking mad as me (he he). If you do find any good help, please do refer me as well… You know what gets really sad is when you start doing catchup lists and leaving them to play so it more accurately reflects your listening habits. Of course I’ve never done that. Never, ever, ever…

londonmilk 15.12.05 / 11pm

“You know what gets really sad is when you start doing catchup lists and leaving them to play so it more accurately reflects your listening habits.”

Oh I wouldn’t dare do this… That would be kinda cheating, wouldn’t it?

Mind, I DID dig a couple of Autechre albums yesterday and let them play while I was doing something else because I play them mostly on my MP3 player…

11V 17.12.05 / 9am

Leaving something to play so it registers? It’s a slippery slope…

I don’t think catching up is cheating, but it’s certainly not entirely healthy…

A Personal Miscellany

Thursday, December 15th 2005

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