Dynamic Range Radio's Year-End Charts (part 2)

Dynamic Range Radio's year end recap continues as I take a look at the top 50 artists played during the calendar year.

As usual, the top 10 is largely made out of old favourites of mine with the top 3 artists on the chart remaining unchanged from last year. Arcade Fire jumped 20 spots all the way to #4 on the strength of their most recent album The Suburbs, and TV On The Radio was the other modern artist in the top 10 climbing six spots to land at #6.

Big jumps were made by three bands who released new albums in 2011: Iron & Wine, The Decemberists, and Fleet Foxes. All three bands are also major contenders in this year's Dynammy Awards.

The biggest heatseeker in the top 50 was Shearwater who leaped 167 points to land at #25 on the chart. This was mostly thanks to last year's Dynammy Award winning album The Golden Archipelago which had several tracks in heavy rotation for most of the year. Shearwater has a new album coming in 2012, and the first single Breaking The Yearlings just became the first new song I've added into heavy rotation in 2012, so it remains to be seen whether Shearwater's latest album will have a similar impact on the charts.

And now, without any further delay, here's the chart in its entireity:

Top 50 Artists
1. Led Zeppelin [no change]
2. The Beatles [no change]
3. Big Country [no change]
4. Arcade Fire [+20]
5. Bob Marley [-3]
6. TV On The Radio [+6]
7. The Smithereens [-3]
8. Big Sugar [-3]
9. Eurythmics [-3]
10. Steve Earle [-2]
11. Wilco [-4]
12. Iron & Wine [+47]
13. The Decemberists [+60]
14. Sinead O'Connor [+1]
15. The Clash [+3]
16. Chris Isaak [-2]
17. XTC [-2]
18. Crowded House [no change]
19. U2 [-10]
20. Depeche Mode [-10]
21. Everclear [-4]
22. Bob Dylan [-11]
23. Blur [-4]
24. Pearl Jam [-2]
25. Shearwater [+167]
26. Fleet Foxes [+26]
27. Bloc Party [-14]
28. Yazoo [+3]
29. The Rolling Stones [+20]
30. Handsome Furs [+5]
31. My Morning Jacket [-5]
32. The Pogues [-12]
33. AC/DC [-10]
34. Ron Sexsmith [+17]
35. Tom Waits [-14]
36. Paul Simon [-2]
37. LCD Soundsystem [+8]
38. The New Pornographers [+4]
39. The Tragically Hip [+1]
40. The White Stripes [-12]
41. R.E.M. [-5]
42. Lucinda Williams [-12]
43. Bruce Springsteen [-6]
44. Dire Straits [-5]
45. The Police [no change]
46. Talking Heads [+8]
47. Beck [-15]
48. The Smashing Pumpkins [+5]
49. Against Me! [+39]
50. Neil Young [-2]

So that's the chart story for artists in 2011, but what about songs and albums?

Looking at the top tracks played is kind of pointless since the list would be very similar to the Song Of The Year nominees for the Dynammy Awards, but I took a look at the top albums played this year and decided to list the top 10, not counting greatest hits collections.

Top 10 Albums
1. Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
2. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
4. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
5. Chris Isaak - Forever Blue
6. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
7. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
8. Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold
9. Yaz - Upstairs At Eric's
10. Joe Jackson - Look Sharp

Last year's Dynammy Award winner for best album finished on top of the chart, followed by an old favourite from Lucinda Williams and an album of the year nominee from last year, The Suburbs. The King Is Dead was the highest ranking album from 2011 and the only one to crack the top 10 besides Kiss Each Other Clean, so does that mean those albums are front runners for Album Of The Year? Yes and no. Both albums are nominated, but both albums were released early in the year and had a longer period in heavy rotation. There was no way for an album released in the summer or fall to catch up in terms of airplay, but something like TV On The Radio's Nine Types Of Light might have had a stronger impact on me over a shorter timeframe.

In case you missed it, you can see the bottom half of the Top 100 artists by clicking here.

And there's still lots of time to vote in this year's Dynammy Awards. You can view the entire list of nominees and register your vote by clicking here.

