Am I right? ;)

------------

Tarja, Tarja Turunen, Nightwish, Sarah Brightman, Epica, After Forever, Within Temptation, Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli, My Winter Storm, Symphony, Fleurs Du Mal,

A. Angelo
B. Beat Crusaders
C. Crown Jewels
D. Dir en grey
E. Elvis Presley
F. F.P.G.
G. Gun Dog
H. Helloween
I. Ichi Ni Zero Ichi Ni
J. Janne Da Arc
K. 蜉蝣
L. Legião Urbana
M. Metallica
N. Nirvana
O. Oblivion Dust
P. Pay money To my Pain
Q. -
R. RENTRER EN SOI
S. Seether
T. The Stalin
U. -
V. Velvet Revolver
W. Within Temptation
X. X JAPAN
Y. Yamazaki Masayoshi
Z. -

180° Virvar - 180° Virvar
a-ha - the singles 1984|2004
Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
As in Rebekkamaria - Queen Of France
Ayoe Angelica - Im Amazed
Blue Foundation - Sweep of Days
Blue Foundation - Life of a Ghost
The Bravery - The Sun And The Moon
Carpark North - Carpark North
Carpark North - All Things to All People
The Celtic Circle
The Celtic Circle 2
The Celtic Circle 3
Coldplay - Parachutes
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
Coldplay - X & Y
Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
D-A-D - Call of the Wild
D-A-D - Draws a Circle
D-A-D - Good Clean Family Entertainment You Can Trust
D-A-D - No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims
D-A-D - Riskin' It All
D-A-D - Simpatico
D-A-D - Soft Dogs
D-A-D - Scare Yourself
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
Depeche Mode - Violator
Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel
Dido - No Angel
Dido - Life for Rent
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - Rotator
ENTAKT - Træerne Vokser Ind I Himlen
ENTAKT - På Bagsiden Af Europa
Evanescence - Fallen
Hva' Snakker Du Om? - Den Ka' Byttes Vol. 01
Hva' Snakker Du Om? - Arne Fortæller... Terkel I Knibe
Infernal - Infernal Affairs
Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Kashmir - The Good Life
Kashmir - No Balance Palace
KNA Connected - Uno
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Mew - A Triumph for Man
Mew - Frengers
Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites
Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy
Mew - Special
Mew - Why Are You Looking Grave? Collector's Edition
Mew - Why Are You Looking Grave?
Manu Chao - La Radiolina
Moby - Play
Moby - 18
Moby - Go - The Very Best of Moby
Muse - Origin of Symmetry
Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
Negramaro - La Finestra
Nephew - USADSB
Nephew - Interkom Kom Ind
Nightwish - Highest Hopes
Pernille Vallentin - Between Butterflies And Me
Queen - Greatest Hits
Queen - Greatest Hits II
Queen - Greatest Hits III
Radiohead - The Best Of
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Greatest Hits
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Red Warszawa - Hævi Mætal og Hass
R.E.M. - In Time - The Best Of R.E.M.
Roben & Knud - Roben & Knud
Roben & Knud - Morseper
Roben & Knud - Vivaldi & Ven
Roben & Knud - OK Vimpel!
Saybia - Saybia
Saybia - Live EP
Saybia - These Are the Days
Shubidua - 200
Sebastian / Moonjam - Aladdin
SMG - Spejder Melodi Grandprix
Sort Sol - Circle Hits The Flame / Best Off...
Spion - Tynd Is
Spleen United - Godspeed Into the Mainstream
Spleen United - Neanderthal
Swan Lee - Swan Lee
Swan Lee - Enter
Teitur - Poetry & Aeroplanes
Teitur - Stay Under The Stars
Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk
Tiger Tunes - Absolutely Worthless Compared to Important Books
VETO - I Will Not Listen
VETO - There's a Beat in all Machines
VETO - Crushing Digits
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Greatest
Hits
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Greatest Hits Volume II
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Polka Party!
"Weird Al" Yankovic - The Food Album
"Weird Al" Yankovic - The TV Album
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Bad Haird Day
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Poodle Hat
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood
Within Temptation - Mother Earth

Ecco il mio tradizionale bilancio musicale di fine anno. Un paio di specificazioni prima di cominciare: sono stati presi esclusivamente in considerazione gli album usciti dal 01/11/2007 al 01/11/2008 (perché un album che esce a fine anno deve sempre respirare, altrimenti non finirebbe mai in un award), e ho rivoluzionato un po’ le categorie a seguito della mia attività editoriale su www.minstrelhall.it.
Sono inoltre scomparse le categorie peggiorative o di mediocrità, proprio perché non mi sembravano nella natura celebrativa dell’articolo. Enjoy!

