I was looking through my weekly charts, and it turns out The National have topped these charts since the 15th of April.

Nine straight weeks.

I don't want help.

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line(s) from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Bold out the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.

1. No more bad weather underground/It's time to settle down

Criminal Piece

2. When you were languishing in rooms I built to foul you in

Circles

3. This is a story of seven brothers/We had the same father but different mothers

Love Is Stronger Than Justice

4. I counted on my private Altamont/Trusted it all along/But now I'm on…

I don't know what Math Rock is, but I do love listening to Cinemechanica. They're described as Math Rock by a lot of people, but they've also been described by 3hive* as punk. Seems like a good enough compromise, because these guys are visceral.

So why do I love listening to Cinemechanica? Various reviews across the web have said that with all of the seemingly dissonant elements in the band, they manage to make a unified sound. The guitars are some work; they weave around so fast you feel like you can barely catch up to their music. If…

Post your top ten bands/artists, the first song you heard of theirs, the song that made you fall in love, and your current favorite.

1. Spoon
First song heard: Don't Let It Get You Down
Fell In Love With: Same track
Current Favorite: I Summon You

2. The Velvet Teen
First song heard: Radiapathy
Fell In Love With: Forlorn
Current Favorite: Naked Girl

3. The New Pornographers
First song heard: Use It
Fell In Love With: Same track
Current Favorite: Star Bodies

4. Up Dharma Down
First song heard: Maybe
Fell In Love With: We Give in Sometimes
Current Favorite:…

Name your top 10 most played bands on Last.fm:

1. Spoon
2. The Velvet Teen
3. The New Pornographers
4. Franz Ferdinand
5. Broken Social Scene
6. Tori Amos
7. Herbie Hancock & John Mayer
8. Of Montreal
9. Wolf Parade
10. Cynthia Alexander/The Coral Sea

Now answer the questions according to the numbers:

What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
I'm not really sure. Though I've listened to Tori Amos over the years, it was only a couple years ago that I really started getting into her. I'll play it safe and answer A…

I recently sent a copy of Up Dharma Down's Fragmented to my cousins in Australia. I hope they like them; I sure as hell do!

because they're from Canada. It might be old news to you, but I am just getting into Canada's underground music scene and all I can is, guh, WOW.

Of Montreal (Eclectic, funny pop that has me nodding my head while at work, garnering strange glances while at it. )

UPDATE: Of Montreal isn't from Canada! How embarrassing, hehe. I still love them though!

New Pornographers (Use it tonight! Hell yeah!)

Broken Social Scene (A kaleidescope of sound. Haunting, beautiful, energetic.)

Wolf Parade (Raw. Powerful. Give me/your blood/your bones/your voice/and your ghost.)

Hot Hot Heat (I liked Middle of Nowhere much…

I once stated to a friend that I never listened to emo. In my hurry to assert such a statement, I didn't realize that the term "emo" itself no longer applied to "emotionally driven hardcore punk" (as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo defines it), but to a broader music genre.

Having said that, one of the bands that have consistently been on the top of my charts, Velvet Teen, have been described as everything from "indie pop" to "angst-driven rockers" to, as you may have guessed, "emo".

I guess I fell for the beauty of their string compositions and the graceful piano arrangements.…