Dynamic Range Radio's Year End Charts (part 1)

Today is the first day of work or school in 2012 for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean it's too late to look back at 2011.

Here at Dynamic Range Radio it's time to list the top artists played in 2011, starting with the bottom half of the list from 51-100:

Top Artists 2011 (pt 1)
51. The Avett Brothers [-5]
52. Gorillaz [+14]
53. Joe Jackson [=]
54. Ramones [+23]
55. Old 97's [-13]
56. Muse [-9]
57. Kings Of Leon [-32]
58. James [+11]
59. David Bowie [+5]
60. Yo La Tengo [-25]
61. Marvin Gaye [+10]
62. Peter Gabriel [-4]
63. The Skids [-7]
64. Radiohead [-37]
65. MGMT [+10]
66. Wolf Parade [+419]
67. Matthew Sweet [+42]
68. Coldplay [-5]
69. Pure [-7]
70. The Cure [=]
71. The Doors [+26]
72. Mew [-12]
73. The Airborne Toxic Event [-44]
74. Prince [-17]
75. Goldfrapp [-34]
76. Aerosmith [-33]
77. John Mellencamp [+64]
78. Morphine [+9]
79. Creedence Clearwater Revival [+24]
80. ZZ Top [-13]
81. Black Mountain [-1]
82. Caribou [-21]
83. Broken Social Scene [+62]
84. Editors [+2]
85. 54-40 [-3]
86. Iggy Pop [+14]
87. Metric [-2]
88. Cornershop [-12]
89. Pixies [-6]
90. The Pretenders [-12]
91. Patty Griffin [+120]
92. Calexico [+23]
93. The Wailin' Jennys [+32]
94. Yeah Yeah Yeahs [-50]
95. Manic Street Preachers [-21]
96. Soundgarden [-17]
97. Bjork [+60]
98. Black Rebel Motrocycle Club [-12]
99. The Georgia Satellites [+21]
100. The Cave Singers [NEW]

Othet Notables:

108. Cut Copy [NEW]
114. The Kinks [+155]
115. James Brown [+69]
135. The Besnard Lakes [+157]
138. British Sea Power [+118]
177. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings [NEW]
189. Elbow [+286}
198. PJ Harvey [NEW]

The Cave Singers were the highest charting debut artist this year, sneaking into the top 100 on the strength of their outstanding album, No Witch. Cut Copy almost duplicated that feat, finishing at 108 thanks to their album Zonoscope. Both bands have been around for several years now, but 2011 was the year they came to my attention, and I'm pretty sure both artists will be staples in the rotation for years to come.

The biggest leap in the bottom 50 was made by Wolf Parade, who jumped a whopping 419 spots to land at number 66. This was another good year for Dan Boeckner who, in addition to being a part of Wolf Parade, is also the lead singer for the Handsome Furs who will be making an appearance in the top 50.

I'll be revealing the top half of the list on Friday, so check back then for that, and there's still plenty of time to vote in this year's Dynammy Awards for Best Album, Best Song, and Best Sound Quality. Click here to hear all the nominees and then cast your vote.

Dynamic Range Radio's Top 100 Artists of 2010 (1-50)

The top 10 features no real surprises for long-time listeners, just a bit of jockeying for position among some of my all-time favourite artists.

Without a new album in heavy rotation, Bloc Party dropped out of the #1 spot opening the door for Led Zeppelin to lead the way. My Morning Jacket and Yeah Yeah Yeahs also experienced preditcable between-album dips while Muse shot up 100 points thanks to The Resistance.

XTC made further gains after a huge jump in 2009 as I continued to explore their deep catalogue of terrific songs and amazing sound quality. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them crack the top 10 next year.

There was a time way back in the early 90s when I was young and my hair was long and I thought Soundgarden was the best band out of Seattle. But Pearl Jam's longevity and my new-found maturity have changed all that and Pearl Jam climbed 96 spots to sit at #25. But I'd play a lot more Soundgarden if I thought it would make my hair grow back.

The Avett Brothers lept a whopping 454 spots on the strength of their major label debut, and the Handsome Furs also climbed more than 400 points thanks to their album Face Control being in heavy rotation for most of the year. Dan Boeckner's other band Wolf Parade could experience a similar jump next year thanks to two songs that were recently added into heavy rotation.