MIGLIOR ALBUM METAL

1) Moonspell – Night Eternal
2) Avantasia – The scarecrow
3) Secret Sphere – Sweet blood theory
4) For Selena and sin – Overdosed on you
5) Cradle of filth – Godspeed on the devil’s thunder

MIGLIOR ALBUM FOLK

1) Caprice – Kywitt! Kywitt!
2) Blackmore’s Night – Secret voyage
3) Folkstone – Folkstone
4) Julie Fowlis – Cuilidh
5) Iridio – Endless way

MIGLIOR ALBUM POP/ROCK/ALTERNATIVE

1) The Rasmus – Black roses
2) Celine Dion – Taking chances
3) Il Genio – Il Genio
4) Olivia – Trinka Trinka
5) House of Lords – Come to my kingdom

MIGLIORE SORPRESA/SCOPERTA MUSICALE:

1) Corde Oblique
2) Celine Dion
3) Caprice
4) Julie Fowlis
5) The Dresden Dolls

MIGLIOR CONCERTO:

1) Within Temptation “Black Symphony” – Ahohy, Rotterdam
2) Loreena McKennitt – Piazza Duomo, Brescia
3) Avantasia – Idroscalo, Milano
4) Folkstone – Woodstorr, Torre de Roveri (BG)
5) Epica – Idroscalo, Milano (per via dell’acqua!!!)

PIU’ GRANDE RIMPIANTO MUSICALE DEL 2008:

Essermi perso nuovamente il live della Emilia Autunno…ci deve essere una maledizione che mi impedisce di vedere un suo concerto!!!

Last night I went to Within Temptation's concert in Haarlem with my dad. I sort of didn't realise it was coming up so soon, lol. Anyway, it was absolutely amazing.

The concert was held in Philharmonie, which is usually used for classical concerts. The acoustics and sound were perfect and the atmosphere was really intimate because of the size of the hall. We had seats (got 7th row tickets 8D) and that was actually perfect for this style of concert. The band played a mix of their loud rock songs and semi-acoustic songs which were really beautiful. They had a violinist and celloist back up the band, they were really good.





Probably one of the best concerts I've been to so far. I love how they somehow manage to make every tour they do different. This was the third time I've seen them. First time was in 2004, and it was a small concerthall-type rock concert. Second time was a year ago, and the hall and stage were huge and they had a lot of special effects. And now this time the hall was intimate and the set-up was more a mix of classical/acoustic combined with rock. It was cool. (And then I'm not talking about the concerts I missed. During the Black Symphony concert they had a whole orchestra back them up! I hate that I missed that.)

The winter came last week to Moscow! (well, some people in the south believe, there's ALWAYS winter & snow in Moscow - I guess they're wrong :))) At last, the stardust magic of the snow descended from heavens to our dirty earth to make it somewhat more beautiful. Now, that what my surroundings look like:





And winter time demands winter music. I believe, music shall fit the environment, so I'm listening and searching to what I may call "winter music", or perhaps "nordic music". It includes christmas metal by Trans-Siberian Orchestra as well as norse metal by Finntroll, Ensiferum, Summoning, Leaves' Eyes & co. But I need your opinions and recommendations. What would you call "Music of Snow", 'Winter Music"?

PS. translation for russian-speakers:
Зима пришла на наши палестины, товарищи, и звездная пыль спустилась на грязную землю, чтобы сделать ее хоть немного красивее. Самое время слушать зимнюю, снежную музыку! Вопрос такой: что вы порекомендуете в качестве зимней музыки?

(Some of my favourite acts to link: Blind Guardian Therion Ария Iced Earth Iron Maiden Rhapsody Rhapsody of Fire Mechanical Poet Apocalyptica Within Temptation Nightwish, Evanescence, Dream Theater Andrew Lloyd Webber Кино Мельница Enya Cradle of Filth Metallica)

This is a journal I've wanted to write for a very long time; at least a year by now. I've spent several hours thoughtfully selecting and preparing the contents of this entry.

