Cry Cry Cry, Cry, Cry, Cry, Rating=$$$$$
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How I Got This CD: Even though I've got a moratorium on buying CDs, a few songs from this golden little number started showing up on some of the MP3 blogs on my FList. The few selections I heard from it told me that I just had to have this puppy, so I booked it over to Half.com and got it cheap.

Cry, Cry, Cry is what passes for a "supergroup" for the folkie/indie singer-songwriter set and represents a one-time-only collaboration between Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell.

The self-titled CD is a collection of covers and there's not really a clunker in the bunch, although there are some songs I like less than others. It's a moody CD that's perfect to listen to on a rainy day, although not very good to listen to while working because you find yourself stopping to really listen to the songs, even if you've heard them 1,000 times before. The linear notes are a little on the self-important side, though. Guys, we know you're good. But when you start using "redemptive" in reference to yourselves? I just dunno.

In either case, a fantastic set of songs and covers that's sure to bring a tear to your eye.

Sample Tracks: Fall on Me, Cold Missouri Waters, Shades of Gray, By Way of Sorrow

Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php

My eclectic score is currently




The 79 related artists for my profile are Afel Bocoum Amadou & Mariam Amália Rodrigues Aretha Franklin Asha Bhosle Beck Billie Holiday Bob Dylan (3) Broken Social Scene Cassandra Wilson Chris & Meredith Thompson Cristina Branco David Bowie (2) Dinah Washington Ella Fitzgerald Emmylou Harris Erica Wheeler Fairport Convention (2) Flogging Molly Fotheringay (2) Gillian Welch Gram Parsons (2) Grateful Dead Indigo Girls Iron & Wine Jimi Hendrix Johnny Cash Josh Ritter Kathleen Edwards Kronos Quartet Led Zeppelin Leonard Cohen Little Birdy Lou Reed Lucinda Williams (4) Machine Gun Fellatio Maddy Prior Missy Higgins Neil Young Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan PJ Harvey Radiohead Richard & Linda Thompson (2) Richard Shindell Richard Thompson Sandy Denny (3) Sarah Vaughan Shane MacGowan and the Popes Silly Sisters Something for Kate Steeleye Span (2) Steve Earle Steve Earle & The Dukes Television The Allman Brothers Band The Arcade Fire The Band The Beatles (2) The Byrds (2) The Clash The Decemberists The Doors The Dubliners The Flying Burrito Brothers The International Submarine Band (2) The Pentangle (2) The Rolling Stones The Shins The Stooges The Velvet Underground (2) The Whitlams Townes Van Zandt (3) Tracy Grammer Uncle Tupelo Van Morrison Waterson:Carthy We're About 9 Willie Nelson (2)

First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

1.Vonda Shepard
2.Dar Williams
3.The Nields
4.Idina Menzel
5.Indigo Girls
6.The Paperboys
7.Original Broadway Cast(oops)
8.Sarah McLachlan
9.Simon & Garfunkel
10.Erin McKeown
11.Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth
12.Jewel
13Billy Joel
14Radiohead
15Céline Dion
16Roseshel Doyle
17Toad the Wet Sprocket
18Enya
19Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel & Ensemble
20Alanis Morissette
21The Corrs
22Sheryl Crow
23Shania Twain
24Dido
25Robbie Williams
26LeAnn Rimes
27Ani DiFranco
28Catie Curtis
29Melissa Ferrick
30Girlyman
31Lucy Kaplansky
32Patty Griffin
33Jonatha Brooke
34Sarah Harmer
35Jill Sobule
36Kristin Chenoweth
37Adam Pascal
38Anthony Rapp
39Jonathan Larson
40Company
41Adam Pascal/Rosario Dawson
42Wicked
43Melissa Etheridge
4410,000 Maniacs
45Shawn Colvin
46Natalie Merchant
47We're About 9
48Tracy Grammar
49Spirit of the West
50Dave Carter & Tracy Grammar
51Richard Shindell
52Kris Delmhorst
53John Gorka
54Original Cast Recording
55Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
56Andrew Lloyd Webber
57Tori Amos
58Counting Crows
59Coldplay
60Michelle Branch
61The Beatles
62Bob Dylan
63The Beach Boys
64The Rolling Stones
65Paul Simon
66Elton John
67Coldplay
68 David Bowie
69The Be Good Tanyas
70Natalie Imbruglia
71No Doubt
72Kelly Clarkson
73Eagles
74Queen
75Eric Clapton
76Journey
77Beck
78The Smashing Pumpkins
79The Arcade Fire
80Sigur Rós
81Interpol
82 Better Than Ezra
83Gin Blossoms
84Glen Phillips
85Collective Soul
86Dave Matthews Band
87Barenaked Ladies
88The Wallflowers
89Enigma
90Madonna
91Moby
92The Cranberries
93Loreena McKennitt
94Whitney Houston
95Mariah Carey
96Britney Spears(yikes!)
97Backstreet Boys (again, yikes!)
98Christina Aguilera
99Faith Hill