I suppose I'll have to remove The Airborne Toxic Event's debut album from heavy rotation at some point, but for now they continue to climb on the strength of a brilliant, passionate album I'm nowhere close to being tired of.

Here's the complete list from 1-50:

1. Led Zeppelin [+1]
2. The Beatles [+1]
3. Bob Marley [+9]
4. Big Country [=]
5. The Smithereens [+4]
6. Big Sugar [=]
7. Eurythmics [+7]
8. Wilco [+5]
9. Steve Earle [-4]
10. U2 [-3]
11. Depeche Mode [+10]
12. Bob Dylan [+2]
13. TV On The Radio [-3]
14. Bloc Party [-13]
15. Sinead O'Connor [-4]
16. Chris Isaak [+12]
17. The Pogues [-2]
18. The Clash [+6]
19. XTC [+27]
20. Everclear [+11]
21. Crowded House [+8]
22. Blur [+19]
23. Tom Waits [+49]
24. Arcade Fire [+32]
25. Pearl Jam [+96]
26. AC/DC [-2]
27. The Rolling Stones [+7]
28. Bat For Lashes [+2]
29. Kings Of Leon [-10]
30. The White Stripes [-13]
31. Yazoo [+8]
32. My Morning Jacket [-16]
33. Radiohead [+5]
34. The Airborne Toxic Event [+30]
35. Lucinda Williams [+18]
36. Handsome Furs [+418]
37. Beck [+12]
38. Paul Simon [+28]
39. Yo La Tengo [-16]
40. R.E.M. [+7]
41. Bruce Springsteen [-16]
42. The New Pornographers [+16]
43. Dire Straits [=]
44. Goldfrapp [-17]
45. The Tragically Hip [-27]
46. Yeah Yeah Yeahs [-25]
47. Aerosmith [-10]
48. Old 97's [-22]
49. Muse [+105]
50. The Avett Brothers [+454]

You can read the bottom half of the list by clicking here, and there's still time to vote in the Dynammy Awards.

Have a great year everyone!

Dynamic Range Radio's Top 100 Artists of 2010 (51-100)

2010 is winding down so it's time once again to look back and consider the top 100 artists played on Dynamic Range Radio over the past year, give or take a few days.

I'll start by focusing on the bottom half of the list where the biggest heatseaker was the Danish band Mew who leaped a whopping 390 points to land at #65 . Huge gains were also made by the Editors, the Great Lake Swimmers, and Monsters Of Folk, who all had recent albums in heavy rotation and all moved up by more than 200 points.

More modest gains were made by Neil Young who leaped another 43 points after making huge strides in 2009. Sitting at #52 this year he seems a sure-fire candidate to crack the top 50 in 2011.

LCD Soundsystem rode the wave of Dynammy Award nomination buzz all the way to #51, up 23 spots from last year, and could easily climb further next year as well.

The news wasn't so good for Iron & Wine who dropped 27 spots in 2010, but with a new album coming in January I'm fairly certain that trend will soon be reversed.

Some notables from outside the top 100 include Charlotte Gainsbourg who had the year's highest debut at #121. Gang Of Four climbed 177 spots to sit just outside the top 100, and another band to watch in 2011 is Shearwater. I added another song from The Golden Archipelago to heavy rotation a few weeks ago, and there's at least one more song from that brilliant album I plan to add soon, so they might make their first appearance in the top 100 next year.

When I wrote my recap last year I predicted that ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead were the band most likely to drop out of the top 50, and they wound up falling all the way to #101 with no signs of reversing the trend unless their next album is much better than their last one.

Two artists who fell out of the top 100 unexpectedly were Matthew Sweet and Joy Division, but they're both right on the cusp and could easily rebound next year.