One thing I've noticed is that while I don't mind if a song's lyrics have no "happy ending," I do prefer music videos which end with at least a sign of hope. Perhaps because a video is a more whole experience than a song. Any live video, no matter how hopeless the song, will end with the adulation of the crowd; studio videos are more self-contained.

Another thing I've noticed is that if you look at the frame caps I've taken, I look like a chauvinist pig. Well, it could be worse.

Videos in roughly descending order.


Tarja - Die Alive


Quite probably my favorite music video of all time. Tarja is certainly no longer the boring untouchable diva she was portrayed as in recent Nightwish videos. And I love the way this video was shot, the cinematography and the sweeping camera moves around her as she sings. The whole thing is a dark visual feast.



Tarja displays her acting skills, then discovers the Magic Healing Dress of Yesteryear.



Then she encounters a lot less rats than there were in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, before arriving at the exit, where the doors are blown off....



...and she exits in poetic slow motion. I love that part.



Amazing.

Some people say they prefer the video for I Walk Alone:



Yeah... if you say so. o_0



Leaves' Eyes - Elegy


Liv sings the part of Alex's Viking adventurer character. Beautiful CGI ensues. Liv says that she liked being filmed against greenscreen because it reminded her of nature. More actresses should be like Liv Kristine.





Leaves' eyes....



Liv uses her metal goddess powers to fix the sea-storm problem for her bandmembers.





Theatre of Tragedy - Storm


This compelling song is amazingly richly textured. Who cares that the video is full of random artistic stuff that doesn't really make sense? Great song, great lyrics, great video, and Nell is the perfect singer for modern-day Theatre of Tragedy.



Smashing guitars is for lamers! We smash KEYBOARDS!





Amy Adams - Happy Working Song


Okay, this is actually a movie clip, but it's completely awesome. She rescues the roaches from the vacuum cleaner and sings with them - music videos DO NOT GET BETTER THAN THIS. Unfortunately a roach gets eaten when the song ends, but still, awesome.





Within Temptation - Memories


The video perfectly complements this incredibly beautiful song.



This imagery is simply iconic.



Sharon den Adel in the 2058 Within Temptation reunion tour.



Keep on smiling, Sharon!



Stream of Passion - Out in the Real World


Good video to an excellent song by this progressive metal band.



Just because a band's music is "progressive" doesn't mean the band members' appearance necessarily is.



I like this part.... :)



Sirenia - The Other Side


Nice artistic and powerful video which seems to be encouraging children to kill themselves and escape a life of pain, like the Pillowman. But maybe that's not what it's supposed to be about.

Monika Pendersen gives Ailyn a demonstration of how to perform vocals for gothic metal:





Nightwish - Amaranth


Amaranth is easily one of my five favorite Nightwish songs. While I prefer the song Nemo, that song's video uses the inferior studio recording of the song (I much prefer the live version from End of An Era) and isn't very compelling - Tarja hardly moves, and the story ends in futility. By contrast, this video is quite engaging, with a nice performance by the band, including Anette's "pop dancing," and great visuals inspired by an iconic 1903 Finnish painting. And the video ends with a sign of hope.



Hugo Simberg's The Wounded Angel





After Forever - Energize Me


Floor Jansen's powerful performance makes this video, which otherwise is conceptually little more than a collection of cliches.



Energize me with a simple TOUCH! halfway through the video. It's great.



Nickelback - Savin' Me


I first heard this song as a cover by a church band. I ended up co-creating a student music video of the song last spring. After that I looked up this official video, which tells the story of a gift that allows a man to see how many seconds everyone else has to live, so that he can use that knowledge to save someone else, whom the gift is then passed on to.



The only mistake in this video was having a pregnant woman, whose unborn baby's life count is visible, hold an orange, so that is looks like the orange has a life count.



Discussion of this aberration has been the purpose of roughly 7,000 of the video comments posted by Nickelback fans so far.



Liv Kristine - Fake A Smile


I could take or leave the verse parts, but the chorus rules.



World's greatest pop singer?



This dress wins.



Atrocity - The Sun Always Shines on TV


Complaints, complaints! "Alex can't sing," "Liv looks old." Well, I really like this video, so there.