I got 99...not too bad.

<b>1. What was the last concert you attended?</b>
Half of The Sweetback Sisters at the Cat. All of Ellis Paul at the Beachland Tavern.

<b>2. How many people were there?</b>
I'm never good at guessing; I was off by a factor of 3 when guessing the Birchmere's seating capacity. But, maybe 35-40 people at The Sweetback Sisters show and 50-55 at the Ellis Paul show?

<b>3. What bands have you seen in concert the most, and how many times</b>
I stopped keeping track, but the top are We're About 9, The Kennedys, and The Nields, in that order. As of ’03 or ’04 or whenever I stopped counting, I had seen each of them about 25 times in concert. Since then, We're About 9 has gone up a lot, The Kennedys some, The Nields a handful.

<b>4. Do you have any setlists? From what bands?</b>
A few from The Nields, grabbed by others and given to me.

<b>5. Are there any CDs in close proximity to you? Which ones?</b>
My CD case is in close proximity, which has some 200 CDs. Lucy Kaplansky's "Over the Hills" and David Francey's "The First Set"] are a few inches away.

<b>6. What band are you in the mood to see live right this second?</b>
Girlyman. The Paperboys. The 7-piece Hahaha.

<b>7. Have you ever been on a tour bus?</b>
Nope.

<b>8. Have you ever partied with a band?</b>
It depends how you define “party.” I have played Scrabble and drunk rum with members of We're About 9. I have hung out in diners with We’re About 9 and The Kennedys.

<b>9. How many states/provinces have you been to concerts in?</b>
9 states (MD, VA, PA, NY, MA, CT, NJ, OH, CA) and Washington, DC

<b>10. What bands did you see live the month of May?</b>
May 2006? We're About 9, Richard Shindell, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem and a bunch of students at Oberlin Folk Fest. Dandelion Wine, etc., at the Mayapple Stomp. Maybe others? I can also tell you that in May 2002 I saw Hahaha at the Birchmere, and in May 2003 I saw The Kennedys at Jammin’ Java and We’re About 9, Girlyman, Rachael Davis, Disappear Fear and others at SMAF.

<b>11. What CD are you addicted to at the moment?</b>
Joyful Sign

<b>12. Who is one band that you used to like, but now you can't stand?</b>
“Can’t stand” is way too strong, but Susan Werner. She’s one of my favorite lyricists, and I love her voice and her guitar style, but her piano-laden torch song kick these past few years is not doing it for me.

<b>13. Have you ever been on anyone's guest list? Whose?</b>
The Kennedys, which has a funny story because we still weren’t allowed into the show, despite being on the guest list. We’re About 9 when I was doing merch. Oh, and Maura Kennedy pretended that we were on the guest list last year to get us in to a show for free. We weren’t really on the list, but it worked.

<b>14. Last band person that you got a picture with?</b>
The last one that I actively remember is Sonia at Clearwater 2002. I don’t like getting my picture taken.