For those of you who prefer raw data to analysis, here's the complete list from 51-100. When I originally typed this up I included the change in ranking from last year with fancy colored fonts to indicate whether an artist had risen or fallen, and it was all very impressive and Billboard-y, but then all that data and hard work got lost somehow and I wound up starting from scratch, so here's the simple, streamlined, not-tempting-fate version: 

51. LCD Soundsystem
52. Neil Young
53. The Smashing Pumpkins
54. Ron Sexsmith
55. The Police
56. Fleet Foxes
57. Joe Jackson
58. The Skids
59. Talking Heads
60. Prince
61. Peter Gabriel
62. Iron & Wine
63. Caribou
64. Mew
65. Pure
66. Coldplay
67. David Bowie
68. Hooverphonic
69. Gorillaz
70. ZZ Top
71. James
72. Marvin Gaye
73. The Cure
74. Stars
75. The Decemberists
76. Manic Street Preachers
77. MGMT
78. The Ramones
79. The Pretenders
80. Cornershop
81. Soundgarden
82. Black Mountain
83. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
84. Tegan And Sara
85. 54-40
86. Editors
87. The Pixies
88. Billy Bragg
89. Metric
90. Morphine
91. Ben Harper
92. Beirut
93. Against Me!
94. Great Lake Swimmers
95. Kate Bush
96. Camera Obscura
97. Monsters Of Folk
98. School Of Seven Bells
99. The Doors
100. Elvis Presley

I'll post the top 50 later in the week, so check back for that, and you've still got lots of time to vote in this year's Dynammy Awards. There are no clear winners yet so your vote might be enough to put your favourite song or artist of 2010 over the top.

Dynamic Range Radio's Top 100 Artists of 2009 (part 2)

Continuing the year-end recap that started last week, here are the top 50 artists on Dynamic Range Radio in 2009 based on airplay.

1. Bloc Party [+1]
2. Led Zeppelin [+2]
3. The Beatles [-2]
4. Big Country [-2]
5. Steve Earle [no change]
6. Big Sugar [-2]
7. U2 [+11]
8. Eurythmics [+5]
9. The Smithereens [+8]
10. TV On The Radio [+26]
11. Sinead O'Connor [+1]
12. Bob Marley [+2]
13. Wilco [+8]
14. Bob Dylan [+1]
15. The Pogues [-6]
16. My Morning Jacket [+6]
17. The White Stripes [-11]
18. The Tragically Hip [-10]
19. Kings Of Leon [-9]
20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs [+69]
21. Depeche Mode [+111]
22. The Clash [-2]
23. Yo La Tengo [-12]
24. AC/DC [-8]
25. Bruce Springsteen [-6]
26. Old 97's [+18]
27. Goldfrapp [+3]
28. Chris Isaak [-3]
29. Crowded House [no change]
30. Bat For Lashes [+27]
31. Everclear [-8]
32. Against Me! [+10]
33. Supergrass [+41]
34. The Rolling Stones [+1]
35. Iron & Wine [-1]
36. Ron Sexsmith [+34]
37. Aerosmith [+21]
38. Radiohead [+24]
39. Yazoo [-6]
40. Sons And Daughters [-12]
41. Blur [no change]
42. Santogold [+82]
43. Dire Straits [-11]
44. The Smashing Pumpkins [-13]
45. The Skids [-19]
46. XTC [+68]
47. R.E.M. [-8]
48. ...Trail Of Dead [-24]
49. Beck [-22]
50. Pure [-10]

Bloc Party claimed the #1 spot on the charts last year thanks to their latest album Intimacy which was released in late 2008 and spent a significant part of 2009 in heavy rotation. Throw in all the outstanding tracks from their two previous albums and it's no surprise at all to see Bloc Party at the top of the charts.

The next three bands on the list also come from the UK, and even though I'm one of the few DJs who would mention Big Country in the same breath as Led Zeppelin or the Beatles, all three bands are perennial favourites of mine and will probably remain at or near the top of the charts for a long time to come.

Steve Earle prevents the UK from sweeping the top 5, while Big Sugar is the highest charting Canadian band at #6. Other homegrown acts making the cut were The Tragically Hip (#18), Ron Sexsmith (#36), and Vancouver's own Pure who clung to a spot in the top 50.

The biggest jumps were made by Depeche Mode, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santogold, and Supergrass, all of whom had albums in heavy rotation for at least part of 2009.

