Compare with last year's chart here. Won't bother talking about what I talked about there.
You Am I
When triple j did their Hottest Australian Albums thing, I decided to listen to the top stuff on the industry list. Hourly, Daily was no. 4. I loved it, and bought it from JB for $10. I played it on repeat while driving to and from Sydney. I was so mad when it came 26th in the poll, right beneath goddamn Get Born.
Lana Del Rey
Saw her mentioned in Pitchfork's best new tracks. Listened to "Video Games" about six times on Hype Machine before I liked it. Then I couldn't stop singing it. Finally, a song that perfectly fitted my range! To my surprise, my punk rock music teacher approved of it. Unfortunately, the album turned out to be mediocre.
Austra
I think I found out about this from the Pazz & Jop list. I don't remember. I listened to "Lose It" a lot at the beginning of the year, I guess. No real story behind this one.
Fiona Apple
Saw her as a "related artist" to Regina Spektor on some music selling site, so I went to Hype Machine and heard the Jon Brion version of "Not About Love". Thought it was awesome so I bought it, and discovered that the proper version had no dramatic strings. Pfft.
The Dismemberment Plan
This is my favourite band that nobody I know has heard of. I think I found out about them through some article about Pitchfork's influence. This one, perhaps, though many have talked about the Travistan debacle.
Steve Reich
Music teacher played "It's Gonna Rain" during a tutorial. We thought he was trolling, but after everyone else left, he said perfectly seriously, "Fascinating compositions." So I listened to Music for 18 Musicians and went to his talk when he came to Sydney.
Janelle Monae
Saw her at Vivid this year. No story; this one was another Pazz & Jop find.
Vampire Weekend
I really hated "Cousins" when triple j was playing it a lot. I still don't like much of anything from Contra. Most of my VW plays are from" Campus", which was my walking across UQ courtyard song every day while I was working at QBI.