<b>15. Do you consider yourself a groupie?</b>
No.

<b>16. How old were you when you went to your first concert?</b>
My first concert without my parents was when I was something like 14.

<b>17. Who was it?</b>
Ani DiFranco

<b>18. Which artists haven't you seen yet that you want to see?</b>
Carbon Leaf, Anais Mitchell, Rose Polenzani, Antje Dukekot (excluding two songs in 2002), Aimee Mann…

<b>19. Are you wearing a band shirt right now?</b>
I’m wearing a Philadelphia Pholk Phest shirt. Does that count?

<b>20. What band do you own the most merch of?</b>
The Nields. 9 music CDs, 1 VCD, 2 shirts, a calendar, a couple of bumper stickers, and a small hand-painted watercolor of me and the kids connecting the dots in the sky.

<b>21. Do you ever do anything crazy at shows?</b>
As Lawrence said – besides driving long distances to get to them, no.

<b>22. What are your favourite venues to go to shows at?</b>
Jammin’ Java before it decided to be hip. The Point before it shut down. The Winchester. MD-area house concerts.

<b>23. What band do you have the most performance pictures of?</b>
I don’t take pictures often.

<b>24. Would you ever get a tattoo representing a band?</b>
No. I wouldn’t ever get a tattoo, and certainly not of anything that I might not be into later on.

<b>25. How many concerts do you average a year?</b>
These days, between one and two dozen? I don't really know; it varies a lot.

<b>26. Upcoming shows?</b>
Gandalf Murphy And The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams at Kent State on 4/6! Lissa Schneckenburger at the Cat in mid-April!

<b>27. List every band you've EVER seen live, no matter how obscure:</b>
<i>Note: to make this list more manageable, I'm NOT including folk festivals, openers, Cat shows, contra bands, or shows that I forget</i>:
The 50 Ways, Andrew Bird, Andy and Denise, Ani Difranco, Annie Gallup, Arlo Guthrie, Barry Mitterhoff and Silk City, Brian Granger, Bryan Bowers, Cadence Carroll, Carey Farrell, Carrie Newcomer, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Chris & Meredith Thompson, Craobh Rua, Crooked Still, Da Vinci's Notebook, Dar Williams, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Deb Talan, Devon Sproule, Disappear Fear, Eddie From Ohio, Ellis Paul, Full Frontal Folk, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Girlyman, Great Big Sea, Groovelily, Hahaha, Helicon, Hot Soup, Iain Campbell Smith, ilyAIMY, Jack Hardy, Jared Denhard, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Jian, Joanna Newsom, John McCutcheon, Josh Ritter, Juggling Suns, Katie Graybeal, Ken Kolodner and Maggie Sansone, The Kennedys, Kris Delmhorst, Laura Cortese, Liz Carlisle, Lucy Kaplansky, The Mammals, The Malvinas, Mary Prankster, Michael Berkowitz, Moxy Fruvous, Natalie MacMaster, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, Nickel Creek, The Nields, Off Chants, The Paperboys, Pat Wictor, Patty Larkin, PEfFect ThYroID, Pete Seeger, Red Molly, Richard Shindell, Richard Thompson, Robin Bullock, Roger McGuinn, The Roches, Sakim, Sloan Wainwright, SONiA, Susan Werner, They Might Be Giants, Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry, The Waifs, We're About 9, Yazza Pistachio