Among older bands, XTC had the biggest jump, climbing 68 spots to crack the top 50 for the first time. I'd always liked the band's better known singles, but 2009 was the year when I dug deep into their catalogue and came to appreciate many more of their songs, and also the consistently outstanding sound quality of their albums.

Looking ahead to 2010, I'd say that the band most in danger of falling out of the top 50 is ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Their last album, Century Of Self, was a disappointment, both artistically and sonically, so they'll have to rebound if they want to start climbing instead of dropping.

Another band to watch for in 2010 is the Avett Brothers who might crack the top 50 on the strength of their debut album, I And Love And You.

To view the bottom half of the top 100 click here, and then come back next week for the announcement of the 2009 Dynammy Award nominees.

Dynamic Range Radio's Top 100 Artists of 2009 (part 1)

With 2009 behind us, I decided to take a look at the top 100 artists played on Dynamic Range Radio last year and, thanks to a nifty tool called Last FM Extra Stats, see how they compared to 2008.

It's a lengthy list so I decided to break it up into two parts, with a little analysis at the the end of each post. The bottom half of the list is being published today, and you can come back next Monday for the top 50.

And now, on to the list of runners-up:

51. Stars [+12]
52. David Bowie [no change]
53. Lucinda Williams [-8]
54. The Police [-4]
55. The Decemberists [-2]
56. Arcade Fire [+19]
57. Coldplay [-1]
58. The New Pornographers [-21]
59. Peter Gabriel [-21]
60. Cornershop [-9]
61. Beirut [+33]
62. Manic Street Preachers [+11]
63. Billy Bragg [-14]
64. The Airborne Toxic Event [NEW]
65. Talking Heads [-5]
66. Paul Simon [+97]
67. Death Cab For Cutie [-2]
68. Ben Harper [-1]
69. The Dandy Warhols [-5]
70. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [-24]
71. Joy Division [+16]
72. Tom Waits [+19]
73. The Pretenders [+5]
74. Caribou [-20]
75. Hard-Fi [-27]
76. The Raconteurs [+3]
77. 54-40 [-27]
78. Prince [+8]
79. The Ramones [+5]
80. Matthew Sweet [-8]
81. The Beach Boys [-20]
82. Soundgarden [-11]
83. James [+21]
84. Fleet Foxes [+372]
85. LCD Soundsystem [+31]
86. The Cult [+17]
87. Little Man Tate [+10]
88. Hooverphonic [+20]
89. Bauhaus [-34]
90. Black Mountain [+6]
91. Morphine [-32]
92. Pearl Jam [+69]
93. Violent Femmes [+22]
94. MGMT [+28]
95. Neil Young [+182]
96. Southern Culture On The Skids [-16]
97. The Jam [+30]
98. Iggy Pop [+39]
99. Interpol [+68]
100. Camera Obscura [+30]

The first thing that leaps out is The Airborne Toxic Event, who had the year's highest debut at #64. The next highest debut was School Of Seven Bells at #135 followed by Martha Wainright at #191.

Fleet Foxes also made huge strides this year, jumping 372 spots to #84. Only a handful of artists climbed higher than Fleet Foxes in 2009, but one who did was Cold War Kids who jumped a whopping 437 spots to rank just off the list at #101.

Artists like The New Pornographers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Bauhaus who had new albums in heavy rotation in 2008 experienced predictable drops in 2009, but I can't for the life of me explain why Morphine dropped 32 places to #91. If anything, I feel like I should be playing them a lot more often.

The huge leaps by Paul Simon and Neil Young are proof that I spent less time in 2009 searching for the next big thing and more time focusing on the classics, where good dynamics are more likely to be found. Or maybe it just means I'm getting old.

Assuming I don't drop dead from some illness that only affects the elderly, I'll be posting the top 50 artists next Monday, January 11th, and the week after that will be time to release the 2009 Dynammy Award nominees, so check back soon for that.