It's sweet to see them singing as a loving couple. :)



Liv and Alex as children.



You do not want to meet Alla Fedynitch in a dark alley.



Within Temptation - Angels


Within Temptation is the only artist with more than one video in this list. And I chose four WT videos. I guess they're particularly adept at making videos I like.



Pretty cool video with some rather dark subject matter, a serial killer. In one of the live versions of the song, you can hear the teenage girls in the crowd screaming crazily as they presumably think about their ex-boyfriends. :-P



Coldplay - The Scientist


One of the first music videos I ever saw, I was introduced to Coldplay when this was shown in a class during my first semester of college. Chris Martin allegedly spent a month learning to sing the song backwards so that they could shoot this without, say, digital mouth replacement.


Chris Martin is shocked to discover that Coldplay has the most listeners of any artist on Last.fm.



Within Temptation - The Howling


This video is pretty good, but my favorite part comes at the beginning. Here's how I see it:




Xandria - Save My Life


Really generic video. But... gotta love the way Lisa looks at the camera. :)



:-D



The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion


My introduction to this band. Expect a lot of 80's weirdness and awesomeness.

Group leader Andrew Eldritch famously insists that the Sisters are not goth or gothic. From here:





Within Temptation - Stand My Ground


The message of this video is that when New York City is flooded by global warming, WT will escape in a Viking-ish sailboat. ^_^





Megadeth - À Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)


Okay, maybe this isn't really my favorite song with Cristina Scabbia's vocals, not that it really matters. :P



It's cold in post-apocalyptic New York City.



P.O.D. - Sleeping Awake


One of P.O.D.'s best songs, it came with The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack (and plays over part of the film's credits). The creators of this video did an effective job of mimicking The Matrix movies in it.





To-Mera - Blood


Great prog metal. This was the first gothic music video I ever saw. Funny how normal it seems, watching it again now.





Project 86 - The Spy Hunter


What other music video ends with the band members shooting their lead singer with a cannon? The story continues in the video for My Will Be A Dead Man.





Switchfoot - Meant to Live (Spider-Man 2 Video)


So it's one of those corporate union band/movie intercutting videos, but it's quite well done and, thanks to the Spider-Man footage, it actually has a point, setting it apart from many Switchfoot videos.

tanderullum's top albums
1. Kamelot - Epica (144) 2. Within Temptation - The Heart of Everything (142) 3. Within Temptation - The Silent Force (130) 4. The 3rd and the Mortal - Painting on Glass (115) 5. Kamelot - The Black Halo (90) 6. Kingfisher Sky - Hallway Of Dreams (88) 7. The 3rd and the Mortal - Tears Laid in Earth (88) 8. Epica - The Divine Conspiracy (88) 9. Delain - Lucidity (81) 10. Within Temptation - Mother Earth (79) 11. Angtoria - God Has a Plan for Us All (73) 12. The 3rd and the Mortal - In This Room (71) 13. Stream of Passion - Embrace the Storm (71) 14. Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (70) 15. After Forever - After Forever (69) 16. Kamelot - Ghost Opera (68) 17. Cocteau Twins - Lullabies To Violaine (59) 18. Epica - The Phantom Agony (59) 19. After Forever - Prison of Desire (57) 20. After Forever - Remagine (54) 21. Within Temptation - Enter (53) 22. Nightwish - Century Child (50) 23. Lacuna Coil - Karmacode (49) 24. Lacuna Coil - Unleashed Memories (47) 25. Lacuna Coil - Comalies (46) 26. Epica - Consign to Oblivion (45) 27. Frou Frou - Details (45) 28. Evanescence - The Open Door (44) 29. Nightwish - Dark Passion Play (44) 30. Tristania - Widow's Weeds (44) 31. Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens (44) 32. Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk (43) 33. Iain Ballamy - Mirrormask (43) 34. Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom (43) 35. Xandria - Ravenheart (42) 36. Moonspell - Night eternal (42) 37. After Forever - Decipher (41) 38. Nightwish - Oceanborn (37) 39. Tristania - Beyond the Veil (37) 40. Kaizers Orchestra - Evig pint (37) 41. Nightwish - Once (35) 42. After Forever - Invisible Circles (35) 43. Evanescence - Fallen (34) 44. Sirenia -