Garrison Starr (3 times)
Melissa Ferrick (3 times)
Indigo Girls (6 times)
Tori Amos (4 times)
Placebo (4 times)
Patty Griffin (3 times)
Dar Williams (2 times)
Ohio Casket (3 times)
product of influence (ex's band, who knows!)
Sarah McLachlan (2 times)
K's Choice (2 times)
My Latex Brain (3 times)
Tracey Walker

only once:
Cry Cry Cry
Buddy & Julie Miller
Girlyman
Go Robot Go!
Idlewild
Terri Binion
Dixie Chicks
Billie Meyer
Melkey Sedek
Sheryl Crow
Henry Rollins (spoken word)
Mudvayne
In Flames
Kentucky Overflow
Richard Shindell
Green Day
A Perfect Circle
Snake River Conspiracy
The Get Up Kids
Flick
Michelle Malone
Caelum Bliss
Audio Adrenaline
Steven Curtis Chapman
311
Fishbone
Carolyn Arends
Jars of Clay
Silage
Katie Reider
Jason Walker
Burlap to Cashmere
Alanis Morissette
Garbage
Moby
Bush
Beck
Hank Williams III
Hole
The Devlins

bands i wanted to see the opener for and then left before they played:
Stabbing Westward (2 times)
Lucinda Williams (2 times)
Alanis Morissette (2 times)

musicals:
rent (2 times)
phantom of the opera (2 times)
Cabaret
Jekyll & Hyde

(and about a billion operas that i don't feel like listing out)

Find the number of listeners for each of your top 10 artists and add them up and divide by 10 to get the average.

1. The Beatles - 267,601

2. Thelonious Monk - 22,737

3. George Strait - 9,242

4. Sting - 65,504

5. Richard Shindell - 974

6. Pink Floyd - 201,642

7. Steeleye Span - 4,011

8. The Police - 98,549

9. Marian McPartland - 191

10. Queen - 184,309

So, my mainstream rating is 85,476

Dividing that by the highest possible rating, 324,128 (based on the overall last.fm artists chart) and converting it to a percentage, I get: 27%

I would like to see this "mainstream rating" number divided by total members on last.fm .. but I cannot find that number .. oh well

EDIT: The highest possible rating (avg total listeners for the last.fm top ten artist) is 233,232 .. which makes my real rating against the top ten: 36.65%

Note: I deleted some questions I didn't feel like answering, so if you want to copy this survey you probably won't want to do it from me -- sorry! :/

1. What are you listening to right now?
Nothing; the last thing I Scrobbled was a few tracks by The Darkness because my roomie was unfamiliar. The last thing I listened to was my roomie's short playlist of the theme from Brokeback Mountain, two songs off the soundtrack he can stand, and Hallelujah over and over and over! How can people stand that kind of repetition? Honestly.

2. What song makes you sad?
Three big ones lately -- The Trapeze Swinger, Diamonds and Rust, and Monochrome. Such a sense of lost possibility in all of them that just kills me.

3. What is the most annoying song in the world?
How Bizarre, most definitely. I get very pissed when I hear it.

4. Your all time favorite band?
There are two that will forever stand above all others for me: The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. Bob Dylan is rapidly approaching this lofty status.

5. Your newly discovered band is?
Have been completely preoccupied with Joan Baez lately. I think she has the most perfect voice I've ever heard, and it alternately haunts and cheers me.

6. Best female voice?
Ah. Joan Baez. There's just no one like her.

7. Best male voice?
Richard Shindell has a warm, velvety voice that I would call the most perfect male voice I've ever heard.

8. Music type you find yourself listening to most?
These days, 60s-70s folk and classic-southern rock.

11. Last gig/concert you went to?
Wow, probably Barenaked Ladies/Alanis Morissette -- that was nearly 2 years ago. I don't really go to a lot of concerts.

12. Band you find yourself listening to the most right now?
The Joan Baez thing is getting rather obsessive and sad, isn't it? But truly, aside from a few loved tracks, all those plays are mostly albums I'm hearing for the first time... she's just insanely prolific. (And I must hear it all. ;))

13. Most hated band?
Disturbed, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, bleh.

14. Song that makes you think?
Gates of Eden, just as a good start.

15. Band that you think the world should love as much as you do?
Joan, yes, Joan, but my god is she underappreciated; The Zombies, Love, Sondre Lerche, Catie Curtis.