Dynamic Range Radio's Top Weekly Tracks: Dec 13 - 19

Top Tracks This Week

1. Bat For Lashes – Sleep Alone (4 plays)
1. The Airborne Toxic Eevnt – Gasoline (4)
1. School Of Seven Bells – Half Asleep (4)
1. Depeche Mode – Peace (4)
5. One Hundred Dollars - Nothin's Alright(3)
5. Editors - Bricks And Mortar (3)
5. Karen O And The Kids – All Is Love (3)
5. Rae Spoon - I'll Be A Ghost For You (3)
5. Monsters Of Folk – Losin' Yo Head (3)
5. Muse - Undisclosed Desires (3)

Dynamic Range Radio's Top Weekly Tracks: Dec 07-13

Top Tracks This Week

1. Editors – Bricks And Mortar (4 plays)
1. Monsters Of Folk – Losin Yo Head (4)
1. K-Os – Uptown Girl (4)
1. Mew – Hawaii (4)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (4)
1. Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (4)
1. The Airborne Toxic Event – Papillon (4)
8. The Avett Brothers – The Perfect Space (3)
8. Karen O And The Kids – All Is Love (3)
8. Muse - Undisclosed Desires (3)

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Nov 30 - Dec 06

Top Tracks This Week

1. Tegan And Sara – On Directing (4 plays)
1. Muse – Undisclosed Desires (4)
1. Bloc Party – Ion Square (4)
1. Dido – Us 2 Little Gods (4)
1. Great Lake Swimmers – Pulling On A Line (4)
1. Ida Maria – I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked (4)
1. Mew – Sometimes Life Isn't Easy (4)
8. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You (3)
8. Karen O And The Kids – All Is Love (3)
8. Handsome Furs - All We Want, Baby, Is Everything (3)


Unique Artists: 999
Total Tracks: 2252
Total Plays: 2595

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Nov 23-29

Top Tracks This Week

1. Monsters Of Folk – Ahead Of The Curve (4 plays)
1. Florence & The Machine – The Dog Days Are Over (4)
1. Bat For Lashes – Sleep Alone (4)
1. School Of Seven Bells – Wired For Light (4)
1. Born Ruffians – Badonkadonkey (4)
1. The Airborne Toxic Event – Innocence (4)
1. Cold War Kids – Mexican Dogs (4)
1. Depeche Mode – Peace (4)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Shame And Fortune (4)
10. Handsome Furs - All We Want, Baby, Is Everything (3)


Unique Artists: 999
Total Tracks: 2243
Total Plays: 2591

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Nov 15-21

Top Tracks This Week

1. Venice Is Sinking – Ryan's Song/Okay (4 plays)
1. Rae Spoon – I'll Be A Shost For You (4)
1. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You (4)
1. Kings Of Leon – Manhattan (4)
1. One Hundred Dollars – Nothing's Alright (4)
1. Joel Plaskett – Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' (4)
7. Editors – In This Light And On This Evening (3)
7. Monsters Of Folk – Ahead Of The Curve (3)
7. Muse – Undisclosed Desires (3)
7. Mew - Hawaii (3)



Plus 35 other tracks played 3 times each

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Nov 9th-15th

After a few weeks of working on the Halloween show, I added a bunch of new music to the regular playlist in early November, most of which cracked the top 10 for the first time last week.

Top Tracks This Week

1. School Of Seven Bells – Half Asleep (4 plays)
2. (NEW) Editors – Bricks And Mortar (3)
2. (NEW) The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You (3)
2. (NEW) Monsters Of Folk – Ahead Of The Curve (3)
2. (NEW) Monsters Of Folk – Losin' Yo Head (3)
2. Joel Plaskett – Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' (3)
2. Florence & The Machine – Dog Days Are Over (3)
2. Great Lake Swimmers – Pulling On a Line (3)
2. Muse – Undisclosed Desires (3)
2. Mew - Sometimes Life Isn't Easy (3)



Plus 53 other tracks played 3 times each

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: October 12-18

Top Tracks This Week

1. One Hundred Dollars – Nothing's Alright (4 plays)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (4)
1. Bloc Party – Zephyrus (4)
1. Portishead – Machine Gun (4)
1. Rae Spoon – I'll Be A Ghost For You (4)
1. Joel Plaskett – Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' (4)
1. Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over (4)
1. Great Lake Swimmers – Pulling On a Line (4)
1. Cold War Kids – Mexican Dogs (4)
10. (NEW) Mew - Hawaii (3)



