The time has come to participate in my first (music) meme

The definition of "MEME" according to wikipedia:

In casual use, the term meme often refers to any piece of information passed from one mind to another. This usage more closely resembles the analogy of "language as a virus" than Dawkins' analogy of memes as replicating units. This definition has come into popular use on the Internet to refer to phenomena such as Obey Giant, "All your base are belong to us" and Icy Hot Stuntaz.

And so it seems that, in recent times, the concept meme has gained some popularity in the blogosphere. Memes get passed on from blog to blog, like a relay race, where everyone shares their knowledge on a given topic. My initial response to this new buzz-concept was less than curious, but, hey - I have found that some memes are way more interesting than others, and can actually be quite useful.

The time has come to participate in my first meme, as requested by my dear friend Jo, and as seen here, here, here, here, here, and here (and probably a multitude of other sites too). I am participating because it is about something very close to my heart: Music.

Lets begin:

Total volume of music files on my computer: 3293 songs / 10.3 days / 15.21 GB

Song playing right now: "My Ship" by a shortlived Brisbane band called Hunnicut. I had a long working relationship with the bands singer, Emma Dyson, a highly talented perfectionist who hated everything she ever recorded because she didn't think it was good enough. I always thought everything she recorded was fabulous - here I am, some 4 years since we worked together, still listening to her songs. She has an astonishingly huge voice for such a tiny litte thing! I wonder where she is now - last I heard she had moved to Melbourne to restart her musical career.

The last CD I bought: Actually, can we make that "Last CD I downloaded into my i-tunes library", cause my friend (and accomplished Tabla Player) Shen gave me my most recent acquisition - Karsh Kale's Realise. Karsh kale is an Indian-American Table player/electronic artists based in NY. This is a beautiful CD that blends cool Indian sounds with ambient electronic music - great for a curry dinner with guests or kicking back with a book or webtinkering...

Five songs or tunes I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

U2's BAD must be one of the all time most powerful songs ever written. Cried when I saw them do it live.

Ida's Triptych from the album Will you find me?. I like songs that make me go all woozy.

Nitin Sawhney's Falling (featuring Aqualung) from the album Human. I listen to this one whenever I need to just stop the world and get off.

Decoder Ring's Collapse Coming On from Spooky Action at a Distance. This song, and this EP got me through the most stressful job of my career, being the personal and tour manager for the Australian band george in the year their debut album debuted at number one in the charts and stayed there for months. I would get back to the hotel room, dim the lights, pour a bath, take some valerian (a gift from the bands bassist, Pauly B) and turn this song up really really loud.

Lamb's Gorecki because I am a HOPELESS romantic.

I want to add my own category to this meme:

What music have you been listening to recently that is rocking your world?

Joanna Newsom - gorgeous singer/harp player from the US, incredibly cute and special. Read more here.

The Album Leaf - The Album Leaf is the one-man solo project of Tristeza/Black Heart procession guitarist Jimmy LaValle. By taking elements of classical, jazz, and post-rock, LaValle constructs his pieces utilizing ambient noise, field recordings, and radio transmissions. Read more here.

Juliette Lewis and the Licks - yes folks, the girl knows how to rock as well as she acts. Be warned, this page opens with a sound file that rocks loud...

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - saw them play back in Australia just before I left for Japan and remember that they blew the headline act off the stage. It took a long time but I finally got a copy of one of their CDs and really like it.

Leonard Cohen is one of the most incredible poets and songwriters I have read and listened to. Listening to his songs makes me feel all grown up and wise. But then the album finishes and I get all immature and stupid again.

Virtually anything from Scotland and Ireland - the place is a veritable Music Lovers Paradise - Arab Strap; The Reindeer Section; Mogwai; Snow Patrol and the magnificent Irishmen The Frames.

fourtet - you can read a bit about this excellent solo electronic artist here.

The Postal Service - a studio project combining the beautiful voice of Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and the eclectic electronic meanderings of a guy called Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel). Beautiful.

Phew, must eat and this is taking way too long and am only half done. Maybe I should make this a regular feature? A weekly What Am I Listening To This Week post. Actually, I did most of this for my friend Joanna who asked me for some recommendations. Joanna, hope this helped you.

I'm passing the baton to:

Pinku

Vu deja (Sorry Mark but I'd really like to hear your answers!)

Chipple (Yeah, Patrick, I'd love to hear yours too!)

JapanLive (Go, Ken!)

Nicole1980