19. Can you play a musical instrument?
I used to play -- and could probably pick up again with a little practice -- clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor sax. I want badly to play guitar -- yes, I'm one of those. ;)

20. Ever been in a mosh pit?
I don't believe I listen to any bands who would have a mosh pit at a concert.

21. Are you in a band?
Girls Bleed! Haha, only conceptually.

22. If yes, what kind of music does your band play and what is your role in it?
Conceptually, it was to be me on acoustic guitar, a bass and a violin. Covers of each of our favorite songs, so it would have been pretty damn random.

32. What do you think of Classical music?
Love it, but my knowledge of it is very spotty and I want to do something about that.

33. What do you think of Country music?
Honestly? I think popular country is trash. I can't stand it. I said I wouldn't make blanket statements like that, but man. When you shake it down to its roots I think there is a lot of great stuff, but it's not a thread I have followed yet. Will probably go down that path someday.

34. What do you think of Death metal?
Ugh, so not for me.

37. Do you listen to music in foreign languages?
Yes, it's a good lazy way to keep on top of my French ;) Edith Piaf is a favorite.

38. What famous musician would you like to fuck!?
Oh, please. No one. But an embarrassing, girly part of me just wants to be near darling Joan always. ;)

44. Do you listen to the radio?
Only in the car. There are a number of good classic rock stations around here and two good independent stations so there's *usually* something worth listening to. Pop radio, never, unless Kelly Clarkson is on. I'm not even embarrassed. I love Kelly. Heh heh.

50. Song that describes your life?
'Monochrome' by Yann Tiersen. That's depressing, but sometimes I word-for-word relate to that song.

51. Do you know the names of all the band members that you listen to?
No. Oh well!

52. Does a musician’s physical attractiveness play a role in the music that you listen to?
Not at all, but for me I become attracted to anyone I already find talented and impressive in a lot of cases. Physical attraction hardly ever precedes real affinity.

53. Favourite movie sound track?
The Royal Tenenbaums. Or Life Aquatic, for the Seu Jorge (beloved Joan is on it, but it's a little frustrating to me that that alone has put Here's to You so far ahead in her top tracks chart. Anyway, it would have to be a Wes Anderson film; that man's choice in music is impeccable.

56. What do your parents listen to?
I inherited my love for classic rock and oldies from my mom, though by now I think my taste in 60s-70s music is vastly superior to hers. I mean, I'll take Neil Young, Bob Dylan and The Velvet Underground over Journey, Boston and Supertramp (thought I like all of the above), but we share a lot of favorites. My dad... huh, I don't really know. :/

65. What is in your walkman/discman right now?
I think After the Gold Rush was the last thing I played at work, and I think that's an absolutely flawless album.

66. How important is your partners taste in music to you?
Considering how much my roommates' taste in music annoys me sometimes, very. There are some bands that would be deal-breakers.

68. Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll, you dig?
Epic friendship, alcohol and rock 'n' roll, I dig.

69. Do you cook to music?
Yeah, if I'm doing anything vaguely chorelike, I have to have music on.

Oh, fine. A-Z with artists. Doing this quickly, and only to put off cleaning, and mostly with current fixations in mind, not necessarily the all-time beloveds --

And people get alphabetized by their last name, y'all. ;)

A Ryan Adams (The Allman Brothers Band)
B Joan Baez
C Crosby, Stills & Nash
D Bob Dylan
E Eels
F The Frames
G Guster
H George Harrison
I Interpol
J Freedy Johnston
K Kings of Convenience
L Sondre Lerche
M Joni Mitchell (Van Morrison)
N New Model Army
O Beth Orton
P The Postal Service
Q Queens of the Stone Age
R Josh Rouse
S Simon & Garfunkel (Very difficult not to say Cat Stevens or The Shins or Richard Shindell. Evil letter.)
T Yann Tiersen
U U2 (sort of drew a blank here.)
V The Velvet Underground
W Wilco
X XTC
Y Neil Young
Z The Zombies (And I mean the original '60s group.)