Plus 36 other tracks played 3 times each

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: October 5-11

Top Tracks This Week

1. Venice Is Sinking - Ryan's Song/Okay (4 plays)
1. Ocean Colour Scene - Go To Sea (4)
1. Kings Of Leon - Manhattan (4)
4. Bloc Party - Zephyrus (3)
4. (NEW) Mew - Sometimes Life Isn't Easy (3)
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (3)
4. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes (3)
4. Depeche Mode - In Sympathy (3)
4. The Airborne Toxic Event - Innocence (3)
4. Muse - Undisclosed Desires (3)


Plus 36 other tracks played 3 times each

Dynamic Range Radio's Recently Added Tracks: September

Another month has come and gone, so it's time once again to list all the songs that got added to Dynamic Range Radio's playlist in September. Lots of classics, some alternative gems from the 80s, and a few new tracks that made it into heavy rotation. The full list below:

Aerosmith – No More No More
The Rolling Stones – Beast of Burden
Fairport Convention – Come All Ye
The Police – King of Pain
Paul Simon – Born at the Right Time
Blondie – Heart of Glass
Patti Smith – Dancing Barefoot
The Pretenders – Don't Get Me Wrong
Muse – Guiding Light
Stevie Wonder – Uptight (Everything's Alright)
Muse – Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
R.E.M. – The One I Love
Beast – Devil
Muse – Undisclosed Desires
Beast – Satan
Ray LaMontagne – Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame)
Pixies – Wave of Mutilation
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Slowdive
Neko Case – Star Witness
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Shadowtime
Gang of Four – He'd Send In the Army
Pixies – Gigantic
My Morning Jacket – Where To Begin
Beast – Microcyte
Andy G. & Tobiak - Latin Wave
Gorillaz – 5/4 FiveFour
Jurassic 5 – Canto De Ossanha
Rae Spoon – I'll Be A Ghost For You
Cowboy Junkies – Stars of Our Stars

And coming in October you can expect to hear new stuff from Mew, Monsters Of Folk, and a Canadian indie/alt-country band called One Hundred Dollars. Now that those have been added, it's time for me to start working on this year's Halloween show, so there won't be a lot of new music being added in late October. And if you're guessing that a few of those tracks added in September will also be a part of the Halloween playlist, you'd be right.

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Sept 21-27

Top Tracks This Week

1. The Airborne Toxic Event - Gasoline (4 plays)
1. Stereolab - Self-Portrait With Electric Brain (4)
1. Bloc Party - Ion Square (4)
1. TV On The Radio - Shout Me Out (4)
1. K-Os - Uptown Girl (4)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Shame And Fortune (4)
1. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes (4)
8. Depeche Mode - Peace (3)
8. Sargasso Trio - Heels On Fire (3)
8. (NEW) Muse - Undisclosed Desires (3)


Plus 39 other tracks played 3 times each

And starting next week there'll be a new track in heavy rotation, not from Muse, but from Mew's outstanding new album "No More Stories Are Told Today..."

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: Sept 14-20

There've been some changes in the top 10 weekly tracks for the first time in a while, so here's the return of Dynamic Range Radio's weekly charts.

And there'll be at least one track from Muse's new album "The Resistance" showing up in heavy rotation this week, so you can expect more changes on next week's charts, as well.

Top Tracks This Week

1. Dido - Us 2 Little Gods (4 plays)
1. Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked (4)
1. The Airborne Toxic Event - Papillon (4)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (4)
5. (NEW) Rae Spoon - I'll Be A Ghost For You (3)
5. Depeche Mode - Peace (3)
5. Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone (3)
5. K-Os - Uptown Girl (3)
5. Martha Wainright - You Cheated Me (4)
5. Great Lake Swimmers - Pulling On A Line (3)


Plus 45 other tracks played 3 times each

Dynamic Range Radio's Recently Added Tracks

As mentioned in my last post, I haven't been adding new music into heavy rotation lately, but that doesn't mean I've been idle. I've been adding a lot of older music, so I thought I'd post the list of songs that got added into the playlist in August:

Cowboy Junkies – Rock and Bird
Cocteau Twins – Sugar Hiccup
The Temptations – Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
Mary Gauthier – The Sun Fades The Color of Everything
Patsy Cline – Crazy
Cowboy Junkies – Misguided Angel
k.d. lang – Constant Craving
Mary Gauthier – Long Way To Fall
Lucinda Williams – Lake Charles
XTC – Another Satellite
Marvin Gaye – Let's Get It On
The Cinematic Orchestra – Familiar Ground (ft Fontella Bass)
TV on the Radio – Province
Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Nowhere to Run
The Cramps – Goo Goo Muck
Link Wray & His Ray Men – Rumble
Odds – Make You Mad
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – (Love Is Like) A Heat Wave
Morphine – Radar
The Cure – Close to Me
Al Green – I Can't Get Next To You
Otis Redding – Mr. Pitiful
Great Lake Swimmers – Falling Into the Sky
Indio – Hard Sun
The Pogues – The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Big Country – Come Back To Me
Great Big Sea – Excursion Around the Bay
The Lowest of the Low – St. Brendan's Way
Great Big Sea – Recruiting Sargeant
Ian Brown – Solarized
Charlie Sexton – Ugly All Day
Tom Waits – Big Black Mariah
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Breakdown

And after focusing on old favourites for a while, I'm back in a new music frame of mind, so look for recent tracks from two fine Canadian artists -- Great Lake Swimmers and Joel Plaskett -- to appear in heavy rotation this week

Dynamic Range Radio's Top 50 Artists

I haven't been updating the weekly charts lately because there hasn't been any new music making its way into heavy rotation. It's been hectic and stressful at my day job, so I've been more focused on adding older music from artists like XTC, Joe Jackson, and Neil Young, among others.

When I'm focused on finding new tracks for heavy rotation, I usually spend more time rejecting music than adding music, partly because good sound quality is so hard to find these days, so when time is at a premium it's much easier to add some old favourites I haven't gotten around to programming yet.

So instead of posting the weekly tracks, I'll post the top 50 artists played on Dynamic Range Radio over the past week because there've been some definite changes since the last time I posted this, especially when you look at the bottom end of the chart.

1. Bloc Party (16 plays)
1. The Beatles (16)
1. Steve Earle (16)
4. Big Sugar (15)
4. U2 (15)
4. Led Zeppelin (15)
4. Big Country (15)
8. Eurythmics (14)
8. The Smithereens (14)
8. Bob Marley (14)
11. The Tragically Hip (13)
11. Depeche Mode (13)
11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (13)
11. TV on the Radio (13)
11. Bob Dylan (13)
11. Sinéad O'Connor (13)
17. Wilco (12)
17. Ron Sexsmith (12)
17. The Pogues (12)
17. The White Stripes (12)
21. The Airborne Toxic Event (11)
21. The Clash (11)
21. Kings of Leon (11)
21. My Morning Jacket (11)
21. The Decemberists (11)
21. Bruce Springsteen (11)
27. Yo La Tengo (10)
27. Bat for Lashes (10)
27. The Skids (10)
27. Chris Isaak (10)
27. Radiohead (10)
27. Goldfrapp (10)
27. AC/DC (10)
27. Iron & Wine (10)
27. The Rolling Stones (10)
36. XTC (9)
36. Aerosmith (9)
36. Sons and Daughters (9)
36. Blur (9)
36. Cold War Kids (9)
36. Pure (9)
36. Supergrass (9)
36. Santogold (9)
36. Beck (9)
36. Against Me! (9)
36. Yazoo (9)
36. Everclear (9)
36. Crowded House (9)
36. Old 97's (9)
36. Stars (9)

Dynamic Range Radio's Weekly Charts: June 1st-7th

Top Tracks This Week

1. Metric - Stadium Love (4 plays)
1. Bloc Party - Signs (4)
1. The Airborne Toxic Event - Gasoline (4)
1. School Of Seven Bells - Half Asleep (4)
1. Depeche Mode - Peace (4)
1. Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone (4)
1. The Duke Spirit - The Step And The Walk (4)
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Shame And Fortune (4)
1. Martha Wainright - You Cheated Me (4)
10. k-os - Uptown Girl (3)


Plus 48 other tracks played 3 times each